COMPREHENDING RELIGION

by Rob Kiekens

PART 1: GODS AS VIRTUAL BRAIN PROSTHESES

Why are Americans, Europeans and Russians always talking and writing about ‘God’ while He still has hundreds of spiritual brothers and sisters? Shiva, Parvati and Ahura Mazda are also worshipped. Did God create these other gods as well? Besides the Bible, there are Quran, Avesta and other holy books to many people. Why did many gods become extinct, despite their presumed immortality?

Why are they all so different? Why are they only talking about Adam and Eve, or Adam and Lilith, while there are many more ‘first men and women’. And was there a first Neanderthal? Did Neanderthals, Denisovans or Flores people have gods? Were these extinct humans also created by our present gods? Was there ever a Great Flood? Were the 10 plagues in Egypt caused by Yahweh or a natural cause? If Yahweh freed the Jews from bondage in Egypt, why didn’t he, when they were enslaved in Babylon? Do Hindus have the same souls as Christians or pharaonic Egyptians? What is the difference between man and animal? Can spirits have children with humans? If not, who was Jesus’ real father? Why did Yahweh loose his wife Asherah ? Yahweh’s spiritual heirs, God and Allah, never got her back, nor any other wife. Are gods themselves subject to evolution, maybe? Is it divine evolution by human selection?

And many other questions… with realistic answers, to some, most likely an inconvenient truth.

The fundamental explanation is simple: all gods were ‘created’ by man. They were conceived in an attempt to understand the world and to explain what they experienced. As long as man did not have sufficient knowledge to explain natural phenomena or to answer questions about life, disease, and death, he attributed much to supernatural forces and beings, good and evil ones. In this way, Gods are imaginary, man-made, like virtual brain prostheses. Consequently, they reflect the knowledge and character of humans, as well as their attitudes and aspects of the cultural environment in which their creators lived. Inuit did not create ape, crocodile or jackal gods, or a god with an elephant head, and people living in Egypt did not think of goddesses who created seals, sea lions, walruses or whales. In areas where no hurricanes or volcanoes were known, no god was created to deal with these phenomena. And so on. And, of course, if there are no gods, there cannot be prophets or angels bringing messages from them. 

PART 2: GODS AS MORAL COPYCATS

Since man created all the gods and other spiritual beings, these reflect the moral attitude of their human creators and successors. This is why some moral codes are almost identical over the whole world, while others are not. The first category covers universal concerns, the second category includes local habits and culture.

In this part, we look at the history of slavery, discrimination, racism, serfdom and colonization, and discover how religious norms, values and rules evolved with human moral evolution, not the other way around. We also look at religious attitudes and the historical role they played. All moral codes were originally defined to suit their society, redefined during later epochs, and twisted to suit man. We’ll look at the gap between religious theory and practice throughout the centuries. We’ll discover how religions produced fake miracles, even how Jesus turned water into wine… with a little help from ancient Greek scientists such as Heron of Alexandria. And if Jesus turned water into wine during a feast, and is considered a respected prophet to Islam, why did they ban alcohol afterwards?

We’ll look at the origin of the 10 Commandments, from Ur-Nam mu, Li pit-Ishtar and Bilabial or Dadusha, through Hammurabi to Moses. We’ll also show how little they mean in every day’s life, all over the world, including religious organizations. In particular, the USA is a big country with a big number of Christians in name, but almost without many Christians who abide by God’s or Moses’ Commandments. At the moment, the American and British leaders seem to be the biggest sinners when looking at Christian rules. Abortion is considered ‘from the devil’, while bombing pregnant women seems to be perfectly fine. Why isn’t it seen as contradictory?

The Ten Commandment reflect the ancient norms and values of a mainly Semitic Middle-East.

Their interpretation evolved with the people who enforced them. Morals evolve as well as religions and societies themselves. Since then, science has learned a lot that could be helpful to enhance the 10 Commandments as well as other religious laws. Eating pork is no longer a threat to Muslims because of modern hygienic measures, nor is spaghetti Bolognaise to Jewish people. Some rules could and should be amended, modified or deleted, and some need to be added.

PART 3: RELIGIOUS GODLESS TRICKS

If religion is all about the afterlife, why is the Catholic Church the second largest landowner in the world? Is it a coincidence that the biggest landowner is the British royal family, with at the top the head of the Anglican Church? In the US, preachers are flown around in their own airplanes, and see their success as a sign of God’s blessing.

By now, everybody could know that Adam and Eve were not the first people on earth, and that other humans were here before modern man. Most ‘real’ teachers know that, and many worshippers do, so why are children still submitted to fake stories from the prehistorical Middle- East? And how are religions still convincing so many people to believe these stories, or are allowed to do so without having to put their stories in perspective?

Why does the Catholic Church consider communists enemies? Since Russia embraced Christianity again, what are the real reasons? Does learning to accept religious contradictions pave the way to behave the same way towards politicians and governments? Does religious indoctrination in this way pave the path to merciless behavior? Was ‘Gott mit uns’ a practical example?

And more.