The Bad Side of Good Religion -By Charles Umerie

Religion has wounded humanity more than it healed it. According to Wikipedia, Religion is any cultural system of worship, including designated behaviors and practices, world views, texts, places, ethics, or organizations that relate humanity to the supernatural or transcendental. There are about 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, but I will base this essay on the three largest ‘at the moment’, being Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.

The reason I had to put ‘at the moment’ is to let people understand that religion is a thing of culture, and culture is a way of life of a particular group of people at a particular time. And this particular time (21st Century), Christianity, Islam and Hinduism are the largest religions.

We all know that cultures come and go, and maybe next millennial when most of the present day cultures have gone, what do you think will happen to these present religions? Many people today allow themselves to be misled by religion, which makes them believe that once you identify with any particular religion, it automatically qualifies you for some reward, and the rest of the other people that identified with other religions are wrong, and should be punished.

Even in this 21st Century, we are still dealing with the same problem. For example; people that believe in ‘Religion 2’ still think it is okay to kill or hate people that believe in ‘Religion 3’ because they aren’t the ‘true religion’. But the same people of ‘Religion 2’ have forgotten or didn’t know that about 10,000 to 20,000 years ago, there was a religion called ‘Religion 1’ that would have also killed or hated both ‘Religion 2’ and ‘Religion 3’ if it was still around.

Every religion teaches they are the ‘true religion’, and some religions even urge their devotees to humbly accept the persecutions they face in the hands of the other religions! We are short sighted, and that’s why we are under the chains of religion. I believe in Jesus Christ just like any other person that believes in what they believe in. But I have no right to tell another man that what he believes in is wrong, and he should come believe in what I believe in. We are human beings, and we are just a ‘little higher’ than animals. In as much as we preach ‘faith’ in all our religions, I don’t think there’s a man alive that can boast he/she has attained ultimate faith in what they believe in. We still need a sign or reason to believe in anything.

For example; when I use the calculator to do some calculation, and it gives me an answer, I will believe the answer is right because I have used the calculator so many times and understand it gives only the right answers. But let’s assume I didn’t know anything about a calculator, and it was given to me do some calculations, there’s no way I will believe in whatever answers it gives me because I haven’t seen enough reason or sign to trust it. But after a certain time with the calculator, I will start understanding how it works and start believing in its answers. That’s how religion is. For someone to give up his freedom as a person, and choose to live in a certain way or do some certain things in the name of religion, that means they must have found something/reason/sign that made believe in that religion. Their prayers must have been answered in that particular religion they believe in, so you have no right to tell them their religion is the wrong one just because your own prayers were also answered in the one you believe is the true religion.

In the olden days, the Egyptians and Greeks built pyramids, temples and cities that would cost billions of dollars today, just to support their religion and what they believe in. Their prayers must have been answered in some certain ways, and that gave them enough courage to go through all those trouble building what they built for their gods.

The Mongols, Scythians, early Egyptians and various Mesoamericans practiced human sacrifice to please their gods. Even though some of those people sacrificed were family members and friends, the people still had to do it. That’s to show you how much they believed in their religion. In recent times, those people that made those sacrifices would be called ‘pagans’ or simply branded as people that would go to ‘hell’. But is it their fault they were born into that religion you don’t like? Nobody chooses where or to whom they would be born to. Let’s assume you were born in that era, would you pass the same judgment on yourself? Is it their fault they didn’t know about your ‘true religion’? Why condemn them to this ‘hell’ you think that is meant for other people that don’t believe in your religion? The real question you should really ask yourself is; is there really a ‘hell’ or is it just ‘your hell’?

Nobody has these answers, and as long as humans still exist, so will this religion problem that has divided humanity more than it built it. Today, a certain group of people still believe that ‘God’ wants them to hate or kill all the people that don’t worship Him the way they do. They bomb other people breathing and living just like them in the name of religion. If you think you know God that much and know He wants you to hate or kill people for him, then I have questions for you about God’s way. Why is the earth the third planet? Why is the sun positioned where it is in the universe? Why do we have only two genders? What is gravitational force? Why are the other planets, moons and sun positioned at the places they are so they would be perfect for earth to have humans?

All these were created by God, and they have been around for millions of years; way before man existed. If you can’t understand these physical things we see, how then can you understand God’s spiritual will and know he wants you to hate or kill people. Religion is very heavy, and I strongly believe every man should carry his religious load by himself. But when you start forcing other people into your religion, making your religion affect their life, and making them carry your religious load, then that’s what I call a cowardly act. Let God do the judging because no one alive has the answers. I, as any other person, have my own beliefs, and I will live by it. It’s only left for God to decide who worshiped in the right way or not.

The funny part is that most of these present day religions teach almost the same thing. Their teachings revolve around doing ‘good’ and loving your neighbor. If we are both given the same task to do good and love our neighbors, why then do you hate me just because you don’t understand what I saw in this religion I chose to identify with?