Faith

Most of us are taught that Faith is a good thing.  Even the president says so.  Why?  Faith is the belief in things that can not be proven.  Why is that a good thing?  It really means that you can be tricked into believing anything.  Most monotheistic religions claim to be the only path to salvation, but except for extreme fundamentalists (of all kinds), they respect each others beliefs.  Once you get people to believe in things that can't be proven, you can get them to believe all kinds of things that are not only unprovable, but also down right proven false.  Just look at those that reject the Theory of Evolution.  You just have to have Faith and Believe.  It seems to me that "Communities of Faith" mainly exist to reinforce a shared delusion.  

Does that seem harsh?  I don't think that no good has come from religion, but western religions seem to have a primary goal of controlling those they"serve".  Historically, this has been "the church" itself and then in the guise of political leaders.  Kind of sounds Marxists doesn't it?  But political leaders have usually felt they were "Anointed by God" to lead His people; from Moses, to Queen Elizabeth to George W. Bush. Surrendering the ability for critical thinking is perhaps the greatest of all evils and is required by most religions in order to be "saved".

So I'm probably going to Hell.  Or not.  Does Hell exist if you don't believe in it?  Is living on earth Hell?  Some religious leaders claim to have the answers to these questions, but since no one has died and come back to talk about it, it can not be known.  If someone tells you that they know, they are lying.  They may believe, but they can not know.   And neither can you or I.