by Susan Shevlane

Created on: December 20, 2006   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

Religion can be a tool for life, if you use it right. On the other hand it can be destructive, manipulative and soul destroying!

the Bible or other transcripts were not written by God, but by many wise men preaching the word of God. These words were designed to lay down rules and to add purpose to peoples lives. God himself never put pen to paper, but as man evolved and became educated, many of these wise men saw that people were using their "FREE WILL" in ways that would not be prosperous to his fellow mans existence.

So the rule book was formed, stories of how the world was created explained in such a way that the simplest of folk could understand. And the statement that this Omnipotent being who had created the earth and everything on it, including man and woman, was watching everything and sitting in judgment on our every action. That at our death there would be a reckoning of all our sins, and a price to pay for our misdemeanors.

The Holy books call us His children, and thats how religion set out to teach the children the way of a GOOD life.

But man being the way he is, started to use this belief in religion for his own Greed and to promote his own Power.

At first the Kings of the land saw this belief in God and religion as a threat, and tried to destroy it. But later they saw it as an advantage as the belief or faith spread to more and more people.

They began to use it as an excuse for oppression, the more you suffered in this life, the more God loved you and prepared a place for you in heaven. To be put to death for your belief in God would put you into the ranks of becoming a Martyr, and you would go down in history just as Jesus had.

Later it became the reason to make war and to take land. If another country did not believe in the same religion, they had to be conquered, taken over and ruled. If primitive lands seemingly had no religion, they were uncivilized, no better than animals, and therefore either killed or taken for slaves.

All this behavior is a long way from the idea of a rule book for a GOOD life, but that is the nature of mankind!

Then there are the religious maniacs who kill because they "hear the word of God", one of the most famous being Hitler, who tried to eradicate the Jews because he thought God disfavored them. There are many more who commit the crime of murder in the name of God, believing they will 'get off' if they say they 'hear voices'.

Many governments have used religion and the churches to govern their people, until they disliked the power that the clergy held and separated themselves from the connection. King Henry the 8th and his argument with the Pope comes to mind, The church of England was set up just because Henry didn't want the Pope to tell him who, or how many times he could marry.

In this day and age, people are loosing FAITH in many things, Religion, Government, Health service, Police, the list is endless.

Is it because Gods' children are finally growing up? People are making up their own educated minds and looking for alternatives, they no longer want to be manipulated into something they no longer trust.

Myself, well I believe that God and the Devil are acronyms for GOOD and EVIL. I brought my children up in the Catholic faith, but also taught them to make up their own minds about what they believe in, so when they grew up the choice was theirs.

I do not go to church any more because I see the corruption and manipulative powers they hold. My FAITH is in my heart, I do not need some grand building or robed priest to tell me what is right and wrong. I was given Free Will and am going to use it to do the best that I can in this life. If there is an afterlife I wish to enter it with a clear conscience.

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