Ex Catholic here. Catholic schools through grade 12; Catholic seminary studying to be a priest 4 years undergrad plus 2 years grad school. Raised three children as Catholic. Loyally went to Mass. Taught Religious Education classes. Finally, at age 65, saw the light and cast off the BS of religion. Doubts had been creeping in, but I held back for years because I thought: "How will I manage without religion?"
Six years ago, I held the love of my life in my arms when he took his last breath (leukemia). Fortunately, we had both shed the BS of religion. Therefore, our last weeks together, knowing the end was near, were filled with peace and love. No regrets.
Religion is not about god. Religion is not about doing good and avoiding evil. Religion is about wielding power, wealth, and privilege. The historical trend toward humans becoming better humans was brought about IN SPITE of religious people, not because of them. It was the Jewish/Christian god who said: "put to the sword all the men. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves." Deuteronomy 20:13.
The religious people in South Africa supported apartheid.
The religious people in the USA supported slavery. Else why are there white and black "christian" churches in the USA?
Chaos without god? YGBSM.
Which group is god's chosen people? Which group has the right answer? Each religion says it the way, the truth, and the life. How can they all be right? If it doesn't matter, then why all the bickering?
Religious institutions have hijacked tribalism. If you're a member of the in-group, you can be treated with compassion. If you're a member of the out group, anything goes. The Mishnah says that if there were nine Jews and one heathen in a group, and an Israelite threw a stone at the heathen and killed all nine Jews by mistake, it was okay; he was not guilty of murder. In support of this idea, Catholic theologian (and saint) Thomas Aquinas said in his Summa Theologica that if doing something morally okay has a morally bad side-effect, it's okay to do it providing the bad side-effect wasn't intended; even if you foresaw that the bad effect would probably happen. (Summa, article 7)
Some people think of god as compassionate and think that religious people should likewise be compassionate, as illustrated by Matthew 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."
Unfortunately, this personal projection of god is not shared by the religious people, whose projection is illustrated by Matthew 13:41 "The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Throughout history, religious people have been consistent in insisting: those who "cause sin" and "do evil" are those who fail to "completely submit." Religious people cultivate fear and willful ignorance. It is their mantra. It is their retreat from self-honesty; it is their refusal to face the world as it is.
God is just your wishful thinking.
The god of the white supremacists is their wishful thinking, and that god is a nasty, horrible, murderous beast.
The god of the people who want to destroy this website is just their wishful thinking. And that god is full of hate.
Religious organizations are businesses.
Their aim is to make money and gain power.
Their victim is you.
The religion industry exists to take money and gain power FROM you. Priests, bishops, imams, clerics, ministers, preachers, vicars, reverends, evangelists, friars, rabbis: all of them make money and gain power by getting you to submit to their whim. Their aim is to manipulate you with fear and emotion. They will encourage you to feel guilt and elation because every time you do, they make money and gain power. They use the stagecraft and theater of religious ceremony to make you feel guilt and elation. They gladly assist you in mismanaging your life choices by pretending there is a god until you're desperate, just so they can get more money and gain more power. Your success in becoming a more fulfilled human being is completely irrelevant. Your existence, your purpose in life, is to serve as a means for them to aggrandize themselves with privilege, money and power.
If religious organizations actually helped you become more authentic and self-actualized, they'd be driving themselves out of business.
And they have no intention of letting that happen.
Religious people are marketing masters. They keep the prize just out of reach. The idea isn't to attain what they're selling, but to keep you chasing it so that you'll keep buying their bullshit.
The more confused you are, the more money they make and power they gain.
The more short-sighted you are, the more money they make and power they gain.
The more desperate you feel, the more money they make and power they gain.
The luckier you feel, the more money they make and power they gain.
The religion industry wants you to be fearful and feel guilt. Your fear and guilt is their path to power and income. The more fear and guilt you feel, the more you turn to them for help. You seek their advice and you contribute to their wealth. Every penny you pay into the religion industry (either directly or by exempting them from taxes), the richer and more powerful you make them and the poorer and weaker you become.
For its leaders, religion is the easy road to self-aggrandizement by exploiting the gullible and the science illiterates for their own gain.
Give me your money and I will give you comfort in thinking that you have an invisible friend who will take care of you. Give me your money and I will promise you happiness that will last forever . . . after you die. No refunds and no returns when you discover that it was all a lie.
The most liberating event of my life was to walk away from all the BS of religion.
