For the love of God

Religious movements spring up from a variety of stimulus, perhaps the sentimental favourite is love. No procreation or valentine type love, but the under observes ‘golden rule’ type: “love God, with all you heart, and soul, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor like yourself.”

The more common reality is to focus on those religious scriptures emphasise rules, control and power.

I have long since turned my back on organized religion, repudiating the save internal fights which give lie to the external sales pitch. Even so, I’m not sure where I stand on the issue of a God. Certainly I reject the concept of an interventionist god.

Jesus Christ, of the scriptures, never set out to create a church, noble as the potential might have been, he was trying to reform Judaism.

He lost on both counts as Judaism remains bound by rules and controls and others of his number saw a certain fascination with creating a church in his name.

Never mind what the ‘founders’ of new creeds might have had in mind, the imperative of power soon takes over.

Zoroaster gave the one, loving God concept a fly 3500 years ago, give or take. History suggested that his ideal lasted little more than a generation before its followers, or leaders, saw the need for a more pragmatic approach to beliefs.

It was a story repeated in the Middle East over millennia, then spread as power hungry adventurers spread. Christ’s ‘love’ has famously be spread by the sword, as it seems are most love based religions.

So here we are at another battleground of wonderful, uplifting, inspiring religions. Like the Catholics and Protestants killing in the name of their God, the Sunni and Shia are causing havoc in the name of their perceived God.

To that mix we can throw any other number of religious belief systems into the mix. Judaism’s ‘god who shall not be named is in there, as are the variants of the blond haired, blue eyed Christ. Throw the Indian sub-continent into the mix and you can add gods with countless arms and legs, no doubt handy in a savage conflict.

But it is all bullshit, the only God these combatitive hypocrites worship is power. Some would say money, but in reality they both add up to the same thing, control.

Regardless of the names, the piety they attempt to use to dignify their savagery it is still savagery.

Religious leaders will dupe, guilt, coerce and bully followers, seek to control minds and hearts in the name of their foul gods and use concepts like love to preach hate and destruction.

At least the Greeks, Romans and Norse were honest on their choice of major gods. Not so our modern crop of destroyers shielding themselves behind their empty worthless gods.