Religion
According to national polls, over 70% of Americans consider themselves religious with Christianity being the dominant faith of choice. It's a well known fact that the US openly controls its people with the Christian religion at its epicenter. Think of all those god-fearing politicians and how freely they throw around the words "God" and "faith" without any thought of how their beliefs directly influence their political actions.
The same intolerant fervor holds true throughout the world in its hardcore theological roots. It is estimated that throughout history, there have been approximately 195 million deaths and counting in the name of religion.
One of my favorite quotes of all time and what actually planted a tiny seed of doubt into my then-theistic mind came in a college lecture. We were studying German philosopher Karl Marx and I couldn't help but wonder why this struck a chord until years later:
"Die Religion... ist das Opium des Volkes," religion is the opiate to the masses. Little did I know that this seed would blossom into a sequoia, which would radically alter my life and outlook of religion. I'd like to share with you my take on the Mormon religion, how it shaped me, and why it was so destructive in my life as a member.
I was born into the Latter Day Saints i.e., Mormon faith which is only at about 1.6% of the US population. Yet growing up in the church, I couldn't understand why there were so few of us. If we were really part of the one true religion, why wasn't everybody in the entire world Mormon? It's safe to say that this naivety is still predominant throughout the church.
This was my constant thought process when I'd sing the brain-washing hymns or hear about how happy everyone seemed to be during fast and testimony meeting; a first-of-the-month gathering where you'd fast (no food for 24 hours or skip two meals) and share your life experience to the congregation. Oftentimes, these would turn into long and boring tear sessions, where people would bawl their eyes out and barely get a word in about what it was they got up for in the first place.
Although, "thanktimonies" as we'd call them were more typical, where someone would ramble on about how grateful they were for every single, mundane or otherwise odd detail in their lives. They'd relate how their kid was saved from falling off a tree after they laid their hands on their head and prayed for them to be healed. Or how watching Shindler's List should be allowed and was necessary to see as it was a historical film and being rated R shouldn't matter (Mormons can't watch rated R films). Or even my personal favorite, how some zealot put water in their gas tank during a long road trip and prayed for it to turn into gasoline...true story.
It's this blind faith that rules how most religious people see and interact with the rest of the world. Every single religion that exists or has ever existed believes that they are the one true church of the one true God. Mr. G as I like to call him because all Christian denominations believe it is in fact a male and not a female or an asexual being. And in their irreconcilable recklessness, they've done terrible things to the human race in his name with only fear and faith to guide them.
The dark history of the Mormon church has been well hidden from its members since the early days. There are historical records of a Mormon militia led by its first leader and prophet Joseph Smith. Then Lieutenant General Smith of the Nauvoo Legion is not a known title by anyone in the church, let alone the atrocities they committed. Or that his 26th wife was a mere 14 years of age when they married. I can tell you that in the 25 years of being an active member, I never once heard of any of this. Not even during my religious mission to Finland where I went door-to-door actively recruiting people for two years.
The Mormon church gives its members the illusion of choice. Its entire M.O. encourages them to pray and find out if The Book of Mormon is true when in reality it means is that if they feel it isn't, they need to pray until they know it is. Any material not approved by its current leaders is considered "anti-Mormon propaganda" and is easily discredited no matter how historical or factual it may be.
Unfortunately, this is a predominant trend in every religion of the world:
If you're not one of us, you are one of them.
When I finally broke away from the church, I remember a deep sense of loss. I had literally lost a part of myself, of who I was, and of what I believed for almost a third of my lifetime. Soon after, the natural emotion of depression seeped in, followed by intense anger. I was angry at the religion for its lies, for years-worth of money I had willingly donated, and at my mother, who never really gave me a choice but blindly led me into something that even she didn't truly believe.
During her first marriage, she became isolated because of her psychotic Mormon husband that would leave her with their three kids in their middle-of-nowhere trailer for months at a time. She had left her family and her country and couldn't speak the language. Naturally, the church became her instant savior. To their credit, they helped her cope emotionally with her lonely situation and would bring her food from time to time. But this came at a price.
There is a HUGE difference between helping someone for charity and helping someone for recruitment. My mother became a Mormon because of the aid she received, not because she ever truly believed in its doctrine. This was evident to me because in my eyes, she never lived like a truly devout Latter Day Saint. The church was her crutch and she instilled in me this feeling of general appreciation for "everything God has given you" without even considering my own accomplishments through hard work and sacrifice. He was conveniently never credited for the bad, only the good in my life as is the common worldwide belief.
Needless to say, I have never looked back. Every day it seems I find something else that proves to me how religion nearly destroyed my identity, made me more gullible, exploitable, and never truly helped me in any capacity. On the surface, so many religious people seem so caring and although there may be a few who are, the vast majority most certainly are not. The hypocrisy, the hate, the lies run so deep in every faith. It divides families. It kills non-believers. It tortures the sexually diverse; all in the name of the one true god who only responds to my prayers, but not yours. Bless me, don't bless them. In fact, fuck them, they're going to hell; I'm going to heaven.
If we are to progress as a society, we need to do away with blind faith in institutions that only care to fill their pockets. I'm not against having faith in a higher power and I personally believe that out of body experiences are real with a possible spiritual world that awaits us when we die. I cannot prove this, of course, but I have gathered my own proof from years of meditation and practice, not subject to anyone or anything else. My recommendation is to follow your own path and help others by example, not by guilt or fear or hate.
As opposed to our religious counterparts, we can't and shouldn't force anyone to learn about the power they have over the matrix. All we can do is show them the door, they have to walk through it.
To be continued...
My contribution to the revolutionist movement will be to turn the recipes I post on this blog into The Revolutionist Cookbook and eventually open a restaurant where only cryptocurrency is accepted. Where tipping won’t be necessary as everyone will be paid full salaries and where simple and healthy ingredients will meet delicious cuisine. Like open source code, all of my recipes will be available to the public in full detail and any improvements offered will be embraced and possibly added to the menu in their perfected form. Any donations to the cause are much appreciated either by up-vote or wallet of choice below.
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