What would you do if what you believed in was a lie?
My journey to seeking the truth so far…
We are all here on earth, somewhere in the world living our daily lives, some live in the past (hanging onto or dealing with certain moments), some in the future (with concerns, anxiety, plans etc.) & some try to embrace the present.
We are taught many different views on how we got here (aside from obviously being from your parents), we are taught subjects such as science, history and religion as separate topics.
I remember loving many subjects at school, science, history & religious education (R.E) were fascinating to me among drama, English, French & music.
With science, history & R.E, I found it very interesting to explore different and interlinked concepts of human existence and past events (outside the classroom).
I often wanted the lessons to carry on yet the timetable forced us to move on to other classes and certain topics were often rushed through due to time constraints of teaching us according to the curriculum.
We are taught many different views on how we got here (aside from obviously being from your parents), we are taught subjects such as science, history and religion as separate topics.
There should be a subject called ‘Life’ combining particular topics together. This would open the door for young minds to explore the similarities between the subjects & perhaps help to prevent conflict between different beliefs & faiths but an understanding & respect. Schools should be allowed to let people critically evaluate what they believe especially in the spectrum of the classroom.
However, I as a teacher, with the experience that I have, know that schools are dictated to as to how they should teach. It’s a curriculum or what you could call an agenda. Depends on your outlook.
For one to learn more about any interest, they need to take a learning journey outside of the classroom.
My journey to faith
I grew up in a household where there were no strong religious beliefs in place but what I did have were grandparents who varied in beliefs.
Looking back I’m grateful that I didn’t have any particular belief imposed on me. Simply because I was given the opportunity to explore my own interests. Therefore I studied religions through different books.
To broaden our perspective, my family & I visited countries such as Hong Kong & experienced the inside of a Buddhist temple, a Catholic monument El Valle de Los Caídos located in Madrid, Spain & a Kingdom Hall in St Vincent, the Caribbean & closer to where I previously lived, I also visited a Mosque in London & multiple churches across the UK.
I had friends from a variety of religions & with many common interests (and thankfully still do), we rarely spoke on religion maybe to avoid conflict in key figures/events, yet we all commonly believed in a powerful Creator.
As I got older, I had a particular interest in a specific religion yet disliked the title ‘religious’ as it was more of a ‘relationship’ with our Creator and found that the word ‘religious’ had negative connotations such as ‘judgemental’ & ‘hater of science’.
Those descriptions didn’t fit my personality and interests. Although I believed in that religion (some may call it a way of life) for 16 years, my interests in science & my further study in social science which led me to gain a psychology degree, rarely conflicted.
I believed science proved the theory of creation regarding the sudden ‘big bang' in space. But a part of me questioned how something could come from nothing.
I enjoyed studying why people behave as they do from both a scientific & spiritual standpoint.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching debates between professors of science such as John Lennox who is both religious & a scientist vs atheist scientists. I could analyse both views, it shed light on facts & opinions and it gave me more insight into what I believed in and what I didn’t.
Along the journey I had many spiritual experiences, lots of good ones e.g. some amazing answered prayers/healing & others were scary especially at the beginning (that is another story)… this fastened my seatbelt in the drive of remaining on that journey in that particular religion. Even with a lack of historical evidence, this helped me have more faith.
I also started to dream more and see these dreams manifest in real life, I became more in tune with people’s characters and found the ability to speak about people’s future & see that manifest…
Yet, these experiences can be found in Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism etc. They can show there is a spiritual world outside of this physical realm we live in; a frequency that can be tapped into… However if one is to dig deep, they also show that no particular faith has all the answers to the truth that we seek.
Some years towards the end of my specific faith my husband and I started a path of digging in very deep. My husband had a lot of questions, but not enough answers. We started analysing our faith at the time critically from an outside perspective. We questioned the original text, as it was the ‘inspired word of God’, researching the original languages it was written in & how it came to be how it is today. We wondered if it is meant to be ‘the unchanged, inspired word of God' then why was it changed?
We studied terms, translations, historical evidence & archaeological research.
What we believed in was an allegory. For those of you who don’t know, an allegory according to the Oxford Languages Dictionary is:
‘/ˈalɪɡ(ə)ri/
a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.’
We discovered that what we believed in was created by Ancient powerful people who wanted to control others, simply put dominate the world.
There was absolutely no historical evidence for any of the key characters in what we believed in. Zero! Even the religious book states it is ‘an allegory’ and the word currently translated as ‘religion’ was ‘superstition’.
The stories never happened in history even though they are depicted as ‘historical’ in the book. They were clearly plagiarized from other ancient religions predating this one & myths alongside the clever change of the original characters’ identities.
This was truly eye opening as my whole belief system was based on the ideology of these fictitious characters actually existing!
Certain books within the religious book also had been added centuries later and many retracted.
The prophecies were events that already happened and were added at a later date to prove its validity under the guise of ‘prophecies’.
What was so shocking was when we analysed & further researched the book, there were hundreds of contradictions, there were two different creation stories… The ‘God of the book' announced He would make His prophets lie, He killed many people including children for other people’s wrongdoings, He encouraged slavery and slaughtering of nations & more! Nb. This has all been read in context.
The whole book has hidden messages throughout & it is evident that it was devised as a tool to enslave people (that were already powerful within their own rights) to governing powers. This was & is just intolerable for me!
So what do you do after discovering you believed in a lie?
It properly differs for many. Here are some of the classic reactions based on much research:
- Disbelief & denial — some can’t accept the facts (even with all the evidence laid out in front of them) & see it as a ‘distraction’ led by the “evil one”. But how do you know who the “evil one” is?
- Fear — many begin to fear their afterlife, where will they go now? Will they be punished eternally for turning their back on their religion/ ‘Their truth’?
- Anger- many may feel angry that they’ve been deceived for so long! Is it better to learn the truth now, later or maybe even never?
- Overwhelmed - some may feel overwhelmed with the evidence and either choose to ignore it or pray for answers. But either way what will it achieve?
- Wonder/Doubt - Many will then wonder if there is an afterlife? Is there a God? Can they have a relationship with God directly without the intervention of religion? Would a child need a nanny to talk to their parent?
- Hunger - Some may feel a hunger to discover more and find the truth. How will you find the truth unless you seek it?
All of these reactions will vary for everyone on a similar path & some may feel all of them at different stages.
My husband and I are definitely at the stage of hunger (some even say starvation), for knowledge. We very much enjoy researching a multitude of sources and we still believe there is a Creator of the universe, the planets & all species.
The evidence is in nature, just take a look at the sun for example, it provides life (not necessarily creating life but upholding it). It gives life to plants, which give us oxygen which is an integral part of us living. Without breathing there is no life. This has to be designed by a genius!
If you study science and see how we are all coded, just like a computer has codes in the background to operate, just like the internet… your very own DNA is coded! Let that settle in for a moment, really think about it.
If you discover what you believe in is not quite what you believed it to be, I advise you to keep searching, don’t give up!
A heads up, you may lose some people on the way, yet people who really love you will celebrate you, appreciate you and respect your journey.
‘Knowledge is power’
I appreciate the time you took to read!
Edited by Isaiah Bhambra
