[1]. People will believe anything because their family or community teach them to.

[1.1] Strict and exactly identical repetition of prayers, sayings, chants, ceremonies, and movements of the body as well as strong pressure from one's familial, cultural, and religious community to conform, are two of the main factors that cause most people to believe myriad things for which there is no beneficial reason to believe and are often psychologically negative for the person who believes. The concept of hell is based in fear and a vengeful, unforgiving God that sends people to be tormented for all eternity based on a life that lasts only a hundred years or so at most. This eternity in hell for a bad mortal life strikes me as unfair, arbitrary, creepy, harsh, and, very literally, infinitely depressing.

[2]. This is not to say that some things are not worth believing but, rather, that we should examine the reasons for our beliefs and we should examine the sources of such beliefs before we begin to think we know something, even weakly. What we should believe is a difficult question to answer but beginning with things that are based in evidence, experience, and those beliefs that are psychologically beneficial and enlightening seem to be worthy of entertainment.

[2.1] Those beliefs that have no basis in reality or which tell you that you are evil for doing or being something that is natural or harmless are beliefs for which there is no good reason to entertain other than in order to feel good about being a conforming member who is praised by other conformists. The concept of original sin is one that teaches all are born evil, bad, tainted, and rotten as well as that there is no level of goodness in one's lifetime that will wash this dark truth of our vile nature that is at our core from the moment we exist, which is, also speaking of belief, defined rigidly as the moment of conception.

[2.2] Humans who preach that they know the particular details are the best at starting religions because each one believes in the superiority of its particular take on the religion or lack thereof that came before it. Most of the major religions have had massive defections, evolutions, and reformations in their existences. Often these changes do not always make the religion bereft of doctrine or faith but seek to at least find a remedy for a global or particular hypocrisy such as Martin Luther's original intention with the Protestant Reformation.

[2.3] In some cases the religion can become a more open and inclusive version of the original religion that perhaps kept certain segments of their followers from participating at various levels or from being as influential as they could be for purposes of maintaining the power structure. Women being left out of many of the largest religious sects is one particular aspect of religion that would be absent from philosophy in that philosophy is open to those interested rather than only to those of one sex, gender, or nationality.

[2.4] Religions preach that these or those people are evil or bad because they engage in this or that practice or beiief system while philosophy suggests that no one is truly evil but some display evil behavior because they do things like demonize someone or some group of people merely because they are different in one of a million ways. While conservative religions preach that to be a sexually active homosexual is a quite serious sin that should be cured, a philosophy would not judge someone for their private adult practices and beliefs about such things because philosophies and philosophers let others be whoever they want to so long as that choice is not harmful to others.

[2.41] Those philosophies and philosophers who judge and demonize are not true philosophers but high priests posing as enlightened thinkers. Heidegger and Sartre strike me as charlatan philosophers and more of political toadies in the case of the German "farmer" and incoherent ramblers attempting to say something but not with any definition, as in the case of much of the writings of Jean-Paul. Bad faith can be anything and it is therefore meaningless. "Care" and the myriad invented words of Heidegger are no more than an attempt to make deep what is merely obvious nonsense to me and to many others not blinded by the mesmerizing complexity and length of his writings. I can go on and on about that which you will never fully grasp as well, but I prefer to make sense and explain what I am writing about. Yes, perhaps to be intelligible is suicide

[2.5] Fear, damnation, condeming, control of member's political views, and other such detrimental emotions and actions are easy to see in many of the world's largest religions and all should be seen as tools for oppressors rather than useful or necessary ideas about the deep and untested, perhaps even untestable, nature of reality.

[3]. This is not limited to religion, but includes nationalism, racism, sexism, and even what I call sciligion, which is faith in scientific realism. Atheism can be a form of irrational faith and even agnosticism can become an indoctrinating worldview when it strays from philosophy and if it is forced on people.

[4]. But, my focus here is on religious belief.

[5]. People will believe anything because they are lonely, the world does not always make sense, and because it does not always seem like justice is built into reality.

[6]. So, we want there to be something to make us feel not so alone and we want karma or god to make the bad guys pay and give us something if we are good. People believe one system or another because they want to belong and not be ostracized by their family or community. People believe, primarily, because they want the world to make sense and they want to feel that they are taken care of.

[7]. We want evil people to go to hell. We want the just to go to heaven. We want what we don't necessarily have and this is where religion and metaphysical belief, in general, is born. I am not saying that justice is not built into reality, but only that we can not be certain of it and we have no reason to necessarily think that it is.

[8]. Though, I must say that, personally, I do believe that justice is part of reality. This belief is personal and, hence, not something that can be argued but only expressed. It is, if true, not testable because the definition itself is subjective.

[9]. Faith is the mild form of insanity that allows us to believe in that which we know is not objectively real because we've never seen it or touched it in an objective way. We look to ancient people as if they had some greater connection to god and reality because it is the only way we can found our unfounded beliefs.

[10]. I've done it. I've believed. (I still do sometimes- but this is no excuse to form a coercive system, ie "a religion"). But, if it's real, we didn't learn it through science or reason. We learned it through custom, tradition, our parents, people, private experience, and all the lonely beings that are happy to delude themselves because reality can be very confusing when all the answers in life are not available.

[11]. The common aspects of all religions are doctrine and faith. Doctrine is a force for conformity and obedience to the agreed principles of a religion. Doctrine, if challenged, often results in either the challenger's expulsion or a schism. In the latter case, a new religion, with a new doctrine, is formed. Faith is the common mode of belief in all religions.

[12]. Faith is belief in that which can not be observed. Faith in doctrine is belief in those principles and in an ontological paradigm that there is no rational or logical reason to believe. There are, however, emotional benefits to religions in that they provide answers and comfort. Metaphysical answers and comfort can not be provided by empirical science, logic, or mathematics.

[13]. Though it is certainly possible that humans may have metaphysical access, it is principally impossible to verify any particular metaphysical claim. If it were possible to verify a metaphysical claim, then that claim would be scientific and not metaphysical.

[14]. One of the most unfortunate facts about most religions is that they indoctrinate or genitally mutilate (in the form of circumcision) young children to further their traditions. I believe that a human right should be freedom from religion until the age of consent.

[15]. Therefore, infant baptisms and religious education for children should be illegal in a free society where we do not brainwash innocent and impressionable children. Likewise, cults should be made illegal and the obvious question of whether or not large scale religions qualify as cults should be considered.

[16]. Any church whose leaders engage in the molestation of children in large numbers is horrible. The Catholic church, more than most others in the west, has tolerated and obfuscated the actions of pedofiles in its ranks for at least generations. And, at the same time, they preach a conservative sexual paradigm. Hypocrites.

[17]. I can talk about these things in detail because I was raised Catholic and I know the confusion and guilt a person can feel in this religion. I was not abused and many of the priests I encountered seemed like genuinely good people. But, I have no tolerance for a religion that turns such a blind eye to injustice. I hope Catholicism fades into the conservative and outdated past in which it certainly belongs.

[18]. And, if any Christian church hoards wealth like the Vatican, how can they honestly try to preach about the sin of wealth and charity for the poor? Recently, I've devoted an entire page (here) to lashing out against the evils of catholicism and catholics.

[19]. Scientology is a church that seems to be based on the fictional beliefs of L. Ron Hubbard. Perhaps he did travel back to Rome and find out that babies should be raised on barley water but I have no reason to believe anyone is capable of such things.

[20]. Though, I am quite certain that anyone can convince themselves that this is possible and that they themselves traveled back to Rome. I watched a wonderful series on HBO called "Rome" so I also traveled back to Rome. Of course, this was just in my mind as I watched the show and not in reality. But, what's the difference, right? I also spent some time hanging out with Xenu in a volcano.

[21]. Islam is a lot like Christianity, in that, a large number of the members of the faith are peaceful and respectful of others. For centuries, Islam was the religion that fostered creativity, mathematics and tolerance around the world. Christianity, for centuries was much like Islam is in some parts of the world today, anti-intellectual and violently intolerant. This same description of anti-intellectual and violently intolerant fits many conservative Christians and, more generally, conservative Republicans, in America.

[22]. I think all of this has more to do with wealth and education than anything else. If the Muslims had all the money and power, it would probably be fundamentalist Christians blowing themselves up in desperation. [23]. The conditions for extremism flourish in places where people are exploited. The exploitation of people in the middle east is directly related to the threats and attacks we have and will continue to edure. [24]. But, we also can not tolerate existential threats in a world where weapons of mass destruction exist. This said, anyone who lies about the potential threat of one nation against another in order to wage war should be seen as a criminal who has engaged in crimes against humanity. [25]. The Judeo-Christian-Islamic traditions are based on books written at least 1,300 years ago (most more than 2,000 years ago) by people who had absolutely no idea how the world worked in any way near ourselves. [26]. I see no reason to believe, with any certainty, that any of the figures in any of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition actually existed or possessed any supernatural abilities. [27]. We no longer believe in the Eqyptian gods or the Roman gods, so why do we continue to believe in god at all? We should believe what we have evidence and reason to believe and the mythical figures of ancient books meet neither of these qualifications.

"Dreamon", 2000, drawing by Anthony Peter Iannini

[28]. Maybe some of the figures in Islam or Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism or Hinduism were made up figures. Maybe they were alien-human hybrids, or maybe they were real and the stories were embellished- we simply don't know and referring to "it was inspired/written by the hand of god or angles, etc." does not prove anything.

[29]. Anyone could claim that anything they wrote was divinely inspired. Maybe it was and maybe it wasn't, but, if there's no way to test it, then how should we see such artifacts of historical writing? With skepticism

[30]. The Mormons were founded by a guy who read invisible tablets from a hat and, perhaps, wanted a way to justify having multiple female sex partners.

[31]. I have almost nothing but praise for Buddhism as it exemplifies much of the possibility of what humans can create in terms of a helpful and compassionate religion. There are aspects of buddhism that qualify as doctrine and some buddhist sects have unneccessary ontologies, but overall, it is a good religion- but, a religion, nonetheless.

[32]. We should be able to keep buddhist psychology and philosophy apart from those parts of it that are unneccessary in the same way we can keep valuable ethical understandings from the teachings of Jesus that do not require the ontological mythology. We certainly need not think that talking asses actually exist in order to understand Aesop's fables though I have been accused of being just such a mythical creature.

[33]. Taoism is more of a philosophy than a religion and, as such, I enjoy its teachings. I think that anyone who reads the Tao will have a more concise and better grasp of what existentialist philosophers like Heidegger and Sartre were trying to do.

[34]. I must say that I have recently come to a point where I find that governments are more responsible for false-flag attacks than religions are. But, these people would then be part of a cult of power. Cults of power in governments and intelligence agencies are just as, if not moreso, dangerous as religious fundamentalism.

[34.1] These people (appropriately often referred to as "The Powers That Be [TPTB]") think that human life and suffering is not important except when it involves them and those they care about. Otherwise, humans are basically things to be used or disposed of to many of the more ruthless nihilistic rulers throughout history. Empires need not be twisted or genocidal but they are more often than not because power and isolation cause some at the top of political and military hierarchies to detatch themselves from human suffering and use people as if the world is a only a game.

[34.2] For there to be slaves or war or decimated peoples, there must also be those humans who think that it is acceptable to see and treat other sentient beings as if they are lesser or nothing at all in comparison to themselves. It is empathy removed through dehumanization and cold rationalization of the world as filled with both people and things that look like people but are, to the sick minds of violent rulers, only imposters who are not entitled to freedom or life.

[34.3] Humans will pick the most insignificant details of another people's color, shape, religion, technology, or customs, and use these differences to form groups in which those outside of the group are simply not the same type of beings as those within it. The things around which people of the world gather into groups over are almost infinite (bodies, minds, cultures, religions, or other human forms or practices) and often these things are insignificant in themselves but not in that they are the reason people can feel like a cohesive, homogenous, tribe. "Our tribe believes, does, has, occupies, desires, consists of, has people that look like, etc." is the form of belief that allows people to begin to dehumanize those who are alien to their tribe.

[34.4] Seeing your people, whatever that may mean, as somehow superior because of any property of them, is to make all other people less human and this process can continue towards the goal of removing all other groups so that your group has the all the land and resources available as well as expand your group everywhere for the benefit of human kind. How does the genocidal murder of all other people enhance reality? Some people think, through indoctrination, arrogance, or cruelty, that they are the "chosen "or destined ones who are meant to create a world where this or that exceptional feature of their race, their religion, their belief system, their empire, their countrymen and countrywomen, their intelligence level, their nose size, their face shape, their eye color, their sub-culture, their family, their language, their food, their architecture, their science, their economic system, or their political system makes them worthy of thriving and spreading while others are expelled, subjugated, and exterminated.

[34.41] The Israelis are taking the land that has been occupied by Palestinians by bursts of military action, the building of walls, and the construction of settlements that jump existing boundaries. Extreme right-wing Israelis who occupy leadership positions in the government are actively attempting to expand Israel's borders and the Palestinians are seen as no more than a problematic obstacle that can be slowly removed by economic subjugation, blockades, military action, and forced migration. Native peoples from North, Central, and South America have been dehumanized by various factions from Europe for centuries as they were seen as barriers to the expansion of people who considered themselves superior to and more worthy of the resources natives occupied.

[34.42] From the conquistadors to Andrew Jackson, European descened "tribes" and their leaders were always able to see why they were more worthy of resources, land, and life tham the primitive sub-humans who were an obstacle to the replication of their superior properties of form and practiceand. "Because we have superior technology" is a belief that allows for a people to conquer but does not make the people that posess the tehcnology more able to have emotions, thoughts, desires, or pains. The native people, it should be remembered, often considered those of other tribes to be unworthy of freedom, resources, or life.

[34.43] Even within tribes or communities of people, one ruthless leader may be able to rationalize why secretly assassinating their rival is perfectly reasonable and even what is best for the leader's people. Perhaps assassinating Hitler would have been good for the German people if it could have prevented bad decisions like invading Russia in the winter. Colonial expansions throughout history as in the British using the people of India for slave tea farmers, the West's use of China for its cheap goods made by virtual slaves in factories, the Japanese discriminating against other Asian people such as the Koreans and Chinese, the German's attempt to genocidally exterminate Jews, Chinese extermination of intellectuals in the Cultural Revolution, America's largely post World War III campaign to subversively and overtly control all parts of the world possible through militaristic, economic, political, and cultural domination of not only other people but of their own citizens who are seen as a possible barrier to the imperial blossoming sparked by staged psychological operations like the events of September 11th, 2001.

[34.44] 9-11 was a "Look what THOSE PEOPLE did to OUR PEOPLE!" event designed to create an enemy out of people who are different enough from most Americans so as to create a belief in enough U.S. citizens that to destroy the aliens who attacked us is more than just but necessary for our peace and safety. Humans want to belong. Humans want to feel special. Humans use other humans and their differences to feel superior. Men and women. Christians and Muslims. Catholics and Protestants. Blacks and whites. Straight people and gay people. People from here and people from there.

[34.45] People who believe this profit was god and those who think he was just a man. People who decided to try communism and people who think economic diversity is good and such systems are undesirable. People with this gold, oil, heroin, gem, food, land, cash, technology, or anything else are always at the risk of being conveniently thought of as sub-human so that they can be relieved of their resources for the benefit of the master race, god's chosen, civilized people, or some such term that captures the people's perception of themselves as more than those they seek to take from.

[35]. I do not blame anyone for believing anything to cure the existential crises of being self-aware. But, I would certainly rather we all concentrate on making this life on Earth better rather than trying to score points with some deity so that you can be in some place better than this. I would be happy if all religion was abandoned freely and we simply attempted to reduce the suffering of all life on Earth.

[36]. But, even if there is something more to reality that all religions are touching upon, there is absolutely no reason to make a religion out of it. When we have no doubt, we have lost touch with the infinite possibilities in nature.

[37]. Spiritual knowledge of god and of what is good is private, if it can be said to exist. There is no reason to confine it, constrain it, or warp it through your own particular lense and make a religion out of it. If it is good, then let it be good. There is room here for something, but it need not be so structured because it tends to become a cult when we define it and give it borders.

[38]. Even writing about it is hard and I have tried and failed before to communicate about it. It is good to be. It is creative. It is here forever. It is ok. There is nothing to be afraid of. Doubt can go too far too. We must remain skeptical of skepticism.

[39]. It should be noted, before finishing, that I think there is a great amount to be gained from a beneficial or good or beautiful philosophy rather than a religion. The rift between philosophy and religion is not difficult to see.

[40]. Religion has dogma while philosophy has ideas. One is closed, rigid and certain while the other is open, observant, and inquisitive. One is for enlightenment and the other control. While there are elements of religion in some philosophies and philosophy in some religion, I think one can be sifted from the other- leaving gold.

[41]. Taoism is one of my favorite philosophies that has very little, if any, religious residue. But, one can say the same for the teachings of Jesus whereas humans have, in the meantime, made a mockery of the simple principles and philosophy found in the gospels both included in and left out of the Christian bible.

Some new thoughts from 12-24-2010:
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[42]. The day before Christmas, we all wonder whether or not to say Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas and, in America, they tell us there's a war on Christmas. These ideas are brought to the forefront by such honorable, level-headed geniuses like Bill O'Reilly at Fox News.

[43]. Fox news is less a news organization and more a right-wing propaganda soap box. All people's beliefs are important to them and we should be respectful of this but humans always turn good things sour when they take the teachings of this or that prophet and turn it into money or power. Power to feel better than those who aren't "saved". Power to condemn people for being bad.

[44]. Money for churches and schools to indoctrinate more children. If it asks for money or makes you feel bad, it's not God, it's some douchebag. Most churches are filled with douchebags asking you for money to increase this or that particular religion's hold on Earthly humans.

[45]. But, the true God lives everywhere and is in all things and there's no need to go anywhere or do anything more than be good- good for who you are and to those beings around you. You know what's good and what's bad. We all do.

Thoughts from 4-22-2011:
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[46]. We must keep ideas concerning god and spirit separate from religion. Discussions of god, for example, and ideas about god, need never constitute a religion or religious thinking.

Thoughts from 12-07-2011:
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What makes a religion a religion are characteristics that are opposite philosophy, open-mindedness, and awareness of the diversity of possibilities concerning aspects of reality that are not easily tested or readily observable. Religions take. Religions control. Religions ensalve minds and bodies to their rigid paradigm and consider others false. Religions control. Religions warp truth. Religions are often seen as cults in their early formation and only through time, membership, and power do cults mature into religions.

Religions that have belief systems very distinct from those around it are always considered suspicious of being absurd. But, this absurdity can be seen in all systems of belief that hold true many things which were obviously invented (Purgatory, Indulgences, etc.) or things that are not part of the original message or system that may have been more enlightened prior to modification and spoiling through the addition of aspects beneficial to a power structure or to a group of members above others. Is there anything in the New Testament that is descriptive of the Roman Catholic Church and the doctrine it requires it's followers to believe.

A philosophy suggests whereas a religion demands. Fear is used to control in religions whereas paths towards happiness are offered in philosophies. Hierarchies of men are found in religions whereas all are welcome to benefit from philosophies without such political structures. In religious thinking, those in power know God's will and expect followers to obey whereas God is considered something much more debatable and abstract. It is not alright to disbelieve in religions whereas philosophies are not interested in orders, control, or conformity but rather in offering that which may be disregarded if it is unpalatable to an individual.

Religions want money, power, and privelege. Philosophies want nothing because no one is behind them to collect the wealth, move the followers, or have the perks granted by a massive number of members who provide the wealth for a much smaller number of religious leaders. In the case of many televangelists, the primary message is that money given to the church will directly influence one's ability to receive beneficial consideration by God because of it. Yet, many of the personalities at the helm of these religions are taking huge shares of the wealth for their own personal benefit as well as directly refuting clear biblical passages that preach against wealth as a detriment to gaining access to desirable consideration with regards to attainment of entrance to heaven. Nirvana is a place reached through patience and meditation that requires dedication and abandonment of the material life.

In almost all religions, there are at least some elements of good philosophy at their core. Encouraging love over hate, especially of those one hates. Giving generously of one's gifts. Sacrifice to help others. Using wealth and power to help those without it rather than to increase one's own position in society. Tolerance of, and even alliance with, those society shuns or demonizes. Healing those who are sick in order to make them well rather than to profit from it. Clothes and shelter for those who have none. Giving up attachments to material things. Meditation to explore consciousness and bring peace of mind as well as further one's experience of various levels of awareness. Prayer that is relevant to one's self and life rather than memorized and repeated verbatim. But, these elements can be corrupted or removed when humans begin to use the philosophy in order to make others believe as they do and form a religion.

All philosophy can be made into religion when it is forced on people, when it is turned into a form of propaganda or brain-washing, or when it is turned from something that suggests ways to attain happiness in one's existence into something that turns existence into a dark, dirty place where you are essentially evil because you fail to please the deity. Acceptance of and love for those who are different rather than demonization and prosecution of those who do not believe or act in ways unacceptable to the members.

There are so many sects and factions and divisions in religions because people begin to see the flaws and cracks in the human-manipulated philosophy at the core of the belief system. But, most schisms only correct this or that aspect of the religion rather than make it into a philosophy by removing all of the religious and non-philosophical aspects. This is because philosophies are not able to make a group, a flock, or a cohesive and homogenous group that appeals to those who want reformation but not complete revolution in their belief system.

Christianity, if reverted to just philosophy, would include no clergy, no churches, and no demands on those who take interest in it. And, iChristianity would be forced to wrestle, as a philosophy, with how to treat Jesus as the special portion of the trinity who makes ceremonial his special place as conduit to God and heaven with religious repetition of the practice of eating bread that represents his body and drinking wine that represents his blood.

There is this and other religion in the Bible and in the teachings of Jesus. This is because Jesus preached not just about psychological changes most people must make in order to enter a desirable and blissful place upon death, but used himself as the central conduit for this attainment of unity with God and declared himself to be the one and only son of God that is also God himself.

A Christian philosophy would be open to wonder about and question whether Jesus actually existed or if he was invented to teach people about the importance of being a good person in life. That one must have a reward upon death for being good and punishment for being bad is another religious aspect of Christianity that can be replaced with the idea that if there are such places, they must be just homes for those who are sent there, and, more importantly, giving and being good are rewards in themselves no matter what happens after life.