How Religious People Act Like Gods

Why do religious people act like they are Gods?

              No one can deny the stability and order that religion has brought to the world. Religion has kept the human psyche and narcissism in check by suggesting that our existence is dominated, regulated and monitored by a power that is beyond our reach and sometimes comprehension. If it was not for religion man would have thought that he was above reproach. Man with his superior neural and neurological ability would have deemed himself ruler of the universe.  The human could not be dictated to. Man would simply do what he thought suited him. The world would have been a chaotic place and anarchy ubiquitous. Several gods cannot hold dominion over a planet.  Competition would have forced wars among the human deities as each person tries to dominate the other.  These wars would be similar to the wars we have among ourselves, only disparity would be disregard for loss of human life.  Lack of religion would result in breakdown or vaporization of morals and values as the values and ethics of society are vastly shaped by theological belief.

Religion has kept man’s ego in check. Religion explains phenomena that science cannot explain. Religion gives meaning to death since one of the greatest mysteries of living is dying. Some may argue that it is not religion that keeps man’s ego in check but death.  Death is the constant reminder of how fragile our existence is and confirms that we are mere shadows of an era. We are here today, gone tomorrow, forgotten in a few weeks and in a few years; it is as if we never existed.

But does religion keep our ego in check. Religious figures are by far the most egocentric and narcissistic individuals alive. Religious leaders and clergy men act as if they are close to god. I often find their sanctimonious aura and self righteous demeanor repulsive and asphyxiating.  They regard individuals who have achieved far more than they have accomplished with righteous indignation. They claim that since they are far more related to the almighty then they should be at the pinnacle of achievement. 

                Religious people desire power because from a sociological viewpoint religion is a form of social control, maintaining the social order and shaping the collective conscience. It was religion that kept a group of people who were deemed lesser human beings due to the color of their skin in slavery for centuries. White slave masters believed (according to Jamaican History) that Christianity could keep the slave in check because it postulated servitude, magnanimity and acquiescence. The black man was inculcated to rever to the white Jesus with blond hair and blue eyes to relieve them of their burden while at the same time giving Caesar what is due to Caesar.  Therefore the black population remained in slavery using religion as a solace against the sub standard plantation system and the appalling, horrendous conditions that the African slave was subjected to on the West Indian sugar plantations.