SHOWING THAT RELIGION IS AN ANTI-TRUTH CRUSADE, AN IDEOLOGY

“The question of truth is as central to [religion’s] concern as it is in science. Religious belief can guide one in life or strengthen one at the approach of death, but unless it is actually true it can do neither of these things and so would amount to no more than an illusory exercise in comforting fantasy” Anglican priest and scientist John Polkinghorne.

Religion is motivated by people being opposed to truth and trying to set up a rival truth of their own. Why do they do this?  For we all know truth is not about us and when something bigger than us looms we know our control is going to be taken away. We either lie to ourselves in the face of it to feel better or we go along with it.  It is easier to lie or so we think but all lies make things worse in the end.  The new truth will have many overlaps with the real truth for you cannot avoid the real truth except up to a point. Religion tries to suck others into this habit and reinforces the habit.  This is so bad. If it were not sucking the innocent and unwary in the fact remains it is still sucking others into an idea that you can be the master of the truth and that you can own truth when in fact truth is not about being owned.  You either admit the truth and live it.  Or you lie and do yourself harm.

Religion, liberal and fundamentalist both, shows an unhealthy interest in getting into schools and preaching to children and enrolling them in the faith without them knowing what an informed choice even means. 

No child raised Catholic or Muslim or whatever sees themselves as converts to the religions.  That is a terrible thing.  A religion should only exist when people choose it after weighing the alternatives.  A religion could hold you need to be brought to the faith and the religion by God’s grace and thus it is voluntary. That is not what happens. For example, Islam puts social pressure on Muslims to identify as Muslim and stay Muslim.

The truth is the truth but the truth is that nature "lies" to us.  That shows how wary we need to be.

In The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins noted how deceit in the animal world is fundamental. Butterflies that cannot camouflage are in trouble. Mammals have sex craves and don’t know the consequences. The idea that nature is pro-nervous systems and creatures who are realistic, accurate and more truthful is against the way nature works and nature is bigger than you so you cannot change that. It is perilous to deny that.  “Some cognitive scientists assume that because our brains and their functions have been ‘designed’ by natural selection we can trust them to tell us the truth – just because we can successfully survive and reproduce in no way ensures that our minds as a whole tell us the truth about anything”. Justin Barret the author Why Would Anyone Believe in God? (AltaMira Press, 2004) tells you that on his page 19. He is a respected cognitive psychologist. He says that all we can assume is that “our minds were good for survival in the past.” That tells us nothing about the future.

Now this tells us some things.

We are part of nature so our religions must lie to as they are part of us.

We have no reason to feel blessed and safe for we do not know what the morrow will bring.  The notion that we are cherished children of God who are in the palm of his hand needs scrapping.

We have no right to say that a God who would set up nature that way deserves any trust or faith.  If he speaks to a prophet that is enough to justify ignoring the prophet.

With all that deception it is no wonder religious animals target children and the vulnerable to get them involved in god stuff and religion.

Lies are not sins for they are natural.