I do not believe in god – any god. Religions have always been a way of controlling the poor and disenfranchised by the powerful. The only way of making sense of things that made no sense has been religion. When it is and ever was just sleight of hand. The desire to know what happens when we die is strong enough to suspend logic and follow those who profess to have the answers. Usually, that answer is to endure suffering during this life, and you will find the reward in the next.
What causes colors to scatter across the sky like a bridge? Magic knows, religion knows. I know that HOPE is a powerful motivator, and so did powerful and corrupt people throughout history. They wanted to keep the power they had and even acquire more. They gave the weak hope, dangled a better life after death. They gave them answers. These men gave people the promise of a better life in the NEXT WORLD to keep those hopeful souls working themselves to death, to the promised land.
It is hard to precisely know how many Gods & Goddesses people have worshiped throughout time. The followers believed that their gods were the right ones to follow; people worshipped the Sun and Moon before the written word. There have been monotheistic religions, polytheistic religions, and everything in between.
And to be clear, I have no problem with people who find comfort in fairy tales; I don’t care how you get through the day. However, I take issue when the belief in your comfortable lie encourages you to stay blind and ignorant because the truth is hard to swallow. Making up arbitrary rules in the name of your god so you can impose your beliefs on others is wrong. These kinds of regulations bring so much harm and hatred into the world. You only know and can know what works for you. You have no right to assume what others need to give them HOPE.
I want to explore some of the people I admire, and I plan on posting the information that I find here. I can mainly search for the info quickly, and the other reason is maybe someone else is interested.
Being an atheist doesn’t mean that I can not admire and relate to religious people. It also means that some of my core values don’t align with religions. I have a lot of the same beliefs as Buddhism and Paganism – but I don’t consider those to be religions as much a philosophy. Honor yourself, honor nature, honor each other.