My thoughts my opinions

Philosophy, religion and myth have always been a hot topic for debate. I personally am not religious, but spiritual. I don’t believe in myths, but I find them to be intriguing. And I am an aspiring philosopher. My views on these topics come from my own personal studies, research and life experiences.

I’ve heard before that religion gave rise to myth, but I disagree. People throughout time have always looked for something to believe in, something to answer the unknown. Things that presently make perfect sense to us were something like a phenomenon to them. The sun rising in the east and setting in the west, a drought, a bountiful harvest or even albinism. They were all either a gift or curse from the unknown. Myths such as Greek mythology inspired people, and at that time, that was what they needed to be successful. Something to believe in, something to make themselves stand out from all the rest. Myth in a lot of ways is similar to religion. Having something/someone to believe in, worship and sacrifice to. Except myth was less strict and way too fictional. Their gods did humanly things, whereas in religion the God is divine.

Religion in my opinion is the biggest form of brainwash to ever be unveiled on mankind. Bear in mind, I don’t see religion and spiritualism in the same light. I once read a Gandhi quote on a t-shirt that read “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Religion is corruption. More people have died at the hand of religion than anything else in history. It’s the easiest way to get a large group of people to get together and stand for one cause. At the base of it, there is always a man. Whether it’s a Pope, Preacher, Pastor, Imam, Rabbi, etc. They all play a role in the brainwashing. Some say “secret societies rule the world.” Well this is no secret, yet too many are blind to it. The Bible for example is full of myth. (Based on the definition of myth from several sources.) Stories such as Moses parting the Red sea or Jesus walking on water cannot be proven and yet they believe. Religion teaches one to have faith in the unseen, to do God’s will, and to believe in His word. His word, delivered to us by man. It teaches that we were created in the likeness of God and were given free will. But why would we be given free will, just to do God’s will? Free will, learning, comprehending, rationalizing and understanding are the attributes that separate us from the other animals that share this planet. Religion takes that away, mentally enslaving a person from being able to see past their beliefs, beliefs that have no facts to back them, beliefs that billions have died for and millions continue to die for, beliefs that have been disproven through science and common sense. And yet they believe.

I took the time to study the Bible and the Koran. Read them both cover to cover several times each, and what I found was simple, it was written by man to control man. Each page contradicts another and because some of the teachings in them don’t quite fit into today’s society, they just tend to leave them out. It talks about stoning women to death because of pre marital sex. Homosexuality as an abomination to the Lord. And yet they too believe in religion, reading through a book that clearly condemns them to hell. If the God they preach about is supposed to be all knowing, all powerful and wise, wouldn’t He foresee all of this? Would He let them suffer so? Why do they continue to practice a religion that is clearly against them? This leads me to spiritualism.

I’ve stated before that I am not religious but spiritual. It took many years of experience and reading to realize the difference. I know that I didn’t put myself here and that there is something much greater than myself out there. Humans, no matter how intelligent we are, didn’t create planets, animals or the elements of life. That was in existence before us. To try to give an identity to our creator is a down play to me. It’s something that’s in everything and everyone. It’s the light as well as the dark. I believe a person’s mind should be at balance, peace and tranquility. Knowing right from wrong or how to treat your fellow man should be second nature. When you’re a spiritual person you feel free, your mind is at peace. You worship and praise in your own way because you feel it deep down inside you. I disagree with another human being dictating how we should worship our God. I will dress how I please, sacrifice whatever I choose and pray whenever I feel like it. I utilized my free will, while acknowledging that I do have a God in my life.

Philosophy on the other hand is something more complex. Philosophy came from the people that were able to think outside the box. The people that wouldn’t just accept the answers that someone else dictated to them as being fact. Philosophers challenged myth, poked holes in religion, and gave people freedom of mind. A lover of wisdom and knowledge. To seek out the truths in everything. And because philosophy has no boundaries, it can’t be confined in such a small space such as religion or myth. One can be a philosopher of many different things, including religion. Everything in philosophy doesn’t have to make perfect sense, it’s not always about being right. Like in science, one can hypothesize. Philosophy is about freeing your mind. It’s enlightenment and enrichment of the mind.

Each of the three plays an important role in the history of mankind, and at times they often complement one another. Some philosophers throughout history believed in myth. Some were religious. But it’s really hard to compare the three together. Religion and myth share common ground in that they both gave reason for worship and praise to a God or gods. But philosophy did not. In fact it challenged religion and myth, just like any other science. Defying the teachings of the church. Not to say there isn’t a God, but what man is teaching about that God isn’t really true. I guess because it has always been frowned upon to speak negatively about God or blaspheme, it was always wise to bite their tongue so to speak. Especially at a time when such a thing was illegal and punishable by death. Neither religion nor philosophy can answer all the questions, some things we probably just weren’t meant to know. But science thus far has given us our best answers to a lot of things that religion just couldn’t do.

I grew up attending a Nazareth Church, and every Sunday I had a handful of questions for my Sunday school teacher. Questions she herself couldn’t answer, and I was repeatedly sent to talk to the pastor. The pastor would try his best to explain the scripture to me. Try to make sense of the madness. One day finally he realized that the brainwashing wasn’t working and he said to me, “stop questioning God and have Faith in him.” That was when it sank in to me that he himself had no idea what he was talking about.

Today I have faith. Not that Jesus will come back from heaven to collect us. Or that I’ll hear a trumpet. But faith in there being something greater than all of this waiting for us in the afterlife. I can’t accept life just coming and going with no greater purpose than just that. We live, we die the end. I can’t believe that. My faith is strong, although like you said “just because we believe in something doesn’t mean it’ll be true.” But I have nothing to lose by believing in something.

I didn’t quote anything other than something I read on a t-shirt. Fact is, I love philosophy, mythology and the study of religion. I’ve read hundreds of books on the topics, way too many to list. I was raised in a Christian household as well, and at an early age I started reading mythology. I found nothing more fascinating than the stories supreme beings co-existing with man. As a teenager I strayed away from the church because they weren’t answering my questions. On top of that, it was cramping my style. Apparently, everything I wanted to do, God didn’t approve of. So I left and went out to do all of the ungodly things I desired.

I was introduced to philosophy through mythology. I was intrigued by the way ancient philosophers thought and how they would debate on topics, defied societies by being able to think. I felt like I could relate to them in so many ways. I always pondered on things unanswered or the answers I was given that didn’t make sense. I don’t always expect to find my answers, but I refuse to just accept the answers fed to me.