The Belief of a God

Religion’s initial purpose, I believe, was to worship something greater than one’s self. Not to create excuses as to why one does something, not to explain the unexplainable and not to suppress fear. These are concepts, dealings and the creatings of man. It can, of course, be used to do the previously mentioned, but, again, that is but human nature, not religion itself. I cannot claim to say I know when the first religion was, nor can I prove or disprove the existence of God, but, I can say that ridding one’s self of fear and ignorance fits into the concept of self-preservation; which is, undoubtedly, a trait of man.

Using God to explain things one doesn’t know about is something of a natural inclination. Why does the sun rise in the day and set in the night? Because Helios is constantly riding his flaming chariot across the skies. Easy enough, and believable to one who truly accepts the concept of various, differentiating gods, but does disproving this by saying, “No. The Earth revolves around the sun while turning on it’s own axis, and when an area doesn’t face the sun, then night occurs.” disprove anything but the previously believed method in which a god causes night and day?

When does the existence of higher being prevent man from reaching out and attempting to fathom greater concepts, expand intellectually and understand the rules of the universe? Why do so many have to bicker as if the two are opposites; as if one prevents the other?

Science constantly tries to disprove God, as if it were a disprovable concept. Religion constantly tries to disregard viable sciences, as if it’s disregarding was a sensible thing to do. This, I believe, is a very substantial cause of the perpetual conflict between them. A large difference between the two, though, is the ways in which each side attempts to discredit and degrade the other. In science’s case, many who believe in God have faith in science, only because it allows them to further understand the world around them, and, who wouldn’t want such a thing? Yet, many people who believe in science completely disregard the existence of a God. I’ve heard so many renowned scientists be so obviously hypocritical in their attempts at ridding people of the concept of God, and babble idiotic clips of self-defeating logic as if it were a proven fact; or anything other than nonsense.

In religion’s case, not so much now as in the past, scientific discoveries, theories, things that have generally bettered the life of mankind as a whole and things which have only given us more clarity in the understanding of the world we live in have been smeared. This happened especially when the Catholic church took over. Great scientists were prosecuted; scientists who weren’t even as radical in their thought against the church as today’s, no one tried to disprove or denounce God, but, theories such as the Earth revolving around the Sun were smited by the church.

What very much instigated the conflict between religion and science was actually this period of time. Science, as religion, has been twisted into an intellectual weapon. It was never a concept meant to do anything but further expand our knowledge of the universe. Yet, the church’s prosecution of science could only instill a festering hatred; and, it is in the nature of man to want revenge. To want to do to his enemies as his enemies have done to him. What better way to degrade the church than to base a whole, well believed concept around disproving the core of religion’s concept?

Now, most religion seems to be used as many things, but, I don’t see many as worshiping God. Everything from controlling man to excusing him from morally wrong actions. It’s devolved to man’s ideals, man’s concepts and man’s corruption. If you do not follow this man’s interpretation of God and it’s rules, then you go to hell. This completely defeats the purpose of Religion, and, instead, builds up a completely opposite ideal; to worship what man has put in front of you. Religion, now, is not a religion, upholding or praising of God, but a religion of man.