The Daily AYDEN: Religiosity

The+Daily+AYDEN%3A+Religiosity

Perhaps one of the most interesting things to me, is religion. So today I will briefly discuss my beliefs and opinions on this topic.

I think that we, as humans, have a strange tendency to cling to things that explain that which is inexplicable. I have a hard time personally drawing the distinction between works of fiction and holy scripture. While I do not disapprove of religion, I do not fully understand it. What is the actual difference between something that one writes and supposed “fact”? 

I find it strange that H.P. Lovecraft writes an entire world of lore that is entirely fictional, and yet people follow the fictional beasts in a cult-like fashion. In another example, Scientology is widely regarded as “stupid” and celebrities get bashed when their found out to align with scientologists. There’s even “Pastafarianism,” which is a play on Rastafarian, where people pledge $100 to submit to a giant flying omnipotent ball of spaghetti!

Whether or not people believe in this “silly” religions is debatable, but the real question is this: why are they inherently different from mass religions like Christianity, Islam, and Judaism? In my opinion, it’s because that these religions have been widely accepted for millennia, and have “validity” for such a reason. 

While there is nothing wrong with moral codes that keep people hopeful and modest, I personally cannot align with such beliefs. I feel religion is so limiting, in the sense that devout followers of religion hold themselves back from the fruits of existence because they’re basically taught that partaking of the fruit is “sinful” and “wrong.” We are taught that Adam and Eve bit an apple and were damned to a life of sin, but as we know, apples are sweet and there is nothing innately wrong with eating them.

Whether you agree or not, I still fail to understand what difference there is in any scripture that is fabricated. I do not necessarily understand the distinction between a fictional book and holy writing. I do not disrespect them by any means, but they are all the result of the minds of individuals who were deeply inspired by something, enough so to write a moving tale and provide a foundation upon which humanity is literally built, and that is beyond righteous to me.