preface to my book

Religion/ Reality – What is religion, really?

Dedication:

To my father, who always made me figure it out for myself.

Preface:

                You can say this book is about Abrahamic religions, i.e. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. I would venture to say, it is about much more than those three as I delve into the root of these mythos and discover the origins of the stories repackaged into these faiths. I draw parallels, conclusions and irrationalities amongst all these religions and then some to show the root of the belief structure and to point out its faults.

                I feel the need to point out a few key ideas before you begin. I will not say that I am debating the existence of god, as that is topic for another book. Religion and God are separate entities and must be dealt with as such. All religions worship deities, not everyone who worships deities subscribes to a religion. Spirituality is not Christianity just as much as it is not Judaism or Islam; spirituality is the search for a path to enlightenment, whether your path included a deity of some sort in entirely up to you. This book is not about spirituality or god, but I felt that it should be acknowledged as separate from religion as well.

                What is this book about then; a fair question, to say the least?  This book is split into two parts. The first half of the book will relate to what makes up these religions. I dare use the word evolution, a bit ironically I suppose, in saying that religion is the evolutionary byproduct of thousands of years of oral tradition, questions, postulations and a desire for reason/ purpose as well as an understanding of origin. To say these things would imply that the religious texts that are held in high esteem in religious circles today reiterate stories and philosophy historically found in other cultures and time periods which predate the writings of these “modern” biblical texts.

                The second half will deal with philosophical implications, some of which have changed human history, that were derived from the previous oral stories and traditions. I will make note of many popular myths about Abrahamic religions that are apparent in western culture such as homosexuality, dichotomy murder and killing, righteousness vs. morality, ambiguity of beliefs among the believers ect. . Many of the stipulations I put forward into this part of the book will be drawing from varied disciplines, from metaphysics, physics, philosophy, psychology and many more.

                Who should read this book? Have you ever wondered where the narrative in the bibles around the world came from? Did you even know that most came from somewhere other than the authors pen? This is not a book that is supposed to make your mind up for you but rather, I hope a book to help you rationally decide where you stand in the issue of religion. I feel the need again, as with many of the debates I have had, that I am not arguing the presence, existence, omnipotence or power of any deity; I am not arguing for a lack thereof either.  

                The title for this book is Religion/ Reality, it is meant not to say that religion isn’t a part of reality, which is clearly the case. Rather it is meant in the sense that what people believe about religions may not be reality, or truthful for that matter. My reason for writing this book was to help myself clarify why I myself am not a religious person. I have always been taught to seek out my own answers and after years of research, thought and debate on this particular topic, I have answered a question I have had since I went to Lutheran school as a boy; “Is religion for me?” This book goes well past that, but from that mindset I set off to learn as much as possible about religions of the world, their histories, philosophies, traditions and biblical records.  This is a book about what religion really is, and because of what it is, I will never be subscriber to any of it.