The Traveling Prison

One of the most insidiously effective

aspects of religion and its control over

the general population is that it provides 

a means of keeping people in line that

they provide and maintain themselves.

Once a person has been indoctrinated 

into religion (the younger the better, so they

can utilize all the proper fear tactics and 

appeal to the desire to please authority

figures,) they carry the very message that is 

controlling them within their own mind.

It's an entirely cost-effective and results-oriented

means of keeping virtual shackles on the

imprisoned populace. The kicker? They

also believe that the shackles they now have--

which they don't even consider as such--were

entirely their own idea and choice!

So under the illusion of freedom--and being

approved of by their cosmic father figure--

people are kept in place by a system of

perpetual obedience and deference.

You don't have to have group think and

mob mentality to rehash the stories and 

rituals that will keep the sheep in check,

but they're available too.

But once you instill sufficient levels of

shame, guilt, body-consciousness, fear,

repression, and self-hate into folks, they

happily motor about their business oblivious

to the chains that now bind them.

Because when you sell a bill of goods

under the banner of being loved and 

accepted, of being part of something

bigger, of having a purpose and a place...

you really can get away with murder 

in the fine print.

____________

"If you Reallllly Loved Me...."

One of the worst components of Western religion is
the whole 'kit-and-kaboodle' approach.

We already know free thought and the ability to question
ideas and the like are verboten, but the con they sell also
has one major selling point; it's all or nothing, baby.

If left to their own devices, most people would choose to
think about only three things in their deity;
1. A benevolent sky-daddy who loves them,
2. An attentive/interactive god who responds when spoken to,
   and...
3. A promise of an afterlife reunion with missed loved ones;
    a happy ending.

But if those three demands were met outright in the
shell game of spiritual selling points, then no one would choose
the Filthy Horribles like endless guilt and worry, fear of a mean
and vengeful deity, self-recrimination, unhealthy restrictions,
and so on.

If the insightful used car salesmen didn't hook you with
beautiful lies, there's be no filled seats for the evocative talks
of Hellfire and brimstone. If "Jesus loves me" were not a readily
touted phrase, no one would be open to the indoctrination of
what must be done to keep Jesus -construct loving them.

"If you want to see Granddaddy in Heaven, then you better stop
(fill-in-the-blank with whatever authoritarian figure is abusing the
young child in question with to meet their own personal needs or
sickness.)"

It all gets lumped in, all or nothing, the big package; the bitter
pill wrapped in some peanut butter for a quick ingestion.
The side effects to be discovered later? Moot, once imbibed.

They don't want you to pick and choose, because the promoters
and architects know you won't choose the hard rules they devised. 
Hell, they invented the carrot to help brighten the lack-of-appeal of
their crafted stick.

It's a whole lot of 'Creamy Icing' lovingly set atop a steaming pile
of 'Shit Surprise.'

So, if you want to be one of Jesus' eternal minions, you better get
in line and boycott that JC Penny dyke rep....or "The Lord" will
be most displeased.

***********************************************