Whilst gleefully bounding down the road, through the town's Main Street as a child; life felt wonderful, open and free. Happiness elevates each step and laughter causes you to believe that One can fly!
So, when our non-parental group of four (not challenging the years of ten), is set upon by a group of attackers, resulting in the broken arm of my sister, on the way to church - you’ll be forgiven for inquiring as to who exactly is looking out for you!
At this very instance, I lost all faith in the church, it’s teachings, it’s ‘everything is going to be okay’ / ‘Gods got it covered’ arrogance and blind faith. For, how could such an innocent child, making way to his/her ‘all powerful father’ ever be struck-down by unknown assailants, in broad daylight, on such a beautiful Sunday morning?
If I were God, I’d never allow people making haste to praise me, ever to come to harm; least the innocent and weak! Thus, this is the voice / mind of reason! It’s makes sense right? Look after those who worship you, take care of those who’s lives lay firmly in your hands.
This shattering childhood experience had a profound affect on how I view the world. What this means by acts of god and the fundamental aetiology of evil. A question into the theoretical nature of all things, that has not abated til this present day. How the actions of a person/or groups of persons can fundamentally change your entire existence and set you on a path of questioning everything.
Like my absent father, I began by questioning where were / are you. Were is the protection, the safety, the deliverance from evil? What is evil and why does it manifest and most importantly, what is the nature of the world we live in?
As the headline of this article may suggest, I took instant exception to religion! Casting away all the false promises of salvation, deliverance and faith became a thing of the past. When challenged, I would ask “Have you read the Bible - throughout?” Knowing few had completed the task, as the undertaking proved too difficult for me. Breaking the spell of blind religious doctrine, produced a new empowerment, one of profound insight and exceptional intrigue.
I’ve have now spent decades, massing personal & academic rebuts to the world faiths, and as a consequence, now able to cast doubt into the minds of many; able to shine a spotlight on those individuals blindly following a belief system that they themselves don’t fully understand or comprehend, and I’m not alone.
It seems prevalent today! The utter ridiculing of the faiths and their followers, from the decimation of the Catholic Church in the reported pedophile rings, to the beheading, and mass murders/stoning committed by the Muslim faiths. Each being eroded, all being challenged and tested - probing for weaknesses and chinks being exploited for personal and political gain.
So why my apologetic text and therapeutic sharing of childhood trauma? All to be painfully honest, I’m not completely sure! For whilst thinking about my actions, the actions and deeds of others, I summarized that we all have our reasons. No one can truly explain the entire source of each and every decision, most find it a challenge to illustrate / convey minor thoughts and ideas. So I guess, all fathers have their reasons, the assailants had theirs and the Universe has its own.
The most salient purpose for this article, is to reverse the very concept of the church being the cause of millions of deaths across the ages; leaving people burnt, hung, drawn and quartered throughout it’s entire history. As I’m sure they had their reasons for such atrocities! The point being, it must have being worse, much worse, prior to this and at the time, the forming of the main faiths could have been viewed as a positive age of reason.
Whether this assumption is true or else-wise, the current faiths can be now viewed as out of date software. Legacy, propriety text/coding which is nearing the end of its effectiveness, again causing more harm than good! Where religions once led the way, they are now mere safety nets to the fallen and in some cases viewed as crutches to the weak.
I believe that this will remain the status quo, until a new, objective and open-source religious movement begins to corner the globe. Overtaking, outperforming and eclipsing all others, base of pure individual belief - manifested by personal reasoning - and therein lies the point! Many of these aged religions derive from pure truths and clarity of reason. As Microsoft opened it’s doors and made it’s source code, open-source to the public, the worlds religions should ideally do the same! Sharing its true knowledge and righteous origins with the peoples of the world. Or possibly face being outmoded and continually ridiculed like old shady relatives sat in the corner, dragged along for seasonal occasions, that people no longer have an understanding of!