Of God and Man

By Thomas A. Myers

You have been looking around and seen the excesses of bad behavior, greed, politics and downright manipulation happening in churches, temples, mosques, or meetings, along with the strict controls and outright radicalism preached from the pulpit and decided that you don't want anything to do with organized religion. You may still attend out of some sort of commitment or tradition but chafe as you sit there. You have an innate belief that a God of some sort exists but you do not think any of the world's religions tell the whole story. You wonder why…why do I feel this way? Am I an atheist? Or am I just a bad person? Why can't I just get past all the issues created by people and focus on God? And by the way…what or who is God?

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543956665

Book preview

Assignment.

Belief Systems

It must be understood that religion can literally become the opiate of the masses through specifically designed rituals and readings as well as music that target a release of dopamine, oxytocin, adrenaline and other compounds inside the brain which can create euphoria and other sensory responses...and that these can literally rewrite the pathways brain! They can drive the mind to desire more of the same and often in increasing amounts to the point of fervor in the same way that a junkie needs a fix! This desire can block out logic and common sense, causing the internal need for cognitive dissonance, because a person intuitively knows that the ideation which they hold onto is not truth, but the thought of the loss of the feelings it creates is more than they are willing to endure, so often they will fight…ferociously…sometimes to the death if need be to protect, enhance, spread, increase their own state of mind and infect that of others…and others while not as dependent, may fight as well as part of the peer pressure of belonging. And yet others will finally see a path of escape to break away from the control and be free! Only logic can be the cure and it has to be administered in small amounts over a period of time to lead the person to realization and create an open mind.

This is why the politically savvy and powerful have always used religion to control a populace and will often set themselves up as the arbiters and examples of what a religion represents and set the expectations on the populace. Once those in power become very adept, they will begin to design the readings, rituals and music for specific purposes which create fealty to the belief system and to their supposed divine right to rule and control the people. The sad thing is that most people will follow like sheep follow a brutal shepherd, though some may need dogs to keep them in line and moving in the direction determined by the leadership…even unto their own demise.

Breaking free of this control can be so satisfying that the individual never wants to engage in a form of belief ever again and becomes an atheist…which often morphs into a system of belief in and of itself. These folks will also eschew logic in their righteous fear of coming under control of yet another belief system.

Now…it must be said that many religions didn’t start out seeking to control people (Though some were specifically designed to!) and the individuals who were at the genesis and created the belief system often had freedom in mind…but it is human nature to complicate systems and actually desire and design the readings, rituals and music that lead to chemical release in the brain. It is when a few system leaders become aware and realize that the system can be used for self-aggrandizement and consolidation of power in their control that they begin to seek further systemization, obfuscation, and codification…to create the MYSTERY of belief that can only be sorted out by the religions elite. This is of course because that power provides rewards in their physical living and often more importantly, that the chemical release from the adoration of the populace is manifold of what the average believer experiences…and of course with any addiction, the need for that chemical release constantly increases.

There are examples of this with the Mega-churches and the hagge in Mecca, but the list can go on and on. All of which flies in the face of the fact that you were meant to have a one-on-one relationship with God.

That is why this book is meant only as that first step in thought as you free your mind…you must take each new step through logical examination and experience of methodologies and systems on the path to creating your individual process to accomplish that relationship between you and the cosmos…and toward manifesting your optimal existence.

YOU must be able to realize and recognize that many people have the need to remain inside of their belief system because of fear or reduced cognitive ability as the vastness and sometimes emptiness of the realization of the cosmos and their own perceived insignificance in the grand design. The expanse is just too much to fathom…even that first tiny step outside of their comfort zone…like looking out at a wide canyon, standing on the edge…to look out may be beautiful and majestic, but to look down may make a person dizzy and afraid. Most people choose to turn around to the flat land of their existence and embrace those who provide them with structure, even if it costs them their freedom.

Think about this…if the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then the corollary must be that the road to heaven is littered with bad intentions…which of course, are eventually cast off! All is based on action with the knowledge that what is sin is anti-love, but that the rest is made up of things that are thought and done in the cosmic learning process of trial and error…where our mistakes must be recognized as our greatest teachers!

When was the last time you actually listened when God was speaking directly to you?

Logic

Galileo stated: I do not feel obligated to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.

Einstein followed: "I came—though the child of entirely irreligious (Jewish) parents—to a deep religiousness, which, however, reached an abrupt end at the age of twelve. Through the reading of popular scientific books I soon reached the conviction that much in the stories of the Bible could not be true. The consequence was a positively fanatic orgy of freethinking coupled with the impression that youth is intentionally being deceived by the state through lies; it was a crushing impression. Mistrust of every kind of authority grew out of this experience, a skeptical attitude toward the convictions that were alive in any specific social environment—an attitude that has never again left me, even though, later on, it has been tempered by a better insight into the causal connections. It is quite clear to me that the religious paradise of youth, which was thus lost, was a first attempt to free myself from the chains of the 'merely personal,' from an existence dominated by wishes, hopes, and primitive feelings. Out yonder there was this huge world, which exists independently of us human beings and which stands before us like a great, eternal riddle, at least partially accessible to our inspection and thinking. The contemplation of this world beckoned as a liberation, and I soon noticed that many a man whom I had learned to esteem and to admire had found inner freedom and security in its pursuit. The mental grasp of this extra-personal world within the frame of our capabilities presented itself to my mind, half consciously, half unconsciously, as a supreme goal. Similarly motivated men of the present and of the past, as well as the insights they had achieved, were the friends who could not be lost. The road to this paradise was not as comfortable and alluring as the road to the religious paradise; but it has shown itself reliable, and I have never regretted having chosen it.

Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe, a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble. The scientists’ religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection. On intelligent design.

My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.

The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion, it will transcend the human understanding of God and avoid dogma and orthodoxy.

Science without religion is lame; Religion without science is blind.

The more I study science, the more I believe in God.

God has no religion.

So, who are you, or for that matter who are we, to determine what is logical and what is not? That’s a great question and the answer is…God gave you (and us) that ability! Just as Galileo stated above, it is in you. But in order for you to accomplish this task you must have knowledge and in order to gain that you must be open to new information and learning. It is sometimes a simple thing, like hearing a small voice in your head telling you that something is real or something is not. Other times it is more difficult and depending on the source you may be told to just accept what you are seeing or hearing because the person is in a position of authority. But here is a hint, when it comes to God, NO ONE has the power to tell you how and what to believe.

And let’s face fact…do you think that the person who is telling you how to believe is more righteous than you? Think about that for a minute…ok, two…did it come to you? The answer is absolutely NOT!!! Look at the scandals that we know about with molestations and child pornography and all sorts of bad deeds done directly by those who would and have told you how you should act and believe in God. They have stood over you and judged you to be sinful. They have ‘blessed’ the sacrament and water and any sort of icon, when they hold no real power and in their own hearts are wicked to the point that if you knew their thoughts and actions it would probably sicken you.

It is illogical to place faith in humans as we are ALL flawed, only YOU know what is in your heart and whether YOU are ready to accept God into your being. Is that not logical?

Logic will lead you.

This philosophy is not about getting ‘THINGS’ it is about YOU and being who you wish to be and not being forced into accepting the things that others believe. There are a lot of writings about different kinds of manifestation in the idea that you can get stuff if you believe you should have stuff. Let’s face it…that is total crap and has nothing to do with our belief. This is about your mind and soul, if things come due to hard work, great, but don’t have that as your reason for doing them. Those ideas get in the way of learning and becoming…

People claim to want to give a hearing to other people’s views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views. William F. Buckley.

Control

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Wizard of Oz.

We know that no one ever seizes control with the intention of relinquishing it. Orwell.

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:8

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.

— Seneca

Truth changes with the season of our emotions. It is the shadow that moves with the phases of our inner sun. When the nights falls, only our perception can guess where it hides in the dark. Within every solar system of the soul lies a plan of what truth is--- the design God has created, in our own unique story. This is as varying as the constellations, and as turning as the tide. It is not one truth we live to, but many. If we ever hope to determine if there is such a thing as truth, apart from cultural and personal preferences, we must acknowledge that we are then aiming to discover something greater than ourselves, something that transcends culture and individual inclinations. Some say that we must look beyond ourselves and outside of ourselves. However, we don’t need to look farther than what is already in each other. If there was any great plan from a higher power it is a simplistic, repetitious theme found in all religions; the basic core importance to unity comes from shared theological and humanistic virtues. Beyond the synagogue, mosques, temples, churches, missionary work, church positions and religious rituals comes a simple message of truth" found in all of us, that binds theology---holistic virtues combined with purpose is the foundation of spiritual evolution. The diversity among us all is not divided truth, but the opportunity for unity through these shared values. Truth is the framework and roadmap of positive virtues. It unifies diversity when we choose to see it and use it. It is simple message often lost among the rituals, cultural traditions and socializing that goes on behind the chapel doors of any religion or spiritual theology. As we fight among ourselves about what religion, culture or race is right, we often lose site of the simple message any great orator has whispered through time----a simplistic story explaining the importance of virtues, which magically reemphasizes the importance of loving one another through