I guess I should put up what I believe.
Central to all religion is unconditional love. The power of faith orbits around that nucleus. I honor and learn from all people's traditions, but I share a certain relationship with my own. I don't think my religion is the pure, monopoly on Truth. I know that I haven't found a method to reason away God. I guessing most Christians wouldn't consider me a Christian if we got into a real conversation. I accepted a long time ago that people don't think like I do and I don't expect them to.
I agree with most of the sentiments made so far, in actuality. Some of Jesus' teachings have been removed or manipulated to fit a power structure. Instead of being taught how to believe, people are taught what to believe. There's a big difference.
In terms of religion starting wars, mass mind control, etc. I think you could easily replace "God" with some other concept that unifies people to do what you want. The actual religion doesn't have much to do with it. |