I've been a huge fan of religion for as long as I can remember. It just recently I started questioning my faith. For the sake of our religious brethren here, I won't mention my former religion.

Anyways, everything started when I started asking questions that my religious books could not answer and that what we once held to as mystic is nothing more than our daily lives wrapped in mind warping stories.

To cut the long story short, I read my religion book through this period more than ever before. Started seeing flaws I've never thought of before (for you religious fellas, your "overseers" will always tell you that your book is perfect with no flaws and you'd be afraid to find one yourself. Most religious people are made to believe that they are not "afraid" but in fact they are, afraid to even question their beliefs or their "overseers"

Anyways that's not the reason why I'm writing this. That can wait.

When I left religion, I started questioning why I believed what I believed in. Why couldn't I see through the blindfold and worst of all why was I scared of renouncing my religious beliefs even with sufficient proof that those are mirages?

To answer these questions, I didn't pick books to start reading as I normally would. I give it time. I sat every now and then to ponder then as I continued to watch how religious preachers talk and behave, it all to me.

There are simple psychological tools that can bind people to religion and these can also be applied in your life to keep people close to you.

First of all there are only two emotions in the hear of humans: love and fear.

Every other emotions we have is derived from these two. They are the thoughts behind the thoughts you have and everything we do is either out of love or fear, so religion cleverly uses these two emotions to keep its followers in check and believe.

Let's talk about fear first of all since it is stronger and produces far better results than love.

Fear!

Fear is more powerful than anything you can think of and religion uses it so well that it can survive thousands of years even after the death of its founders.

Religion uses various types of fears I've grouped these to make everything easier.

Fear of the future

I'll like to view this point from the youth angle.

If you've ever read Gbile Akanni book "battle for the young" you'll understand my point here very well.

In our world today especially in a struggling nation like Nigeria, religion uses fear of life to keep the youth in check.

Since the youth are desperate and don't want to be "useless" in life, they are quick to believe these without question.

You hear things like "had it being Daniel had eaten the king's food, he would have become a nonentity or had Joseph slept with Pharaoh's wife, he's purpose would have become useless"

The truth is life as a whole is like a game: strategies and proper planning wins.

Aliko is a Muslim, Jeff Bezzos is what I don't know but they are all successful. It's all starts when you know what you want, sacrifice to get it at all cost.

There's no divine destiny for which a misstep will terminate, you are born, if you strive to achieve something, you will but if you can't keep up, you will be lost in the multitude.

Continue your write up.

The tool of exclusivity

I purposely called this tool that. But I'll explain.

Major religions of the world uses this tool to keep members in check.

They tell their followers that they are the specially selected humans by God to serve him while all others whom they call the "sinners" are made to be blind to the truth.

This makes the "sinners" who are not part of the group want to join in at all cost while those who are in wouldn't want to trade their "newly gained status" for anything.

The truth is, we are all equal. We are all born with the same abilities and capacity. No one belongs to any more special group simply because he believes or does not.

If that where to be so then many will be the hells and paradise and all will perish in the end.

The fear of death: the ultimate weapon

For most people in religious faith, it's not all about the gains in this present world, it's about the world yet to come, about that which has been promised from the very "beginning".

Every religion (even the crudest of them all) have these ideas about what will happen to those who believes in its "truth" and those who don't.

Those who do will have everlasting life in a paradise but that's not the intriguing part, it's the punishment for those who don't.

You see if religion had say, if you don't believe in this truth when you die, you are dead forever, few will ever be concerned about changing their ways of life.

Fewer will even be interested in a deal of letting go of the "pleasures" of this life if they are promised an everlasting life filled with pleasures.

People will rather choose to enjoy the "now" and forget about that which they are promised no matter how good it may sound.

But when the fear of everlasting torment in an unquenchable fire is involved, fear takes over logical reasoning.

No one can reason properly with burning hot foods in their mouth. Same with this issue of everlasting torment after life.

most religion uses this simple fear whether consciously or unconsciously to control its members.

If they talk about the glory of life after death in paradise few people will respond. But switch over and preach about the agony of hell and torment and you'll see many shifting in their chairs while others fall on their faces with tears asking for mercy, to be pitied and spared of torment.

Sometimes I do wonder what afterlife will be like, does it even exist? Do we just die and disappear like the mist or are we immortal?

I know your religion have the correct answer but so do other's. Since I was born with no manuscript about how to live my life or how to get a good life afterlife, I believe I've been "given" the liberty to live my existence as much as I'd want to.

Secondly none have gone there and returned to testify about it, at least not me.

Let me take a sit here

Your family's hope

A guy (maybe a friend) once had a talk with me. It was one of those days that I felt so down and hopeless and wondering about the meaning of life (forget all this religious nonsense, there's always a time when we all do feel down no matter the "God" we're serving)

So this guy came to me and was talking to me and started saying all sorts of things like "you're your family hope, you're the one God will use to rewrite your family history and so on"

This tiny weapon of religion opens a crack in any teenager more than anything else.

The truth is everyone wants to feel special, like they are created with special destinies to save the world or their families.

I won't deny that fact. We are all "special" in our own ways and within each of us are all we need to have a good life. We just need to be more in tune with our thoughts to reach this inner mind to conquer the world

But first off, there's nothing special about you as connoted by the above religious beliefs. You were not "made" to rescue your family or even the world. No, no one is.

Life has no "purpose". You see, if a man is born, it is entirely in his hands to decide what becomes of the life he has.

This minute, I decided to use this time to write this out and you are using yours to read through this. The same way with our lives. We "decide" what we want use it for.

If you decide to sit under the tree waiting for fortune to come meet you, you'll wait indefinitely but if you decide to go hunt for it and gain it, then people will look at you and say "luck" has smiled on you or worst "God blessed you"

God's love is Unconditional (when it clearly is)

When we once believed, we all talked about the abundance of "God's" love which is unconditional.

They tell us God loves us so much (and in the case of Christianity, have his only begotten son to save us)

This simple device does two things, it makes you feel indebted to the "one" who had sacrificed so much for you and if you don't do what "he" asked it means you are ungrateful, something no human will ever want to be associated with.

But that's just the first part of the unconditional love.

How do you describe a girl who will give you sex if you'll give her some money after it or better still your younger sibling who asked you to give them something before they help you out with a task?

Please the girl is not a prostitute and your sibling is not corrupt, they only are after a fair deal, you gain they gain as well.

Now that's where conditions comes in.

Most of us swallow the pill that God loves us unconditionally but is it not really under the conditions that we keep his commandments, and ask no questions?

If you are able to keep this rules, you'll be rewarded with an everlasting life and If you cannot (condition?) you'll perish forever.

I dont believe in religion but am a very strong christian. True christianity is not a religion,we are not one of the systems seeking the creator,we are the only system the creator used to seek mankind, there is nothing fallen man can do to find the creator,it is futile because The creator cannot be seen with physical effort,the creator had to come as a man to show us the way,every other way is of the evil one and the creator has proved His way through superiority in SUPERNATURAL strength and holiness.ok how can u be in Nigeria and deny the existence of the supernatural even witchcraft .u believe in going to babalawo to recieve charm from the devils but u deny the existence of GOD who made all things

Kolanist:
I dont believe in religion but am a very strong christian. True christianity is not a religion,we are not one of the systems seeking the creator,we are the only system the creator used to seek mankind, there is nothing fallen man can do to find the creator,it is futile because The creator cannot be seen with physical effort,the creator had to come as a man to show us the way,every other way is of the evil one and the creator has proved His way through superiority in SUPERNATURAL strength and holiness.ok how can u be in Nigeria and deny the existence of the supernatural even witchcraft .u believe in going to babalawo to recieve charm from the devils but u deny the existence of GOD who made all things

I'd hate to argue with you not because I can't but I don't have much time for these sorts of things anymore.

You see everyone keeps saying Christianity is a way of life and that it is not religion, my friend that's a big lie.

The belief in God is religion.

And no. Christianity is not the only way to "salvation" or to knowing God.

There are many ways, however, way you choose is mostly a function of where you are born and the "preacher" life first brought on your way.

Had it being you were born in the north, you'll be amongst those saying "there's no God but Allah" and you'd be so scared to believe in Jesus because if you do, Allah will burn you in hell forever.

There's no way out of the illusion of religion except you can start viewing life from the perspective of "love" rather than "fear"

Like I said I won't argue with you. Christianity is a way of life and not religion, so is Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and so on. If you doubt me, ask one of their members and see for yourself.

Cc lalasticlala

mynd44

OAM4J

Dominique

Kolanist:
I dont believe in religion but am a very strong christian. True christianity is not a religion,we are not one of the systems seeking the creator,we are the only system the creator used to seek mankind, there is nothing fallen man can do to find the creator,it is futile because The creator cannot be seen with physical effort,the creator had to come as a man to show us the way,every other way is of the evil one and the creator has proved His way through superiority in SUPERNATURAL strength and holiness.ok how can u be in Nigeria and deny the existence of the supernatural even witchcraft .u believe in going to babalawo to recieve charm from the devils but u deny the existence of GOD who made all things

When we say you should stop watching films you will never listen see how you just showcased your gullibility? Go and get a life and stop believing in an imaginary sky daddy..