Dear Believer

"When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is Religion."- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Dear Believer,

You have a belief, a position of faith. You have a neatly packaged model to base your life on. A lens to view everything from the meaning of life, morality, history, enlightenment, love, guidance, to what the future will bring, and how the world works. But guess what? So does your next door neighbor. And theirs is the absolute truth, according to them. How do you feel about that? And guess what? The neighbor on the other side of you has another belief, another model that conflicts with yours. And this neighbor claims that both of your beliefs are wrong and theirs is the one true path to salvation. How can this be so?

I propose something for you to think about. Now, don't just give it a few minutes. I propose you give it a few days of thought, maybe weeks. Possibly turn it into a journey. I want you to think about the origins of your faith. Why do YOU believe what you believe? What got you started on this path? Of all the religions in the world, what makes you think you have the right one?

“The unexamined life is not worth living .” - Socrates

No one has ever been able to come to an agreement of how many religions have existed in the world. There could be 8 core religions of the world, 42 common practiced religions, a possible 42,000 religions have existed in history. Hindusim is considered the oldest written religion at around 6,000 years old. There is evidence that Aborigines held religious ceremonies around 16,000 years ago.The three Abraham religions are relative new comers to the scene. Judaism around 1,800 B.C.E. Christianity around 30 C.E. Islam around 610 C.E. There is between 2,000 to 4,000 different denominations of Christianity. Say what? Yes there are a few thousand interpretations of the teachings of Jesus Christ. So what is this, a multiple choice exam? a) Christianity b) Judaism.... ah crap the right answer was c) Mormonism! I guess you have to play the lotto to be saved huh? Maybe you believe what you believe because of your upbringing? But think about this, there also many possibilities here. Dawkins pointed this out beautifully! You see, just based on probability, if you were:

a) born in America, you would be a Christian.
b) born in Israel, you would be Jewish.
c) born in Salt Lake City, you would be Mormon.
d) born during Viking times, you would believe in Thor.

e) born in ancient Greece, you would believe in Zeus.

f) born in Afghanistan, you would be Islam.
g) born in India, you would be a Hindu.

h) born in Thailand, you be Buddhist

Get it yet? Your religion is no more than a geographical hereditary accident. Period. Your neighbor, neighbor in state, neighbor in country all have the 'truth'. So think about the chances that you were born of a different faith. Walk yourself through the thought process and also what it would be like to look upon your religion from the opposing view. It is amazing when you actually let this idea sit in your head how easy it is to debunk a single religion just based on probability. Yet, humanity is still plagued with one of the last great illusions. Religion.

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." -Stephen F. Roberts

"A bad idea embraced by millions of people, is still a bad idea."