s we have seen, our inability to resolve the mystery of our origin and purpose accentuates our need for divine intervention. We need the Creator to reveal Himself —to us.

The Creator's First Self-Revelation —Intuitive Knowledge
The first thing that GOD did was to install within each of us an innate awareness of Him. This knowledge is not the result of our reasoning, but is non-rational; instinctive. Its purpose is to convey knowledge of a Maker.

This knowledge gives us hope that we are not orphans in the vast Universe. It also lights our path to our true heritage and destiny.

The Creator's Second Self-Revelation —Via Nature
Another way the Creator reveals Himself is through the things He has made. By looking through Nature we can see His handiwork.

But neither our instinctive knowledge nor the natural revelation of GOD is sufficient to resolve our spiritual need. Our origin…purpose…state…condition and relationship to the Creator are all questions that require a more articulated Self-Revelation.

The Creator's Special Revelation —Via Religion or Something Else?
It is reasonable to expect that an intelligent Creator would communicate His plans and purposes to His creatures. However, the quest for this more definitive understanding of our origin and purpose is not without major pitfalls. As we shall see later there are forces that serve no better purpose than to obstruct and pervert the seeker's path to Truth. One such deception is Religion.

Open any telephone directory to the Churches section and you will find perhaps hundreds of religious listings (see http://www.adherents.com for a detailed listing of man's religions). Do these religions constitute the third stage of the Creator's Self-Revelation? Or are they cleverly designed traps aimed at drawing seekers away from the true path to meaning and purpose?

Religion's Inconsistent Message
There are obvious inconsistencies in religion. The most obvious problem being the sheer volume of contradictory accounts of GOD's speaking. What wise and purposeful Creator would spawn such dissimilar theologies, traditions and superstitions so diametrically opposed to one other? Are these deceptions consistent with the intelligent harmony expressed so eloquently in nature?

Hypocrisy

Another serious problem with religion is hypocrisy. Innocent victims have been tortured, raped and killed in the name of Religion. Religious wars are the bloodiest; its victims suffer the worst mistreatment. For an institution that supposedly represents the Creator of all life, religion has caused more deaths than all of the secular causes of man combined.

 

Intolerance

Differences among religious groups generate hostile feelings of intolerance —often leading to aggression. History books are full of instances of religion's violence in the most hideous, grotesque and bizarre forms - unwitnessed in the secular world.

 

Division

Religion only divides; it does not unite people together. Organizations whose spiritual message is the brotherhood of all men under GOD are typically the swiftest to segregate. And they do so (with vigor) for the most unspiritual of all reasons such as, politics, race, ideology, economic class, nationality, age, gender, etc.

For example, during America's Civil War, the Baptist Church, (a Protestant segregation), split over ideological differences regarding the noble issue of slavery. Southern Baptists, professed members of GOD's Holy Family, armed themselves and killed their anti-slavery brethren —members of the same Holy Family.

How Religion Works
The atrocities committed by religion are truly sinister, but an even worse offense is its pretense as an official institution of the Creator. This explains how rational and sane seekers are lured and trapped by religion. But what makes religious people so insanely zealous to commit or condone such extreme acts of intolerance and violence - in the name of GOD?

The answer to this behavior is extremely subtle.

What convinces religious followers of the superiority of their religion are the same factors that convinced them of GOD's reality in the first place.

Religious people, by definition, have a deep and abiding belief in a Divine Sovereign. They began their journey for truth and meaning led by this conviction. But what turned their quest of sincerity and innocence into the slavish nightmare of religion? How were they seduced away from the True Path, to the dead-end of religion?.

Religious professionals provide a captivating and elaborate theology designed to connect with and confirm the seeker's instinctive beliefs. These groups all have a leader whose unique position of enlightenment assures them of their god's vision.

In addition, the religious organization provides a social means to interact with those of similar commitment. Finally, these groups all teach the exclusivity of their religion; that all others are infidels, whose only hope is conversion.

These aspects have the overall effect of a false sense of security, reinforced by fear of moving from underneath the umbrella of divine protection.

But it is not GOD.

Religion wrests the candlelight from the grips of innocent seekers and designs gods of its own. Religion makes use of creeds, rituals, traditions, symbols, special buildings, special seating, special titles, special clothing, including some superstitions that its followers must generally comply with.

But the greatest of religion's errors is its failure to resolve man's greatest need: to be reunited with his Maker.

As we shall see, GOD places no religious burdens on seekers, nor has He any need for the religious devices of men.

The Only Reliable Path to GOD —is GOD
But if not through religion - then how can we know the way to GOD?

Divine truths must come from a divine Source.

The only requirement that GOD places on seekers is that they at least believe that He exists.

 

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How Can We Identify the Genuine Sacred Message? How Do We Authenticate It?