Religion is a collective recognition of a supreme being and a proper way to worship (communicate with) that supreme being and how to behave before that supreme being. (My definition)

Operating under that defintion, let’s examine the question of equal validity. Firstly, who is the supreme being, and how does the supreme being become acknowledged as such? Most, at least all major religions, consider the supreme being to be god. The question then becomes which god? Is it a god man created, or is it the GOD who declares to be the author of the Bible, and Who created everything and rules everything?

All religions have a perception of good and evil, or acceptable and unacceptable. If it is the secularist religion (the most common today) which is most prominently represented by Communism or its sister Socialism, then their “sin” or unacceptable behavior is anything of which the state disapproves. That of which the state disapproves is in constant flux. One day something is illegal (sin) and the next day, it is not illegal (not sin). The state’s writings are always changing, and to understand and comply is impossible. That compels everyone to live in a state of fear and/or doubt.

Worship of the state amounts to obedience and looking to the state for one’s guidance, daily bread, and general comfort. Failure to do so is tantamount to insurrection (heresy). The state is represented by men who accede to power either through force, deception, or consent. While in power these men either set a standard of behavior through dictatorial edicts, or majority opinion. Of course over time, these men rotate in and out of authority, and the opinions and laws change with that rotation and the sentiments of the people. In other words, there is no immutable standard.

The state is not only the supreme being to be revered, but it is the enforcer of punishment of anyone failing to properly revere the state. That punishment can take the most common form or execution, but there are lesser punishments as well. The state can, humilliate, discredit, confiscate property, restrict or eliminate freedom etc. The state is a fearful master which can be quite arbitrary at times. The state can show favor to one and not to another if the one is politically correct, and the other is not.

The state does not like any competition from within, and will resist any from without. If the competition from without is not sufficiently strong, then the state will often try to take over that competition through economic, deceptive, or kinetic warfare. One thing of which the state is particularly fearful is an educated populace. Therefore, the state will do what it can to keep the populace suppressed. Governement schools are a very effective tool to achieve that end. Propaganda through mass media is another very effective method. Between these two, the masses can be kept in line to a large extent.

In order to assure that the masses will be kept in line, it is very helpful to keep them docile. Drugs are a very effective way to lower the resistance level to the state’s authority as god. The state runs into a conflict here because the men in the state find the selling of drugs to be very profitable, and to legalize them cuts into their profits. On the other hand, by legalizing them, they can tax them which is very profitable, and what they might lose on one side may be outstripped by all of the converts they get when drugs become acceptable to the state.

Now, that’s just a glimpse of the religion of the state. There are other religions which are more honest in that they declare themselves be such. You have Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhist, Hindu. Those would reflect the lion’s share of world religions. We will not go into a comparitive religion class here. Let’s just say, to this writer’s knowledge, of those listed religions, only two declare to be founded by, and their writings authored by, the GOD of all creation. Those two are Judaism and Christianity. and the writings are known to the Jews as the Tanakh, and to the Chritsians as the Bible.

Again, we will not go into a deep Theological study and/or analysis. In this writer’s understanding, the Jews rejected the GOD of the Bible, and when the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, was made manifest, the Jews rejected Him as well. Subsequently GOD acted and brought the Jews He chose into the Christian fold, and the rest became non-believers.

So, let’s deal with the Christian perspective of religion for a moment. Unlike the state, and other religions, Christianity not only claims to be the true religion, but they have a dramatic and well documented history that would substantiate that claim. As said earlier, the Bible is the only writing of which this writer knows, that is claimed to have been written by the GOD Who created all things, Who has no beginning or end, Who is all powerful, Who is all knowing, Who is all seeing, Who is all present, Who is perfect, Who is all merciful, and Who is all in all, and Who is to be obeyed and worshiped by His command and declaaration and in the way He says it must be done!

If no other book on earth makes that claim, then the Bible must gain the attention of mankind, including the state. The Bible has been around for thousands of years, and it has been preserved so that its original wording has continued in tact with the possiblity of minor non-substantive variations due to man’s fallability – not GOD’s! GOD has the ability to preserve His word. So, what we have is a threat to the state, and remember, the state does not like competition. The state (represented by collective mankind) wants to be god, but they cannot, nor never will be GOD!

Unlike the state in particular, the writings of the Bible have never changed – the principles remain fixed, and Christianity is a religion of persuasion. You cannot be forced to believe Christianity. It is a combination of hearing the Gospel preached, and/or the work of the HOLY SPIRIT which changes the heart. No state sanctions, popular opinion, gunpoint, sword point or billy club can do that – ever!

So, whether it is the listed religions above, or the stae, they do not comport with the word of GOD in the Bible. It is up to you to decide what is true and what is not – bearing in mind that truth is self-existant, objective and immutable. What should be clear from this writing is that not all religions are equal, or equally valid!

Pensiamento Peligroso