Is religion a mental illness? Or does it exploit mental illness?

The nazis and communists thought so.

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

Clearly because "God" was competing for the affection of the masses. Next!

Shhhh..... not so loud.... HE WILL HEAR YOU.

OMG OMG OMG.... will you shut up!!!! He's going to throw you into the eternal BBQ........

psychological warfare.

both actually, and the organization of religion is usually grifters taking advantage, or the most insane of the flock leading the pack

I think it causes mental illness. Out of my family I'm the only one who escaped.

I personally think it's a successful attempt at trying to hide what the "Illuminated" would consider esoteric knowledge.

Of course, whatever this "esoteric knowledge" might be... is just as easily disregarded as potential bullshit.

It's a safe assumption that the deceivers (if they exist) are just as deceived by their supposed wisdom.

- Distraction from deeper knowledge/wisdom/truths

- Instills the principle of subservience/submission to higher authority which fits nicely into the power structure of ruling parties / government

- Keeps masses locked in duality consciousness

Religion has cured me of having to worry about whats gonna happen when i die. See what im saying?........no more mental illness. Now i can go out and sin and be forgiven and sing the praises of the big fella in the sky. God was just over to the house the other day and we were drinking some Red Bull Devils Anus, a concoction as potent as the word of god hisself (his words) and he started hitting on my wife and i says too him, hey god quit hitting on my wife and he says, oh come on man i'll forgive your sins and i says have at her. My wife says there's something about a little god weiner that made her float along all the next day. So yeah religion has cured my mental illness.

"the first religion was started when the first grifter met the first fool"- mark twain

:Agreed:
Fact!

You're spot on. Finally someone with sense =]

your religion that you accidentally evolved from a soup of water and rocks billions
of years ago is certainly a sick delusion...call it mental illness if you like

Actually I don't know where we came from or where we're going.

But I certainly can't read a fancy book and suddenly believe I have all the answers ;)

Not "spot on" in any way.

Do ANY of you people on GLP actually have any spiritual awareness AT ALL?

The majority of you people seem like just SLIGHTLY more evolved gorillas.

God hand picked me to show you poor fuckers how too acquiesce too plausible vernacular, undeniably articulated, unequivicatedly surmised, with the gist of the fabric of the nature of subliminal usurption. Sure he wants a little spending money once in a while but hey he's God for fuck sake. Its God Tax. The only good tax is a god tax. And for us earthy beings its a syntax or sin-tax if you will.

I don't think the post you quoted had anything to do with spirituality.

Your ignorance (Eph. 4:18) is evident, that's why I clarified for you what you
necessarily believe. Clearly you didn't even know, and understandably
wouldn't want to...that's one sad, evil religion you got there

Let me help you out chief, either God created everything,
or everything created itself...though satan would have you
believe otherwise, it's real simple

Let those without shill cast the first stone. And let those without stone go out and buy some.

Religion gives people the tools for which to live, it also gave people a chance to get together once a week, and reaffirm those Christian values, and those neighborly ties. This was very important in our formalative years in coming together as a society, and a soft landing in the introduction of laws which formalized these values.

Are great thinkers religious? No, great thinkers must be free of such concepts as religion. Although their bodies must abide by the laws of man, and their social responsibilities, their minds must be free to wander, and to question, and to weigh, and to see from all perspectives.

We, on the lunatic fringe are the great thinkers of this age, and we are ridiculed the same way as the thinkers of old were. We come together, exchange knowledge, explore alternative ideologies, always questioning, always sharing, always changing. Just like the great thinkers, Pluto, Aristotle, Jesus.

So, is religion a mental illness? Is my post the rambling of an insane woman? Or a wise fool? You'll never know.

Are 'religion' and 'spirituality' synonyms?

Religion generally tends to seek ways in which to use the spoon as a weapon of control; Spirituality is understanding there is no spoon!!

Kismet

it would appear OP's mental illness has caused him to flee from his own thread

+1

:)

Kismet

A bit like my great thinkers analogy in my post above.

You put the words better and clearer.

Very well said, Aunty Flo!!

Kismet

Wonderful insights from (most) of the people in this thread! Thank for your thoughts =]