Why is religion so persistent?

The primal truth for every person is that they are lone souls on a journey through life in the universe of creation.

Those who trust in the Divine Creator explore alone, freely, and without inhibition, occasionally connecting with like souls.
Those that feel lost huddle in frightened groups, cowering in fear, forming congregations of like minds.
Fear based congregations cannot understand those who stridently address the mysteries of creation, for fear is their master, and fearlless is the explorer.
The congregations of like minds self-perpetuate fearful like-mindedness, which of necessity requires a fearful leader.
The leader may have once been a powerful man or a King. But men die, and so do kings.
This forces the search for leadership beyond the mortal flesh and blood.
Religion is the fear base of humankind.
Religion teaches fear of everything in Divine Creation.
If religion were based upon truth, there would be nothing to fear.
Religion is so persistent because there is safety in numbers, and the congregations fearfully respond to anything unlike themselves by attacking it.
Even when it offers salvation.

 

MrRee -- that was, by far, the best response so far. Simple and deadly accurate.
Nicely done.

 

people of all kinds of beliefs believe that the world is coming to an end....how can we deny it at this rate? we are destroying our earth and it's ozone layer at a very fast pace. The world wants money and the earth pays the price. We are selfish beings! The Bible talks about the increase of wars, of disatrous storms, ungodly world rulers, ect ect ect in the last days. Man has become increasingly sinful. W're not just making it up saying we think the world is going to end, look around you. Watch the news. The direction we are heading at full speed does NOT look like a peaceful place.

 

You said that there is know way that I can prove what I am saying until it actually happens. Well Dan, it's already beginning to happening. In Ezekiel 36 God fortells that the Jews would return to the land of Israel. And in Ezk. 39 He states that when Israel would finally be at peace with their neighbors, Russia and their allies would attack them. God states that this would happen in the latter years.

Ezk.36:1 As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD!
Ezk.36:8 As for you, mountains of Israel, you shall grow branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, for they shall soon return.
Ezk. 36:19 I scattered them among the nations, dispersing them over foreign lands; according to their conduct and deeds I judged them.
Ezk. 36:22 Therefore say to the hous of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Not for your sakes do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you came.
Ezk. 36:24 For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land.
Ezk. 36:35 This desolate land has been made into a garden of Eden, they shall say. The cities that were in ruins, laid waste, and destroyed are now repeopled and fortified.
Ezk. 39:8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

Ezk. 38:18,19,20,21,22,23 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come agains the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and every steep places shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every mans sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him witrh pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
I skipped over many verses to make for a fast read. Yet if you read Ezk. chapters 36,37,38,and 39 you will understand why the Jews are back in Israel today. You will also understand that the God of the Bible is not dead and His word speaks the truth.

 

As I said, lets wait and see what happens eh?

 

These quotes are to correct Campbell34:

Jeremiah 23:16
Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the LORD .

Jeremiah 23:21-22
21 I did not send these prophets,
yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
yet they have prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
they would have proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.

 

well an even better idea is to research it for yourself in case it IS true.

You don't want to wait till it's too late.
THAT"S why religion is so persistent.
We don't want to see anyone left out of the gift of salvation!

 

Some like to think they are 'alone', even unique, but no one is. Each of us is of a type; we are very small parts of larger patterns: family, city, state, nation, world, etc. Believers believe for diverse reasons, as do those who harbor other beliefs, and those also who reject belief. Some gregarious people are indeed fearful, loners also are afraid. True believers, on any order, exist on levels, and in a broad scope between very weak and very strong. The best stories, the best movies exhibited forces in contrast, and at odds. Life is such a story. You are, all of you, superb actors.

 

Even the christian church doesn't know what to believe when it comes to bible prophecy. That's mainly because it is founded upon ANTI-christ(ianity) by accepting the very teachings & practices that Jesus came to overturn!
JC gave a new gospel, so what does the christian church do? ~ use the old one that christ came to replace. Not smart by any means. So in an attempt to make sense of itself the christian religion is turning inside-out like a pretzel.
The whole prophecy thing in christian terms is the old Preterism vs Futurism debate that no amount of prophecy-quoting, bible-izing has or will ever resolve.
http://www.ldolphin.org/preterism-ice.html
Truth will never be found in words. But it is always found in action.
The trouble is, the christian religion is just words.

 

What would a spiritual 'action' look like to you?

 

Oh come off it, if we started to worry about everything that *could* happen, we'd never leave the house..

Seriously, you can't advocate fear mongering.

 

i'm not fear mongering, but i am just challenging you to look inward and have an open mind to the possibility, and research it for yourself.
How do you know it's not real unless you've given it a chance to prove itself to you? Are you scared of what you might discover?
Only God and you know your heart. But God knows us better than we know ourselves. And it's my hope and prayer that you will come to know Christ as your saviour. Maybe you don't realize it now in your life, but hopefully you come to terms with God's existence sooner than later. When you begin to seek Him, then you begin to really live.
I dare you to be honest with yourself. Even if you don't believe in GOd and you think it's all a silly fairytale, go ahead and ask the Living God if He's there or not. You might not hear an answer with your ears, you have to listen with your heart.
Peace~

 

*rolls eyes* if that is all you're after, then you might as well give up mate, you're not going to convert me to your death cult. Now don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you to believe whatever you want, but I'm not going to stand by while you try and force it onto others.

(For your information, I have been doing research into this why do you think I posted this).

 

HAHAHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA "Death Cult", that's kinda funny.

I've never BEEN so alive.
i am not trying to force it on others, please tell me where i have been forceful.

thanks for the little link, glad to see you were doing research. I'm interested to know if you found any answers?

 

I can honestly state that I agree with you on that. Once the Apostolic teachings were abandoned, Christianity became a downward spiral, moving farther and farther away from the intent of Christ.

 

The question I ask Epiphany is whether the christian church is really christian or anti-christ(ian)? Given it's Roman Emporial beginnings, it's all a bit suss.

 

i would like to try and answer this question.

Yes, to the rest of the world Christians look like a bunch of hypocrites who are not doing what we were called to do.
But the true CHURCH, the true body of Christ, is made up of faithful believers who ARE doing what we are called to do. Jesus did not tell us to PLAY church, he told us to LIVE church. Get out into the trenches and reach out to people who need love. Being a Christian is to be Christlike, so those who are not Christlike do not qualify in that group.
True Christians are not extinct, they just seem to be few and far between. This is also prophesied, that alot of Christians would fall away in the last days.
Plus, the conformist "Christians" who don't really shine any Godly light into the world give Christianity bad name, which makes the world not want to give the TRUE followers the time of day.

 

That's a fine answer seahorse. Except for the "body of christ" bit and end-times prophecy, I agree.
I am one of those who have "fallen away." And gladly so. But that's another blah blah blah

One of the odd things about christianity is that of the seven christian churches of the "end times" (Rev 2 etc), five are doing the work of Satan, and two are recognized as good 'in christ'. That means that if you are involved in popular christianity, you have little chance of "going to heaven" at "final judgement" because you're in a church that's lost it's way. Yet christianity keeps trying to fill the pews, preach the gospel, and enlarge the congregations, all of which leads to said losing of way and it's consequences.
Damned if you do, and damned if you don't!!
Yet another "pretzel moment" for christianity! (with salt)

 

Kharakov you need to read these verses in context. God is speaking about false prophecies and the men who proclaim them. Ezekiel was not one of these false prophets. Ezekiel was a man that God did reveal the future to.

 

Religion is persistent because the fear of death is persistent.