Saturday, May 22, 2010

Religious beliefs are childish

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.             1 Corinthians 13:11 KJB

Although this biblical passage is a reference to the awakening of knowledge during the time of the redemption of the Christian church through the return of Christ, it is one of the few biblical texts; that when taken out of its context expresses my very sentiments regarding religious beliefs. I have referred to religious beliefs as primitive and even naive but nothing says it better than calling them childish.

It's ironic but the bible actually says in Mark 10:15
Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

Have you ever wondered why that is? It is because the mind of a child is referred to by many academicians as a veritable sponge. They are able to absorb  vast amounts of knowledge and most importantly believe practically anything you tell them. Here in the U.S. the most common beliefs taught to children is the story of Santa Clause. And as implausible as this story is most children do not question it.

Believing in the biblical god or any god is in my opinion the adults version of a Santa story. There is no evidence whatsoever for the existence of a god, nor does the literature believed to be inspired by him prove anything, except that the men that wrote it were just that.There is nothing in the entire bible that even points to divine inspiration. There is nothing in that book that you could not have learned through experience itself.

Like children who believe in Santa, the tooth fairy, the three kings etc.  God is the gown mans fairy tale if you analyze them side by side they both have similar features. We already know about the Santa story so I wont get into that, instead I will focus on the belief in god. Like all fairy tales religion is passed on through society, and of course long history and traditions.

Like all fables the belief in god is also a very implausible story. At the same time it meets certain needs such as allaying fears of the unknown, comfort, hope, and a feeling of security. For some people it is good to know that there is some big guy in the sky always at your beck and call who is willing to listen to you pour your heart out. Who is there to lift you up above your problems and fill you with faith.

A religious person in my eyes is nothing more than a grown up child who never let go of his childhood beliefs. If they stopped and stepped outside of themselves and analyzed their beliefs thoroughly I am sure that they will feel somewhat embarrassed that they held onto them as long as they did. Some people never outgrow it but I guess that is just how they wanted it. For some, to lose a belief in god is to lose everything.

No comments:

Post a Comment