Let's face it- your life is a hectic myriad of appointments, schedules and pressure. You may be struggling to cope with day to day pressures, from getting up in the morning and getting family to school, to get to your job and work hard, day after day. Things never seem to change, it all becomes a continuous journey of repetition, and you might not have any outlets to forget the set pattern of your professional life and family life.
So many people really don't have an interest- like a hobby. You can get a list of common hobbies from the internet- be it collecting old books, painting, sketching comic strips, writing or playing music or going to social clubs. If you have an interest in something, then why not occasionally spend more time doing that thing you enjoy or have an interest in? There are so many choices that you can pick from, but his article is not to nurse you through the motions of becoming a hobbyist.
This article is not going to be popular with many in this World, and I hope that nobody finds it offensive when I say,
'There is no God.'
'Religion is just a club that you can join.'
'If all you do is pray for a better life or for peace, then you are wasting your time.'
What a startling bunch of claims, I hear you say. Does reading that make you angry? You shouldn't get angry when I tell you that, because in reality, you have to be awoken to the ugly reality of the World. If things are going wrong in your life, and you pray for better days, do you actually believe when things get better, that 'God' made it happen? Don't be delusional. It's just coincidence.
People who go through troubles in their life often pray and pray, but nothing happens- things can even get worse, and they believe they are being punished. Again I say, don't be delusional. It is your imagination and belief that plays tricks on your mind and which may let you down more than often.
It is much better to take your troubles to a friend and say you want to go out to town for the day, or get in touch with your hobbyist side, do some exercise or even something simple like changing to a healthy diet, which will make you feel better and think more clearly. I believe that human beings have always been brainwashed in past generations to put their faith in God, and hope for the best. People have been made to become dumbed-down and superstitious, looking to religion for the only answer.
It is true that the message of religion is peace, love, compassion, charity and goodwill. All those things can be remembered without thinking of God or any other religious entity. Charities themselves are not made up of groups of people who sit around praying for food and clothing to fall from the sky, so that they can give to poor and elderly- charity workers have to depend on generosity of others, and often have to go out collecting money, approaching prospective donors and having campaigns to gather money,food and materials.
Do you pray for peace? Well take a good look at the World- wars are killing many thousands each year. We have dictators and maniacs ruling countries who believe that their leadership is the correct form of rule, when rarely they get a country fair and just, or rarely serve their people to ensure food and clothing is available to everyone.
The richest nations take a stance that they can invade other countries and make lives better by using weapons, bombs and extreme violence. That confrontational attitude is not peaceful, charitable or loving. It is the opposite, and is a work of evil. You can't pray to God for powerful nations to stop their dominance, and for nations to magically become equally as rich or prosperous as the richest nations. God will not stop the rich nations from creating wars, because God is not there, and only people can demand the change that they want for their own countries. When it is left to rich nations to change another country, we see politicians bend our minds to believe that war will create some sort of peaceful answer.
If you find peace in believing in God, then I guess you have the right to believe, although it is your own imagination making you feel better, because you have conditioned yourself to think that way. Some people use exercise, music or other ways as an escape from their daily pressure, but the pressures people face in the developed rich nations are often far less than pressures people face in poorer nations. You have to equate your position with the fact that you do live in some sort of wealth in a rich nation, and that you have more opportunities than in poorer nations. But don't sit and believe that God will save you, because you are 'putting you eggs in one basket.'
You have to do more with you own time to overcome pressures. Or perhaps you already have too much of a heavy schedule, and just need to meditate , or spend a few hours in the sunshine, or a few hours in the countryside or time with a friend or family.
Keep in mind that the majority of people in past generations were less fortunate- people did not have as many opportunities up until the advent of industry, which brought jobs and money, luxuries, and the ability to go to college or university. All those things are now more affordable, and you have to pick a way of life that suits you. Don't think that you will be able to cope with the 'city life' or the life in the modern world. It has become faster than ever, with more information available, more products and gadgets getting in your way, confusing you and wasting your time. Only ten years ago it was just becoming common for people to get on the internet, have a mobile telephone and have satellite television. Now it is a part of every day life, affordable and many people prioritize those electronic inventions above humanity. People are obsessed with owning technology, and many don't pray to God over the deaths of thousands of innocent people in some parts of the World. People in a Third World nation are themselves praying for God for help, yet as it appears end up being the victims of vicious crime, corrupt politics, violent invasions- while people in rich nations are praying that their internet connection stays on, or that their mobile phonecard isn't running out...
What has happened to make the World the way it is now- selfish and petty, while so many live in poverty, starving or slaving in an unfair and unjust existence?
I believe that religion has been a thing that has hampered progress in the World, which gave the riches to the rulers and made the people humble and stupid.
Humans were made to believe that by defying their leaders that they were defying God, and would be punished in Hell, and so not many uprisings occurred in history.
Do people accept poverty as 'God's will.' ? Do people just accept their lower class existence in the World as 'God's will' ?
It is all oppression, dealt by the rich, powerful and greedy to keep people in poverty, so that the 'higher class' in society can consider themselves 'blessed by God' and think of themselves as Holy or righteous and above others. Many of the rich and elite believe God made them that way. But they gained their position of power by oppression, slavery.
Religion has been a source of misery and oppression, physical punishment and suffering. People have been subjected to extreme violence 'in the name of God' , such as the Christian crusaders spreading Christianity through violence in the Middle East in centuries gone by. People actually believed that God made it all happen.
What kind of God makes an army, and makes that army take violence to another nation. It is not God's will, but the will of the rich nations rulers, in centuries gone by it was the will of Kings and Queens, to spread an Empire's power through the World. The British Empire wanted control over the World, and to make the people of other countries the slaves for the British Empire. That oppressive way of thinking still exists today to some capacity.
The story of God and Christianity was used to dumb people down, and simple uneducated people in another country could not distinguish the difference between God's will and the physical power of an army from the British Empire. Of course there were other empires, not just the British, but the fact still remains that people are brainwashed to believe that God makes 'everything happen' - when it is mainly evil, greedy and oppressive people that make the World hell for so many.
Greed, a powerful military, economic dominance are the 'God' of rich nations. The mighty army of America or other big nations cannot be fought and defeated- and it is not because God makes rich nations strong and powerful, it is greedy economics, extreme capitalist desires mixed in with delusions of grandeur. And the delusion that America and other big nations are somehow blessed by God to make them undefeatable is something that many people believe. There is no point praying to God to change America's leadership and stop wars, because the defense companies call the shots in America, and they invent new weapons to sell to the Government-hoping to get 20 year contracts to manufacture weapons of mass destruction, making the defense companies very rich. And the same goes for all big nations who are led by the corporations and big defense companies who rally together to create the weapons of war, making war possible, and urging our politicians to buy their evil weaponry.
Can we pray that defense companies lose their influence on Government. You can try, but don't expect God to be able to stop the production of weapons of mass destruction. Only the people of America and other big nations could truly stand up and demand change from their leaders, and call for the end of weapons production.
Having read this, can you as an individual honestly say you can call upon God to stop any evil, and promise that your prayers will be answered?
Don't be delusional. You can't sit and pray like the people of centuries ago, who believed that they were inferior or weaker, and were too scared to break free of their oppressive rulers, because they feared God would send them to Hell or something similar.
Today's people are intelligent, and shouldn't sit around praying for the World to become fair and equal. God isn't listening because God doesn't exist, and so problems will exist until people make the problems go away.
But people exist. Good people. And bad people.
Bad people have all the power, control and weapons, and some bad people sit on piles of money, becoming more greedy and selfish.
Good people have very little and want to improve their lives, so don't let anyone tell you that God has made you to accept a lower position in life- you have choices, and God cannot make them for you- you have to choose. God will not speak to the leaders of this World and make them more fair and just, people have to demand that from their leaders. And don't worry- if you go against your oppressive leaders, Satan won't get you either, because Satan as a spirit or an entity does not exist either, but the actions of the elite in oppressing the poor can be seen as Satanist or evil...
It is not God who makes a rich and powerful nation. It is greed and domination of bad people that makes a rich nation, and which makes a rich nation dangerous to other nations. People have to break free of their chains and make the changes to their own lives, to cope with pressure, to demand better from their leaders, and not let their minds be controlled by fear. Many people in many nations live in fear of God, when it is not God who causes them their pain, but oppressive leaders and bad people who put their greed and dominance above humanity, and cause the pain of others. God won't save you, but you can save yourself. Many people gain peace from believing in God, in praying to God, but it is a form of mind-therapy, where you trick your mind to calm down, believing that 'the power of God' will make everything alright.
You may not like reading that God does not exist, but if you are intelligent, then it shouldn't worry you. You should be more worried about the oppressive people of this world, be worried about the greed and wars, the dominant controlism of rich nations and the problems that they spread while claiming to be an answer.
After all, if you believe that re-incarnation is real, then what is the point in praying to a God that makes things exactly as frustrating and terrible, life after life?
It is better to believe that you as an individual can make a difference to the World, rather than waiting and praying to be reborn into a new world of perfection that never comes. An when the individuals of similar intelligence and strength unite to expel the oppression, they become God, and would be able to expel the humans among us who have brought the oppression upon others and taken the riches for themselves. Because the riches that exist can mend the problems, rather than being the Satan behind all problems.