Religion is Simply a Tool

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.
-Seneca

How true (and flawlessly elucidated)! Now to really drop the bomb....I do not believe in today's take of religion. I think it is a money grabber, just like most other things. I believe that it was created because at the time, there were few strict governing bodies. You simply belong to the monarch of your village. Some innovative genius came up with the idea of a shared belief to rule the people. So to make sure the people did what (he) wanted, he told them, if you don't abide by my rules, you will be sent to "hell". The perfect ultimatum. Nobody could prove him wrong, and they wanted to live the good life, so they went along with him. He created a story. I wont go into detail picking apart the Bible because so many others have, but I will say, whoever created it may not have been the first. I implore you to read this .

It would be hard for me to live my life based off something that doesn't have any empirical evidence, instead, it relies on my faith to function. And if it doesn't function, they say you're not giving enough faith; kind of a Catch-22. Now, for those of you arguing "Why do you need evidence for something to be real? Who doesn't believe in a soul?" Read the Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil. It goes into detail of what the "spirit" really is. It is simply a lucky sum of chemical bonds with our neurons. Consciousness? Well that is explained too. There is science telling us what a spirit is. Why would I devote my life to something that can substantiate itself? If it were that important, it would get its facts straight!! (Refer to movies in aforementioned article).

As for the "healing" powers of religion, sure there's some merit there. People have claimed to rise from their hospital bed after being in a paralyzing or debilitating condition, by believing in a god. It doesn't matter what you believe in, as long as you think it will heal you. Some of you may be familiar with The Secret. Agreeably, it says that the power of the mind is one of the greatest tools we possess. When the mind is in such a desperate state as in a hospital bed, it will realize its powers. Whether you believe in god, yourself, your child, or the flastscreen TV in front of your bed, it doesn't matter. The fact that you think you will get healed (may) heal you.

I just don't understand why people continue with religion today. Is it the fear that they will end up in the underworld? Is it their hope that religion will guide them to the good life? Are they so lost, that prayer is the only constant in their life? Maybe they don't realize how much money the churches are sucking from them. Famous television evangelists have said, "Buy my DVD to achieve enlightenment!" Or you will find books entitled, "The Secret to a Happy Life." They all tell the same old tale...

Consider who the wisest people in history are. Most of them have been known to delve into philosophy, if not, concentrate solely on philosophy. How many philosophers believed in religion? Find out here. In fact, some well known ancients have died in opposition to religion. As we know, impiety was cause of serious charges, and the most relevant case here may be Socrates' death. Again, philosophers are some of the most well-regarded, revered people. If 3/4 of them do not believe in a god, doesn't that say something about religion?

Theft the Only Sin?

…There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft… When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.

– From The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Think about how differently theft is treated in different countries. There are still people today who cut someone's arm off for stealing goods. But what defines one's possession of something? A wife: is it the ring? Your unquantifiable love? A television: because its in your house? Because you paid for it? Your music: because you downloaded it without being caught? Because you paid a $1 for it?

The debate over web-processed materials this decade is raging, and will only get worse. Once something is available on the internet, does the creator give up the rights to it? Absolutely not, but how can we track it? Is it yours if you didn't pay for it? Is it yours if you downloaded it from someone else? No.

Anything free is the result of an imbalanced transaction, stealing or not. Even clothes or food offered by Red Cross is the result of an imbalanced transaction. They received donations from people who were willing to give up some of what they had for nothing in return (it is arguable that they did it for altruistic reasons, but we can get to that in a second).

If I were a popular musician with my music selling on the web, I would feel at a loss if I found out people were downloading it for free. Traditionally (as in, before the web), there would be an exchange of goods; my musicianship for your money. However, it is hopeless to try to police the web at this point.

Back to the quote...is everyone born with these rights? The right to a life, family, the truth, fairness and equality? Refer to Socrates' argument in The Republic when asked of Justice. Cephalus says that Justice is speaking the truth and repaying what one has borrowed. Socrates counters that by basically saying, sure they have the right, but it would be unjust to give back a weapon to a man who went mad. If a neighbor gone crazy came to your door asking for his axe back, would you give it to him?

So you can lose your right to certain things? Does a murderer lose his right to life when he is sentenced to death row? Does a man lose his right to a wife when he beats her?