⚠️Warning
Like for every blog post, firstly please be sure to read blog info to understand my blog.
I will especially underline it because religions are a tough topic to discuss. And most people will probably not be open to even think about something else or doubt their lifetime practiced religion, especially when older.
So if you’re a religious person and are not open to other people’s views, it may be best to leave this post. But on the other hand it may even be especially valuable after some time needed and thoughts to visit again and read it.
⏱️Overview
Many religions are still present and practiced and many times people died or fought because of religions. Some are so intense that they tell people to kill others, while other religions only tell you how to live. And this sums up in all human lives to a significant money cost and also a lot of time wasted.
Don’t get me wrong, you can learn something useful for life from religions too. For some this even motivated them and helped to have a better life without a bad unhealthy addiction.
But for me, especially later, religions are a waste of time and (in total) people’s lives too. Lastly it is a big profiting business like basically any other. Just look at all those big religious buildings everywhere.
📜My history and observations
I was born and raised a Christian since my family was so too. Their parents also and honestly no doubt why, given how this religion was spread in county (over 90%, churches every km (0.6 mi) just like schools, it’s taught in schools too, some schools are Christian etc).
Let’s start from the beginning. In Christianity usually newborns are already dragged into it and marked by priest (also registered) since there is that christening ceremony in church with their parents.
There is little I remember from being few years old, but one thing is that at some point my mom just showed and told me that I need to pray everyday. I think I still remember it because this was something odd, felt like a chore and punishment, also unnatural and now even stupid I’ll add. I can’t even, most people (young or old) just repeat same stuff over and over again praying.
What is my point here? Well religions start with newborns and in their families too. It is already very addicting, it wasn’t even my choice to begin with. And let me remind my saying here: the younger you are starting something the easier to get addicted and more severe, longer consequences are. When old, people won’t even consider any thoughts like: maybe this is all not needed, not true, and there is no God? Because it would mean they’d have to throw half of their life away (partly) and admit it was wasted on this.
When I was a little kid I even at some point said I wanted to be a priest, which was after I saw how money is collected in churches by priests, and it was one of first times I saw money I think.
I remember early in school some kids pressed with questions: from what our priest was earning money. He finally admitted that from weddings, burials. I now know also for: extra masses with dedication, those who play music in churches, paying for graves. Yeah surely if you’ll have any of those occasions, then you’ll get the bill and need to pay money, not small I’ll add. And let’s not forget voluntary offerings big or small every mass. Mass takes about 40 to 60 min and ends with some church news and a list of things you could spend money on there etc. There is also an accompanying business of producing all those holy symbols, images and all candles, flowers and what not for the graves with at least once a year huge display or them.
Then attendence in churches is required every week. Well very habit building and for a life time addiction. I remember for long I didn’t talk inside, and only was present. I also really didn’t like confessions and that even masturbating once after, looses that grace or something and you’d end in hell if you died then, man so much bullshit etc. Penalty (atonement) for sins is usually just more praying or more mess attendance which is simply making more habit and addiction.
Being constantly subjected to talks about and thinking about God does affect your mind, instead of thinking logically only. I think maybe when I was about 16 years old I had my first doubt, if God does intervene on Earth, i.e. does something. I thought about asking a priest that too.
I guess being 18 and rebellious in high school helped here too. I tried once not going to church for a year to see if anything changes at all. For years I didn’t like going to church every Sunday. I also didn’t like that ancient theatre there since I started to call it so.
I did a simple computation back then, how much time yearly I waste on being in church and roughly this was: 54 * 1.5 = 81 hours, if we divide this by 8 that’s like 10 days of extra vacation. Now who wouldn’t like having this e.g. instead of work or school.
I think I got back after for a year again but then I stopped completely. I remember the frequent family talks that I should go etc. I’m glad though this eventually subsided. But imagine more severe consequences happening worldwide like family abandoning you etc.
Only thing left was Christmas or Easter since my family was pressing a lot to be at least then.
After few years still my brain finally cleared from all that nonsense. Leaving room for logical thoughts and reasoning that maybe there is no God and all this is just a hoax.
Since many years I don’t waste any time yearly for religion.
⏳Finally
Today I can answer all my questions immediately: there is no God, some people invented it all thousands of years ago (when most couldn’t even read) and this is still a profiting business on those who got into. I’m not surprised too much even, given how many other things are just lies in our world and how naive people (countries or whole humanity) can still be. I’m pretty sure even if you ask any priest the answer to any question(s) will mention God a couple of times and our belief, maybe some examples from bible. Because believing is the key what matters here. Without it religions wouldn’t still exist.
There surely are good things because of Christianity, one example I know are nuns, and their voluntary help in hospitals.
Honestly religions don’t necessarily help people. Some alcoholics or other addicts go to churches every Sunday and it didn’t help them at all in getting rid of addiction. The thing about confessions and forgiving God looks like a necessity for attendance and priest jobs or churches to exist even.
And there are also really bad cases of wrong turned priests. I’ve heard from my taxi driving cousin that he was driving a priest to a brothel (don’t remember how often), yeah great use of church budget. And even priests molesting minors with again an own long wiki here.
Lastly elderly people can get convinced by some priests to give money to churches, sometimes huge sums in total. And for what? For personal spendings? Gambling? I know, missions, spreading to other countries, repairs, and building more big churches, right? Aren’t there enough excessive ones already from old ages? I doubt if this changed much after Covid when people couldn’t go. Lastly for covering expenses for case settlings of abuse victims, if lying didn’t help cover them.
Some people get too passionate and obsessed with religion, spend more, travel with others to visit religious sites organized by church, almost constantly praying during that also with others. For me this is just too ancient, wrong purpose and wasted opportunity to do something else useful for others.
In Poland, where one pope was from, this somewhat turned into even more religion and pope obsession, after death too. Surely lots of profits from this.
Well the list goes on I’m sure. Like with anything else also here religions aren’t a solution. And if you contribute and give money to this, you contribute to all of it, including the worst things. If only time and thoughts, then its just wasted life’s time (IMHO).
⌛Conclusions
There are some other pages on internet.
One website also stated (in short) that given how many different religions are this means all are untrue. There is even some straight up made one lately like this.
Few are listing plenty of contradictions in the bible (e.g. here, here, or this pdf with 101, and another). I also found the middle age history of Christianity (crusades, inquisitions) to be particularly brutal, horrid and disqualifying even for modern times.
Yet there are still many countries in which still the majority is religious. Well imagine how many world problems we could together solve or knowledge learn to make our lives better if we skipped all religions.
Religions are often called faith. And this is really a great explanation of what happens here. They don’t need to be true, don’t need to be based on facts, no need to prove them or any events. All that’s needed for them is faith. Why is it bad? Well having faith means dropping / disregarding logic (I’d say at least few %) and tricking your brain to believe in something rather than proving it’s true first and basing your live only on facts and getting to the truth (so contaminated and lied these days by even media and politics, and misinformed people who talk or write too much).
There was also one quote, can’t remember where I heard it: belief in God is for those who don’t believe in themself. I.e. that they can be fine or even better without religions.
➡️More
Lately I was reading these great wiki pages: about atheism and arguments against the existence of God.
I highly recommend them since they have a lot more on the topic. As a person who thinks logically I found them very enjoyable and even priceless. I didn’t know there were so many logical reasons against religions. Yet countries are still overly full (percentages are here) of religious people. I.e. those who prefer to hinder their brain’s logical thinking, to blindly believe and not even doubt. For me clearly too many people died or lost their lives (at least a portion if it) to religions. I also agree that religions remove freedom from people and do enslave them.