A Thought On Religion

I received this from a friend. I just thought I would put it out there for future thought. I believe this wholeheartedly, he just says it a lot better.

I think that it is an insult to humanity to use terrorism to
force people to believe as you want them to rather than
giving way to personal choice of belief. But then this is
the deep insecurities that I personally see within such
religions such as Christianity.

By this I mean that as a H.P. I would never dream of
telling the Whispering Woods coven that either you do as
I say or else you will suffer for eternity in a horrible way
and Deity backs me up. And if you obey me you will live
forever in a place of sweetness and get to play a harp all
the day long.

I personally believe that a group such as a coven is equal
to the sum of its members. And that this includes the
many ideas, thoughts and talents that these fine people
bring to the coven.

I cannot fathom why anyone would give up their right to
individual choice as far as spiritual growth and blindly
follow the self righteous, holier than thou, individual
standing at the altar and telling you what you should
believe or else.

This is why I see religion as a tool to control the masses
and spirituality as a means of personal growth. I
personally choose spirituality as my way of life. As a
witch and practicing shaman I could not see myself being
led by the nose by another human in regards to this
growth. For I believe that each of us has an inherent
responsibility for our personal growth.