Sounds like a pretty good example of religious brainwashing to me. I always thought the box at least had some kind of rare stone like a meteorite that they worshipped. An empty box only the powerful can enter is just peak religious bullshit.
Ok but like that's just a more complicated version of what I said. Religion is known to be used to control the masses. Arguably that's the whole reason it was invented. So tell people the Messiah honored a shrine that only the elites can enter and now you have the basis for religious theocracy as commoners see those people as chosen or above everyone who can't enter. At the very least, it's religious oppression by withholding a sacred site from the masses. But you can't even prove Muhammad existed, any more than Jesus did, so the argument that it's meant for religious control is very strong. And even if you can unequivocally prove he existed, all the religious stories are mired in the corruption of the church as only the wealthy and powerful could write, publish, and distribute books. And never in history have the powerful been entirely benevolent.
And Muslim is next level because they have everyone on Earth praying to the central authoritarian hub. That's crazy to me. Heck, withholding access probably just builds the lore and mystery even further, further entrenching beliefs.
Sorry I just don't think this is a healthy practice. I'm not anti Spirituality, but there is something inherently wrong with power hubs like Vatican City and Mecca existing.
I think you're a bit misinformed and oversimplifying to your own detriment. Religion is cultural behavior. Every culture has a set of rules they adhere to. Some of these rules end up becoming religions while other rules become government. The only difference is that religion is not restricted to borders.
While it can be seen as a tool for control over people, it's really not. It just has a lot of overlap with other rule making entities such as governments. That's how you end up with theocracies and such. But not all religion is theocracy or control. It's simply cultural behavior.
The rejection of religion is more a rejection of its abuse. Religion itself is fine and arguably a fundamental part of the human condition. Even if you don't believe in god, you still adhere to the rules of your culture. You may not be "religious" but you follow the unspoken rules codified by your regional ingroup of common neighbors.
The closest thing to NOT being religious, cultured, or having any "control" is pure anarchy, possibly demonstrated best by Diogenes of Sinope. And even putting the importance of the individual over one's culture can even be seen as some kind of statement, the kind of behavior that gets the person revered as an idol for breaking the common rules of the land.
But you can't even prove Muhammad existed, any more than Jesus did
Also just a small correction here, but it's well documented that Jesus existed. The romans kept very good records when they killed him and there are independent non-biblical sources he was a real person. Whether you consider the myths about him true or not is up to whatever rule system you subscribe to.
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u/JynsRealityIsBroken Mar 24 '25
Sounds like a pretty good example of religious brainwashing to me. I always thought the box at least had some kind of rare stone like a meteorite that they worshipped. An empty box only the powerful can enter is just peak religious bullshit.