We are born with so much potential to learn and fully understand the universe in which we live according to the scientific principles and natural phenomena which surround us, yet we are burdened with this ancient form of indoctrination from such a young age, occupying so much brain space, limiting knowledge and encouraging dogma. The limitations of religion are endless with no proof to back up the religious beliefs, relying on ancient manuscripts and fear mongering to survive.
I entered university as a Christian, but the deeper I studied the more I doubted my faith until eventually I had to apply logic and reason to this primitive belief structure I had been indoctrinated into when I was too young to make an educated rational decision and took everything as fact. I allowed my mind to be objectively open to everything, which equipped me with rational tools to make an informed decision about how I fitted into this world and what I was truly doing here.
After much introspection and vast literature references I came to the realization that as long as you as an educated primate has a moral compass and live life to the best of your abilities then condemnation and other fictitious principles, stereotypes and dogma all go out the window. Even if it was one day proven that god exists I doubt a good honest person would be condemned to the fires of hell for being skeptical of stories without basic facts attached, but rather receive the mercy upon which Christian faith is based.
How many centuries have people been brainwashed into believing there is a god? That they must serve god and trust in him and die for him and never question? They believe that the creator made them and the entire universe with them in mind. Can you fathom that? How arrogant of these religious humans to postulate that everything was created with them in mind. An entire universe created by the magic man in the sky just for them. Any person questioning these beliefs were murdered, tortured, banished or imprisoned by the religious indoctrinators who had full control of society and the lawmakers. This went on for centuries and only in the last 150 years or so have atheists started publically questioning belief and god. I realize this letter will draw harsh blinkered religious criticism, but freedom of speech is a right, as is belief and faith and nonbelief, but these ideas cannot be exempt from questions and validation.
So often the religious person will say prove there is no god trying to counter the disbelief. If someone has faith in something so extraordinary, the onus is on them to provide evidence and justification for it. We are not obliged to provide evidence against or to counter a person’s extraordinary and unsupported beliefs. The burden of proof lies completely with the believer.
“Russell's teapot, sometimes called the celestial teapot or cosmic teapot, is an analogy first coined by the philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) to illustrate that the philosophic burden of proof lies upon a person making scientifically unfalsifiable claims rather than shifting the burden of proof to others, specifically in the case of religion. Russell wrote that if he claims that a teapot orbits the Sun somewhere in space between the Earth and Mars, it is nonsensical for him to expect others to believe him on the grounds that they cannot prove him wrong. Russell's teapot is still referred to in discussions concerning the existence of God.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell's_teapot)
I have read many comments relating to religious articles published on news24. I see atheists asking for proof and religious people being unable to provide proof, yet believe conclusively that their god exists and that he is real without entering into any intelligent debate or brining scientific proof to the table. Somewhere along the line belief became distorted facts and taught in our schools alongside science and mathematics. I cannot for a second understand that valuable school time was wasted on fairytales and fear mongering. Talk about brainwashing. Howe can young children who do not have the ability to apply logic or reason to indoctrination be subjected to it? Why should our children be burdened with the dogma of bad, ancient ideas?
Put it this way, if you as an adult was told tomorrow having never heard of god that god made the earth, the sky, the rivers, the chickens, the worms and the unicorn to name but a few, that he sent his only son (who was himself) to the earth and them killed him (himself) to save us from sin (that he made) what would you say? I am certain that any rational minded logical human would first ask for proof, because lets face it, this is a massive claim. What could be bigger than stating an omnipotent omnipresent invisible deity created everything out of nothing and man out of dust and rib bones? In fact as I write this it’s beginning to sound like some Hitchcock novel mixed with the lord of the rings.
Yet millions of people blindly go along with this ancient story written by semiliterate dessert dwellers centuries ago. Why is this so? What makes religion void of scrutiny and validation? The religious have no facts at their disposal yet fully and whole-heartedly believe there is a god.
What is however an indisputable fact is that millions of innocent humans have died in the name of "manmade" religion? How can it be something good or divine when it is drenched in more blood than we can begin to imagine let alone quantify?
Christianity is so full of hypocrisy and oxymoron’s that it has become totally diluted, there is so many variations it makes you think Coca-Cola only has two products in comparison. Phrases like pure evil, Immaculate Conception, black angel, righteous sin, saving souls are all oxymoron by definition. If you asked your average Christian what the 10 commandments are they wouldn't know, yet this is one of the corner stones of their faith. Religion needs to be exposed for what it truly is, made by man for the control of man. What better way than to control minds than through fear of eternal damnation and suffering in purgatory.
On a personal note my life has never been fuller and more exciting knowing that I am in total control of myself. This has been a wonderful journey of self-discovery and introspection. I don't believe that all my actions are being watched by a divine creator but rather feel a deep moral ethical obligation to humanity and myself alike. People need to realize that you can stand on your own without the crutch of religion you think gives you strength. Give your own strength some credit for a change. You don’t need faith or belief to be a good father, brother, friend, member of society and decent human being. I have my family, friends and career to live for and nothing to die for.
This is my opinion, however I must stress that an opinion is as valid as a religious one. If you believe something without facts it falls into the realm of opinion, speculation and hearsay. To date there is no evidence supporting the existence of god. Until there is real conclusive evidence it cannot under any laws of logic be regarded as fact. It distorts our thinking and makes us ignorant.
We are evolving out of this primitive form of hypocrisy and bigotry into even higher evolved primates who see themselves as being in total control and not under the spell/influence of some magic man. These are awesome times people and many died allowing us the opportunity to expose religion for the indoctrinated farce it truly is.
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