| The religions of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece | | | | dressing and a million other senseless things on the |
| and Rome had all Gods of war, and the ones in the | | | | population. The other religions are not far behind. |
| American continent prior to the arrival of Europeans as | | | | Several countries with Hindu, Buddhist and Christian |
| well as those in Africa had a similar structure. Not only | | | | cultures also deploy the full weight of the state to |
| were there Gods of war, but there was also a | | | | enforce ludicrous laws that have their origin in religion. |
| system that brutally punished those who disobeyed | | | | It is in the nature of religions to repress. Since they |
| the wishes of the priests. | | | | claim to possess the absolute truth, it is inevitable that |
| The monotheistic ones that appeared later, largely | | | | they demand total compliance and do not accept |
| stopped worshiping the warring Gods, but the priests | | | | dissension. |
| continued to threaten those who disagreed with them | | | | If what religions claim would be true, it would make |
| with punishments of all sorts. The punishments were of | | | | sense to abide strictly by what they demand. The |
| two kinds. Those received in this life and those | | | | problem is that they lack all scientific credibility and only |
| delivered in the next. | | | | science gives credibility to a belief. |
| On the one hand, there was the constant threat that | | | | History shows that religions have utilized one of the |
| poverty, disease, and accident would fall over those | | | | most repressive systems that humanity has ever |
| who did not comply with the commands of the clerics. | | | | seen. Most interesting is that they are the ones that |
| Since poverty, epidemics and war were a constant | | | | have kept it alive for the longest. Repressive political |
| throughout the bulk of history, and since people were | | | | systems such as slavery and feudalism made their |
| always committing sins, it seemed as if the threats of | | | | apparition after the birth of religion and although they |
| the Church would frequently transform into a lash that | | | | existed for a long time, they eventually expired. |
| came directly from the whip of God. The fear that | | | | Religions however, kept on going. |
| those threats instilled on the ignorant masses was | | | | The reason they have subsisted for so long is |
| huge and people trembled every time they were | | | | because throughout the bulk of history ignorance was |
| professed. | | | | prevalent. For millennia, the immense majority of the |
| Another form of psycho-terror that religions have | | | | world population was illiterate and when people are |
| repeatedly used and which was to a certain extent | | | | ignorant they easily fall prey to lies. The one thing that |
| more potent than the previous one was the threat of | | | | people fear the most is death and since the men of |
| eternal damnation. The men of faith assured that the | | | | faith worked the subject of death so well, their impact |
| sufferings in Hell were exponentially more painful than | | | | was huge. |
| those on Earth and since the ones on Earth were | | | | However, levels of illiteracy have fallen massively in |
| monstrously horrible, the fear they instilled was | | | | the last two centuries and life expectancy has grown |
| overwhelming. | | | | exponentially. For millennia the creeds of the world |
| However, such a psychological tool was not the only | | | | have held sway over the minds of billions, but |
| instrument of control that the monotheistic creeds | | | | fortunately for humanity, their reign of terror is finally |
| used. They also had armies and police forces, which | | | | coming to an end. Their power has rapidly declined in |
| enforced in a violent way the commands of the clerics. | | | | the past two centuries and the evidence suggests that |
| To this day, most Muslim countries continue to deploy | | | | before the twenty-first century is over, they will have |
| a police apparatus which will go as far as to enforce | | | | ceased to exist. |
| with prison and even death a very strict code of | | | | |