Page 26 - WhoAreWe...

On Organized Religion

I'm not going to get bogged down in an extended
discussion with organized religion, but there are a few
things I would like to put forth here.

If there is one single thing that renders many organized
religions meaningless, it is the fact that they claim to be
The Only Right Way. The moment you have groups of
people insisting that their life way is the only life way you
are creating an atmosphere of suspicion, resentment,
revulsion and ultimately, hate. It is what almost all wars are
based on, not to mention so much of man's inhumanity to
man. So the notion that our creator somehow would
promote such feelings has to be patently false. There is
simply no way that hatred should become the ultimate goal
of a spiritual experience. If Our Creator really wants it that
way, then I'd like out of here as soon as possible, please.

Another concept that belies the authenticity of organized
religion is that they have taken something quite simple, like
spiritual growth, and made it so complicated that it is just
silly. Perhaps this is because they want their leaders to
seem so much more intelligent than the rest of us. There are
plenty of complex things in life, the Human Personality
among them (as we will see), but spiritual growth is simple
and direct. Not so easy to obtain, perhaps, but simply doing
your best to treat the folks around you the best you can
while contributing to the community in a positive way is
not a complicated concept, even though it may be
complicated to accomplish. It is amazing when you look
closely at The Golden Rule, because so much spiritual
Growth can happen when it is consulted in any decision
making. More about that later.

23