Are You Sick of Religion?

LittleToe

Just out of interest (and this is no way mean condescendingly, or as a confrontation), how many religions have those who are "sick of it" been involved with?

I'm just curious to know how many people's only real exposure is our common-experience-cult.

Depends what you mean by involved - do you mean involved to the extent that you would say I am of that religion? Or do you mean how many have we investigated to the point of visiting the church and still find religion sickening and tiring?

Rod P

The answer is Yes to Religion, but no to things Spiritual.

I think Religion is the antithesis of Spirituality. But just because Religionists behave badly does not necessarily nullify or invalidate genuine Spirituality.

As a JW, I thought Religion and Spirituality were one and the same. Then I grew into a state of disbelief, and left. But I had converted directly into Mormonism from JW'ism. I was quite disgusted with the whole Disfellowshipment thing and what followed. That's when I saw there was a big difference between Religion and Spirituality in the case of the WBTS.

But then I thought I had found true Spirituality with the Mormons. As time went on, and I discovered a whole pile of hidden parts that the Church just did not want their members to be aware of, or have to deal with- the dark pages of church history, the false and sometimes weird doctrines, the lies, cover-ups and false prophecies, etc. And again I reached the point of knowing that this path was not one that leads to true Spirituality. (This is not to say that there are no Mormons who are truly spiritual, because I am pretty sure there are. It's just that it was not working for me.)

I have not joined another religion since then, which is over 30 years ago now. But that did not mean I was done with Religion and Spirituality. So I became a kind of "armchair philosopher", searching and researching Religions and Philosophic systems the world over, both in modern times and in history.

I studied the Kingdom of the Cults that are out there. Ever since the Protestant Reformation there has been a continual propagation of "new religions" and breakaway groups. I discovered there were over 225 breakaway groups fom Mormonism alone. I also noticed that Russell was a "breakaway" in his own rite, starting a new publishing empire, and his International Bible Students. And while Rutherford technically and factually succeeded Russell, I think Rutherford created his own brand of "breakaway" in the sense that the new doctrines and teachings, and the adoption of the name "Jehovah's Witnesses", etc. dramatically altered the nature of the religion Russell had started. And when the followers of Russell did not blindly move their allegiances over to Rutherford, they were branded by Russell as being the "Wicked and Evil Slave Class". Yet that group, in spite of the smaller numbers, are still quite active today, promoting the teachings and writings of Russell.

I moved around a bit for a while, and actually visited a number of different churches- Catholics, Baptists, Alliance, Pentecostal, Herbert W and Garner Ted Armstrong'ism, Televangelism (like Jim & Tammy Baker, Oral Roberts, Rex Humbart, Jimmy Swaggart, etc.), big fancy churches, and small, humble churches. I also visited groups like Ekankar (the Science of Soul Travel), EST, Scientology, and a few others. I explored a number of those New Age religions, like Theosophy, and a few that teach about the Ascended Masters. I studied Rosicrucianism, Masonry, and other Secret Societies. Then I explored Eastern Religions like Hinduism and Buddhism, Chinese philosophies, Egyptology, Greek Mythology, Hara Krishna, and a host of others. I observed what was going on with the likes of Mahareshi Mahesh Yoga, Jim Jones, and other fringe luny cults. I studied Witchcraft, Voodoo, Astrology, Tarot Cards, Palm Reading, Crystal Balls, UFO's, Urantia, Conspiracy Theories and the One World Government, Reincarnation, Meditation, Yoga, Herbal Medicine, Shamanism, and an endless list of other teachings and systems of thought.

At the end of the day, I think the human race is a fascinating bunch, but all have this propensity for starting new religions and philosophies around which they amass followers. At which point you always get another Social Group or Movement that begins to mess up peoples' lives by creating a lot of Rules, Creeds, Dogmas, Expectations, and Modes of Behavior. It is all about Power and Control, and little or nothing to do with true Spirituality. Those at the top of the Movement have all the Power and Control over the Masses, the Followers, the Believers. Yet they seem to need each other. You can't have one without the other. The Leaders must have ones to lead over. The followers cannot function unless they have someone telling them what to do, say, think, believe. They need this structure and track to run on, and they feel helpless without it.

And so, I have come to the conclusion that Religion is a Snare and a Racket, but that true Spirituality is an individual matter. We are all on our own individual path in this life, and what is right for me is not necessarily right for you, and vice-versa. To each their own. There is no right and wrong in this game, and no necessity to choose one thing over another. It's a case of "do your own thing", and no-one is going to be judged with reward or punishment because they choose to believe one way versus another (i.e. Heaven or Hell). Yet I do believe in Ethics, and that there is a difference between right and wrong when it comes to how we treat our fellow man, as well as other life forms. I do think there's a big difference between Adolf Hitler and Mother Theresa, and that there are/will be consequences for the kind of lives they each lived.

Rod P.

dh

For myself, I am sick of it, but let me respond LT's question.

The only religion I have or will ever be a part of is the JW's, so when I say I am sick of religion, I mean I am sick of religion being in my face and being used as a reason to fight or people saying that I should be part of theirs, because it is right for them, or because I will be punished unless I do as they do... I find that both irritating and ridiculous.

I have spent a long time in my life around Muslim people who say that their way of life is best for them... Like most born in JW's, they have never tried anything else so have no view at all of what is right for them and what isn't. For myself, I chose to leave the JW's, I was not pushed and they were not maliciously bad to me, at least that was not the reason I left... My reasons were simply that to my mind, if there is a being who created all of this, it was not out of love, it was out of self indulgence (or worse), and that never sat right with me, not only this, but the God as described in the Bible was not one I cared to worship, likewise Gods in other religions are not worthy either, mostly because they are figments of someone’s imagination, but above and beyond this, even if they were real, I really do not think any being is worthy of being worshipped by another. Therefore religion is out of the window for me, not because of the corruption of men, but because by its nature it involves worship, and I think that is a fundamentally ignorant thing. To worship a being, for whatever reason suits you, to me is just a form of escape... Fine for people who find comfort in that, but I find my comforts elsewhere, in ways which I think are right for me.

So, when I say I hate religion, and I'm sick of it, I think it's a few things I cannot stand.

1. The concept of worship

2. The object of worship is usually something I find abhorrent

3. Choosing to live my life according to someone else's rules, when those rules do not sit well with my own, is not something I would do.

So, yes I guess this means I am sick of religion, but it doesn't mean I hold it against the day to day person who believes’s what they believe... It's only when they cross the line and tries to say that their way is right for me, or when their way forcefully influences my life, that I really want to make them disappear.

Are You Sick of Religion?

minimus

stevenyc

Elsewhere

GetBusyLiving

ozziepost

minimus

LittleToe

Crumpet

Rod P

dh

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