The Trouble with Organized Religion

Love Thy Neighbor was never meant to be a religious precept or commandment motivated by a religious code of ethics. The seed of religion has obviously been corrupted, because time and time again the fruits of religion have been bloodshed, war, intolerance, and conflict between the peoples who populate this planet. More blood has been spilled in the name of religion than in any other cause in human history. I've often wondered how many times a person continues to bet on a losing horse before he finally wises up. But now the Adversary (ego) responds and cries out telling us that religion offers us hope. This is true: we hope things will change, yet for some reason they do not. As a result we surrender our fate to a religious establishment that has failed for some 2000 years to eradicate pain and suffering from the human landscape. We are told that the Almighty works in mysterious ways, and when we cannot cure the mysterious ailments in our bodies, or our businesses, the hope offered by religion allows us to cope with our pain. But we must ask: Is this what life is really all about? Is coping, hoping, and waiting for relief—suffering all the while—part of the original intent of the Creator? Therein lies the problem with the consciousness known as organized religion. It is founded on coping. It offers us hope, but not clear-cut solutions that deliver clear-cut results. If "religious consciousness" could deliver authentic miracles it would have delivered world peace long ago. Furthermore, a miracle shouldn't be a role of the dice so that sometimes we get a miracle and other times we don't. According to Kabbalah, no one can perform a miracle or a healing on your behalf. That ability is your God-given gift and your responsibility. It is your inheritance and your destiny.

Rav Berg, Nano Technology of Mind over Matter, 2008

According to one story, when God created the world and gloried in its goodness, Satan shared his rapture – in his own way, of course, for as he contemplated marvel after marvel, he kept exclaiming, “How good it is! Let’s organize it!”

“And take all the fun out of it!”

Have you ever attempted to organize something like peace? The moment you do, you have power conflicts and group wars within the organization. The only way to have peace is to let it grow wild.

- Anthony de Mello, Taking Flight