I’m a believer. I have written about this
many times. I don’t deny that I still believe that Christ is the ultimate
Savior and Saint Mary is the mother of all creatures, big and small.
Yet, I also
acknowledge that religion is a sweet poison. A poison we sometimes need
to swallow deliberately to release us from worry and stress, to find
solace in something we believe will be able to heal our broken hearts,
and to give hope when things go awry in this uncertain and chaotic world.
Yet, religion is so sweet a poison that if we take too big a dose, our
sanity would collapse and vanish.
A person,
after all, must be realistic enough to understand that salvation doesn’t
come for free externally, but most importantly it comes through internal
enlightenment. If you think that by joining a religion, then salvation
comes as a complimentary bonus, well, that’s a part of the persuasive
power of a poison.
We need to
save ourselves, first and foremost, by opening our hearts and minds.
If a religion
helps us understand this important part of our life’s journey, then it is
a good dose, which is not yet poisonous, but healing instead.
I still drink
my sweet poison every day. I pray relentlessly in sickness and in health,
in happiness and in grieving periods, in good and in bad days.
And I think
it is healing to be taken in a light dose, just like alcohol, which otherwise
can overwork our liver so much that we can collapse and die.
Beware,
though, for religion is more lethal than any poison known to humankind.
If you
consider religion as the handbook of morality, think again. Morality has
long existed without religion. Religion emerged because of morality.
Thus,
teaching a child that “God is always watching” is hilarious because the
parent thinks that God is a CCTV. God isn’t a CCTV or a handbook and will
not be one, despite what uninformed individuals think and believe.
The correct
way of doing things is what matters and can be sought within through our
own enlightened self-guidance, regardless of whether one does or doesn’t
adopt any institutionalized religion.
Atheists are
wired in their brain not to need to drink the sweet poison every night
before bedtime. And it is a respectable choice indeed.
Like eros
love, religion is both intoxicating and lethal. Neuroscientists have
argued that it is the wiring in the brain that makes someone highly
religious or not at all. Whether you trust science or believe in mystical
principles, sweet poison must be taken with care and awareness.
Perhaps some
day I’ll be able to live without swallowing this sweet poison anymore and
I look forward to it.
Meanwhile, a
religion is a place where I can safely make wishes and dream about what
would happen next after experiencing a tumultuous life journey or even to
dream about the afterlife.
Such wishes
and dreams are encapsulated in something called “faith”.
At this point
in life, religion to me is a nice warm bed every night and a smiling
motherly figure singing lullabies. A religion is not an order to do
things or not to do things. What I choose to do is based on my own
considerations.
And a
religion sometimes plays a role because when I’m drinking sweet poison, I
feel elated and more positive about the present, the future, and the days
after I die.
Internal
enlightenment occurs when we make decisions based on priorities and not
harming others. Collective individual enlightenment would create a
culture of strong internality, instead of showing off with “holy
attributes”. A sweet poison has reached its most poisonous deadly form
when people who call themselves “religious” start killing and hurting
others physically or mentally.
Being a
believer or a non-believer has nothing to do with one’s internal
enlightenment.
Intellectually
and affectively, we can heighten our awareness without having to drink
too much of this sweet poison.
And being an
atheist as a choice may also be evidence of internal enlightenment, for
he or she can survive without having to rely on some abstract ideas and
dogmas handed down from ancient times.
A non-violent
atheist is much more enlightened than a violent religious individual, who
believes that killing others is a duty to reach a place called Heaven.
It is a
misconception buried so deep in some religious individuals, because
heaven is not a place. Heaven is a state of mind. ●
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