Let’s not pussy-foot-around but rather jump into the deep end of the pool! “What is religion?” By this I mean the concept itself
A way of thinking that can be applied to any type of religious doctrine you can use as an example. Whether it be Christian, Muslim, Judaism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, the Religion of Allan, or God forbid, Scientology!
This question of religion, in such a broad context, concerns itself with our or “basic beliefs,” or “ethics,” and how we apply that knowledge into our own unique view of reality. (World view)
A dictionary definition of religion describes it as a system of faith and worship where humanity is subservient to a higher power that is entitled to “obedience, reverence and worship.”
The basic concept we use to describe this world view is “faith,” and this, in its most basic form, means belief in the absence of evidence. This is in direct opposition to the scientific view that says an object or idea can be treated as reality only if it can be proven through observation or logic.
So, a scientist will believe in physics, or cosmology, or any other study by inference from things he can observe and record. A religious man, on the other hand, will believe in a “higher power” or “entity” which he cannot observe and cannot logically prove.
A quite simple way of explaining this is that one method involves thinking with your head and the other in thinking with you gut!!! This is a crude but effective analogy.
By religious definition, God is beyond human understanding or logic. It is this very definition that sets God apart from everything in the material universe.
If God were open to logic or understanding then God would, by necessity, also be definable, finite, and subject to human concepts and obedient to scientific law. This goes against the grain of everything human beings have been taught by the priesthood to believe about God!
We do not worship a limited God, but rather are taught that God is a transcendent power that orchestrated the universe and is worthy of our worship. A God of this magnitude is not open to discussion, but rather is to be obeyed without question!
Where we run into problems is when human beings preach that God is an omnipotent, unknowable Being, then in their arrogance, assume to personally know what God wants or means.
They use this “knowledge” to coerce other people into following their own personal agenda.
(All in the name of God!)
It is true that life is a series of hardships and setbacks, but the great lie perpetrated by the “priestly caste” is that man cannot achieve perfection or true happiness in this life since, (in the Christian context) he is cursed with “original sin.”
Humanity must renounce its own goals in the service of a “Higher Power” so that we can at least be rewarded in the next life.
(And, by the way, the priests are the only path to this end!)
We are told over and over again that the way to
Paradise is not in the pursuit of egoistic goals, but rather the willingness to renounce our own goals in the service of God.
What religion preaches is the ethics of self-sacrifice, and the greatest impediment to this state is the sin of pride!
Pride in our humanity and pride in our very being. In short, pride prevents us from the realization that man is weak, lustful, envious, and all the other “deadly sins.” We are taught that pride prevents us from bowing before God.
(And by default the priesthood.)
Religion means living our lives around faith and a life of service to God. It means subordinating our own aspirations to the will of the infallible “priesthood” that we may be shown the way to eternal bliss.
Rather than follow this nefarious path to our own salvation it is time we stopped subjugating ourselves to the will of religion. We cannot achieve our destiny by bowing before God but instead should follow the way of spirituality and proudly stand beside God - minus any interlopers.
Your faithful scribe
Allan W Janssen
It's that time of year again where the "Missus Herself" sits down and writes Christmas cards to all our friends and relatives. 
