Origins and Truths of Religion
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Religion has a lot to answer for. Civilisation for one. Everybody has some form of faith - usually forced upon you from an early age - but does anyone ever stop to think how it all came about? There are a lot of people who feel that there can be nothing in religion, because science proves that, but something happened along time ago to make people wonder about our origins. Where do we come from? Did we just evolve? Possibably, yes. And no. There is still a missing link. Somehow, we suddenly came to being, as if evolution suddenly jumped forward a few steps. Until someone proves otherwise, this is the way it is. The question, then, is how did that happen? Is it likely? Or were we created as we are now by some 'divine being'? Personally my answer would be one of two things. Either there is a 'God' who made heaven and earth and all which dwells in it. Or, we were visited by beings from outer space who bred with us and so sped up evolution. Through out history, there have been messengers from God telling us this and that and so we know that someone or something is there (assuming of course that one believes that these people actually existed and that they weren't complete loons). Whether God was an alien or a supreme being is irrelevant to ancient man, ones pretty much the same as the other, so this is another area of discussion entirely. Assume what you like for that area. Let's say that God is an alien, even now, if we met, he would still be the 'Supreme Being'!
So, why all the different religions?
Obviously different cultures are going to take on their own ideas as time goes by, especially when we're looking across thousands of years, but the great thing is that stories from the Old Testament in the Bible can be found replicated in nearly (if not absolutely) all religions. Noah and the flood is a good example. There are references to this even in Mayan and Egyptian texts. There is even evidence of this flood, as well as huge explosions around the areas where Sodom and Gomorrah were, so that at least we can be (almost) certain that these events took place. Even the story of Jesus is common amongst religions. The pagan religion talks of a man (posibably Odin) being nailed to a tree for the good of the people around the same time of Jesus Christ. In fact, there were many of the Old religion that beloved they were the same people and converted to the new religion. Muslim, Jewish, Islam and Christianity are basically the same thing. They all follow the same stories and talk of the same God, it's just their practices that differ. Ignorance of these crossovers has caused more wars than anything else. Unfortunately we have our ancestors to thank for that big cock up. Check out the following entry to get a good idea of how many there are: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/A252316. There can't really be as many Gods as there are religions can there?
Things that are missing from the Bible.
The New Testament, in case you didn't already know, tells the story of Jesus and the events during his life. It's a great story. But, it's not complete. There have been texts found, known as the 'Dead Sea Scrolls' that were omitted in the final edition of the Bible. Religion is a great form of control over ones realm. It's the first example of what's right and wrong in civilised society with a set of rules that make sense. Thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not steal etc etc. The church also had a lot of influence back then as well. The church is an institution, a first basis for control and so wouldn't it make sense to omit anything from the Bible that contradicts what you're trying to impose on society? Even if it means ignoring the most fundamental beliefs within a religion. The same applies to the Old Testament. We can never be sure of how much was in the first ever bible (or whatever it would have been called), but we do know that there are parts of it that were left out. The Gnostics were one of the first things to be taken out of the Bible for what they teach. There was once many Gnostic teachers back in the early days of Christianity who were eventually either executed or exiled for what they believed.(see http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/A291674 for more details of the Gnostic scriptures). Now that time has passed and the Church is established in the way it is, nobody within that institution would be willing to accept that what they've been told all these years is only partly true! You just have to see the outrage of the church whenever somebody publishes work on the 'Long lost scriptures'. The Gospel according to St Thomas, for example, was never in the Bible that we read. Yet Thomas was the only Disciple to ever question Jesus. He was the ultimate sceptic! When Jesus had supposedly risen from the dead he wouldn't believe it. In fact, he didn't believe it even when he saw Jesus alive. To convince him Jesus asks him to put his hands into his wounds (holes in the hands and feet from nails and a sword thrust in his side). Only then would he believe. It is at this point that he kneels before Jesus and proclaims 'My Lord and saviour'. So, he was convinced. The biggest sceptic there and finally he was convinced! So, surely his viewpoint would be the most valid and well balanced. But, his gospel was left out in the final edit! Why? The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of things Jesus said. One particular line shows why the Church wouldn't want people to know of this Gospel:
'Break a piece of wood and you will find me, lift up a stone and I am there'
God is infinite. Everywhere. Not a person, but more of a force. In which case, the house of God becomes the entire planet Earth! Who needs churches?!? So these words were omitted so that people would have to go to a Church, with a Priest and be told only the things that controled them. I'm sure the same has happened all over the world.
There are some churches however that use the Gnostic scriptures alongside the traditional ones. Gnosticism is also making a come back now that more and more people are finding out about it and the more openminded clergymen recognise the importance of what they teach.
The next step would be too prove beyond any reasonable doubt that all religions are the same. That there is only one 'God'. Once this can be achieved then so can world peace. This is why it should be so important to realise.
Recommended reading: The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception
The Celstine Prophecy (for those that feel that there's something more)
Chariots of the Gods?
The Old Testament.
Other Religions texts. (check out the similarities)
Recommended Surfing: http://home.online.no/~noetic/libe.htm
http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/AR/94-95/94-95_Scrolls.html
Reccomended Viewing: Dogma
Stigmata.
So, why all the different religions?
Obviously different cultures are going to take on their own ideas as time goes by, especially when we're looking across thousands of years, but the great thing is that stories from the Old Testament in the Bible can be found replicated in nearly (if not absolutely) all religions. Noah and the flood is a good example. There are references to this even in Mayan and Egyptian texts. There is even evidence of this flood, as well as huge explosions around the areas where Sodom and Gomorrah were, so that at least we can be (almost) certain that these events took place. Even the story of Jesus is common amongst religions. The pagan religion talks of a man (posibably Odin) being nailed to a tree for the good of the people around the same time of Jesus Christ. In fact, there were many of the Old religion that beloved they were the same people and converted to the new religion. Muslim, Jewish, Islam and Christianity are basically the same thing. They all follow the same stories and talk of the same God, it's just their practices that differ. Ignorance of these crossovers has caused more wars than anything else. Unfortunately we have our ancestors to thank for that big cock up. Check out the following entry to get a good idea of how many there are: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/A252316. There can't really be as many Gods as there are religions can there?
Things that are missing from the Bible.
The New Testament, in case you didn't already know, tells the story of Jesus and the events during his life. It's a great story. But, it's not complete. There have been texts found, known as the 'Dead Sea Scrolls' that were omitted in the final edition of the Bible. Religion is a great form of control over ones realm. It's the first example of what's right and wrong in civilised society with a set of rules that make sense. Thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not steal etc etc. The church also had a lot of influence back then as well. The church is an institution, a first basis for control and so wouldn't it make sense to omit anything from the Bible that contradicts what you're trying to impose on society? Even if it means ignoring the most fundamental beliefs within a religion. The same applies to the Old Testament. We can never be sure of how much was in the first ever bible (or whatever it would have been called), but we do know that there are parts of it that were left out. The Gnostics were one of the first things to be taken out of the Bible for what they teach. There was once many Gnostic teachers back in the early days of Christianity who were eventually either executed or exiled for what they believed.(see http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/A291674 for more details of the Gnostic scriptures). Now that time has passed and the Church is established in the way it is, nobody within that institution would be willing to accept that what they've been told all these years is only partly true! You just have to see the outrage of the church whenever somebody publishes work on the 'Long lost scriptures'. The Gospel according to St Thomas, for example, was never in the Bible that we read. Yet Thomas was the only Disciple to ever question Jesus. He was the ultimate sceptic! When Jesus had supposedly risen from the dead he wouldn't believe it. In fact, he didn't believe it even when he saw Jesus alive. To convince him Jesus asks him to put his hands into his wounds (holes in the hands and feet from nails and a sword thrust in his side). Only then would he believe. It is at this point that he kneels before Jesus and proclaims 'My Lord and saviour'. So, he was convinced. The biggest sceptic there and finally he was convinced! So, surely his viewpoint would be the most valid and well balanced. But, his gospel was left out in the final edit! Why? The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of things Jesus said. One particular line shows why the Church wouldn't want people to know of this Gospel:
'Break a piece of wood and you will find me, lift up a stone and I am there'
God is infinite. Everywhere. Not a person, but more of a force. In which case, the house of God becomes the entire planet Earth! Who needs churches?!? So these words were omitted so that people would have to go to a Church, with a Priest and be told only the things that controled them. I'm sure the same has happened all over the world.
There are some churches however that use the Gnostic scriptures alongside the traditional ones. Gnosticism is also making a come back now that more and more people are finding out about it and the more openminded clergymen recognise the importance of what they teach.
The next step would be too prove beyond any reasonable doubt that all religions are the same. That there is only one 'God'. Once this can be achieved then so can world peace. This is why it should be so important to realise.
Recommended reading: The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception
The Celstine Prophecy (for those that feel that there's something more)
Chariots of the Gods?
The Old Testament.
Other Religions texts. (check out the similarities)
Recommended Surfing: http://home.online.no/~noetic/libe.htm
http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/AR/94-95/94-95_Scrolls.html
Reccomended Viewing: Dogma
Stigmata.
