The simulacra is never that which conceals the truth-it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacra is true.
-Ecclesiastes
"Do not try and bend the spoon, that's impossible…instead try to realize the truth."
"What truth?"
"That there is no spoon. Then you will realize that it is not the spoon that bends, it is you."
-The Matrix
If one defines any godhead as the embodiment of humanity trying to transcend itself, then it becomes easier to understand why the belief in a deity continues to this day. Human beings give their godhead the attributes they would most like to have for themselves, namely: immortality, omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, why? Humans are finite beings. They are born, they live, and they die. There is only so much any one individual human being can learn or know in a lifetime, only so much a person can do, places he or she can go. To transcend existence, people create a deity that has always existed who promises that those who are faithful will be able to live beyond the death of our physical bodies. Further, they create a being that knows all and is everywhere. Thus with the concept firmly in place that you cannot escape the sight and knowledge of your deity, religion becomes the ultimate theatre of the mind. One is obligated and indoctrinated at a young age to follow the precepts and teachings of others rather than learning on one's own. This process eliminates self-actualization and individuality as a "spiritual option" and replaces it with some form of external guidance in the form of a holy book, a minister, and a group of like-minded individuals.
A "true believer" also looks to some prophet or wise one who spoke to the "chosen" long ago and gave us all guidance because the idea that we must guide ourselves through a chaotic and mindless universe is too terrifying to comprehend. The myths, legends, and pageantry that make up most religions are there because they have struck the collective imaginations of many peoples in many different places. They are the dribs and drabs of stories that have been brought down through the ages and the commonalties of them can be seen like ripples in the sand. Each successful new religion has found a way to assimilate the myths of the previous one and thus create a level of continuity that is more palatable to a broader spectrum of people. It is then no wonder when many of the world religions tout these commonalties as proof of their validity. The truth about religion is shrouded in emotionalism, group mentalities, mystery, and mysticism, which are diametrically opposed to fact, scientific inquiry, and logic. Religious doctrine is not to be questioned for fear the fog may clear and its adherents will realize they have been duped as many generations before them have. The true meaning of the church is best demonstrated by the Dark Ages for Christianity, the Inquisition for the Jews, and is continuing to be a hotbed of violence for radical factions of Islam. The meaning of the church has been and always shall be control of the masses, accumulation of wealth, and the shaping of world politics and moral development. The influence the Christian church has in many Western countries has become subtler in the last 500 years or so, but it is still very much a factor.
The problem I have with organized religion is not that it seeks to some form of spiritual enlightenment, rather, it seeks to guise itself as a path to spiritual enlightenment, when in fact it simply wants followers willing to believe whatever they are told. True spiritual enlightenment is possible only from within and cannot be given by any external source no matter how badly we may want it. What human beings seek is a form of self-actualization, the highest level of Abraham Mazlow's famous Hierarchy of Needs. Religion tricks followers into believing that they are going to reach this self-actualization if they adhere to the rules and teachings of their deity. It is probably the greatest sham that has ever been perpetrated on a sentient being: to take away their individual greatness and replace it with the tattered remnants of someone else's idea of what greatness should be. Karl Marx called religion the opiate of the masses; it becomes the lives of those who live it and the power of those who lead it. The roots of religion are deep and hard to pull out.
The fatal flaw that seems to be rife in religion is that most of the god(s) we have ever encountered are somehow imperfect. If they are so perfect, why did they not create a perfect world with perfect beings? Why is it we must suffer a life of imperfection and pain before we reach the ultimate reward of something more? The only reason that can be fathomed is that perfect deities create imperfect beings simply because they will pay tribute to them and somehow exalt them. This form of vanity is pure human. A perfect being would have no need of tribute. Another concept that creates a lot of incongruities within religion is the concept of free will. The idea that human beings have a choice in the matter of worship or adherence to the laws laid down by the deity, or in the lifestyle that one must live in order to achieve enlightenment seems to be as ridiculous as the famous saying by mothers everywhere: "Everyone is doing it? If everyone told you to jump off a bridge, would you?" A society of lemmings willing to run off the cliff is not a method I hold in any sort of high esteem.
Religion is a simulacrum: something that is made real by its believers, not something that is believed in because it is real. If wishing would make it so, then we all should learn to bend our knees to the invisible deities that keep us, punish us, judge us, and allow us such suffering and misery, but say they really love us…humanity must solve human problems and learn to live with death. Expecting anything less is waiting for someone or something else to make it all right. Prey if you must (spelling intentional). The sheep are led to the slaughter and the meek shall inherit the wind.