在體驗和探索人生以獲得(憶起和拿回)智慧和內在力量的過程中,要了解:宗教組織為了得以運作,就必須很大程度地說服人們相信要「往自身以外的」領域和對象去尋求,並必須讓人們在該議題領域上對自己失去信心,否則該宗教組織就要關門倒閉。但只要能讓組織的規模夠大,就會有許多盲目跟從的信眾加入——不大須要說服。
就人類現階段的演化程度,當然,宗教是一個提供給需要心靈慰藉的人們「可暫時獲得寄託」的好地方,並且在物質救濟上也提供許多幫助給許多困苦疾難中的民眾。這裡提醒的重點是:能夠不混淆地辨識這些須注意和須給予支持肯定的宗教本質,是加速各「宗教組織」今後在我們社會的型態轉變上,非常重要+有效的力量。
聽神談【神觀察「宗教」組織之運作的重要提醒】
要了解,宗教組織(organized religion)若要能成功運作,就必須要讓眾人相信他們需要宗教。為了要讓人們相信自身以外的某種東西,必須先讓人們對他們自己失去信心。所以,宗教組織的第一個任務,就是先讓你失去對自己的信心。第二個任務是讓你認為它具有你所沒有的答案。第三個——也是最重要的一個任務——是要讓你沒有疑問地接受它的答案。
如果你質疑,你就會開始思考!如果你思考,你就開始向「內在的源頭」(Source Within)返回。宗教不能讓你這樣做,因為你可能得出和「它設計要給你的答案」不一樣。所以,宗教必須設法使你懷疑你自己(doubt your Self);必須讓你不相信你自己有直接去思考的能力。
踏入宗教最常要面對的難題,是這種玩火自焚(backfires)——因為(要成為宗教的一份子)如果你不能無疑地接受自己的思想,你又怎麼可能無疑地接受「宗教所提供的關於神」的新觀念呢?
接下來沒多久,你們甚至連我(神)的存在(My existence)都懷疑了——而諷刺是的,這是你們之前從不懷疑的。當你以你直覺地知曉在生活,你可能不會把我都弄清楚,但你卻確定知道我是存在的!
是宗教創造了「不可知」的論述(agnostics)。
任何思維清晰的人(clear thinker)在檢視宗教所做的之後,必然會以為宗教裡沒有神!因為讓人心充滿了「對神的恐懼」的正是宗教,而原先人心對那一切萬有的光輝燦爛是充滿了愛的。
是宗教命令人在神的前面卑躬屈膝,而原先人們對神是欣喜敞開地懷抱的。
是宗教要人們對「神的憤怒」憂心忡忡,而原本人們尋求神是來減輕擔憂的!
是宗教告訴人們要恥於自己的肉體和身體最自然的功能,而原本人們歡慶這些功能為生命最大的禮物!
是宗教告訴你們若要與神取得聯繫,你們必須要有一個中間人(媒介),而原本你們認為自己只要生活在善良和真實中,就可以與神取得聯繫。
而且,是宗教命令人類去崇拜神,而原本人類愛慕神是因為人類不可能不如此!
宗教所到之處它都製造了分裂(Everywhere religion has gone it has created disunity)——而這正是神的相反面(the opposite of God)。
宗教已把人與神分裂開,把人與人分裂開,把男人與女人分裂開——有些宗教真的告訴男人他是高於女人的,就像它宣稱神高於人一樣——如此對一半的人類建構了最大的嘲諷歪曲。
摘自《與神對話 II》第20章
Understand that in order for organized religion to succeed, it has to make people believe they need it. In order for people to put faith in something else, they must first lose faith in themselves. So the first task of organized religion is to make you lose faith in yourself. The second task is to make you see that it has the answers you do not. And the third and most important task is to make you accept its answers without question.
If you question, you start to think! If you think, you start to go back to that Source Within. Religion can't have you do that, because you're liable to come up with an answer different from what it has contrived. So religion must make you doubt your Self; must make you doubt your own ability to think straight.
The problem for religion is that very often this backfires— for if you cannot accept without doubt your own thoughts, how can you not doubt the new ideas about God which religion has given you?
Pretty soon, you even doubt My existence—which, ironically, you never doubted before. When you were living by your intuitive knowing, you may not have had Me all figured out, but you definitely knew I was there!
It is religion which has created agnostics.
Any clear thinker who looks at what religion has done must assume religion has no God! For it is religion which has filled the hearts of men with fear of God, where once man loved That Which Is in all its splendor.
It is religion which has ordered men to bow down before God, where once man rose up in joyful outreach.
It is religion which has burdened man with worries about God's wrath, where once man sought God to lighten his burden!
It is religion which told man to be ashamed of his body and its most natural functions, where once man celebrated those functions as the greatest gifts of life!
It is religion which taught you that you must have an intermediary in order to reach God, where once you thought yourself to be reaching God by the simple living of your life in goodness and in truth.
And it is religion which commanded humans to adore God, where once humans adored God because it was impossible not to!
Everywhere religion has gone it has created disunity— which is the opposite of God.
Religion has separated man from God, man from man, man from woman—some religions actually telling man that he is above woman, even as it claims God is above man— thus setting the stage for the greatest travesties ever foisted upon half the human race.