"All beliefs are barriers to the truth"
Osho
"The real axis of evil is Christianity, Judaism and Islam"
Christopher Hitchins
Looking at the Middle East and the sorry state of the planet today it is apparent we need to dispel religious belief... as it seems to be the root cause of all the wars and strife in the world.
For this reason, if I were Secretary Of Defense I would be dropping the Belief Bomb - i.e., Osho discourse tapes, Krishnamurti books and Lao-Tzu missives over the afflicted area, a veritable carpet bombing of those regions drowning in counterproductive "religious" dogmas. Clearly, this would prove to be much cheaper than expensive armaments and killing innocent civilians. Further, it would likely be more effective, over the long run, in countering religion-bred terrorism.
The basic problem here is that, when you start out with unbelievable, insulting, and egotistical suppositions like "Jesus is the only son of God" and we're "God's Chosen People" and only our "God is Great," the predictable result is conflict... endless conflict. Exactly these religious, belief-based, wars span the centuries and milleniums and will likely never end until such arrogant belief systems are consigned to the dustbin of history.
In short, its religion, stupid.
In other words we might conclude that egotistical "my savior is better than yours" belief systems are not religion/religious at all (at least to the way of no-mind) according to the experience of many enlightened masters thru the centuries. So many of those graced by nature thru the eons have stated that if religion is propping up your ego, rather than disintegrating it, you're likely on the wrong track..
Belief then may function as an occlusion, an endarkenment and mind-game barrier to penetration by the vast ocean of consciousness and vibration in which we exist. Rather than fill our heads with scriptures we may need to become the "hollow bamboo" thru which nature can play its blissful tune. Shouting slogans from "holy" books asserting the rightness of one savior or another is clearly not bringing us closer to harmony and cooperation.
Indeed, religion is killing us... that is, religion as we know it.
Religion as we know it is also very costly not only in lives but in many others forms. There is a price to be paid for our beliefs, and they also may prove to be a tax upon others and upon the Commons. War, overpopulation, ruination of the environment, pogroms, genecides, and the suppression of women all come with very big, incalculable, price tags. To the extent the beliefs of others impinge upon our rights, space, world and commons, they also prove to be a costly form of taxation without representation
The costs of religious belief thru the centuries? Add up the wars, the destruction, genocides, pogroms, cost of the war machinery and loss of liberty. The greatest of prices paid, the most heavy taxation, and the most spoilation of the environment is fundamentally due to errant and intolerant religious beliefs. How could we be so stupid?
In centuries past, before global communication processes, one may forgive various provincial notions emerging from isolated areas. In today's world of the internet, however, there seems little excuse for the survival of such dangerous certitudes, intolerance and insanity.
Beware the Believers. Drop the Belief Bomb, religion is killing us.
OligarchyUSA.com
