Surviving Religion

Both the very best and the very worst of what it is to be human comes from religion, all religions.

I would say the best that comes from religion in general is kindness, brotherhood and sisterhood. These three things are the very foundation of all civil societies that actually work on earth.

The three worst things that come from religion are insanity, suicide and mass murder.

For example, it is my belief that religion makes more people crazy that almost any single thing on earth. Religion is probably both the best drug and the worst drug on earth.

And that is the problem. How can something that brings meaning to people's lives be bad. And here is where the whole thing gets screwy.

If one doesn't have a cultural background that doesn't in some way have its roots in some religion that culture doesn't tend to operate very well. Let me give some examples. Because of the outlawing of religion in the old Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and China there was a lot of good accomplished and people were able to let go of stuck places that had existed for thousands of years. The negative side was that all these people had a much higher suicide rate during these years also because of it.

Because of God and religion are outlawed where do you turn to solace when sick, ill, friends and relatives die etc.? For me, this was the biggest flaw with Godless systems. On the other hand look at what we have been dealing with in Ireland and the Middle east for hundreds if not thousands of years. When religion gets so entrenched that brother is killing brother for hundreds and thousands of years there is something seriously wrong with that.

So, finding balance is what I would say is important. Be kind to yourself, your loved ones, help other people but also realize that if your religion or teacher is telling you to kill yourself or others then maybe that is not a good thing or even a good religion or even a good priest or minister. Only by being a kind and rational and educated adult can we have a world civilization that actually works.