Quote Originally Posted by hazetwostep
SOME religion is brainwashing...
SOME religion helps change people's lives for the better...
SOME religion connects people with a higher power...
SOME religion distances people from a higher power and others...
all religion is brainwashing, it's the nature of the beast. to enforce conformity of thought and purpose is the goal of all such elitist institutions. whether this is good or bad is ultimately up to those at the high end of the food chain. it is usually used to consolidate power and we all know how most people use their power.

some religion helps change some people's lives for the better. there are people who need to be told the difference between right and wrong, they need an ultimate master to show them how to lead a useful life. for these people religion is a necessary guide to lead them through the pitfalls of everyday life that most of us sidestep with ease. unluckily many use religion as a way to form power blocs in a struggle to force their narrow views on the rest of us.

some religion connects people with the illusion of a higher power. it gives them something to blame their problems on and a tidy explanation for everything they find confusing or inexplicable. dependence on religious dogma inhibits the questioning of authority and the search for the logic behind the mysteries of life.

all religion distances people from a higher power within themselves and others. by relegating supreme power to an imaginary deity we stifle the search for the power within ourselves. even though we might have what it takes to change our circumstances for the betterment of mankind, most religions teach that the omnipotence of a god overshadows our puny attempts at redefining our lot in life.


the very act of worshiping that which we cannot understand should be foreign to us. first should come understanding; then, if circumstances warrant it, worship would be a meaningful alternative instead of a primitive reaction to the unknown.