AMERICAN BISHOP EXPLAINS HOW RELIGION IS ‘MADE UP’ & USED TO CONTROL PEOPLE
ARJUN WALIAMAY 31, 2016
Religion is a controversial topic, and I’d like to preface this article by saying that it is not my aim to belittle or diminish anyone’s beliefs. My problem is not with faith but with religion as an organization, which has been used as a means of control, to pit people against each other, and to incite terror and war. Religion in this context serves the purposes of many various global elitist agendas.
Religion is also confusing, to say the least; within several different religions exist different ‘sects,’ each with their own teachings and version of the ‘truth’ and how to live one’s life. Within Christianity alone, there are multiple versions of the Bible, and teachings that contradict one another. What one religion says in one part of the world may directly oppose what another says in a different part of the world. This alone is a recipe for feelings of confusion and isolation for anybody who is seeking ‘the truth.’ If various religions preach different ways of life and truths, they all can’t be correct, can they? I guess that’s why they call it faith.
Below is a video of Jon Shelby Sponge, a retired American bishop of the Episcopal Church, discussing these problems. He argues that religion is a business and it is used as a control mechanism (and he’s not the first insider to do so). We can see this happening most clearly in the rise of Islamophobia. Islam has been turned into a scapegoat, a target at which we can direct all our fears and anger, and an excuse to invade other countries and create a more intense global national security state. But the truth is, Islam has nothing to do with violence or terrorism. These manufactured fears are all part and parcel of ‘false flag’ terrorism, which you can read more about here if you are unfamiliar with the concept.
In the video, Sponge affirms that “religion is always in the control business, and that’s something people don’t really understand. It’s in the guilt producing control business.”
He then goes on to describe the problem with religion as an organization:
Every church I know claims that we are the true church, and they have some ultimate authority. . . . The idea that the truth of God can be bound in any human system by any human creed by any human book, is almost beyond imagination for me. God is not a Christian, God is not a Jew or a Muslim or a Hindu a Buddhist; all of those are human systems which human beings have created to try to help us walk into the mystery of God.
He is describing the difference between faith and religion. I myself have explored multiple religions, and have discovered teachings within all of them that deeply resonate with me. I’ve also found teachings that don’t resonate at all. I don’t believe one religion has all the answers.
Using fear to coax people into a certain way of life or belief system, just like the Bishop mentions above, seems to be common practice in nearly every religion, and that certainly doesn’t resonate with me.
The history of the church itself is problematic. Whether it be the church’s role in the First Nations Genocide here in Canada, or the European crusades, the church has a history of forcing their views upon others and of condemning science and new discoveries.
Furthermore, as the Bishop says above, people need to accept responsibility for the world. If we simply leave global change in the hands of God, we remove our own responsibility and agency in this world. If we want to change the world, WE have to do it. After the Paris terrorist attacks, the Dalai Lamai expressed this as well, arguing that it’s not enough to just pray. We must take responsibility for our planet.
We are also dealing with texts that are very old, and considering there are multiple versions of various texts, all of which have likely been manipulated, changed, and distorted over the years, I find it difficult to accept any one without question.
Another point that turns me away from religion is hypocrisy. Many people claim ties to their faith yet know very little about its tenets, and fail to follow what they claim to believe in. This is commonly seen within the ‘spiritual’ movement as well, which can be seen as another form of religion in itself.
When it comes to religion, I believe you have to do your own research; you have to read the books and examine the teachings for yourself. Use your own head and find what resonates with you instead of allowing yourself to be indoctrinated and letting someone else do your thinking for you. These texts are open to interpretation; it’s up to you to find meaning in them and apply it to your life. You can still believe in God and not be religious. Religion is a manmade construct, and I think if God were to suddenly appear somewhere, he or she would have no idea what religion even was.
Religions as organizations are going to have to change. New discoveries are constantly being made that are challenging long-held belief systems. We cannot grow if we refuse to have an open mind and accept new possibilities about the nature of reality, and it’s childish to hold on to old belief systems just because they are familiar.
I personally believe in the soul and other non-material phenomena, as well the idea that life does not end here on Earth, and I believe there is enough evidence in various forms, aside from my own intuition and gut feeling, to support this stance.
What about you? What do you believe? What it all boils down to, for me, is respect. We must learn to respect each other’s viewpoints about ‘what is.’ We need to work with each other and accept our differences so we can focus on helping the planet, our shared home.
“It’s a mark of an educated person to be able to entertain an idea without accepting it.”
First of all, there is a 'you' that is inside you that governs you. It's not God all the way ok. Tuhan tak suruh ko lambat bangun tido, tingin kat bini orang, menggatal dengan laki orang. Tu sume Tuhan tak suruh.
Then with faith, you lead yourself to counter everything that comes your way. Orang yang takde faith dia ni akan bertindak seperti orang gila. Kalo tak dapat straight A's SPM, dah bunuh diri. Kalo tak cantik dia akan sanggup go under the knife, sumbat silikon ape suma sebab dia pikey hanye diri dia je yang berkuasa ke atas rupe dia. Arini ko cucuk botox, esok ko eksiden pecah muke, ape gune dik..
FWIT, in this life God won't always give you what you want. You have to go work for it.
Pada aku tuhan ade 2 sides. The good in Him is weak. The bad in Him is powerful. Bila aku dapat ape aku mintak, aku tau it was from His goodness. Bila aku dapat musibah, aku tau it was the bad in Him that broke that goodness in Him and chose not to grant me my wishes or even save me at times. Kalo kita tak pikey Tuhan ade 2 sifat ni, Good & Bad, we'd go the other way and think that He doesn't exist at all. Murtad le tu.
During the turmoil and violence of Partition, a Sikh ex-soldier, haunted by war, offers shelter to a young Muslim woman who has been separated from her family. Stars:Jimi Mistry, Kristin Kreuk, Neve Campbell
Dalam filem ni aku tengok india muslim terpakse jalan kaki je ke Pakistan. Azabnye.. Senario yang mungkin boleh berlaku bila cine halau melayu balik indon bila pegang kuase nanti.
Kenapa para ateis ghairah sangat nak mempersoalkan akan sesuatu yg dianggap tak wujud lantas tak ingin mempercayainya. Lucu kan? Tujuan TT sebenarnya apa tiba2 aje mentenarkan artikel ttng tuhan ini. Apakah masih ada perasaan ragu2 ttng kebenaran adanya Allah swt, maka artikel terus-menerus diwar2kan. Mau mengajak orang lain supaya sama2 bersetuju dgn apa yg sudah dipaparkan? Kalau ateis sendiri tak ingin percaya kpd Allah swt, ya sudah......
simpan aje kepercayaan itu untuk diri sendiri, tak perlu dicanangkan kpd ummat lain kerana ummat lain juga punya kepercayaan masing2. Begitukan lebih aman buat semua. Pernah dengar bukan kalau bagiku agamaku dan bagimu apa yg ingin kau percayai.
iya.. dah atheis tapi kenapa macam masih rasa insecure .. macam masih mengharapkan mereka sebenar2nya betul dengan pilihan mereka
mereka dah buat pilihan seharusnya sudah berpuas hati dan tenang dengan pilihan mereka
tapi kelihatannya tidak, kenapa yea..
Gambar pertama yang hang post itu ada dua rangkap dari puisi Omar Khayam "Rabaiyat".
Aku baca balik Rabaiyat dan rangkap rangkap selepas dua rangkap yang ada dalam gambar hang postkan itu, (sebelum itu ada banyak rangkap lain), ada rangkap rangkap berikut:
The Koran! well, come put me to the test—
Lovely old book in hideous error drest—
Believe me, I can quote the Koran too,
The unbeliever knows his Koran best.
And do you think that unto such as you,
A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew,
God gave the Secret, and denied it me?—
Well, well, what matters it! believe that too.
Old Khayyám, say you, is a debauchee;
If only you were half so good as he!
He sins no sins but gentle drunkenness,
Great-hearted mirth, and kind adultery.
But yours the cold heart, and the murderous tongue,
The wintry soul that hates to hear a song,
The close-shut fist, the mean and measuring eye,
And all the little poisoned ways of wrong.
So I be written in the Book of Love,
I have no care about that book above;
Erase my name, or write it, as you please—
So I be written in the Book of Love.
Memang ada atheist yang mengatakan bahawa Omar Khayam adalah seorang Atheist, tapi lebih ramai yang mengatakan bahawa dia adalah seorang Sufi (selain daripada seorang ahlul mathematics dan saintis).
Pada aku, yang dirujuknya sebagai "A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew," ada lah lobai lobai yang Isle kesana Isle kemari, syumul kesana syumul kemari, sikit sikit hukom Allah sikit sikit hukom Allah dan tak habis habis mahu membimbing orang lain menjadi seperti dia dan bukan nya orang Islam yang memakai sifat Ar Rahman dan ar Raheem Tuhan.
Kisah orang Sufi mentertawakan lobai lobai perasan bagus yang sikit sikit hukum Allah, sikit sikit hukom Allah adalah terlalu banyak. Mungkin di Nusantara yang femes sekali ialah Hamzah Fansuri yang mentertawakan Kadhi dan meluahkan rasa kesiannya kepada siKhadi yang dianggapnya tidak mendapat petunjuk.
Pada pendapat Maideen, bila Omar Khayam mengatakan " An unbeliever knows his Koran best", dia menyatakan bahawa dia (yang pastinya sudah di panggil kafir), lebih tahu Korannya daripada lobai lobai pakar aurat dan hukom Allah yang mengkafirkan dia itu!
Di akhir Rabaiyat di atas kita dapat melihat Omar Khayam menulis yang dia peduli hanyalah "So I be written in the Book of Love."
Jika kita baca sajak orang Sufi seperti Jallaluddin Rumi misalnya kita akan berjumpa puisi seperti ini (yang ini ditulikan semula di makan Maulana Rumi):
Whoever you may be, come
Even though you may be
An infidel, a pagan, or a fire-worshipper, come
Our brotherhood is not one of despair
Even though you have broken
Your vows of repentance a hundred times, come
Dan yang tidak kurang jugak femesnya dari "Mahyuddin "The Syeikh" Ibn Arabi:
O Marvel! a garden amidst the flames.
My heart has become capable of every form:
it is a pasture for gazelles and a convent for Christian monks,
and a temple for idols and the pilgrim’s Kaa’ba,
and the tables of the Torah and the book of the Quran.
I follow the religion of Love: whatever way Love’s camels take,
that is my religion and my faith.
Mungkin golongan atheist pon akan mengatakan bahawa Maulana dan The Syeikh pon adalah Atheist jugak macam Omar Khayam. Tapi Maideen yakin mereka tak kisah pon jika begitu. Yang pasti depa tak akan rasa terhina macam lobai pakar hukum Allah......Prrrrrrrrpfffftght
Post time 5-6-2016 10:35 PMFrom the mobile phone|Show all posts
"Dan tinggalkanlah orang-orang yang menjadikan agama mereka sebagai main-main dan senda-gurau, dan mereka telah ditipu oleh kehidupan dunia.
Peringatkanlah (mereka) denganAl Quran itu agar masing-masing diri tidak dijerumuskan ke dalam neraka, karena perbuatannya sendiri.
Tidak akan ada baginya pelindung dan tidak (pula) pemberi syafaat selain daripada Allah. Dan jika ia menebus dengan segala macam tebusan pun, niscaya tidak akan diterima itu daripadanya.
Mereka itulah orang-orang yang dijerumuskan ke dalam neraka, disebabkan perbuatan mereka sendiri. Bagi mereka (disediakan) minuman dari air yang sedang mendidih dan adzab yang pedih disebabkan kekafiran mereka dahulu"