A simple dream
If religion had an age limit just like alcohol, tobacco, guns and other potentially dangerous things, it would die out within a few generations. It’s dishonest to say that children will make up their own minds when they have been systematically programmed from birth to believe in God. We are already hardwired to believe what we’re told when we are young as a matter of survival instinct. “Don’t play in the street. Don’t stick metal in electrical sockets. Don’t sin or you will burn in Hell.” To a child, each one of these warnings carries equal weight. After all, if children went around questioning everything adults told them they wouldn’t make it passed the 1st grade. It is only later in life that we become confident enough in ourselves to form our own conclusions. By then the damage is usually irreversible. The idea of unquestioning faith is the key point for modern religion. This is so that the programming will survive the questions imposed by the adult mind, by teaching followers to ignore them and block them out completely.
Teaching a child things that aren’t backed up with hard evidence is psychological child abuse. You are essentially taking advantage of a child’s newly formed weakened mind to manipulate and conform their beliefs to your own, something that wouldn’t be possible without the handicap of being young and pliable. It’s exploitation at its worst and it can leave lasting scars just like sexual molestation and physical abuse.
The futuristic city is a work done for a contest a few years ago by Philip Straub. Be sure to visit his site for lots of other fascinating illustrations.