Opium of the Masses
Posted April 3rd, 2009 at 09:48 AM by alwight
Becoming religious seems to me not so very different from addiction to drugs or alcohol. Both of those two things can befuddle and delude the mind although they may well help in some situations to get you through.
Religion too is regarded by many including me btw as a delusion although I can see how it may help in some cases, but it wasn’t called the opium of the masses for nothing imo.
I had a friend that became an alcoholic with me in tow and I’m sure drink was almost like a religion to him. However I have never been an alcoholic, I don’t know why it never took me over because there certainly were enough chances. Perhaps I'm just not made that way. It may simply be because it just isn’t rational for me to surrender my mind over to a third party.
I don’t want to overdo my blatant parallel with religious belief here, I only wanted to point out that some people just will not surrender themselves over to religious belief although it seems that some will do so gladly. Whatever I believe has to have clear evidence behind. It has to be me myself that has decided what is true, a delusion of truth is simply not good enough.
Al
Religion too is regarded by many including me btw as a delusion although I can see how it may help in some cases, but it wasn’t called the opium of the masses for nothing imo.
I had a friend that became an alcoholic with me in tow and I’m sure drink was almost like a religion to him. However I have never been an alcoholic, I don’t know why it never took me over because there certainly were enough chances. Perhaps I'm just not made that way. It may simply be because it just isn’t rational for me to surrender my mind over to a third party.
I don’t want to overdo my blatant parallel with religious belief here, I only wanted to point out that some people just will not surrender themselves over to religious belief although it seems that some will do so gladly. Whatever I believe has to have clear evidence behind. It has to be me myself that has decided what is true, a delusion of truth is simply not good enough.
Al
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pick your poppy !~*~*~
Hi alwight  True to your opening thesis, 'religion' can serve as a 'drug' and many appear to gladly follow protocol. It depends on many things, on a personal and societal level. We may have a similar individualist approach at being 'free thinkers' within our own domain-preferences, although I take the more liberal meta-theistic route as an eclectic-spiritualist, exploring realms of consciousnsess within 'religious experience' (as it relates to the greater Whole). So, I guess we could pick our own poppies and be happy, just as so our 'drug' of choice is healthy and contributes to peace of mind, for ourselves and others. Of course, depending on our religious belief/affiliations or stringencies of dogma(some can get stuck in), we could make things more complicated with various psychologies of 'sin' and 'salvation' - but these are fields we all must chart depending on how we 'perceive', 'interpret' and 'incorporate' things. - thats the kicker,...as all in life is mediated thru the venue of 'perception' and 'interpretation'. Peace, paul |
Posted April 14th, 2009 at 01:05 PM by freelight
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Here's my email if you ever want to get in touch.
[email]bradholkesvig@gmail.com[/email] |
Posted January 11th, 2011 at 03:48 PM by thewordofgod
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Recent Blog Entries by alwight
- Opium of the Masses (April 3rd, 2009)
- Become a non believer for a moment. (March 27th, 2009)
