This might be a controversial statement for some but religion is keeping you stuck and contrary to what many people believe, it is not getting you closer to God. How come?
Many people associate religion with faith. It is true that without faith you can’t have religion, however you can have faith but no religion. Religion is a complicated topic, because it’s not just set of believes, but it’s also part of national identity, what distinguishes other countries and very often, it’s not your individual choice. Through faith we come to religion, or should I say this is how it should be done but it today’s world very often is the other way round. Many of us are born into a religion and we are being taught by parents, school, church what we should believe in. Therefore before we come to our own conclusions, we are being taught various concepts, doctrines and unknowingly accepting set of believes. In other words, we are being indoctrinated from a young age and often our confirmation bias blocks us from being open minded and exploring different sides. Depending on where in the world you live, you might be able to explore other religions, but in a lot of cases, you cannot. However, what is important to highlight is the fact religion is a man made concept and has no basis in the Bible.
Historically, religion became a political tool rather that individual choice and what divided and separated other nations. It was used to legitimize authority, unify populations, justify laws, mobilize movements, and, at times, control dissent. Across history and cultures, leaders and institutions have drawn upon religious belief not only to inspire devotion but also to consolidate power. We have to remember that religion has very little with getting closer to God. Faith and striving towards holiness is an individual and personal experience that cannot be defined by set of rules established by institution. Religion therefore is a coat that system uses to unify people under the label of God. However, it is still a system and it is still man made based on human ideas and ideologies. And I will be controversial and say It is not of God or the will of God, contrary to what many people think.
While religion can inspire moral progress and social cohesion, its political use also raises concerns about exclusion, manipulation, and conflict. One of the most enduring political functions of religion is legitimizing authority. In medieval Europe, the authority of rulers was intertwined with the influence of the Catholic Church, which crowned kings and shaped law and education. By framing political power as sanctioned by God, leaders made disagreements to their political decisions not only political rebellion but spiritual disobedience towards God. This fear mongering towards institutions and powers drove radicalism and extremism. Religious narratives can intensify emotional responses, making populations more willing to support extreme policies or violence.
Religion has also been used to justify conflict and expansion. The medieval Crusades illustrate how religious narratives can frame warfare as sacred duty sent by God. Similarly, during the Thirty Years’ War, theological divisions between Catholics and Protestants overlapped with political rivalries, leading to widespread devastation in Europe. Although political and economic interests were deeply involved, religious language intensified loyalties and hostilities, transforming geopolitical struggles into cosmic battles between faiths. The constant conflict between Christianity and Islam, The Crusades where Crusaders viewed their mission as divinely inspired, promising spiritual rewards such as remission of sins. Then we have the Ottoman–European struggles between the 14th to the 17th centuries, Colonialism and so on. All in the name of God, whereas God was silently observing how people are disobeying His Law and His ordinances and misinterpreting His will. That caused a lot of hostility towards God, disbelief and questions how God would want people to fight in the name of religion? The answer is simple – God didn’t want to but God after Jesus’ departure didn’t have a true representative here on earth to convey the message. But people assumed that was God’s will.
Religion can become problematic, not only when we talk about completely different religions like Christianity and Islam, but also within one religion, like Christianity, where we have many complexities and differences. There are also added layers like traditions or different interpretations of the same text. If we look at Christianity, the largest religion in the world, Bible has been translated into 795 languages, with the New Testament available in 1,815 languages, and portions in 1,511 others, bringing the total number of languages with at least some Scripture to over 4,000. The Bible is the most translated book in the world, with active translation projects ongoing in thousands more languages. Many people often argue about different interpretations but it really depends which Bible version you are using, which language and in which country.
When I went deeper into Bible translations and wanting to understand text better, I was very surprised that the same scripture would be translated differently in English and in Polish, which would give a different meaning. We are talking about very small differences, however they will then create a different understanding altogether. Not only we have different translations of the texts from different language, but also different interpretations within the same language, depending in you are using EVS, NIV, KJV and so on. I often see various videos on Youtube and people arguing about the text that was simply translated differently. That is why I always go to the original Hebrew Bible translation, because a simple article can change the meaning of the verse. For example, in the NKJV Bible the verse from Genesis sounds like this:
“Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” Genesis 3:22
However, when you look at the original Hebrew Bible, it looks like this:
“And the LORD God said: ‘Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.'” Genesis 3:22
From far, it looks like not a big deal, however it actually changes the meaning of the verse completely. The original Hebrew Bible tells us that the men “is become as one of us” therefore is about to become, is on a journey of becoming to be one of us. However NKJV Bible tells us that the man “has become like one of us”, therefore the journey is complete, nothing to do here. However, this translation is wrong, because Adam and Eve were initiated into the process of becoming through trials and tribulations, rather that they already became after eating the fruit.
Another mistranslation that can cause some misunderstandings, depending on which Bible translation you are using is found in the book of Deuteronomy 32 verse 8. According to the ESV translation, we see this verse as:
“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.“
However, according to the NKJV version or NIV, this verse looks like this:
“When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.”
Therefore it really depends which Bible translation you are using. I always want to check in the Hebrew Bible to make sure not much has been changed. The same verse in Hebrew Bible is:
“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of men, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel.”
The children of Israel would make much more sense, because the separation in the book of Genesis chapter 11 describes Shem’s Descendants and Terah’s Descendants, therefore descendants of Israel. As you can see, those who read ESV translation might assume God separated sons of God, which are known to be angels. Then another person reading NKJV Bible will argue that God meant sons of Israel, because of the translation and God divided all mankind. Then a Jew reading Hebrew Bible will come and say, no God only separated children of Israel, not the whole mankind. As you can see, the arguments and misunderstanding can occur depending on which Bible you are using.
Unfortunately we live in the world where nothing is straightforward and there are many lies within any ideology and religion. However, in my humble opinion it’s not the point of having everything put on a silver platter and being straightforward but we are here to dig deeper, to keep improving ourselves and the world around us through rising our consciousness and understanding. And in order to do that, we have to be open minded to different points of view, different opinions, to critics and corrections. If we limit ourselves to the created constructs that unbale us to look elsewhere and that invoke fear if we do so, then we wouldn’t be able to form a rounded understanding.
In what way religion can keep you stuck?
As I mentioned, religion is not only man made and limited to the believes and ideologies that were formed at that time by the people on who’s understanding we have to rely on. It is depending on their level of consciousness, but also we have to trust that they didn’t have any hidden agenda when forming those believes and regulations. Once formed, we have to keep in the parameters of those believes and regulations. And what if someone’s consciousness surpasses those that created those rules and believes? What is that person starts asking questions? Well, usually that person is shut down by simple: “it’s always been like this or you are wrong and looking too much into things”. You just have to accept things as they are. This is the price of belonging – accepting something beyond your own revelations and inner truth. There is no room for cognitive reasoning. It’s all about acceptance, submission and repetitiveness. What is the other option? Accepting another religion or cult or organization? Looking for the truth in different places? As people, we have a need to belong and being part of organization and this usually means compromising on the truth through and bending the truth to justify the belonging. People don’t like to be “outsiders” or the “black sheep of the family” and breaking out of the norm. It is easier to just accept or don’t question too much and eventually, have those believes embedded into your personal belief system. Through repetition to acceptance to belief.
The problem with religion is that someone can be religious through rituals but not necessarily having strong faith. Religiosity is not an indicator of strong faith at all. Similarly, someone with strong faith doesn’t necessarily have to be very religious. On the contrary, that person might be very private and not visibly expressing their faith. Religion is just an outward expression but not always done for the right reasons. We cannot measure faith from the outside as this is very personal and individual, however we can measure if someone is religious by frequently participating in any masses, rituals and traditions. Sometimes this is fueled by the environmental pressure and not wanting to feel “left out”, rather than personal need. However, religiosity does not equal closeness to God. God is not found in buildings or traditions. Even Jesus said that God is not outside of you, but:
“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17: 20-21
Therefore it’s literally inside of you, your mind and your heart, not found in institutions and buildings and denominations. Even if you change denomination, it doesn’t mean you will finally get closer to God. It’s not about the labels, systems, institutions but purity of your heart. Repentance and truth – this is where you meet God. Therefore institutionalized religion is keeping you stuck and in constant loop of illusion that you are getting closer to God through your frequency of going to church, yet God requires obedience to His Law and to the Sabbath. In the non Canonical Gospel of Thomas Jesus said:
“If you do not make the Sabbath into a Sabbath, you will not see the Father,” saying 27
This means honoring the Sabbath because Sabbath has been established from the beginning as a holy day and a day of blessings. This contradicts with the institutionalized religion of Christianity and Catholicism where you go to church on Sunday. Moreover, Jesus when talking about the temple of God was talking about his body to show us that God does not need buildings, but hearts.
Is it wrong to break out of the norm and abandon institutionalized religion?
I don’t think so. I think it is important to come to personal conclusions and the only way to do so is through breaking out. We do not have to belong to any religion to have faith but very often people need a tangible aspect to the faith to strengthen that faith. As humans, we have 5 senses that help us with discovering the world and very often people have a difficulty in just believing without any tangible aspect like ritual. Unless someone had personal encounters with God, then they would require something else to believe. And here comes religion – a concept of shared practices and believes. If the foundation of faith hasn’t been established strongly, perhaps because of lack of any personal experiences with God or confusion that usually religion brings, then that person is more likely to chose different path. In the Bible we also see that not everyone had a straightforward path. Moses and Joseph had to go to Egypt and Daniel to Babylon, which in reality are God’s enemies. But God wanted for them to understand the enemy because only that way you can be sure that there is one true God. The problem with religion is that it can trap someone’s mind in carefully crafted set of rules and obligations. This can unable someone to want to, to be able to or even to have the courage to break free and see it for what it is. And the only way to see it for what it is, is to break free.
Historically we know that religion was a reason of many wars and conflicts between the regions. Strong attachment to ideologies and believes acted like like an invisible to the eye blinds, where people were unable to see and understand the other side. The differences in viewing the world, life, family, women and children due to religion can really disturb the balance. Both sides always think they are right and that their truth is the ultimate truth. No debate, conversation or argument would be able to convince the other side of their believes. It is only possible if one of the sides would have a significant personal situation or encounter that would change their mind, but it wouldn’t happen on the spot.
Is religion in the Bible?
You don’t see the word religion in the Bible and we see in the New Testament how Jesus was opposing religious aspect of the Pharisees. Following God’s Law is not a religion but a state of consciousness. Someone could argue that God wanted people to be religious because of the Law and His statues and ordinances and the temple. There was as system and that people needed to follow it. However, as I explained in my other post on misunderstanding God of the Old Testament, rituals, sacrifices and temples had their place back then as collective consciousness was much lower compared to today. People needed tangible rituals that would keep God in the forefront of their thoughts and lives. Sacrifices and blood was a visual representation of their sin and the purpose was to pull on people’s hearts and wanting them to change and not sin again. It was never about the transactional ritual that it grew into and it was never meant to stay forever, but just until people realized what was important. That is why the covenant that we are awaiting for is the covenant that God will make with people in their hearts only:
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31: 31-34
This covenant hasn’t happened yet and this is when there will be no need for religions, buildings and institutions. This requires rise in the consciousness and collective awareness that we are all connected and there is no separation, therefore if you hurt your neighbor, you are in reality hurting part of yourself.
Collective rise of consciousness
Our world is constantly going through collective increase of knowledge, wisdom, raising of our consciousness that enable us critical thinking. It’s never been easier to have access to so many resources as today, we’ve never been exposed to so much information as today and we have never had so many educated and knowledgeable people on earth. We are all going through different personal “discoveries” and we are able to share them with others and help others to see different points of view. But it can also lead to information overload and confusion at times, therefore balance and discernment is very important.
In mystic Christianity and in esoteric traditions, there is a popular concept of “Christ Consciousness”, that refers to a state of awakened awareness characterized by unconditional love, unity, compassion, and alignment with the Divine. It represents not simply belief in Christ, but an inner transformation that reflects what many see as the consciousness embodied by Christ. In this sense, Christ Consciousness can be interpreted as aligning one’s thoughts, actions, and heart with Christ’s example—living in love, forgiveness, humility, and obedience to God. This transformation is only possible through lived experience and through different trials and tribulations.
In mainstream Christianity, Jesus is understood to be the second person of the Trinity. I explained in my other videos that Trinity is a false doctrine that makes people confused thinking Jesus is Yahweh. Therefore people in Christianity understand that Jesus, as being God and Yahweh, came already perfected and enlightened, as being God. However, in my other video on the concept of reincarnation and past lives of Jesus, I explored that Jesus had many past lives before he came as “Jesus”. Christ soul was perfected throughout many lives and in different bodies, starting in a body of Adam, then Enoch, then Melchizedek, then Jacob, then king David, then high priest Joshua to then finally arriving as Jesus. Therefore if we look at the concept of “Christ consciousness”, this would align with the soul expansion and advancing five levels of the soul. In Judaism soul is understood as not only consciousness but also as the spiritual essence and animating life force of a human being. The past lives of Christ’s soul show us that it is possible to advance consciousness and arrive at the perfected state of the soul, just like Jesus did. From a psychological viewpoint, Christ Consciousness can be understood as an archetype of the fully integrated and compassionate self. Some thinkers influenced by depth psychology interpret Christ as symbolizing the realization of the highest human potential—selfless love and moral awakening. The awakening is simply coming to understanding of being one with God, being connected to everyone and everything and shifting perspective on illusions of divide. Illusions of divide refers to the concept that social, political, and personal separations—such as race, religion, or political polarization—are just manufactured and man made concepts, obscuring a fundamental human unity. Therefore the concept of man made religion also serves as a purpose to divide and separate people and make people believe their religion holds the ultimate truth and therefore other religions are just lies. The blockages that we endure in modern times are more around spiritual desensitizing, distractions, not understanding God and the concept of oneness. Until people come to the understanding that we are all connected and have been living different lives and in different times and therefore, the collective consciousness and awareness is definitely more advanced when compared to the times in the Old Testament. When criticizing the Old Testament, you might be unknowingly criticizing yourself living in those times and in different body, in the time when your level of consciousness was lower compared to now.
Breaking free from religion
The topic of religion is a very sensitive and complicated topic. It’s never straightforward and there isn’t one religion who holds the ultimate truth except the one true God. We all dig for the truth, we all hope we have the ultimate truth, but the prideful idea that my religion have the ultimate truth is a dangerous concept. I think it’s so important to be open minded and humble in correction. We don’t understand spiritual realities but people have tendencies to fill any gaps of knowledge with assumptions and interpretations, which can then create quite delusional thinking. God did not ask us to separate ourselves with concepts of religion but our job was to have dominion here on earth and to serve God and others through love. That is our task here and we are often distracted with those concepts and systems that only divide us.
You must develop willingness to confront realities and be willing to walk away once discovering the truth. Only then you will be able to dismantle the illusions that keep you bound. Breaking free requires more than just knowledge but also a shift in the perspective and the confidence to leave that comfort zone or community. Modern society thrives on concepts, ideologies and illusions. By questioning, educating yourself and not accepting everything just because it’s been formed centuries before, not only you empower your own life but also you contribute to a broader awakening. Awareness creates ripples, a butterfly effect that goes beyond individual, challenging the status quo and inspiring others to question the systems they inhabit. This collective rising in consciousness is the only way to dismantle the structures of manipulation and control. Every person who takes time to learn and to understand becomes a force of change no matter how small their actions may seem. The journey from breaking free from those systems and traditions is of courage and persistence, not being afraid to be left out in the cold. It allows to see the facade behind all the illusions we’ve been fed with. It requires leaving complacency behind and embracing the discomfort of being viewed as different or strange. It requires being set apart from the world and leaving traditions behind. This might be difficult at first and can cause uneasiness between family members. But in my view bitter truth is better than a sweet lie.
By Dagmara Z.