Matthew Gates http://notetoservices.com 3m 841
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
God and Religion are Good Business
In writing this article, I am not intending to offend any religion or religious practices. Religion serves a great purpose and is necessary for humanity to function. Atheists may think differently and may favor this article most, but the idea of this article is to focus on religion as a business and not as a belief system or set of beliefs. It is not meant to put down any religion, but only attempt a go at the facts. I have avoided writing religious articles and publishing them on Confessions of the Professions, but considering the fact that this article is meant to focus on the business aspect of religion, I wanted to write what I saw as the business of religion, specifically organized religion.
Whether you want to believe it or not, religion is business. I am not here to attack any single institution, but I will mention the large ones. Starting with the Catholic Church, a multi-billion dollar organization, with a history that goes back to the First Century AD and has continued to receive donations from around the world up to the present day.
Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism are also religions to receive their fair share of charitable donations from their followers from all over the world. There is nothing wrong with charity, but the only ones receiving the actual money are the institutions for the people who wish to keep funding them. If the Catholic Church were to give away every penny it received, it could most likely eradicate world hunger, most poverty, and provide much of the vaccinations in parts of the world where certain diseases should no longer exist.
Every Friday. Every Saturday. Every Sunday. Each of the religious institutions has their established meeting places in the form of Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, and Mandirs. I am not quite sure about Islam and Hinduism, but both Christianity and Judaism, to an extent, accept and may ask for charitable donations. Again, there is nothing wrong with donating to charity and giving money to an organization that one strongly believes in. I am sure Islam and Hinduism do the same, as there would be no way to survive without any type of funding, which would most likely come from other organizations and local donors.
It would be best if the Messiah has already come or never showed up. If the Messiah showed up tomorrow and everyone believes that it was truly the Messiah, than no one would have to go to any established organization to worship God. They would all go to the Messiah, who would tell them what they have always known in their hearts. There would be absolutely no need for the Catholic Church, no need for a Synagogue, no need for a Mosque, and no need for a Mandir.
Everyone could simply worship the Messiah wherever he steps foot, wherever he goes, and believe his every word. The Messiah would not need any money, nor charity, though many people may offer. If the Messiah practices his own word and his word is the truth, than the business of religion is false. The very business that he attempted to break away from, to which is mentioned several times in the Christian Bible. Anything else, including the word of the Catholic Church would be hearsay. Therefore, there is no need for the Messiah because the Messiah is bad for business.
How exactly could the Messiah come back? Although in the past, there have been several men who have claimed to be the Messiah and even established followers, they were all proven to be false prophets. Not a single Messiah was accepted. In modern day, anyone claiming to be the Messiah would be locked up, drugged up, and told that he was crazy.
No one would believe that he was the Messiah and even after an attempt to turn water into wine, walk on water, and make bread for hundreds of people while only having a very small portion, everyone would think it was just a magic trick. Therefore, the possibility of a Messiah hardly seems likely. Who else would be the only one to have the power and the ability to ruin any institution by proving their teachings to be wrong other than an authentic Messiah? Any religious institution would shun this self-proclaimed Messiah away because he is bad for business, especially if proven to be the true Messiah.
Religion is essential for human existence, but it plays a huge role in organized business. In the name of religion, in the name of God, in the name of Jesus, in the name of the Messiah, a lot can be done: from the acquisition of money, to followers, and wars. Religion is able to acquire the hope and loyalty of those who are born into it, raised by it, or choose to follow it. Religion can get many people to do almost anything. Religion has always been, always is, and always will be good business. That is, until the day the Messiah returns.
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