Do I believe that religious believers have mental ‘issues’ - yes and here’s why.

I have an irrational fear of some things (what they are isn’t important - suffice to say they are icky/bug type things). Now, I know that my fears are irrational. I know that one of these things can’t hurt me in any way - but I probably couldn’t even touch a dead one. I’d be the first to admit that it’s a mental problem I have. Most of us have similar ‘issues’ - some worse than others and it’s what makes us human.

However, I don’t devote my life to telling people about my irrational fears. I don’t dwell on this and other things in my psyche that detract from the other vastly more important things that my life means.

My view is that many humans cling to a belief in an afterlife for one reason - the fear of losing one’s life. Note that I didn’t say ‘dying’. The phrase ‘he/she LOST their LIFE’ is far more profound than dying. I don’t believe the actual dying process scares us nearly as much as the thought that after our life ’spark’ goes out we will never be ‘alive’ again.

Coming to terms with this very uncomfortable thought is not easy - each of us has to find a point of view about it that in some way comforts us. But, many, many people cannot do this. It certainly may not be the sole reason that people find solace in a religious belief, but it’s one of them.

I spent a morning looking into the Hillsong church here in Australia. As a kiwi, I was very familiar with the AOG (assembly of god) mega-churches there, but I didn’t realise Hillsong was from the same ’stable’. I couldn’t resist adding a few comments of my own to the hundreds of ‘jesus is my lord - bless me oh lord above - I am a lamb’ stuff that the faithful were posting.

I got some quite good replies from a younger chap who seemed interested in my viewpoint, but who in reality was engaging me in conversation so he could try to ‘turn me around’. I also got many more replies from people, mostly who had troubal speling (isn’t it odd how so many fundamentalist christian’s have this problem?) ranting and preaching such nonsense that even a theologian would have a problem understanding. Why do they post in CAPITALS. Do they believe that will make me sit up and take more notice?

Anyway, to get back to my point.

To say that I honestly believe many of them to be mentally ‘challenged’ (to put it politely) is an understatement.

I guess it’s not surprising that the believers should feel upset or angry whenever their fondly-held beliefs are rubbished, but I would have thought that if they were indeed, so fervent in their beliefs that a negative comment would be ‘water off a duck’s back’ as they say. I mean, I didn’t get in the slightest bit bothered or upset with their replies about my lack of belief, I just accepted that they had a viewpoint 180 degrees opposed to mine and just left it at that.

I actually think that the reality for many is this - in the back of their minds there is a nagging doubt as to whether they have got it right.

A tiny fear that they have been conned.

A bigger fear that their death is final.

It would explain the rabid angry responses for sure…

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