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The False Hope of Religion

Posted By: Randy GageOctober 1, 2019

Last post I created quite a ruckus when I said that organized religion provides hope to many, but it is false hope based on superstitions from the Stone Age.  And the inspiration it brings doesn’t help you build internal worth and self-esteem, but instead involves out-sourcing your belief to a sky god, in the hopes he/she/it will protect you. I promised to explore the subject deeper with this post.

Julia wrote asking me what I meant by false hopes.  This is actually a loaded question, because you can’t disprove a negative.  And I have no desire, to “prove” that the hopes believers have are delusional.  My reason to mention them in the previous posts is that many of these beliefs are self-destructive or otherwise harmful to your prosperity.

Each religion promises its followers certain perks and benefits.  (These are the hopes that believers have for their faith.) Basically these religions are operating unregulated Cosmic Frequent Flier Programs.   If you acquire enough points (for the stuff you do or don’t, in this lifetime), you win the free award trip (salvation, nirvana, reincarnation, 72 virgins, eternal life, heaven, etc.).  I’d rather take my chances trading in my miles to Delta for an award trip to Hawaii, than hoping for eternal life in a promise from Jerry Falwell, Jr.  But that’s just me.

There are people who believe Noah carried two dinosaurs on the ark, Indra was born fully grown from his mother’s side (though they can’t agree if he had two or four arms), Buddha was born and instantly took seven steps to proclaim, “I alone am the World-Honored One!,” or that Jonah swam around in the belly of a large fish for three days before popping out and buying a timeshare in Key West.

The problem with all of these captivating myths is they can’t keep the story straight, and so they don’t stand the test of reason and critical thinking. 

Buddhist scholars acknowledge that story of Buddha’s birth may have borrowed from Hindu texts of the birth of Indra from the Rig Veda.   After Alexander the Great conquered central Asia there was extensive intermixing of Buddhism with Hellenic ideas.  There is also speculation that the tale of the Buddha’s childbirth was “upgraded” when traders returned from the Middle East with stories of the birth of the baby Jesus.

The Buddha birth myth certainly sounds like a story about the birth of a God.  But even Buddhism says the Buddha was not a god.  And the bold pronouncement, “I alone am the World-Honored One” is in direct conflict with the Buddhist teachings on nontheism and anatman.

There are about 1.5 billion people who believe the Bible is the literal word of God, even though there is no evidence to support this, and is in fact, great evidence to disprove this – even in the Bible itself.  Of course there are about 1.5 billion other people who know the Koran to be the perfect word of the creator of the universe.  And the Prophet Mohammad explicitly stated that Jesus was not divine.   So one thing is certain: of these three billion people who are certain about their truth – at least half have to be wrong.  Likewise, the Veda, which many believe is sanctified, is the product of many authors and shows numerous signs of having undergone considerable revisions over time.

As we can see, the hopes and inspiration that most of these faiths promise, are in conflict with the other faiths.  So as far as Julia’s question, by simple deduction we can assume most of them are false.  And if we do much critical thinking, can posit that perhaps all of them are.

Of course, the fervent believers are not daunted by all these conflicting beliefs.  Each religion believes they have discovered the one true god and all of the others are deceived.  Certainly there will be many who believe that the fact that I am  raising these questions, actually reveals me to be Satan in disguise.  The thought that I would be so powerful is hysterical to me, since I’ve been trying to work a sesame seed stuck in my teeth for the last 30 minutes.  (Of course, if I really am Satan, that’s exactly what I would say…)

I certainly have no problem with anyone believing any of the beliefs above.  Just as I have no problem with the people who believe Elvis is alive, we didn’t really land on the moon, or that the earth is flat.  Likewise, the people who still believe in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, or the Easter Bunny.  But can we agree that a rational person in control of their mental faculties couldn’t believe any of these things?  Depending on the specific myth, they can only be believed by someone who is somewhere on the scale between irrational and psychologically disordered.

However, as I stated in the original post, if people find comfort in their beliefs, I’m happy for them, and not on a mission to change them... 

I only opine on the subject when people ask why they aren’t healthy, happy, and/or prosperous.  In these cases, I am compelled to point out the cause and effect relationship between their foundational beliefs and the results they are manifesting in life.

I believe that organized religion is the most powerful anti-prosperity force on earth. 

And that’s where we’ll pick up on the next post.  Until then, would love to see your thoughts below.

-RG

20 comments on “The False Hope of Religion”

  1. I agree with your explanation.
    Still just follow the 10 commandments of life and hold my head up.
    But need to change my mindset to create more PMA

  2. "I believe that organized religion is the most powerful anti-prosperity force on earth." Amen to that! What's the difference between a tapeworm and a priest? You feed the tapeworm crap so it dies and you can discharge it, a priest feeds you crap so he can keep his hooks in your mind and profit off of you.

    1. I feel sorry for Richard Dawkins when he tries to rationally debate religious leaders and they get so hysterical when he says something like you don't believe in Santa Claus when you're old enough to think for yourself why do you believe all these myths that you were taught as children..

  3. "...if people find comfort in their beliefs, I’m happy for them, and not on a mission to change them"
    Well, I do mind when their happiness – and their getting to those many virgins waiting form them – depends on them suicide-bombing the hotel lobby I happen to hang around in.
    And there are dark sides of Christianity as well, and almost all dogmas, where it is not just the believer who gets hurt by their dogma.
    "almost" mostly equals Jainism 🙂
    Randy, you are brave to stand up for this in those environments you live and work.

  4. My belief there is a God and your belief there is no God, makes one of us fundamentally wrong. It’s hard to look at creation and everything around us and say there is no Creator.

    You say that a rational person in control of their mental faculties couldn’t believe in God. I actually think it’s irrational to think intelligence and all the greatness around us just created itself.

    As much as I have studied the Bible, I can’t find it where it’s an anti prosperity force. Please share with me where you see that. I’m totally opened...

    1. Andi, Why are you Christian? Why are you not Hindu, or Muslim? Does it bother you that there are so many mutually exclusive religions? If your religion is correct, everyone who does not believe it is going to eternal torture. Does that mean anything to you? If you arrived her from another planet it would be obvious that ALL of the religions are regionally invented. So the universe may be created. Why do you think YOUR (or any other) religion speaks truth about this creation. None are scientifically accurate. That should give you pause

  5. Aloha Randy...

    Grouping them all together and knocking them all is something one of my favorites friedrich nietzsche ranted about quite often..

    He, like my all time fave, Emerson, were believers in God just not religion "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." which, of course, creates the conflict you talk of. He felt it was worse than alcohol for the individual.

    He was very clear with his [similar to Emerson later} ... "God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives; who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves?"

    Keep fighting the good fight

  6. I knew that you are the Satan, since you preaching about money. What else can you be at all?

    Modern religions, by their own nature, are corrupts, and operating exactly like the governments.

    They have a God, who is the big boss. It have rules, laws, regulations and bureaucracy (mandatory prayers). Sounds familiar?

    They even have police, which you will face after you die. So this police is quiet invisible while you alive.

    Every God is hate something. Some of them hate the Jews, some the Arabians, some the women, some the other religions, some the rich people, some the black people some the animals.

    This is in fact: pure and utter insanity. Good fast-food for people, who are refuse to thinking.

    And if it were not enough, they operating by charities, just how the politicians are operating by armed robbery. This means they simply CAN NOT PRODUCE VALUES, especially not for the economy. A bunch of slacker financial scammers.

    It is really just a financial/political scam and nothing more. Both of them are using the same tricks, and all of it is based on FEAR MONGERING. Not to mention that every religion, thus their members are SUPERIOR to the others. Sounds familiar too? We have a Nazi-government! Awesome! Pray to the Nazis, pray to the government, pray for financial scam, comrades!

    If God exist (and I believe she does), he or she would never try to control anybody and telling them what to do. God will be the one, who ALLOW everything to happen, and this is the FREEDOM which he or she gives to the people. Everything else is bullshit.

    It's a scam. That’s all. The politics are also a scam. But people can believe in the most insane things very easily, without second thoughts.

    And about poverty:

    "Timothy 6:10

    For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs”.

    “Matthew 19:24

    “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

    Both of them tortured and killed more people than all the wars and epidemics altogether (though they were responsible for wars too) by spreading poverty and restraining human progress.

    Basically everybody who died in anything related to poverty (including crimes) are died because of those sentences indirectly, even if they are not “believers”, since those lines are constantly circulating in the public sphere.

    By statistics, we can claim that nobody killed more people than the bible, which is by the way considered as “holy”. In fact, Jesus, God and Paul are mass murderers, who still killing and torturing as much people as they can.

    Or it is a lie that they said anything like that (which I believe).

    You can choose one of them.

    And yes, it is evil, like all propaganda. It let to uphold the status quo, where the rich rulers ruled the poor useful idiots. This was its one and only goal, because there is no reason to preach poverty in a world, where most of the people were already poor anyway. And it succeeded, as you can see everywhere.

  7. I think you can find that you are worthy and have goodwill towards all... or you can find poverty, slavery, hate, inequality, discrimination, etc.
    You choose which to focus on.
    You create you, or you let others create you.

    Best to create yourself the way you were created, in God's image, although you need to know what that really is.

    Pascal's wager: "Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell)"

    The finite loss may be what you give to help others vs not helping others. It could be giving up sin and doing good deeds... which really aren't losses. Other ideas?

    I am recommending Eucharistic Adoration to everyone.
    Insider secret tip: You don't have to be Catholic, go to Mass, Communion, or Confession. Just check your local churches to see who has Adoration & what days & hours.
    You can meditate, pray or read (focus on the positive stuff ... way more times than the negative stuff).

    Like the Christmas story of all the different people, income levels, outsiders, etc that came to adore Christ.
    Everyone can adore Christ without being Catholic (Universal). although you were born into the Universe.

  8. The confession we should practice:
    Paul's confession: “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I sinned at all.”

    That is how we practice: I did not sin. I did good deeds. I overcame sin. I rose.

  9. Also:

    God existed before Abraham and has been present on earth with people from around the world.

    Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.
    Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by
    John 8

    1. Adoration update: I went daily... said my own prayers and read the NT (starting with Paul's letters because those were the first written).
      And now I have decided to stay out of the church and adoration.Adoration could be transitional for some. I feel like I graduated.

      I will still pray, read , write, & say positive stuff.

      Religion could be used for good I think, for people to come together and worship, share a meal, fellowship, etc. Focus would be on equality, good will, loving-kindness, etc.

      So I am stay out of all the current religions,
      I am still reading (and listening to) the Book of the Dead (really the book of life).

  10. The Mah Himself Hat Spoken

    Last night I got a surprise visit from The Naz. Yes, Jesus of Nazareth himself. We hang together from time to time.

    We went to a jazz concert. The Naz digs jazz. Afterwards, we bought two large bottles of water, and the Naz transformed them into a wicked vintage Brunello. That's a yummy mellow red. We downed the first bottle in a blink. then, the Naz spoke with fervor.

    He said, "Take heed those of you who doubt and dis Randy G. Though he doth not believe, he is a man who doth perceive. Though he went astray in his youth, today he shines a light upon the truth. He and I may not agree, but this is what I say unto thee. If the G you doth defame, know that you play a dangerous game. My wrath upon you will descend, and you will shake and cry in the end. You will languish in poverty and curse your fate, and learn the truth when it is too late."

    Then, we drank the second bottle and forgot all about Randy as we laughed our way home.

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  • 20 comments on “The False Hope of Religion”

    1. I agree with your explanation.
      Still just follow the 10 commandments of life and hold my head up.
      But need to change my mindset to create more PMA

    2. "I believe that organized religion is the most powerful anti-prosperity force on earth." Amen to that! What's the difference between a tapeworm and a priest? You feed the tapeworm crap so it dies and you can discharge it, a priest feeds you crap so he can keep his hooks in your mind and profit off of you.

      1. I feel sorry for Richard Dawkins when he tries to rationally debate religious leaders and they get so hysterical when he says something like you don't believe in Santa Claus when you're old enough to think for yourself why do you believe all these myths that you were taught as children..

    3. "...if people find comfort in their beliefs, I’m happy for them, and not on a mission to change them"
      Well, I do mind when their happiness – and their getting to those many virgins waiting form them – depends on them suicide-bombing the hotel lobby I happen to hang around in.
      And there are dark sides of Christianity as well, and almost all dogmas, where it is not just the believer who gets hurt by their dogma.
      "almost" mostly equals Jainism 🙂
      Randy, you are brave to stand up for this in those environments you live and work.

    4. My belief there is a God and your belief there is no God, makes one of us fundamentally wrong. It’s hard to look at creation and everything around us and say there is no Creator.

      You say that a rational person in control of their mental faculties couldn’t believe in God. I actually think it’s irrational to think intelligence and all the greatness around us just created itself.

      As much as I have studied the Bible, I can’t find it where it’s an anti prosperity force. Please share with me where you see that. I’m totally opened...

      1. Andi, Why are you Christian? Why are you not Hindu, or Muslim? Does it bother you that there are so many mutually exclusive religions? If your religion is correct, everyone who does not believe it is going to eternal torture. Does that mean anything to you? If you arrived her from another planet it would be obvious that ALL of the religions are regionally invented. So the universe may be created. Why do you think YOUR (or any other) religion speaks truth about this creation. None are scientifically accurate. That should give you pause

    5. Aloha Randy...

      Grouping them all together and knocking them all is something one of my favorites friedrich nietzsche ranted about quite often..

      He, like my all time fave, Emerson, were believers in God just not religion "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." which, of course, creates the conflict you talk of. He felt it was worse than alcohol for the individual.

      He was very clear with his [similar to Emerson later} ... "God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives; who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves?"

      Keep fighting the good fight

    6. I knew that you are the Satan, since you preaching about money. What else can you be at all?

      Modern religions, by their own nature, are corrupts, and operating exactly like the governments.

      They have a God, who is the big boss. It have rules, laws, regulations and bureaucracy (mandatory prayers). Sounds familiar?

      They even have police, which you will face after you die. So this police is quiet invisible while you alive.

      Every God is hate something. Some of them hate the Jews, some the Arabians, some the women, some the other religions, some the rich people, some the black people some the animals.

      This is in fact: pure and utter insanity. Good fast-food for people, who are refuse to thinking.

      And if it were not enough, they operating by charities, just how the politicians are operating by armed robbery. This means they simply CAN NOT PRODUCE VALUES, especially not for the economy. A bunch of slacker financial scammers.

      It is really just a financial/political scam and nothing more. Both of them are using the same tricks, and all of it is based on FEAR MONGERING. Not to mention that every religion, thus their members are SUPERIOR to the others. Sounds familiar too? We have a Nazi-government! Awesome! Pray to the Nazis, pray to the government, pray for financial scam, comrades!

      If God exist (and I believe she does), he or she would never try to control anybody and telling them what to do. God will be the one, who ALLOW everything to happen, and this is the FREEDOM which he or she gives to the people. Everything else is bullshit.

      It's a scam. That’s all. The politics are also a scam. But people can believe in the most insane things very easily, without second thoughts.

      And about poverty:

      "Timothy 6:10

      For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs”.

      “Matthew 19:24

      “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

      Both of them tortured and killed more people than all the wars and epidemics altogether (though they were responsible for wars too) by spreading poverty and restraining human progress.

      Basically everybody who died in anything related to poverty (including crimes) are died because of those sentences indirectly, even if they are not “believers”, since those lines are constantly circulating in the public sphere.

      By statistics, we can claim that nobody killed more people than the bible, which is by the way considered as “holy”. In fact, Jesus, God and Paul are mass murderers, who still killing and torturing as much people as they can.

      Or it is a lie that they said anything like that (which I believe).

      You can choose one of them.

      And yes, it is evil, like all propaganda. It let to uphold the status quo, where the rich rulers ruled the poor useful idiots. This was its one and only goal, because there is no reason to preach poverty in a world, where most of the people were already poor anyway. And it succeeded, as you can see everywhere.

    7. I think you can find that you are worthy and have goodwill towards all... or you can find poverty, slavery, hate, inequality, discrimination, etc.
      You choose which to focus on.
      You create you, or you let others create you.

      Best to create yourself the way you were created, in God's image, although you need to know what that really is.

      Pascal's wager: "Pascal argues that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell)"

      The finite loss may be what you give to help others vs not helping others. It could be giving up sin and doing good deeds... which really aren't losses. Other ideas?

      I am recommending Eucharistic Adoration to everyone.
      Insider secret tip: You don't have to be Catholic, go to Mass, Communion, or Confession. Just check your local churches to see who has Adoration & what days & hours.
      You can meditate, pray or read (focus on the positive stuff ... way more times than the negative stuff).

      Like the Christmas story of all the different people, income levels, outsiders, etc that came to adore Christ.
      Everyone can adore Christ without being Catholic (Universal). although you were born into the Universe.

    8. The confession we should practice:
      Paul's confession: “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I sinned at all.”

      That is how we practice: I did not sin. I did good deeds. I overcame sin. I rose.

    9. Also:

      God existed before Abraham and has been present on earth with people from around the world.

      Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.
      Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by
      John 8

      1. Adoration update: I went daily... said my own prayers and read the NT (starting with Paul's letters because those were the first written).
        And now I have decided to stay out of the church and adoration.Adoration could be transitional for some. I feel like I graduated.

        I will still pray, read , write, & say positive stuff.

        Religion could be used for good I think, for people to come together and worship, share a meal, fellowship, etc. Focus would be on equality, good will, loving-kindness, etc.

        So I am stay out of all the current religions,
        I am still reading (and listening to) the Book of the Dead (really the book of life).

    10. The Mah Himself Hat Spoken

      Last night I got a surprise visit from The Naz. Yes, Jesus of Nazareth himself. We hang together from time to time.

      We went to a jazz concert. The Naz digs jazz. Afterwards, we bought two large bottles of water, and the Naz transformed them into a wicked vintage Brunello. That's a yummy mellow red. We downed the first bottle in a blink. then, the Naz spoke with fervor.

      He said, "Take heed those of you who doubt and dis Randy G. Though he doth not believe, he is a man who doth perceive. Though he went astray in his youth, today he shines a light upon the truth. He and I may not agree, but this is what I say unto thee. If the G you doth defame, know that you play a dangerous game. My wrath upon you will descend, and you will shake and cry in the end. You will languish in poverty and curse your fate, and learn the truth when it is too late."

      Then, we drank the second bottle and forgot all about Randy as we laughed our way home.

    Leave a Reply to Bernice Alive Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


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