The truth about religion

I can't imagine why it wasn't obvious to me before: religion serves to control the minds of people and enslave them to society. Rousseau is right, and I have him to thank for this insight. That's the cloud that fogs your mind when you are born and raised into a community where the most radical questioning of religion still focuses on doctrine. Duh!

So I spent the latter half of my first 18 or 19 years kicking against the institution of religion, but it's taken me another 10 years to realise why religion exists at all.

It is worth noting, too, that Christian religion in particular has another deceptive method: the fear of God. Ever wondered about that expression, "putting the fear of God into someone"? Well that sort of mixes cause and effect into truth.

The principle is best illustrated with Pascal's famous wager. From the perspective of eternity our lives are but like a drop of water in the sea. Considering the consequences isn't it better to believe in God, just in case he exists? The argument seemed entirely reasonable to him, but from my understanding to concede the point admits to fear of God. That is to say, the vicious cycle of fear claims even the reasonable sceptic.

Having said that agnosticism remains in my view the only feasible logical position: it is impossible to either prove or disprove the existence of God scientifically. But I firmly believe in entertaining and accommodating numerous beliefs, including Christianity. Those are the fruits of many years, people, so eat, weep, and be happy.