Slavery? Or enlightenment?
Religion is a form of slavery,it inhibits the person from developing into a fully self determined,free spirited individual.
It
can be a form of slavery. I've seen it happen. At the same time, some people are not responsible enough for freedom, and it actually works well for them.
Also remember that religion and spirituality are two different things. Religion is social, submissive and collective. Spiritual is emotional, intellectual and independent.
I found "God" once but could never see how my new found blinkered outlook was truly restricting my life,affecting my family,destroyed my relationship with my partner,isolated myself from the very friends who were actually there for me but my new found direction prevented myself from accepting them as,"Jesus was everything". Truth was some religious types influenced me too m uch at a very low point in my life!!
If you define your relationships based on religious alignment, then you will be alone rather quickly. If you find you can't look at how people live their lives, but how they profess their lives, then you will only find yourself professing, alone.
That's the key. It's not about what you say, but what you do. Religion often tends to be about what you say, not what you do, because people are involved as a group. Ironically, every spiritual text of every major, organized religion warns against this rather directly.
My parents died,I couldnt function supportively for them at the end cos "God" was my strength and should have been theirs according to my religious colleagues. My parents brought me into this world but religion prevented me from being there for them when they needed me the most.
Ouch! Man, wow! That sounds like some serious separation you had in your church.
My Aunt lost her daughter,her two children,her husband,her two brothers-SHE WAS A LIFELONG CHURCHGOER!!! She turned to me and looked in the eye and said "If you think your belief is real I can give you wreckage of my "faithful" life to show you why it isnt! SHE TURNED AWAY FROM GOD and she was 80 years of age at that point!
One has to be careful not to blame God for what happens. I don't blame anyone but myself, or blame myself in how I take things I can't control in how they affect me.
I finally woke up and realised then the only belief you need is in yourself,simply appreciate however long you have left,be there for others and when you finally accept that you really are not that important in the big picture of things,the universe will continue no matter what,the Earth WASNT created for us-we are here as a result of it and when you can accept that you have found inner piece WITHOUT A GOD you really will become a free spirit and TRULY part of nature and the world around you....you will find TRUE HAPPINESS I DID!!!
Again,
some people need religion. But I'm glad you and I don't.
Erica I respect your choice but measure twice because you can only cut once.
Not true. You can change the direction of your life as many times as you want. People should accept you for who you are, even if you change directions many times, have many divorces, etc...
Life isn't a contest where people who look like they have it all together allegedly "win" and those who look like their life is a mess alleged "lose." None of us have all the answers for our own lives, much less others.
Hence why religion can often be mis-guided, although the journey of spiritual enlightenment is not. Sometimes religion and spirituality cross. But many times they do not. The key to religion is recognizing when people are saying things that go against spiritual truth.
