Religion       Religion, is it an establishment created by faith and hope of a greater being and a meaning of existence uniting all of its followers or is it just a tool whose sole purpose is to manipulate its people based on their fears and need for an explanation. There are many facts that point to religion being just a device. After all Voltaire did say, “If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent Him.” What if this is what religion actually is. Just a fabrication to ease the fears of humanity.       The existence of many different religions is basis for questioning religion’s purpose. Yes, it is true that the three major religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, were supposedly based on true events that were documented and witnessed, except for a certain few. I don’t really know what historical events animism, shintoism and Hinduism are based on but how can they be so radically different than the others. And then there is Buddhism, which is based on its founder’s idea to achieve nothingness and the cycle of reincarnation. This is similar to Hinduism in the reincarnation aspects but there are no gods or goddesses. This difference must be due to their creation to justify what their respective governments or leaders were doing, thus explaining the world around them.       Religions have abused their power in the past. The Catholic Church’s Crusades are a prime example of this abuse. In those times the Catholic Church was a powerful and rich establishment and could easily manipulate people when it wanted. When Pope Urban II gave the word many Europeans set out to re-conquer the Holy Land from the Islamic “scourge”. The Crusades were a failure and caused much destruction due to plundering and pillaging by the crusaders themselves (very holy, is it not?). Another abuse of power by the Church was the inquisition. They forced non-believers to convert by means of torture and executed those they found guilty of heresy. Islam has also abused power (no, I’m not talking about September 11). The concept of a Jihad or Holy War was most likely devised to explain why the benevolent Allah would condone killing during the expansion of the Islamic (Ottoman) Empire. These concepts and events contradict the scriptures of these religions. The only explanation for their existence could only be to manipulate the populace.       Secrecy within religion is another cause to suspect religious institutions of treachery. For example the Catholic Church has an extensive library in the Vatican with works that date back many centuries. These writings have been in the process of being translated by monks for decades. What is shocking is that most of the pieces never see the light of day. They are kept locked in the library where outsiders are usually prohibited. What is the need for such secrecy? Why deny access to certain documents if they have nothing to hide? Well, there must be some reason. Perhaps something in those documents that contradicts the way the church is being run or uncovers the truth of certain events that would affect the course of history. This sort of secrecy is further evidence that religion is just a tool to exploit the innocent.       After that tirade you should have more than enough reason to believe that religion is a tool or at least suspect them of making up some rules for their own gain. And if I get excommunicated or mysteriously disappear, that’ll just be another reason to believe that religion is just a manipulative device.         Here’s another delectable tidbit kiddies. Jesus is called the good shepherd, correct? Therefore we, humans, must be sheep. A mindless flock that blindly follows without thought or need of a reason. This is just another reason to believe that religion is a tool created specifically for the manipulation of the public.