I believe religion is simple brainwash

From the moment a child is born into a religious family, they are subjected to the belief in God. I myself, was born into a Christian Catholic family and attended church everyday till I was 15. The question that I've asked since the beginning of my memory, has always been why? How is this that and why? Show me. Unfortunately, no one could show a 6 year old that God is real. The response to my questions would usually be something along the lines of "the Bible proves he is real, it's written down as historical fact," or "because what else would have created all of this that you enjoy?" In my 15 years of attending church, I did not believe in God for one second.

What I did observe, is that religion uses the word of God to frighten people into behaving. There are rules and guidelines that people must follow, in order to go to "heaven." I remember people behaving in a certain way all the time, not cussing, and in my teen years, not having sex, because of their faith in God. All that religion really does, is instill regulations to a person, that will be followed in the fear of threat.

Now I used the word brainwash... why? Well, what I was subjected to in addition to God, happened to be alcohol. I believe I had my first beer before the age of 4, and I remember being drunk when I was 8 with my dad and his friends. By 14 I had a serious problem, and couldn't stop myself, I became an alcoholic. My parents told me not to worry, and that it's all natural, so I subjected myself to rehab instead. Thankfully I did, or else I'd still think beer is the same thing as water. This trend is the same in people who observe violence from a very young age. They tend to be more violent themselves when they become older. In looking for the traits of a serial killer, the childhood is generally looked upon, because that is when the mental state of a human will be set. If a person is to believe in God for life, what better time to instill it than when their mind is fresh and a clean slate, knowing nothing else but religion?

In kindergarten, I first learned the world was round, and that we mapped it out using longitude and latitude lines. Our dumb ass teacher, switched the meanings of longitude and latitude... so that we thought the latitude lines ran north and south, and the longitude lines ran long across the whole world (or longest ones on a rectangular map. To this day, when I think of these lines, I still think that that is how it is, and it takes me a few seconds to correct myself. I knew several people in high school who were from that class, and they had the same problem.

I believe, that if people are not introduced to religion until their mind has grown, and until they've had a basic schooling, such as high school, more people would be atheist. Their reason and thoughts would tend to lean away from such a vast claim.


Of course that will never happen, but discuss.

[edit on 30-8-2006 by alpha_omega]

Originally posted by alpha_omega
I believe, that if people are not introduced to religion until their mind has grown, and until they've had a basic schooling, such as high school, more people would be atheist. Their reason and thoughts would tend to lean away from such a vast claim.

Quite possibly. I was brought up in a Christian household, but was fortunate enough to not have my family push their belief system on me or syblings.

But there is a lot more to spirituality than just the major religions. Just because one does not chose to follow one of the larger faiths, does not mean that the only other option is atheism/agnostism. Just got to look inside.

In my view religion (any religion) is nothing more than a "tool" to get behaviour in check - PERIOD !!

To say one religion is the right one over another is foolish and to say that one religion is the only one is too also crazy !

Any idiot off the street can form a religion and its belief system - as has been proven in the past and there are always suckers who follow blindly singing hymns all the way !!


just my 2 cents worth.....





[edit on 30-8-2006 by Alpha Grey]

Originally posted by Alpha Grey
In my view religion (any religion) is nothing more than a "tool" to get behaviour in check - PERIOD !!

To say one religion is the right one over another is foolish and to say that one religion is the only one is too also crazy !

Any idiot off the street can form a religion and its belief system - as has been proven in the past and there are always suckers who follow blindly singing hymns all the way !!


just my 2 cents worth.....

Damn right!

The odd thing about the behavior check, to force you to act a certain way, is that violence erupts from it. How many wars and how many attacks are religion driven? A lot.


Oh, and, this thread is not some new idea... like , but merely something all of us probably have in common, yet I've never seen a discussion about it.

I don't agree that religion is brain wash, but i belive that the religions basics was transformed by mans hand to be used like a brainwash tool.
Humanity and the ones in social power positions, never loose a good oportunity to use whatever they can to control us. i belive some one in the past had the idea that it was good to twist what great mans like Christ our Buda teached us, in order to have more control over people.

Alpha, I agree that if we were introduced at a later age we wouldn't buy it.

It's indoctrination, a forcing of beliefs... and if you don't believe (according to them) you'll go to hell.

My parents think I will most likely go to hell, having fallen away from the church. It saddens me that they're sad, which is why I still go to church with them to make them a tad happy, but they know I just do it for them. I don't believe, and therefore unless I find a way to make myself believe I'm damned in their eyes.

Being homeschooled and not allowed to associate with normals kids sucks too. I missed my teen years completely. All because of some stupid religion that was forced upon me. Not to mention the depression I went through, thinking that when every time something bad happened in my life it was god punishing me.

What a horrible way to grow up. I would never force religion on my children.

Besides, if you don't choose the religion for yourself, then as far as I'm concerned you aren't really religious, just going through the motions.

Originally posted by alpha_omega

I believe, that if people are not introduced to religion until their mind has grown, and until they've had a basic schooling, such as high school, more people would be atheist. Their reason and thoughts would tend to lean away from such a vast claim.

Perhaps. Atheism is a bit of a stretch for me though. I believe if religion was taught at a later stage in life more people would become spiritual anarchists, which is what I am. I have written on this topic and do agree with you on many things.

Here are my thoughts on it:

The conspiracy that is religion.

What I find encourageing is that more and more people seem to be opening their eyes to the truth about religion.

wupy


[edit on 30-8-2006 by mrwupy]

Unfortunately there are a lot of corrupt people out there... Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists... whatever... all have hypocrites and bad minded people... so therefore all churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, science labs etc... have hypocrites and bad minded people in them. Doesn’t prove that Christianity is bad no more then it proves science is bad.

We all go through life meeting good and bad people... i was scared away from God, when i was a young teenager, by stupid people preaching rubbish... luckily for me i found my own way back and made my peace with God. Do not make the mistake i made... God is in YOUR heart not another mans mouth... look within you and you will find God.

I often hear people say...

"How can you believe in a God when there is no proof??"

I reply that i have Faith... and they will say...

"Faith?? HA... Science gives me answers, the truth, Religion gives us War!!"

No... Science gives us theories which are often later disproved, therefore scientists also rely on faith. Religion does not cause wars, mans misinterpretation of religion, and corruption of religion, cause wars... Science built the atomic bomb... not God!!

Religion can be used to brainwash when it is used incorrectly... science can kill millions when used incorrectly... Man is the problem, not God!

Originally posted by RealRasta

No... Science gives us theories which are often later disproved, therefore scientists also rely on faith. Religion does not cause wars, mans misinterpretation of religion, and corruption of religion, cause wars... Science built the atomic bomb... not God!!

Religion can be used to brainwash when it is used incorrectly... science can kill millions when used incorrectly... Man is the problem, not God!

I thought God was supposed to have created Man...Why create something that will turn out to be such a problem?

I thought God was supposed to have created Man...Why create something that will turn out to be such a problem?

God gave us freewill... We are Gods children.

I have Children... they have freewill... i created them... they cause me problems

But i love them anyway... i would not want preprogrammed children that do not have the ability to make a choice. I want my children to love me because they choose to... not because they are programmed to. Sometimes my children make mistakes and that part of the learning process... i still love them.

Originally posted by RealRasta
"Faith?? HA... Science gives me answers, the truth, Religion gives us War!!"

No... Science gives us theories which are often later disproved, therefore scientists also rely on faith. Religion does not cause wars, mans misinterpretation of religion, and corruption of religion, cause wars... Science built the atomic bomb... not God!!

Science gives us possible answers with fair grounds to believe them. They're actually based off of something, not just dreams and thoughts. God is a full-proof answer for religious people, where as science isn't. Nobody can disprove God, as theories can be disproven.

Eh I agree, and i figured out everything you stated at the age of 14, the age i officialy stopped attenting church. My family frowned upon me, but i sinceraly discussed it with them, gave them my ideas and they could'nt back anything they said up, expect pull out the magic word, "faith". No, i don't believe in God because since God can do everything, can he fold a piece of paper more then 7 times? Can't God just protect us for once? Why can't God save thousands of lives? Where was he, on a coffe break? I also had a #ty childhood, really bad one, beign neglected, forced on the streets and locked out my own house because my drunk parents would forget i was out and lock the doors. but i'm over that but MANY times i questioned, why is this happening to me, God? No anwser ever, things only got better when i took action, and thats life. Religion can be called brainwashing but its more like keeping people in check, making people live good lives, religion is a really good idea, but i just don't fall for ideas anymore.

yea religion is definitely used as a tool to seperate the world.
we are all one... but war and technology make us unable to notice this..
G*D doesnt protect people... protecting would be a human characteristic, and god isnt human. god IS part of you and i and everything that lives and exists. 5dimensional lightbeings/angels are the ones that help protect us... well at least certain people...

even tho the bible says god created man in his image..... there are 2 different gods in the bible... just had to get that cleared up.

the reasons we have so many problems is because we are missing a WHOLE lot of truth, that we should all know. it should be common knowledge.

we are living a world of one god. a masculine god. this is why we are having problems. becuase there are 2. of course the other is the feminine goddess.

there are many reasons why this is being hidden from us.... mostly because of the potential every single one of us possess, and is waiting to be activated. we can be anywhere in the galaxy, or even the universe. we can talk and be with multiple people in different dimensions. we can do anything.

but we believe this is it. we have based our whole life strictly on this physical world, and theres more to this existance than what we think we can see or feel.

the masculine god/energy also= the physical
feminine goddess/energy= spiritual


the reptilians are the ones who live for one god. they are only left brain beings.and they do not possess even close the potential of us. there scared of us. why else would they have to trick us and confuse us? becuase they cant openly enslave us or else we'd all unite, and go against them.... thats why they are tricking us now and making us against ourselves.

once we all balance, and find both energies in ourselves... we will transform from flesh to spirit.

I debate the conclusions of this thread and those like it for the simple fact that so many reject their faith when they come of age anyway. Obviously brainwashing did not take place to an extent that it worked, so I have a hard time accepting the brainwashing concept of religion.

I did the same thing, rejected for some pretty good reasons, the blind following of what and how I was taught. However, after decades of being "spiritual" without the perceived need of a church structure, something promted me to start praying again. Just praying, daily devotions, etc. and reading as much as I could about the Church I had been raised in (not all the teachings that led me away in the first place, but the core teachings of the Church I was never taught. When all was said and done, I was back in the Church, not because someone made me, because I finally understood the Church I had rejected was not the Church I thought it was and my reasons for rejecting it were flat out unfortunate teachings and misperceptions of it, because, well, man is not perfect and man does have a great influence on the Church at large, and in the modern world, it is very easy to have a misunderstanding of the truths in your Church.

Anyway, having come full circle (and fully understanding where many of the posters are coming from, because I used to be that person) I can only say this. I wonder how many people who reject the Churches they walk away from even really know that Church. They spend a lot of time researching other paths that confirm their gut reaction without looking at the other side, which would be getting over the Church they think they know and going to sources that present the real truths that have gotten lost in modern man's perception of it.

Not to worry, follow your path, but if you ever want to find the real truth, you do have to stay open to the fact that you may not have found the final answer yet. The spiritual path must allow room for growth, so if somewhere along the lines the God (resting or active) inside of all of our souls has half a chance to lead you home at some point.

Just what I learned along the way.

divine chronic - that was all opinions... with nothing to back it up. I do however, believe in a mental world, based off of the findings I've had with RV.

Relentless - You are an intelligent man.

Originally posted by alpha_omega
Relentless - You are an intelligent man.

That would be WOman

Thx

Originally posted by alpha_omega
divine chronic - that was all opinions... with nothing to back it up. I do however, believe in a mental world, based off of the findings I've had with RV.

Relentless - You are an intelligent man.

they are opinons based on a years worth of research on this stuff..

RV is awesome, ive done it numerous times. i came up with a system to guess random numbers to win lotto, but im too busy to take time to do it.

so if my reply was just opinions, that gives it no credit? what is a fact to you? if someone came up to you and told you certain things about the world and what is going on would you believe them? does a fact have to be written and seen?
what about when there is a time when we have no computers or forms of literature. what will facts be? its all about perception. and what you want to believe is true or not.

all i know is that there will be tons and tons of confusion coming in this decade. people beliefs will forever be changed. whats going on with the war, and global warming, and our economy... alot is going to change, and i think religion will change too. more and more people are becoming aware, and will learn that we are not living with earth but against it. and we will hopefull become our true spiritual being and save our planet.
i also think the fake alien invasion will scare millions of people into uniting a government.

Very well said indeed

In the town I lived in when I was young I went to christian school. My family was the only non-christian people in the entire town. In school and everywhere I went the religon was forced on me. As a class we had bible study. At the end of a reading the teacher would ask"Any questions?". For a long time no one had any. Then one day I asked "How do you know if any of that is true?" (note' I was in grade 2 at the time) This is what I got as a repliy "GO SIT OUT SIDE UNTIL CASS IS OVER!". Sice that moment I completly lost any belief or faith in christianity. I stopped going to church after that and people said I wouldn't go to heaven. I didn't care because, honistly heaven doesn't sound that great to me. You site up there in lala land for the rest of eturnity having no need to eat or do anything. Then what is the point of existing like that. I believe you exist to accomplish things, and I think you won't get that in heaven. For along time after that I hated christianity and christians. Now I am more easy going about it. I now know there are good christian people and bad ones but, I still ignor the ones who try to push it on me. I am gald I moved from that town.

Originally posted by divine chronic
RV is awesome, ive done it numerous times. i came up with a system to guess random numbers to win lotto, but im too busy to take time to do it.

Im sorry I just had to reply to this utter drivel. You came up with a method to win the Lotto but are too BUSY to make it work. Hmmm too BUSY to win millions ????????

all i know is that there will be tons and tons of confusion coming in this decade. people beliefs will forever be changed.... .... save our planet.
i also think the fake alien invasion will scare millions of people into uniting a government.

Where is your head at? Fake alien invasions?? Dont you think these people have got better things to do?


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