Are you spiritual or religious?

Many people confuse being religious with being spiritual. They believe that if they followed the tenets and rituals of a religion of their choice (often, they practice the religion they were born into), they would be pleasing and acceptable to God and therefore be saved from eternal damnation. The truth of the matter is, spirituality and religiosity are as dissimilar as night and day. Although they interweave and interconnect, they are two entirely different abstractions.

To be spiritual is to live in the consciousness and magnanimity of the spirit, the higher faculties, the soul. You can be spiritual without having a religion. A man can experience great spiritual revelations and be touched by God’s awesome majesty while meditating on the flawless beauty of a flower or the inspiring magnificence of a sunset. To be religious, on the other hand, necessitates that you be part of an organized religion first (i.e., Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc.), and this is where the huge difference lies.

The Truth About Religion

Areligion is a system of belief or worship of a higher unseen controlling power or powers. Religions are human organizations created for the purpose of practicing and spreading religious dogmas and doctrines, and increasing followers.

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit. –Thomas Paine, Anglo-American political theorist, writer

It is a sad fact in the history of the world that more people have died in the name of religion than from any other man-made cause. Think of the countless early Christians who were fed to the lions in the colosseums of Rome; think of the Jews mutilated and killed in Nazi concentration camps just because they were Jewish. Think of the many natives bludgeoned and subjugated by the Spanish conquistadores in South America and wherever they went to spread Christianity. Even Magellan and Lapu-lapu’s sword fight was a religion-impelled encounter. Magellan brought with him Christianity as his galleon touched the shores of Mactan, and Lapu-lapu resisted both the territorial and religious invasion.

More people have died through the ages from religious wars than from political wars. Religious wars rage on in Ireland, the Middle East and other parts of the world. The September 11 World Trade Center attack was an act of jihad or religious war. It is incredible how an idea or a religion can make one man destroy and kill people, and in the instance of the WTC incident, ram a plane onto a building and kill one’s self.

All religions have based morality on obedience, that is to say, on voluntary slavery. That is why they have always been more pernicious than any political organization. For the latter makes use of violence, the former – of the corruption of the will. –Alexander Herzen, Russian, journalist, political thinker

True Faith vs. Blind Faith

Before condemning that terrorist pilot who committed the suicide, check yourself and how you view your religion. Belief in God entails faith because no man can see God; man can only "see" God with faith in his heart. Do you have true faith or blind faith?

"True faith is the combined use of your conscious and subconscious mind scientifically directed for a specific purpose. Blind faith consists of belief in amulets, charms, talismans, bones of saints, shrines, healing waters and so on. In other words, it is faith without understanding." – Joseph Murphy, Ph.D., U.S. motivator, author

Most of us practice our religion blindly. You say, "It is how it has always been done, it is how I should practice it." This need not be so. You must investigate and look beyond the surface of what is being imposed by your religion on you. Make sure you are not being taken for a ride or being used by the authorities of your religion.

It is not God that is worshipped but the group or authority that claims to speak in His name. Sin becomes disobedience to authority not violation of integrity. – Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher, statesman

The Marketing Of Religion

In the soda pop or soft drink industry, the brand that has the best advertising campaigns, the most appealing endorsers as well as the wittiest and most interesting lifestyle stories wins the cola war. It becomes the most widely patronized beverage in the world. The same is true with religion. The church or organization that has the most appealing doctrines and the highest visibility (not to mention the most money) becomes the most popularly accepted religion.

All the sweetness of religion is conveyed to the world by the hands of storytellers and image-makers. Without their fictions, the truths of religion would for the multitude be neither intelligible nor even apprehensible; and the prophets would prophesy and the teachers teach in vain. – George Bernard Shaw, Anglo-Irish playwright, critic

The religious advertising war rages on. Most religions now use television and mass media to propagate their faith and win over more followers. If you watch evangelist telecasts, you would see that churches now use music, dance, lights and other show business gimmicks to spice up their congregational services and rituals. It is almost like watching a rock show complete with gospel choruses in sequined costumes!

Any religion with clever marketing and limitless funds can become the world’s lead church. Christianity was lucky to have had the support of the later Roman emperors and the Spanish monarchs King Philip II and Queen Isabela, the super powers of the Old World. Not only did they have the financial power, they also had the military might to conquer and compel the world to Christianity. In the future, the religion of the country with military superiority (nuclear or a new destructive energy still to be discovered) will be the dominant world religion.

Personalize Your Religion

All religions have good and bad points. Find out what best suits your values and philosophies from the wealth of religious and spiritual teachings of the world. Explore them all – Christianity, Islam, Jewish, Buddhism, Zen, Baha’i, etc. Glean their spiritual treasures and use only the truly golden lessons in your life. In the end, true spirituality is between you and God, sans all the incenses and candles, the chanting and the rituals.

If you open your heart and mind wide, you will find out that behind most religions is a man or group of men masquerading to be God. If only mankind would wake up to the fact that God has no religion, all the miseries in the world caused by religious differences would end!

I think it is but fitting to conclude this little treatise with a quotation that is one of the wisest I have encountered about religion:

Give us a religion that will help us to live – we can die without assistance. – Elbert Hubbard, American author

* * *

I’d love to hear from you! E-mail deeperdoor@yahoo.com (no attachments and chain letters, please!). The reprinting, recording or publishing of this article in any form including the Web requires copyright permission from the author. For information regarding my life-enhancing seminars, e-mail DeroSeminar@yahoo.com or call/txt 0920-4053233.