Fear of death is constantly with us. What happens when we die? If you believe x than y will happen… If you lived your life x than y will happen… There are many different religions and philosophies that attempt to answer this question. There are some things that are IMPOSSIBLE to know, let's call these things the infinite. Things like what exists outside the universe? What was there before the Universe? How was the universe created? What happens after we die? These are all examples of the infinite. Death is the most relevant to us as thinking rational creatures and we all have to face it.
The fear of death is one of the greatest fears we have. This is natural and if someone says they don’t fear it they are lying. Now, if you want power over your fellow man and have no moral integrity (a psychopath) this fear is an extremely attractive target to attack. The first thing you need is to have some supernatural (divine) “knowledge” that was given to you by the infinite (god(s) is another example as it is something no one can ever understand with certainty) then you offer to remove this fear, but only if the follower believes xyz. Somehow these beliefs always reward and empower those that have the supernatural “knowledge”. In return for removing your fear of death, you give your very soul to these preachers. Your free will is the divine spark that separates humans from the rest of life on earth. This is our unique spark and our true gift. Free will means you have your own thoughts and make your own decisions. When you believe what others tell you in order to remove your fears you are giving away your free will and are no longer making your own decisions, instead, you have ceded it and will follow those that tell you what to do, maybe this is why people who accept this deal are called followers? They have given away their individuality, and are now brainwashed.
This does not mean you cannot believe the Bible (or any other religion) and still have free will. The vast majority of people do not though. If you read the bible on your own and think about it rationally and logically, compare alternatives, and use good intuition and you then want to believe it is most likely the best explanation of the infinite then this would be a free will decision. You must also keep your mind open to new information and be willing to change your mind if a better explanation is presented. There are very few people that do this though.
Atheism is a decision as well, and are followers of the newest religion, science. To look around at the world, the human body, or the universe and believe there is no such thing as the infinite and its all random collisions is a big failure of intuition. Intuitively, random does not look like what we observe anywhere we look. So there must be something more than random collisions and calculable patterns. This does not mean everything is predetermined, and their must be a god(s) running around controlling everything like the literal religions teach. Rather, there is some forces that we can not comprehend that provide the structure for everything as it is. For example, bacteria living on your skin, see the world as our body, we would be their god as we provide all that allows them to live, now we might be the bacteria in a much larger system that we can not observe. The universe as we know it could be part of a much larger system far beyond our comprehension. These are examples of the infinite that we do not and can not ever know. What is life? You could call that spark that is life god and say that God is in all living things, this is closer to the esoteric meanings you never hear about, and are much harder to argue against as they are much more in line with what we observe in reality. This is why the famous atheists only argue against "flying spaghetti monsters" and literal interpretations of religious texts.
The fact is, it’s all about manipulation and control. Anyone that tells you they know the infinite is either insane or trying to manipulate and control you (most don't even know they are doing this as they are completely brainwashed doing so unwittingly). There is no one that knows or can know these things. Unless you take your own journey and explore many different ideas and see what is consistent with the real world and is logical and intuitive you will never be able to have your own thoughts on it. But, always keep in mind no one will ever know what the truths of these unknowable things are (including you) and that is perfectly okay. You are going to die and you should not be afraid of it. Our time is limited and we must cherish every moment of it. We must respect our wills and keep them as our own or we have wasted our most precious gift. Think for yourself, don’t listen to those trying to enslave your mind in exchange for the removal of fear. Constantly learn new skills; learn music, learn math, learn to build and fix things, turn the football games or the Kardashians and take back your time and cherish it, its all you have. Be an individual, don’t be one of the heard.
Thanks for reading :)
Oz
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