Sunday, April 12, 2009

Bullshit?


"The more you look around the more you realize something is fucked up...war, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the ice capades..."

Today is Easter, and along with followers of the religion come those whose cynicism pervades throughout the virtual confines of our earthly world.

So is religion truly "bullshit", is Christianity and every religion out there an opium of the masses- or does religion exist...and if so, which one?

Who is right? Which religion is true? Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Animism, Christianity, Hinduism, Jainism, the list goes on, the beliefs go on, but which is right or are they all just plain old facades?

Facades that keep us feeling safe when we are disillusioned in this temporal world of ours. Facades that keep us sane when we feel that everything else in this world is filthy, corrupt, and evil.
Facades that promise us a perfect life after death while we fend and thrive in this not-so-perfect scheme of life.

Bullshit? Arguably, there are many things in life that are bullshit: a lack of universal healthcare, a lack of freedom and equality for all, a lack of fiscal opportunities for all....but when we classify a belief as 'bullshit' is that going too far?

It seems that the only thing we got going these days are our lingering thoughts, opinions, ideals, and beliefs. To take THAT away from people seems almost...heartless, for lack of a better word.

So why classify religion as bullshit- why bother even targeting that realm? Is it because those who are not believers are not kept at rest when passing a church construct whose followers try to lure them into their dogmatic absolutism? Is branding religion as "bullshit" an outward act of loathing all things that we cannot follow because we simply do not see it or feel it the way those who are religious do?

I think that religion should be kept to people without their adamant imposition enveloping our everyday lives. That way, we are all entitled to our own ways of thinking all the while we can keep a level of sanity without having to lash out, brand, or be cynical when it comes to religion.

Can't we all just get along? It seems the pit of many civil, regional, and world wars revolves around the imposition of religion, or lack thereof. Greed, lies, destruction- the Crusades, the 30 Years' War, the Armenian Genocide, Roe v. Wade- despite the time setting, place, and circumstance, religion seems to almost be an underlying factor in all things catastrophic.
Is that a safe conjecture? Am I going too far?

Is George Carlin at fault? There are many videos out there promoting religion, urging people to follow- so is Carlin's adamant refusal to commit to religion too rash? Are his opinions too brutal and cynical? Should he utilize his comedic prestige by calling out something that many hold dear to their hearts- that many simply cannot even live life without?

Seriously, let us set aside our differences and come together as one. It's very possible-- we have definitely had moments throughout these past few centuries where we have been just, civil, and where we have lived in amicable coexistence. A world like this is very much possible.

Bullshit.

2 comments:

àni said...

Oh Rome, you had to end that line with bullshit at the end didn't you?
My view upon your questions: Religion is a means and it is not an end. Means are as different as every individual is unique on this planet, no shoe fits another so perfectly. Therefore, the numerous religions listed above by you are all the means through which people try to conquer the lower self and become the higher self which is a person's essence. The aim of religion has always been that: to conquer the low self of man and to turn him into a being who is purely the conscious parts of the human.
As to the question of why there is so much evil in the world - the solution to this is that man needs to go inward. The aware individual who awakes to the fact that death is the ultimate reality and that it conquers man should be a great shock to the human in order to live the moment fully, rather than taking the another fellow's life for instance. A global revolution or a national which is based on an "idea" can never solve anything, i. e. socialism, democracy, and any other -isms that one can name. The individual needs to be given the freedom of expression and no be controlled, but is our society ready for this? I can count on my fingers the number of individuals that I personally know..

Dr. Phil said...

Religion is a tool. Faith in a higher or greater power, gives the energy and will to those to rise up, as you said Ani. There is a clear distinction between the two. Religion starts wars, creates hate and is a business.