Personal message from the author:
“Religion,by nature, is a tool of peace and war, a tool of love and hate; a tool of freedom and slavery; a tool of humility and pride; a tool of rebuilding and destruction; and a tool of behavior modification. The use to which religion is put determines the effects – positive or negative – it creates. Its dogmatic nature stupefies its followers, who place their religious leaders in a highly revered position. They (followers) accept whatever they are told, hook, line, and sinker – without investigating the original scriptural implications of their actions. Of what essence is a religion that cannot be questioned? Of what impact is a religion that only dictates to its followers while they follow ‘blindly’? Of what hope is in a religion that has been used to perpetrate, as well as justify, various evils and heinous crimes? What awaits the fate of Religion in generations to come? Read on how the issue of religion has been objectively analyzed.”
— Johnson Umanah
For religions such as Hinduism, Spiritualism, Jainism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Taoism, etc. to have survived till now, it can be deduced that they are far beyond mythology.
Looking from a humanistic point of view, religions, particularly the major ones, possess traits that are worth identifying and criticizing. Religion claims to have ultimate answers to fundamental questions of humanity, vis-à-vis: the source of humans, what awaits them in the “afterlife,” if any, and actions that are morally right and wrong. This has made it win billions of followers to its side.
Each religion claims to have the ultimate interpretation of the truth about the Divine Being; whereas, these supposed truths differ from religions to religions. Though religion is one of the social contexts within with harmony and order could be achieved, it has also been used as a destructive tool, especially on perceived critics and oppositions. It has made humans vulnerable to a considerable number of fanatics that misinterpret the scriptures to justify their immoral acts, without the exclusion of violence and killings. Also, it has been used by religious leaders as a tool to act “divinely,” while the followers also “blindly” follow them, probably out of trepidation of the fate that awaits them in the “afterlife.”
This book does not, in any way, downplay the positive roles religions in the past have played in ensuring a society devoid of conflict. Instead, it seeks to expose the evils that are being perpetrated under the guise of being religious. It also reviews the truism and falsity of some religious statements and events from an unbiased viewpoint. Until people are able to differentiate lies from the truth, conspiracy theories associated with religions will continue to persist; fanatics will continue their teachings, and terrorists will continue to reign freely in their most dangerous thrusts.
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