No build up. I’ll just come straight out with it. In my biased opinion, they’re all flawed.
I concocted a list of presidents, governors, coaches, financiers, actors, college deans and found serious issues with every one of them — sexual indiscretions, judgement lapses, greed, arrogance, stupidity etc. You name it, they had it. If you didn’t see it, that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Every human being is flawed, but to a different degree. No new knowledge to be gained on that front.
In the god category, I checked out Wikepedia and two other religious sites. There are 22 major religions and thousands of minor ones. I was surprised to find that Christianity was first with 2.1 billion followers (I thought it was Islam), Islam was 2nd with 1.3 billion  followers, third was Atheism with 1.1 billion and 22nd was Scientology with 500 thousand. In-between there are Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Mormonism (LDS), Rastafarianism etc.
Each, except Atheism, has its own special GOD. HE, the almighty, the capo de capo, demands full allegiance and in return one gets preferential admittance to the afterlife.
Which religion, forgetting the amount of followers, is the most powerful? That’s a tough one. The best answer I could come up with occurred in 2004 when Brigham Young (the followers of Joseph Smith Jr) beat Notre Dame (the followers of Jesus)Â in football 20 to 17. That’s actually a lot more entertaining than the game between the Sunnis and the Shias where someone’s always getting blown up because they disagree as to the true successor to Mohammed. So if all the gods are flawless, why are there so many, and why are so many people killing each other to prove that their god is the TRUE GOD?
The real question is why do we need to elevate man to a godlike status, and why do we need a god? Among many reasons, two stand out.
The first is that it all comes down to being a helpless baby — hungry, powerless and vulnerable. To survive, our god-like parents are a necessity. As we develop, we need to break away from parental rule (the terrible twos, adolescent rebellion), but still need and want someone wise and loving who will care for us. Voila (a little French mysticism), we elevate fellow humans and we attach ourselves to a GOD. It happens everyday in any doctors office. Vulnerable people are desperate to be nurtured and cured.
The second, is that we’ve been indoctrinated with religion from the moment we take our first breath. It’s very challenging to combat centuries of history and tradition.
It all makes sense except for one “little” part. Half our country is so religiously oriented that the concept of a division between church and state has become nonexistent. “If you don’t believe in my god, I won’t vote for you!”
What happened to the god of common sense?
All thoughts and ideas about heroes and gods are very welcome.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to Inside the Mind of a Psychiatrist.
Inside The Mind of a Psychiatrist 