1. Where does God live?
Every depiction thereabout of God has him living in the clouds, up in the Heavens. At first this location meant that if we were to sail off into the sunset, we would find ourselves at the edge of the world where there was no more and we'd fall off because that was the end of the universe, and when we learned the world was round because we could sail and come back, Heaven was more sky word. This worked out for quite some time because man had no access the edge of the world, or the sky, or to the clouds. Gods wrath often reigned down from the clouds/heavens because we didn't understand weather because we had no science for it until one day man learned how to predict the weather and events that seemed previously to be exclusively under God's ora God's power as just being weather. And then man learned how to fly. He sailed up into the clouds and there was nothing there. He sailed up higher to the moon and beyond, and still nothing there--no angels, no deities, just clouds and space. So where does God live? Where are these Heavens?
2. Religion has always been used for man's personal gain and to spread hate
When the plague erupted in Europe, those who held religious power seized the moment. They told the people, this is God punishing those who have not been faithful (again, they had no science to understand the body or disease). God often uses plagues in the bible to punish non-believers, except the plague took some of the most faithful who held the most religious power, who ruled the churches in Europe, and it struck them down as fast as it did those who had never set foot in a church. How could that be? Shouldn't their faith have protected them since they were baptized? Oh then the issue was, it was the Jews who had brought plague because they had a different religion, and more importantly church leaders wanted to Jews gone because they contradicted the ruling faith so they used religion to exterminate the Jews which did not stop the plague of course, but "their problem" was solved nonetheless.
That is but one example of thousands, but let us bring it to modern times. When someone is different from those who hold religion to the highest regard, when someone looks different, when they have a different lifestyle, when they don't believe as the religious believe, the religious make a claim that first, they are a religion of love and acceptance, and second, that they have no right to judge (only God may do that) and then they turn and say if you are not a first, b second, and c third, you are not worthy, you are a heathen, you will be struck down, or you should be cast out, or I dislike/hate you. This is convenience. I don't agree with you, so therefore, you are against me and my God and you should burn. Nothing has changed. It's just not exactly legal anymore to just kill someone over their differing beliefs anymore, but discriminate, judge, write hateful comments, post up on a sidewalk with hate signs, vote against them, keep them out of jobs---there are other legal ways to "burn someone at the stake," that continue because loving thy neighbor does not actually exist for the majority of the religious unless of course, you believe exactly as they do or chose to contradict your own faith.
3. ...and the old Gods, where are they now?
Why is there no record of a God who supposedly created the entire universe in say a cave painting somewhere? Why is it certain cultures/people never heard of 'God,' in their entire existence and/or were thus killed and subjugated for their lack of knowledge of someone they didn't even know or believe existed. How can one even believe in something they don't know exists in their culture? Through out the history of mankind, there have been many Gods, and those Gods served a purpose to explain that which could not be explained to the people of a certain time period. Gods have always looked or been created in the image of the people who have believed in them which is why they continue to change and die out.This is why Christ appears to be an old white man. Who wrote the text? Coatlicue, Zeus, Krishna, Christ, Allah, Odin, Mahavira, Buddha, Brahma, etc. are in the images of their people so they can understand their Gods. People don't believe in Zeus anymore because we understand weather and where lightning really comes from. So why do we need a God of lightning if it can be explained through Science. The answer is we don't, and so faith and belief in him has died out by the masses.
4. Science contradicts religion
If the corn died, there was no science to explain that a certain fungus had invaded the harvest, so then God did it to punish the people who were not faithful enough, and conveniently, next season, when the fungus happened not to be present, the corn was good again, this time because God was showering the people with love again for their faith that season even though they were just as faithful the previous season. We use God because we are afraid of not knowing and not yet being able to explain something, but the progress we have made as a culture, as a people, as a planet could never have been made if not for people constantly questioning not only religion, but the world around them and figuring it out bit by bit.
Religion tries so hard to deny Science, always has, always will, and yet those that deny often benefit from science and medicine---taking vaccines, extending their lives in ER's, playing God with invitro fertilization, using it to ensure the crops grow, etc. Science is the enemy of Religion because it explains those myths that the religious hold in such high regard and use to control it's people and to explain the world. If a vaccine can save the murderer and the saint equally from plague, why is it not just the saint who can be saved if God is at work? That presents the problem for a church who is built on the idea that God only protects his own, the truly faithful. I mean, quite literally people were KILLED for trying to explain that the world was round a few centuries ago. We now consider that a horrendous act and the people of the time to be primitive to have believed that as a fact capable of putting someone to death over---because we understand science and cannot deny the truth when it is proved so with evidence which we now seek rather than try to hide to prevent it's contradictions to religion.
5. Having faith does not make you perfect, but it allows you to judge others to a higher standard than your own
One would think, if one goes to church each week, is baptized, says their prayers, says they have faith, they should be perfect beings incapable of harm, of committing crimes, of abuse, of lies, etc. but they are not. The religious say all the time, "I'm not perfect." Well, if you aren't perfect, then why is it you claim to be via your words. You claim that your church teaches you how to live "the right way," and yet, those with crosses, still end up in jail, covet their neighbors husbands, end up on the news for diddling children, steal office supplies, still beat their wives, etc. What good is going to this building each week and praying on your knees, if in the end, you come out just as bad as some of the scum of the earth who have no faith at all? One does not need 52 Sundays in a building to learn not to kill someone or respect their parents or to be capable of adhering to both of those.
If you aren't following the 10 commandments, if you are doing some illicit things behind closed doors, if you're still stealing the office supplies and cheating on your wife, what right have you to judge others and say they are worse than you or going to hell, especially those not doing any of that but without faith, if you are doing less, the same, or worse? It's pretty convenient to say, well, that's why we have forgiveness, and yet, you have the ability to not do wrong in the first place, but you have chosen to do it, and when you do, oh the devil made me do it. Hypocrisy is alive and well. You may point the finger at others and blame their lack of faith for their transgressions, but when it is you the finger is pointed at, what is your excuse? And to be clear...there is always some excuse...
Most Helpful Opinions