The Riddle of Religion

An atheistic assertion of truth. Avoid if existential truth offends.

It’s not a harmless fairytale

Told to children as a fable

It means the world to billions

And has done so through the ages

It’s a plague that’s raged for generations

It’s a pestilence- a curse

It discriminates- indoctrinates

As it ravages the earth

It endorses war for its cause

It has influence like no other

It means us harm and calls to arms

Brother against brother

It tells us we’re not equal

Male to female, black to white

It speaks from lips of chosen ones

Who tell us ‘might is right’

It’s a riddle, an enigma

A conundrum of folk tales

It’s a metaphor in parables

For how our species fails

It’s a book, a place of worship

It drowns free thought in sin

It holds us back from evolutionary tracts

Before peace can begin

It is faith in the unknown

In the futile hope of favour

It tells we sheep to bow down meek

Over lifetimes of slave labour

It’s an amalgamation, an accumulation

Of ancient myth and legend

Written down by long dead men

That some use to portend

The end of days, for heathen ways

The good lord is displeased

So peasant folk who fear their popes

Will live life on their knees

It’s a shroud of endless mystery

That none can qualify

It’s religion- it is evil

It is time for Gods to die!

Reviews

[Rick Puetter]

Dear spence,

Well you really crawled out on that limb, didn't you. Guess you're not afraid that there will be multitudes with saws and axes at the base of the tree.

To a large extent I agree with this poem. However it is not just religion. This is rooted in all of man's endeavors. It can be a political system, it can be for business, etc., but I do have to agree that the one thing that organized religion has that these others do not (or at least not so strongly) is the statement that we are right and you are wrong because God is on our side. Further this fact doesn't need to make sense, shouldn't be examinined intellectually, and indeed it is noble just to take it on faith. It is a way of saying we are right and you are wrong and having an unasailable possition that can't be attacked by use of reason. But I think it's the organized part that is to blame. In such a system there is a leader and a flock--in fact these very words are often used. The sheep and supposed to be the sheep and do what the leader says and believe what the leader says. In catholicism the Pope's word is the word of God no matter what he says. The fact that apparently God changes his mind every time the Pope is changed seems to go unnoticed or at least disregarded. But what can we do? Man seems to be a pack animal and runs the way the pack runs.

A very nicely executed poem. Very much enjoyed.

Best regards,

Rick

[NoneOfYourBusiness akaK..]

incredibly powerful piece of writing that disembowles all the illusions of organized religions and its delusional mindless human body of followers~

[.]

. oh wow ! ... what a COMPELLING piece of writing ... absolutely unforgettable ... so powerful and emphatic ... wow ! ...