Candy-Cane Religions And Ethics

Dr. Albert Einstein once said - “A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.”

Some of the popular world religions (including but not limited to Christianity & Islam) indeed try to force man into ethical behavior by promising candy of heaven (+ houries) and punish them to hell (infinite or less in duration) for lapsing. It is indeed very sad. Such religion obviously cannot attract the intellectuals and people with strong foundation of logic.

The core of ethics comes from within and not due to fear. If fear of hanging or execution could prevent criminals then we would have lived in a crime-free world. Similarly fear of hell and promise of heaven can only be an incentive to the people with deficient mental capacity. Fear of execution / death is very real and yet we haven’t met a single person who can recount his journey back from heaven or hell. And yet people still corrupt the mind of young-uns with these fairy tales.

Let us all face the truth.