Relgion - Good or Bad for Mankind?

[Mortos]

Has religion done more harm or good to the planet and people since it's inception?

I tend to come down on the side of harm. Wars have been fought billions of lives lost, hate, holocausts, inquisitions, burnings, torture, genocide, Jerry Falwell and many other horrible things have been unleashed on society as a direct result of religion.

As I grow older, I try to find out more about that which I dislike. I have never been a fan of churches. I was born into the Catholic church, born again in the Southern Baptist church and became a pagan heathen shortly after reaching puberty I(where I have happily remained since). I find most fanatical religions and parishioners extremely frightening. The one constant in all fanaticals is that glazed look in the eyes, the empty smile and the feeling of superiority.

Living in the U.S. I am most exposed to and repulsed by Christianity. I have done a little research and found that I do like and am fascinated by Jesus Christ, it is just what his followers have done to his teachings in the last 2000 years that has me riled up. If Jesus came back today he would be shocked at the attitudes and arrogance of many of those who practice religion in his name. He would throw the rich preachers out of their multi-million dollars church/malls and treat them with the same disdain he showed to the money changers in the temple.

He would, once again, try to teach people about loving your enemies, lifting up the downtrodden, reaching out to the sickest and most degraded, renouncing hate and forgoing wealth and materialism for spiritual fulfillment...

Then he would be crucified again by the same people who proclaim their love for him by wearing WWJD bracelets and putting decals of Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes) kneeling in front of a cross and, oh yeah, the marriage + 1 Man and 1 Woman bumper stickers.

Evangelicals today post more of a threat to our American freedoms than terrorists, porn, meteors and the ACLU combined. The ones I have talked to are hateful people. Truly hate filled. They hate gays, Muslims, Jews, Middle Easterners, Mexicans, the poor; in short they hate anyone who is different than them. They hate the same people Christ compelled them to love. They want a homogenized sameness to America. They want us all to worship their Christ or to get the fuck out. They want to enforce their code of ethics on the world or kill those who refuse to go along. They pray for people to be killed in explosions. They sound more and more like the Al Quaeda nuts and the real scary thing is they are not that far apart theologically. One just thinks their imaginary friend is more powerful than the other guy's.

I do believe religion has accomplished a myriad of good and in it's purest form it inspires mankind to do what is right and use our humanity to make the world better. Unfortunately, we have gotten so far away from the original purity and tainted it with greed, evil, narcissism, hypocrisy, politics, and vanity that it may never be returned to a useful tool for the betterment of this world.

Maybe in the next life.

www.conservativefighter.blogspot.com

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I like my version of the faith, which is live and let live. Can't stand

what the RWers have done to it, though.

------------------------------------
Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://timeforachange.bluelemur.com/

[DireStrike]

2. Kneejerk reaction: bad

It's just one more thing for dictators to manipulate.

Control someone's emotions and you command their allegiance.

[markbark]

3. Religious Fervor

... is the most prevalant form of mental illness in America today.


--MAB

[jayctravis]

4. Religion is good when it's a personal thing.

No philosophy should be forced on anyone.

Isn't that the core reason people came to America? To escape the thumb of imposed religion?

[Mortos]

6. Or to be in a place where they could impose their own religion

on others?

[Tansy_Gold]

32. That's more like it, Mortos.

They wanted to be able to build a society that would conform to all their religious precepts.

Sadly, the society that grew from those first "pilgrim" colonies has retained many of their religious strictures, even if only subconsciously.

American religious culture did not evolve; it was imposed. European culture is today far less controlled by religion because christianity overlay existing traditions that managed to survive even in disguised mode. Here, however, most of the pre-christian traditions were excises from the imported christianity; we got only the uber-patriarchal version, without any of the moderating matriarchal elements.

As far as I'm concerned, organized patriarchal monotheistic religion is an abomination. Matriarchal polytheistic religion would have a difficult time organizing to become the oppressive power we see today in the Judeo-Christian and Islamic faiths.

[notundecided]

11. Organized religion is bad.

What happens is the organization becomes the object of worship - not
the religious teachings.

[Deja Q]

5. Spirituality = good. Organized religion = bad. staunch religious supporter

= bad. Closed minded people = bad.

[bryant69]

8. Staunch religious supporter = Bad?

Nice to know where I stand I guess.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[da_chimperor]

7. Asbestos armor (and mask, it's bad stuff you know) on . . . .

I'm basically an atheist, and I'm mostly against organized religion. I think you can believe in whatever you want to, assuming it doesn't hurt anyone else. I think people should be able to get together and communicate about their beliefs, but to have it strictly organized gives me the creeps. More decentralized religions I'm mostly fine with, even though I've never liked the idea of religion in general. It all seemed silly and somehow wrong to me when I was in Sunday school what people were trying to tell me. I was baptized an Episcopalian and went to church the first 10 years of my life, and nothing ever sank in. If religion couldn't sink in during my most impressionable years, I doubt it ever will.

On the point of if I think religion has helped or harmed humanity, I'm neutral. I think that the comfort brought to so many by religion is good, but the death, destruction, intolerance, and persecution brought about is bad. Religion has served to help society in some cases by encouraging people to donate to charity, help the poor and the ill, etc. But it has also acted as a millstone on the back of science, as seen by church disapproval of Copernicus, Galileo, Darwin etc. All in all, it's a mixed bag and I don't think anyone can make a strong case either way.

[pocoloco]

9. "no religion too"

[ernstbass]

10. Seems to me that billions of people

have been killed in the name of religion (God , Allah, whoever)

[eyepaddle]

25. Well this thread's gonna get lit up--

it's just a matter of time. However, examining your relationship with the universe and the eternal is I think healthy--keeps you growing and questioning. Joining a team and using it to separate people into "us vs. them" is bad. No matter what you call it. Dogma can be dangerous.

ooops, I meant to reply to the whole thread--I must've hit reply instead of "top" and then reply. My Bad.

[markbark]

60. Yup... Most of the problems in the Middle East

can be traced to a five-thousand year old argument over who has the better imaginary friend.

--MAB

[NCN007]

70. true

but the teachings of all religion are relatively good overall and encourage acting according to moral standards. Whats dangerous is when religion is used as a tool to further a political agenda. I wouldnt say the problem is the religion, but its hijacking for the inquisition, the crusades, jihad against the west, etc. certainly is.

[Sterling]

12. Both

Plenty of examples of both. That being said reigion is very dangerous in the context of where we are today with the left behinders with their figire on the big button.

[loyalsister]

18. Exactly

Good for sincere believers who use it to "get through the night."
Whatever works for people to help them understand the world and increase their comfort level in the reality that surrounds them is a good thing.
This offering of soothing beliefs reaches the most vulnerable parts of people. It's personal and should be invdividualized.
Personal beliefs and spirituality that offer answers and guidance people feel that they need are of great value.
I say this as an athiest.

At the same time, there are individuals who have learned to manipulate and take advantage of this vulnerability that so many people have.
It is absolutely tragic and horrifying.

[mcscajun]

13. Personal Spirituality, Good.

Organized Religion, Disastrously Bad.

Organized Religion distorts the teachings, becomes political and commercial, and promotes intolerance, violence and war.

You want to have a personal relationship with your personal conception of 'god', go right ahead. Won't bother me in the least. Want to worship the goddess, Gaia, trees, Buddha, whatever. You worship nothing at all, you're okay in my book, so long as you act towards others as you'd like to be treated yourself.

[H2O Man]

14. If Jesus were to

walk into America today, he would again be crucified. And the highlights would be shown on television.

[indigobusiness]

23. Perhaps he wouldn't even be recognized?

Much like before.

[Walt Starr]

15. Bad

It holds back scientific discovery, puts down people, anesthetizes the masses, and generally works to the benefit of the few at the expense of the many.

Religion is a rich man's game to keep a poor man down by selling the poor man false hope.

[Ron Green]

21. Religion is a rich man's game of oppression, but so are several other

institutions like war, capitalism, most forms of government, television, etc.

[mpendragon]

44. quote from Napoleon

I have some reservations about its authenticity but:

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."
- Napoleon Bonaparte
That seems to fit the vein of this thread.

As for actual quotes from the Bible, I like:
". . . let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more" - Proverbs 31:7
If I every open a microbrew I'm putting that on the bottles.


Personally, I think religion is beneficial to the extent that it binds a community, provides hope in hard times, and on some rare occasions it inspires the best in our natures. It is because of this that I'm reluctant to be cynical about it or paint it with a wide brush.

To the extent that faith and belief are powerful forces that can be harnessed for war, oppression, hate mongering, and promoting ignorance I say it is harmful. Like almost everything else in the realm of opinion, the net cost or benefit of religion depends on where you stand.

[indigobusiness]

22. That wasn't Einstein's opinion.

"In my view, it is the most important function
of art and science to awaken this feeling
and keep it alive in those who are receptive to it."

(Einstein)

http://home.earthlink.net/~johnrpenner/Articles/Einstein1.html

[Walt Starr]

27. Einstein was a physicist

Though a genius, Einstein was not necessarily right about anything.

Pulling Einstein into this debate is the fallacy of argumentum ad verecundiam.

[indigobusiness]

34. He was also a brilliant thinker.

Denial is another intrument of fallacy.

[Walt Starr]

35. Sorry, but you have to do better

Quoiting Einstein about religion is appeal to authority. It has no place in this debate.

[indigobusiness]

36. It's not about me...

or you...or Einstein.

[Az]

38. So what is it about

?

[Walt Starr]

39. Riiiiight

Then why did you drag Einstein into this?

[indigobusiness]

40. Because...

he made a good point.

[Az]

41. Within the constrains of the understanding of the time

Albert was a genius. But he and all great minds rely on what came before them. If certain information was not part of the stream yet it is not considered. Current understanding of social dynanics changes the parameters he was examining. Thus his statement may no longer be valid.

[indigobusiness]

42. Time is irrelevant...

to the significance of what he said.

[Az]

43. That is a definitive appeal to authority

Much as I value Einstein we are in the business of overturning his ideas. Science is about revolution. Finding the mistakes. We build upon the discovery of learning what was wrong. It moves forward and can never rest on its laurels. Great though they may be.

[Walt Starr]

56. To you, maybe

Observation leads me to a different conclusion.

[indigobusiness]

72. How could someone who quotes a Taoist

argue?

[Algomas]

16. Religion is for people...

Religion is for people who live in fear. They are terrified of uncertainty and death and will believe the most bizarre crap imaginable to avoid the truths of life.

Here is a great quote from Ken Kesey:
"The answer is never the answer. What's really interesting is the mystery. If you seek the mystery instead of the answer, you'll always be seeking. I've never seen anybody really find the answer-they think they have, so they stop thinking. But the job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer."

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

17. More people have died "in the name of religion" than any other cause...

Organized religion, by definition, starts with the premise "I'm right, and you're wrong"...thus conflict ensues. I don't care if people worship goats as long as they keep it THEIR BUSINESS. Legislation of personal religious beliefs has proven historically to result in bloodshed.

[MXMLLN]

28. Actually, ... I think that more people died under communism.

Between Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot ... you've got close to 100 million dead.

Historians number the deaths which have occurred in the name of religion at under 1 million.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

29. Naaa, religion beats communism over the centuries. n/t

[MXMLLN]

33. No ... actually it doesn't.

Here's a sampling of some of the numbers of deaths across the centuries for non-religious justifications ...

50,000,000 : Second World War
42,000,000 : Maoist China
40,000,000 : Mongol conquests
20,000,000 : Taiping Rebellion
20,000,000 : Stalinist Soviet Union
15,000,000 : First World War
9,000,000 : Russian Civil War
7,000,000 : Thirty Years War

Deaths due to religion comes no where close to these numbers.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

37. Some of your data are wars that blend religion and politics...

Example: With the exception of the English civil war, the last major war of religion was the Thirty Years War. It is fair to say, however, that this war was as much about politics as it was about religion. Germany, which was called the Holy Roman Empire and extended from the North Sea to the Mediterranean, was not a unified state, but rather a loose collection of a huge number of autonomous city-states or province-states—three hundred and sixty autonomous states to be exact. Each was a more or less sovereign state that levied taxes and tariffs, had its own armies, made its own money, and even enforced its own borders. Religious differences fueled the fires of the political and economic rivalries between these separate states. About half the states were predominantly Protestant while the other half were predominately Catholic.

[muriel_volestrangler]

50. The Taiping rebellion was quite religious

it was trying to establish the "Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace". A new cult, rather than a long established religion, but religious, nevertheless.

[Cobalt Violet]

66. Doesn't that depend on the historian?

It's much more than a million according to other historians.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

19. It's like diapers. Necessary for a young civilization...

...and an embarassment for an older one.

[indigobusiness]

20. Before you make up your mind...

I suggest you consider some of the reference material and objective info on these two threads:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2766869&mesg_id=2766869


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2801236

[Just Me]

24. It's not so much "religion" that harms as it is humanity.

People have the choice of utilizing religion for purposes of tolerance, strength, love, etc. or for purposes of power, greed, discrimination, etc.

[Az]

26. Bad question

Its like asking Apendex: Good or bad for the human body. Its not exactly something we chose. It happened. Religion happened. Its not going away today. There may be changes we can see or make today that in our current opinion will improve the issue. But definitively good or bad? Its not a valid question.

The question is what should we do now. Are the aspects of religion that are beneficial? Are there some religions that are negative? What aspects of their belief make them negative? What can we do about it if we love freedom of thought? Should we do anything about it.

[Midnight Rambler]

30. Personally

I'm of the opinion that religion is bad. It's one of the easiest ways to divide society and foster bigotry. Even racism and ultra-nationalism have a strong component of religious dogma in them. It's also the number one way to supress sexuality, as we've seen in the days following the election. And I'm not just saying that because I'm an atheist. I said those same things when I was still a devout Catholic. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

[Az]

31. It can both divide and join societies

Homogenous societies are often joined together by strong religions. Diverse societies can be split apart by them. Which is why as our world shrinks via technology religion finds itself more and more divisive. Nations are no longer the singular cultures they once were.

[m berst]

45. kick n/t

.

[u4ic]

46. Live and let live, believe what you will

just don't knock on my door at 8am Saturday and tell me what to.

(the live and let live is VERY important)

[ProdigalJunkMail]

47. as was said ...

by Ghandi...to some effect...

"As for Christianity, I like their Christ, but I don't care much for the Christians..."

theProdigal

[Nikia]

48. Organized religion is an extension of culture

In smaller cultures, the close relationship is apparent. It might not be apparent what is cultural and what is religious because they are intertwined. Christianity and Islam are missionary religions which spread to many different cultures. These relgions were intergrated into their individual cultures as well. Based on the culture, in some cases, the culture made the relgion say things that it did not say or emphasized certain things over others.
The United States is a relatively individualistic culture, which inhereted some aspects of English culture but also included many other cultures. Should we not be suprised that American Christianity ignores real family values such as taking care of and accepting others who are in need and ignores the sins of greed and pride while emphasizing Victorian Puritanism?
Although religion apparently has caused many wars, it is rather that the culture caused it while religion reinforced people's support.

[sphincter]

49. Religion.

Me, for one, thinks that religion is utter bollocks and I am and will probably remain an aetheist. However, people are free to believe in whatever they want.

Some argues that religion has killed billions of people, but if religion didn't exist, there would have been something else in it's place, since religion is not the only thing that has killed vast amounts of people.

We always find things to argue over. It is in our nature.

[AliciaKeyedUp]

58. How nice of you

We are free to believe what we want.

I think we knew that, though many here seem determined to make us believe as they choose.

[Harry S Truman]

51. The darkness

Organized religion is the scourge of civilization! It might have once had a purpose, but as we have learned truth, religion must pass away. Those who hold it up as truth are doomed to remain in ignorant darkness.

[AliciaKeyedUp]

59. So it's your truth we must follow

Not the truth we believe? Kind of egotistical, dontcha think?

[immoderate]

52. Depends.

We apparently have a hardwired predisposition to the types of things that fall under the category of "religion." If this is so, then it is something which has enhanced the ability of our species to survive.

It is also a process that can be abused. When the first charlatan realized he can have power over people by performing a few simple tricks, the fix was in.

It's good that we are predisposed to making certain cause and effect connections. It's bad when we make the wrong connections. It's good that we have faith that can lead to loyalty to a group, or a person, or an ideal. It's bad when that faith is abused by those who would lead us to do evil.

In short, you're wielding a two-edged sword. Depends on where you swing it.

--IMM

[Lydia Leftcoast]

53. "Organized religion--bad" Aren't you all special and superior!

You know, we're not all pedophile priests or televangelists. My affiliation with the liberal varieties of Christianity has been one of the most enriching aspects of my life.

For one thing, it actually made me more aware of social injustice and what could be done about it. I can honestly say that I would never have gotten involved in anything if I had just been a solitary spiritual person. It was the religious communities that provided the first positive peer pressure.

Organized religion has let me be part of some wonderful communities of diverse people, many of whom I never would have met in other contexts. I have had to confront and overcome prejudices.

I have been supported, encouraged, loved, and introduced to new worlds of thought and experience by these communities. I'm talking about something even better than the DU Lounge--and it's face to face, not in cyberspace.

Some of the most inspiring esthetic experiences of my life have occurred in church contexts. I love the feeling of connection with 3,000 years of tradition, knowing that the Psalms my choir chants every Sunday link me to countless generations of people all over the world. When a worship service goes well, when the combined energy of the worshippers and the space and the words and the music reaches a peak, there's nothing like it.

These communities have fed the homeless, sponsored refugees (including refugees of other religions without any attempts to convert them), built Habitat for Humanity houses, provided business clothing for the long-term unemployed, provided rent-free meeting spaces for AA and other self-help groups, and welcomed all people no matter what their ethnicity, sexual orientation, or economic status.

If you had bad experiences in fundamentalist or backward Catholic churches, I'm sorry, but that's not the whole picture. Some of you, I see, are just regurgitating the standard militant atheists' talking points. But you don't know my experience or the experiences of countless others who have found organized religion to be an overwhelmingly positive force in our lives.

[Zenlitened]

69. "Militant atheists"

That's funny! :D

[Lydia Leftcoast]

74. Militant atheists are people who

can barely hear religion mentioned without starting to pile on the insults.

[DemBones DemBones]

76. Did you notice, Lydia, that the original poster said he had

been born Catholic *and* born again Baptist *and* become a heathen pagan by the time he reached puberty? That means he rejected religion when he was a child, so his experiences with religion, good, bad, or indifferent, were brief.

The militant atheism pervading Leftist sites is truly out of control and obnoxious.

[Zenlitened]

77. Yer crackin' me up!

How many wars, jihads and inquisitions have been carried out in the cause of atheism?

[AngryAmish]

54. I think Mick Foley is Catholic

It seems to suit him.

[bhikkhu]

55. Not a valid question

the two can't be separated, much as I would like to think otherwise. Or in another way, if every human culture known to us has developed a roughly similar "religious" worldview, both at present and throughout history, we might accept this type of worldview as inevitable. A good argument can be made that it has a biological basis.

[AliciaKeyedUp]

57. Today's dose of bigoted flamebait

Good to see we are keeping up with the trend.

[Cobalt Violet]

61. bad , bad , bad. n/t

[MrsCheaplaugh]

62. Religion = Bad?

Not always. Judaism and Islam both have strong scholarly traditions that have wrought many benefits. The Christian church, with its "become as a little child" mindset is an exception to the rule.

Also, how many people of faith (whichever faith it was) were murdered in Stalin's gulag in the name of eliminating religion?

Blaming religion for human evils has always struck me to be as rational as blaming cars for drunk driving. It's too simplistic.

[Cobalt Violet]

67. And what do those "religions" call people who don't believe?

[Princess Turandot]

75. Personally, as a Roman Catholic..

I call them whatever they happen to be: Buddhists, Hindus, Protestants, Bahai, Atheists. (I broadly interpreted your question to mean 'don't believe the same thing' as opposed to being a question in which you specifically are referring to atheists.) While some of their beliefs interest me on an intellectual level, others do not. Their beliefs certainly don't offend me, although an individual who attacks me for my beliefs does offend me, as an individual, not as a member of the 'X' group. I don't care that atheists do not believe in God; I would prefer that they not care that I do, as a specific individual. The only thing that I'm sure of about religious belief is that none of us truly know the answer to the question it seeks to answer, at least not while we're still alive to post here. Why people choose to spend so much time on this board fighting about generic religious questions, such as the one that started this thread, is puzzling to me. I would think the energy would be better used condemning people such as the 'god hates fags' guy, who is an embarassment to humanity and whose name my brain refuses to remember, than reminding Catholics about the Spanish Inquisition (sorry, I don't feel personal guilt abt that) or announcing that people who believe in any religion are generically ignorant.

[prairierose]

63. Individual spirtiuality is good.....

organized religion = bad...very bad for humans

[Lydia Leftcoast]

64. Did you even read my post?

It's one thing if you prefer not to participate in organized religion. Only you can make that decision for yourself, and if any government or other authority said that you had to join an organized religion in order to have the full rights of a citizen, I can guarantee you that the liberal religious communities would come to your defense.

It's quite another to declare that ALL of it is bad on the basis of your individual experience with one variety of religion or even on the basis of NO experience at all except reading the talking points on atheist websites. This makes you no different from a right winger who "hates government" on the basis of a silly regulation or on the basis of having listened to too much Limbaugh.

Starting with the aftermath of World War II, untold numbers of lives have been saved throughout the world by Lutheran World Relief, Catholic Charities, Episcopal Relief and Development, the United Jewish Appeal, and other organized religious charities too numerous to mention. Most of them (not the fundamentalist ones, but the mainstream one) help anyone in need with no regard for the recipient's religious affiliation or lack thereof and without any attempt at converting them. They're in Darfur right now feeding the starving refugees and tending to their medical needs.

In Africa, where governments are poor to begin with and the World Bank imposes spending cuts, it's those horrible organized religious types who are taking care of the AIDS patients and their orphaned children.

Throughout the world, organized religious people have spoken up against repressive governments and often paid with their lives.

Millions in the U.S. get their main meal of the day at mainstream churches, especially in the downtown areas, again with no religious requirement. Churches provide respite care for people with Alzheimer's, tutor immigrants in English, build Habitat for Humanity houses, mentor teen-age parents, give free space to recovery groups, and provide after-school programs for latchkey children.

Yeah, we're real "bad for humans," and maybe we should all just quit our churches and become solitary navel gazers. Maybe we should all go on strike for a year. Utopia would result, right? :eyes:

[prairierose]

65. Lydia, I was not responding to you but to the original post. ......

Once upon a time, I too belonged to a church that allowed me to to have some trememdous experiences with some wonderful people. Some organized religious groups do wonderful things for many people. I spent an awful lot of time in my youth raising funds for some of those projects in Africa & Bangledesh. Now I try to work locally. That does not have anything to do with the fact that on balance, I believe, I'm speaking for me, not anyone else, that organized religion has not been so great for the human race.

[Hosnon]

68. Depends

Good aspects and bad aspects. Calling it unconditionally good or bad is going to lead to inaccuracies.

[0rganism]

71. *shrug* mixed bag, I guess

Of course the more egregious of religion's evils are easily noticed, while the good that is accomplished daily from its influence is often forgotten. However one thinks about it, I do believe the study of religion and religious behavior shows us a side of our species that we will have to understand, as a culture, to progress.

[indigobusiness]

73. Ego death has a lot to teach.

This Egodeath theory presents a rational, systematic model of religious experiencing based on loose cognitive association, experiencing no-free-will and its transcendence, and timeless block-universe determinism.

Includes:

o The entheogenic trans-determinism theory of religion

o The maximal entheogen theory of religion

o The entheogenic theory of myth, perennial philosophy, and esotericism

-- Michael Hoffman

http://www.egodeath.com -- simple theory of the ego-death and rebirth experience. The essence, paradigm, origin, and fountainhead of religion is the use of visionary plants to routinely trigger the intense mystic altered state, producing loose cognitive association binding, which then produces an experience of frozen block-universe determinism with a single, pre-existing, ever-existing future. The return of the ordinary state of consciousness is allegorized as a transcendence of Necessity or cosmic determinism. Myth describes this mystic-state experience. Initiation is classically a series of some 8 visionary-plant sessions, interspersed with study of perennial philosophy. Most religion is a distortion, corruption, literalization, and cooptation of this standard initiation system.


http://www.egodeath.com/index.html