Religion: a form of control or REAL?

my only problem with watching TV preachers is that they always want some money from me. Preacher talking 'bout: " call into my ministry and make a commitment to give one-hundred trillion dollars and the Lord will bless you!" *hoops & hollars. *goes into epileptic seizures I count down to see how many tapes they're gonna try to sell me, how many donations they want me to give. With in five minutes almost(key word) any preacher will reference money at least once! I will pay tithes though

The church is a business, no doubt about that. But let me clarify my point a little bit. Food for thought: :idea: In the beggining of time there were no police men to police the streets. So accordingly they created a religion, something to make people think twice before doing something inhumane. For Instance, we have James :twisted: and Connie , James is uncontrollable so Connie creates this unseen sprit. Connie tells James that if he continues to "sin" God will punish him indefinitely. James becomes afraid and straightens his act. Furthermore, he spreads the word to be good or this unforseen spirit will punish him. In conclusion, i know God is real but it is a belief, and i have faith that my belief is real. Yet and still, I question these things. I am a "James" and i think that by even putting up this post God is going to punish me. When i die am gone no knowledge of this life, no matter if i go to heaven or hell.

umm, actually it is. The koran is just the old testament.