Is religion just an empty swindle?

Question

The emperor walked beneath the beautiful canopy in the procession, and all the people in the street and in their windows said, "Goodness, the emperor's new clothes are incomparable! What a beautiful train on his jacket. What a perfect fit!" No one wanted it to be noticed that he could see nothing, for then it would be said that he was unfit for his position or that he was stupid. None of the emperor's clothes had ever before received such praise.

"But he doesn't have anything on!" said a small child.

"Good Lord, let us hear the voice of an innocent child!" said the father, and whispered to another what the child had said.

"A small child said that he doesn't have anything on!"

Finally everyone was saying, "He doesn't have anything on!"

The emperor shuddered, for he knew that they were right, but he thought, "The procession must go on!" He carried himself even more proudly, and the chamberlains walked along behind carrying the train that wasn't there.

Reply to insincere:
What are you talking about? the one's I know don't seem to at all and besides ...you don't know anything of my situation.

Reply to blueeyes:
It's a story with an important message that is highly relevant to the way we perceive religion and what it tells us...religion tells us we are fools if we do not believe in God just as the swindlers told the Emperor that anyone who could not see the fine cloth and exquisite clothes they had made for him were fools...

Reply to Cogito Sum:
you need to remember that many dictators copied religion's methods to gain control of the people in the first place.

Answer 1

Worst scam to ever be introduced to the world.

Answer 2

Many intellectual Christians and other believers when thru a long reason based process to gain their faith. They did not just believe. They gained knowledge, then understanding, then wisdom. I was a hell on wheels atheist for years.

Follow this logic for a moment. Darwin gave intellectuals a basis to believe in natural, biological creation. Google evolution fact or fiction. The fossil record is a fact. However, no one can prove how "new" genetic code was created. This "how did it happen" part of evolution is purely a hypothesis, even today.

Now why is this a problem? Check your history. In the mid 1800's, Darwin's hypothesis of purely biological creation led to godless political philosophies that have been and are the most oppressive that have ever existed. The Nazi’s were given a scientific justification for ethnic cleansing (Jews), and many nations use this justification today. The godless Marxists eliminate (kill) capitalists and (kill) believers and (kill) anyone else who gets in their way to create a dreary and oppressive society. Open your eyes, would you like to live in Cuba or North Korea, or during Stalin's programs and Mao's revolution. 10's of millions of people suffered and died.

However, the message of God is to love God with all your heart, and love others as you love yourself. That is a good message.

Some people do go off message, and we need to realize that they only believe in their selves and their own goals, not in a creator.

Here is why this is so important. Philosophically, since God is a creator, he created each of us for a reason. Thus, each of us are unique, and have a god given purpose for life that we need to achieve whether janitor, lawyer, doctor, actor, quarterback, whatever. This totally aligns with the sanctity of human life. Thus, government should protect each of our individual rights and allow each of us to find our destiny. This aligns with a society that believes in a creator and freedom of religion. That is a good thing.

I deeply fear Godless societies. Government should respect the free expression of religion of people and communities. Belief in a creator is vital to the health of a society.

Here is my test for you: when you have a child, just look in their eyes and tell them they are a random quirk of nature and in the grand scheme of nature, their life is meaningless. I dare you. Yet, that is the intellectual dead-end of existence, if we are just random quirks of nature.

Thus, if science can get to the point to showing that genetic code cannot be created naturally, not adaption of existing code, then there will be a complete change in philosophy and political philosophy to align with freedom and protection of individual rights. Until then, is it a choice that works for us, but cannot be justified.

By the way, how did the brain get programmed for eyesight. To accept 2 images, combine them, to provide near instant assessment and response, millions of lines of unbelievably brilliant genetic code, how did that happen. We could put 1000 genius's to work on this today for 10 years, and they would not be able to figure out how to do that today. Not only is there no randomness, there is unimaginably brilliant creation involved.

Look, to me, the tables have turned. It is the people who take the easy way and believe in an impossible and unproven hypothesis of natural creation who are the people who think the emperor has clothes, when he does not.

All I can say, it is a crazy world, where the truth is so unkown.

Answer 3

That story you just told was the Fairy tale, it has nothing to do with religion, but to answer your question NO it is not a swindle of any sort, if you think that then you can't be a Christian

Answer 4

Try going to some Pentecostal and Apostolic churches in your area. Tell them that you want to know that God is real, and have them pray with you.

(I do not know the churches in your area, each church is different, so you may have to try several before you find the right one)

Answer 5

We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.

Answer 6

Most of the Christians you know have much more successful lives than you do. Think about it.

Answer 7

If 1.000.000 people say something stupid it is still something stupid.

Who decides it actually is stupid?