rnal happiness. “The idea of God has frequently been used as the opium of the people” (Armstrong, 80). This God drug makes people act very strangely, watch any late night religious TV show and you’ll see how crazed they get. Yet, most remotely sane people see that there is no way the greasy looking man trying to sell “holy water from a spring blessed by God” at three o’clock in the morning does not hold the secrets to eternal happiness. People need to use their judgment and common sense to see what is actual and what is just a shady deal to “eternal happiness”.I believe that God would not like himself to be peddled on late night TV or even be feared by millions of people. I believe that God wants to be seen as the father to all of us. Someone we trust and just believe in. “Life (is) an endless dialogue with God, which does not endanger our freedom or creativity, since God never tell us what he is asking of us” (Armstrong, 75). This statement is the culmination of my religious quest. We talk with God, he knows us. He realizes what we want and aspire to be. He knows that we must encounter our hardships in our life to make us grow. That is his plan. To make us the person we want are destined to become, whether we realize that is what we want or not. God doesn’t ask questions of us, he doesn’t need to, and as much as we might ask questions to him, he doesn’t need to respond because it will all be told in time. I have seen most types of religious people, from the hard-core Jesus freaks that shudder at the word “Hell”, to the disbelieving atheists who cringe at the word “conformity”. Yet, why do they feel so strongly about their branch of religion? When asked the question, a surprising number replied, “It’s just the way I feel”. No one really knows why they feel the way they do, it’s just something in...
