CHOOSING A RELIGION By SpiritualDictionary.com
People, not God, run religions
Let’s start with what we know. Whichever Religion you follow, we are all a part of God.
Your upbringing was probably based on what your parents believed and some of their experiences. You took this for granted and followed the plan they set out for you. They were doing what they believed was right. If your parents were Cannibals and living in darkest Africa, you would probably be a Cannibal too.
The important part here is that you would be doing ‘What you believe is right’
Spiritualism is not a Religion; it is an understanding of life! Who we are, why we are here, and what our purpose in life is amongst the many answers you will get.
The foundation of most people’s lives is based on Religion.
And the Religion is probably the one that your parents recommended\followed. But have you looked at the full picture? Here are a few examples:
- The real God is God, Jesus, Allah, Mohammed, and ..?
- You cannot worship God in other Churches…only
- Birth control, Divorce, Gay people and eating meat on a Friday is a sin. (Subject to periodic change)
- You cannot eat Pork, or Prawns or meat or Fish etc
- You cannot get to heaven unless you confess your sins
- You are a sinner unless you go to Church at least once a week
- Unless you confess you will burn in hell for the rest of your afterlife.
- Talking to ‘Spirits’ is dealing with the Devil
- Give us a share of your wages every ..and God will look after you.
- Don’t save your child’s life with a blood transfusion…trust in God.
- Make 3 cuts with a knife on your Child’s face when born to keep away evil Spirits.
- Black people can come to our Church but not hold office
- You cannot hold office if you are Black, a Woman, un-circumcised or without a hat on.
Who makes up all these rules? God or religions?
Do you believe for one minute that our all loving, all forgiving God wants us to burn in a fiery pit for the rest of our days, along with a heavyweight with a forked tail, pig’s feet and a pair of horns?
Do you believe that saying 3 Hail Mary’s on a regular basis will get you a 1
st class ticket to heaven, or that God will disown you if you do not pay one of the Churches a share of your hard-earned income?
Religions have come and gone over the years, new ones are starting every day based on what people want to believe, and the rules change all the time. People, not God, run religions. Many priests fervently believe that they have the power to forgive you your sins, and save you from Hell. They truly believe it, but once again based on what they were taught
Religions are mainly ‘Fear based Mythologies’ They are designed to keep you ‘In fear of’ God, and therefore tied to your religion.
Do you think God wants to keep you living in fear? Fear that you are a sinner? Fear that you have broken one of the commandments?
Do you think God wants you to pay Churches (You cannot pay Him) for forgiveness?
Do you think God made the various conditions listed above? The answer can only be ‘NO’
How did this all start? there are many many examples. In 400AD for instance Emperor Constantine was having a hard time keeping the Roman Empire together with its Pagan religion, so he abandoned their sun god (Sun-day) and made a deal with the followers of Jesus who was more popular at the time… to merge the 2 religions and call it Christianity… hence the start of Roman Catholics.
They didn’t have a picture of God so they used a picture from one of their most popular gods being Zeus. It can still be seen in churches today.
How many times have the Catholics changed their rules since? They change to suit the beliefs and morals of the day. And who makes the changes? Is it God or the Pope?
In the 10
th Century Pope Urban 2
nd was asked by the Emperor of Constantinople to send a few Knights to oust the infidels (Followers of Islam) who had recently invaded Jerusalem. Being a bit over-enthusiastic he suggested a Holy Crusade which any good Christian could join in – and offered the following benefits.
If they re-captured the invaded land, they had to hand it back to its owner, but could do a bit of looting at the same time.
They would get all their sins absolved and a guaranteed place in Heaven.
The church would turn a blind eye to ‘Thou shalt not kill’ as long as it was ‘infidels’ which translated as non-believers in the Church.
Around 6 000 took up the initial offer, and started the long trek to Jerusalem – and warmed up their skills by slaughtering a few thousand Jewish people along the way – after all, Jewish could be classified as infidels at a pinch.
When the New Testament was written in the 17
th Century, King James gave 1400-year-old scrolls written in ancient languages to a group of scholars and basically said ‘Make this into a book to control the people based on today’s standards and our beliefs’
They left out many Gospels (unsuitable for the period’s beliefs) and there are gaps when Jesus spent time in India and Tibet. They translated the word ‘Gehenna’ which is a rubbish dump outside of Jerusalem to the word ‘Hell’. Criminals who were executed were thrown into Hell (Gehenna) which continually burned as people burned the towns rubbish there… so, go against the Church and you would burn in hell for the rest of your afterlife.
The New Testament was created to suit the standards and beliefs of the 17
th Century.
The Kings and Queens were the Heads of the Churches, and therefore could get the ‘blessings’ of the church to rule as they wanted to.
Let’s say the same job was to be handled by the Pope, Barack Obama or Nelson Mandela; do you think the results would be the same?
If your religion is the one you want to follow then that is OK…You are doing what you believe is right, therefore it is right for you!
But what happens when you realize that there is more to religion than meets the eye…You search for the right answers, and you will find them.
If you want some advice, get a copy of ‘Conversations with God’…and get some direct answers.
It will certainly open your eyes.
