What has always bothered me (and others) about organized religion

I'd like to share with you a transcript of something I read which really nailed down what has annoyed me regarding the whole subject of religion.

I have truly felt the same thing, but this is put so much more eloquently than I could ever write it (and even though Christianity is the only specific religion mentioned here, this really applies to ALL "religions"):

"The history of Christianity is, of course, a prime example of how the belief that you are in sole possession of the truth, that is to say, "right", can corrupt your actions and behavior to the point of insanity. For centuries, torturing and burning people alive if their opinion diverged in the slightest from Church doctrine or narrow interpretations of scripture (the "Truth") was considered right because the victims were "wrong". They were so wrong that they needed to be killed. The Truth was considered more important than human life. And what was the Truth? A story you had to believe in...a bundle of thoughts...

...Thought can at best point to the truth, but it never IS the truth. That's why Buddhists say "The finger pointing to the moon is not the moon." All religions are equally false and equally true, depending on how you use them. You can use them in the service of the ego, or you can use them in the service of the Truth. If you believe only your religion is the Truth, you are using it in the service of the ego. Used in such a way, religion becomes ideology and creates an illusory sense of superiority as well as division and conflict between people. In the service of the Truth, religious teachings represent signposts or maps left behind by awakened humans to assist you in spiritual awakening...

There is only one absolute Truth, and all other truths emanate from it...Can the Truth be put into words? Yes, but the words are, of course, not it. They only point to it.

The Truth is inseparable from who you are. Yes, you ARE the Truth. If you look for it elsewhere, you will be deceived every time." -(emphasis mine)

By the way, this idea of not being able to put the Truth into words is the same concept as Chapter One of the Tao Te Ching where it is written "The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao."

And when Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life", this whole concept of each of us being the Truth is what was really meant! He didn't specifically mean just him, Jesus (who was really Yeshua, BTW); he meant we all are the Truth. But the interpretation didn't stick. Or rather, was allowed not to stick.

Interpretations are scary grey areas to get into and would require a whole different post, so we won't discuss it here at this time. Suffice it to say though, that Richard Dawkins, in his book "The God Delusion" put it quite succinctly regarding the reality of how far off the mark current interpretations are:

"Christians seldom realize that much of the moral consideration for others which is apparently promoted by both the Old and New Testaments was originally intended to apply only to a narrowly defined in-group. 'Love thy neighbor' didn't mean what we now think it means. It meant only 'Love another Jew.' The point is devastatingly made by the American physician and evolutionary anthropolgist John Hartung. He has written a remarkable paper on the evolution and biblical history of in-group morality, laying stress, too, on the flip side -- out-group hostility...

...Jesus limited his in-group of the saved strictly to Jews, in which respect he was following Old Testament tradition, which was all he knew. Hartung clearly shows that 'Thou shalt not kill' was never intended to mean what we now think it means. It meant, very specifically, thou shalt not kill Jews. And all those commandments that make reference to 'thy neighbor' are equally inclusive. 'Neighbor' means fellow Jew. Moses Maimonides, the highly respected twelfth-century rabbi and physician, expounds the full meaning of 'Thou shalt not kill' as follows: 'If one slays a single Israelite, he transgresses a negative commandment, for Scripture says, Thou shalt not murder. If one murders willfully in the presence of witnesses, he is put to death by the sword. Needless to say, one is not put to death if he kills a heathen.' Needless to say!"

I do have to say I am glad that the TRUE nature of the interpretation didn't stick in these situtations. :^)