religion

Many people rejected their creator and scoffed at the idea

Still others accepted

Long ago the people had been given a book of truth but knew not how to read it as no one could decipher the language.

Many tried and many claimed they had succeeded in doing so.

They bragged and boasted of the wisdom they now possessed and taught others their doctrines.

They argued among themselves, each believing that they had interpreted it correctly and that the others were wrong.

On hearing the interpretations many declared that the creator must be an evil tyrant, others said the book must be a fairy tale as it made no sense and was full of contradictions.

The self-professed preachers of the truth, all puffed up with pride, managed to attract many followers who they convinced that they had indeed been divinely chosen to discern the truth.

They formed separate groups and the people gathered around their chosen shepherd eager to learn all he had to tell.

Each group grew larger and eventually they thought it prudent to erect structures where they could gather together safe from the elements and listen to the wise preacher and worship the creator.

The people argued and fought about who had been shown the truth. People turned against one another for not subscribing to their version.

It Caused division among the people.

Wars were started because of it.

But nobody had managed to decipher the book, as none was worthy to do so, being proud as they were.

Blind to the fact that it wasn't possible for any of these unworthy men to be right, as they were pursuing the unlimited with the limited because that's all that was available to them.

There were a few chosen ones, these people had been given pearls and told to keep them safe and not show them to anyone until they were told to.

And there were other chosen ones who didn't yet know they were chosen as they had things to learn before this could be revealed.

The people in the structures believed they were the chosen ones and proudly showed their fake pearls that the preacher had given them, to everyone believing they were real.

They tried in vain to appear saintly and wise and did manage to deceive many including themselves.

They preached of love and forgiveness but their hypocrisy was blatant

Some made idols from stone and wood.

This made other groups angry and they condemned these ones, denouncing them as frauds and fakes

They failed to realise that they too had made idols which were invisible but just as powerful as the ones made from stone and wood.

Many people became terribly confused and the spirit of discernment was almost nowhere to be found.

They preached about sacrifice, charity and giving all to the creator

Using ethos to persuade

These men were shrewd and wily and the people desperate to feel secure in their destiny gladly gave money, time and energy.

They felt safe being in groups of likeminded people

If so many subscribed to the same beliefs, it must be true

Still there were many others who completely rejected these beliefs

All were wrong

Still they passionately argued with each other about which was right, not realising there was another option that had eluded them all.