I think the devil invented religion
I think the devil laughed all the way home to his fellow demons.
He'd brag and say: "I've made Judaism today, now parents will harm their progeny in the name of a loving god"
He'd say: "I've made Christianity today, now people will fear life, and long for death.
They will be unable to live, or tolerate any that does"
He'd brag about this at length.
"In four to six hundred years, I'll create Islam, and then later still I'll invent Scientology" He'd say. "Thus people will kill each other, in the name of a loving god, I find this part particularly entertaining"
he'd chuckle at the fact humans would then, believing those stifling dogmas, restrict and restrain their own souls, and the souls of others. They'd strangle creativity, they'd create fear of love, real love, the love between one another. They'd create fear of human nature, of their own bodies, of their own longings and urges.
"God is love, and if you do not believe in Him, you'll burn for ever and ever and ever in hell" they'd say, and the devil would guffaw at a joke well executed.
They'd then describe hell in great detail, adding to the fear.
Until people were so petrified with terror, that they'd seek solace in the dogmas that instilled it.
"Oh what sport" the devil would say, "and best of all, they'll blame me for it all, they'll put aside their personal responsibility, they'll be unable to think for themselves, and blame others for their misfortunes and unhappiness.
They'll blame me, they'll blame each other, they'll blame the trees and the sky.
They'll blame the animals, the insects, the sea, the air and the food that they eat."
The devil would muse upon this jest, knowing it would last for a long long time.
"They will go to war" he'd say, "They'd go to war because their loving God is more loving than those others loving God"
"Some will not eat this, because the other tribe does so, they will mutilate themselves, because the other tribe does not - or they'll mutilate their children, because the other tribe will not."
He'd ponder this.
"They'll do this to their children and themselves, thus ensuring that their particular brand of madness will spread, it'll be hereditary, passed from parent to progeny"
The devil would laugh at this.
"A perpetuum mobile of hate and fear" He'd say, "They'll teach their children how to hate, instead of how to love"
He'd think himself clever, though forgetting, that he too, would at some point in the future need forgiveness. Forgiveness that would never come, because humans would forget how to.
This is the blueprint of our world.
Later, the devil would invent politics, but that's a different story.
THN
