As a former Christian, this writer believed that the Bible was true and that it was the word of God written through human beings as inspired by the Holy Spirit. At age 16, he became skeptical. He became interested in psychology and how the human mind is easily manipulated and fooled into believing things that aren’t true. This is when he became an atheist.
The writer tried to understand his own mind and what it meant as a Christian to believe in God. Other religions teach how the human mind is led to believe in a god or gods. Most religions share the same few mental constructs in order to manipulate people into believing in something that just isn’t there to begin with.
The creator, God and the supernatural: Imaginary Friend
It all starts with an imaginary friend. The idea of a Creator, “The One True” God. You must first teach people to believe that there is more than physical life on earth and the physical universe. You lead people to believe that there is a supernatural realm. You mentally link this supernatural realm to anything that the person can not explain in his or her life. You link it to unknown and impossible questions with no certain answers. You teach them there is an afterlife, but more importantly, a heaven for all of those who believe the “truth” and a hell for all of those who do not.
Life-long delusional way of thinking
Once the idea of a supernatural Creator/God is instilled within their minds and you use to reward or fear tactics such as heaven and hell, you have instilled in followers the basics for a life-long delusional way of thinking.
The “True” word of God: The Imaginary Friend’s personality, characteristics, and purpose for humankind all found within a “Holy” book or text written thousands of years ago.
The next and most important part of the “Holy” book or text – all popular and major religions have one. Whether it be the Bible, the Quran or the Book of Mormon. You teach them that “The One True” God divinely inspired this “Holy” text by using human beings to write it. You teach them that every word is true and infallible. This book or text you lead them to believe in contains all of the characteristics and personality traits of whichever god you are trying to get them to believe in. The god you have to lead them to believe in now has a personality and a purpose for humankind.
The Concept of God in a Person’s Mind
So far, the idea of a god (imaginary friend) and his character and desires (the “holy book or text”) have been instilled within the person’s mind. This is the basis for a belief in a god. There are other reinforcements such as prayer. “Answered” prayer is nothing more than a combination of confirmation bias mixed with probability and psychological tricks into making the person believe there is a god answering their prayers. Even when the prayer appears to not work, the religious claim it was merely answered with a “no”. When impossible things that are prayed for, don’t happen (which according to the laws of probability makes sense, that impossible things don’t just happen), the religious say “It wasn’t in god’s will or plan for that to happen”. These are all merely psychological tricks.
For thousands of years, human beings have been misled, tricked and fooled using simple psychological tricks into believing in something that has no evidence for it’s existence, merely because of human emotions. This is the greatest scam of all time.
