A howl on the wind…

• Those who do not know, and know that they do not know, help them…for they are..but a child in arms.
• Those who know, but know not that they know, awaken them…for they are…but asleep.
• Those who do not know and know not that they do not know, avoid them…for they are…but the fools of yester-year.
• Those who know and know that they know, follow them…for they are…the true masters of our universe.

– unknown author

An essay about my feelings towards religions. This was originally written for a Danish class, but I wrote it in English and subsequently translated it as the idea of writing such an essay had been on my mind for a while.

I am angry. I am actually furious. At who? So called religions; institutionalized systems grounded in, and with reverence for, a supernatural power regarded as creator of the universe. I am angry that people kill, rage, ravage and plunder in the name of a supreme being. That they slaughter others for their god is for the most part against the holy scriptures, so they act for their own will, sake and beliefs, and not their respective god. That they kill themselves, well, that is plain fanaticism, and being fanatic is bad, regardless. They may achieve a certain martyrdom, but what’s good being a martyr when you are dead? You certainly won’t serve your god any longer. Another trait showing fanaticism is that no matter how good arguments you have against their ‘holy actions’ they won’t stop, even if they agree it’s basically wrong, because they must serve the gods will. Of course not all are fanatics, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t in error either.

Churches, synagogues, mosques, temple and the likes; houses of the ‘God’. These buildings today hold the common sense that it’s where you are nearer your god. What a load of manure, to say the least. Why would a supreme being, creator of the universe, ever consider a pile of rocks to be more worthy their presence than, say, my pocket? A supreme being is omnipresent, everywhere all the time, so there wouldn’t be more of ‘God’ just because you walk through some big fancy gates; you can’t exactly lock up your god or its essence. People worship their god in these houses, or do they? I say they actually worship the altar, the figurine and the book; the things they can see in front of them. They might once have truly believed, but at some point they can’t believe without having their symbols of their deity around them. That is weakness of mind.

I am disappointed. I am actually aghast. Yes, with the same religions as before. Some places it has gone so far that people are brainwashed into a stupor and are imprinted with a ‘truth’ that’s very far from this world. These poor souls I pity more than I do others. They are deprived all options of advancing technologically and of extending their knowledge. They are blinded by belief. Belief so strong that it is their truth. That’s not all, though. They bring the same blindness unto their children, and they never consider the possibility that maybe the child should have a better life than they should; it’s just passing on the strict code of behavior and thoughts.

The same blind people have a tendency to seclude themselves from any ‘infidel’ or ‘heathen’, meaning everyone but their own closed circle of max a thousand ‘true’ believers. They will not accept help from outside their circle, and they will not accept anyone leaving the circle. Blind and deaf, what a loss of minds and a waste of time. A twist to this blindness is that the few who are, against odds, broken from their rock solid belief, and shown they have been wrong all along, are devastated to the core of their being. All they have lived for was a lie. I’d not wish that to be the case for my worst enemy.

In a vastly different neighborhood we see people elevating themselves to supreme humans or even gods. How dare they? How can a mortal man ever consider him or herself to be so much more than their fellow humans? Some do it for fame, others for money; both quite good reasons. The rest do it because they actually believe themselves to be supreme. And they are proven wrong time and time again, mostly by a bullet.

I am glad. I am actually thrilled. Still at these religions. It provides some people with great strength to get through the day, and to perform extraordinary good deeds to please their god and secure their place in the afterlife. Religions have a code of honor and a code of solidarity. The followers are expected to behave nicely and show an outwards good image in order to attract more subjects. Some religions also require people to help others, even others of different beliefs. This is all good.

Another thing is that if enough share a religion or belief, then they share a bond. They can go everywhere in the world, meet any race of person, but if they at least believe in the same god then they stand together against the, in some cases hostile, world around them. The unfortunate side effect of this is that these small groups of equal-minded will be secluded by the established society around them.

I am sad. I am actually dismayed. Religions. The negative side of religions can be avoided, and the positive side can be attained without ever believing in any supreme being or creator. Which brings me on to the final aspect: Every human being alive today has its own vision of what exactly ‘God’ is. We all have somehow pieced together a personal religion from other religions and systems of belief. Since no one actually believes the exact same thing, all religions are false.