A few years ago, after reflecting on this deeply, I came to a big realization: religion is not universal truth. It is an accident of birth. Where and when you are born determines what God you worship, what holy book you follow, and what morals you are taught. History proves this again and again, and it shows that trusting these religions as absolute truth is simply illogical.

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The Romans example

For centuries, Romans worshiped Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and a full pantheon of Gods. This was the official state religion, backed by temples, sacrifices, and priests. People there were convinced that these Gods represented the figures they were supposed to worship. But what happened a couple centuries later? Rome abandoned all of that and converted to Christianity. Suddenly, the Gods that everyone worshipped for hundreds of years were labeled "false" and the Bible became the new truth. So if you had been born in Rome just a century earlier, your entire worldview, morals, and "truth" about God would have been completely different than they are now for the local people.

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India–Pakistan border example

If you were born in Lahore (Pakistan), chances are you would be raised Muslim. But if you were born just a few kilometers away across the border in Amritsar (India), you would most likely be raised Hindu or Sikh. Two people born almost side by side, but because of an invisible political line, they grow up with completely different gods, holy books, rituals, and moral codes. Both sides believe their faith is the absolute truth and that the other religion is wrong.

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Europe example

If you look at maps of Europe throughout history, you will see how every few hundred years borders shift, kingdoms rise and fall, and along with them, religions, values, and beliefs completely change. One century people worship one god, a few centuries later they worship a different one. If you were born in Europe at a different time, chances are you would have prayed to an entirely different deity with an entirely different set of rules.

If you were born in Northern Europe a thousand years ago, you would likely be a follower of Odin, Thor, Freya, and the other Norse gods. You would participate in their rituals, which often included sacrifices such as animals, food, or valuable items, offered to the gods to gain favor, protection, or success in battle. Your moral framework, values, and daily life would revolve around honoring these deities. Yet, if you were born in the same region a few centuries later, all of that would be abandoned. Christianity would have taken over, the gods you once worshiped would be labeled false and a completely different set of rules, morals, and holy texts would dictate how you live your life. The only thing that changes is when and where you were born. This shows how arbitrary and situational religion truly is.

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North America example

North America adopted Christianity simply because European colonizers brought it there. But what if North America had been colonized by people with a different religion from somewhere else? If you live in the USA or Canada today, you would probably be practicing a totally different faith, and you'd be told to worship a totally different God, just because of that. Perhaps another century from now, Christianity itself will be abolished and replaced with another religion that fiercely opposes the very god people worship in North America today. So does it really make sense to devote your entire life to one particular religion, worshiping and praying to a "local god" when history shows that such gods and belief systems are so easily discarded and replaced?

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Australia example

For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal people in Australia followed their own spiritual traditions. Then Europeans arrived and brought Christianity, which became the dominant religion. If you were born in the same place just a few centuries earlier, you would have had completely different gods, stories, and morals.

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What does this prove?

This proves that religions are not eternal truths. They are temporary belief systems, shifting with power, politics, and geography.

Someone in your life might have told you, or maybe still tells you that you need to "pray to God!" or "worship God!". But think about it for a second. If you had been born in the same place but in a different era, that "god" could have been a completely different one, with a completely different set of morals and commandments. So how does that make any sense? How is it that the supposed eternal truth of the universe changes depending on when and where you are born? It doesn't make sense, and, this shows that religion is in fact cultural programming.

On top of that, it is not just about where and when you are born. Even within the same country, sometimes even within the same city, there are countless denominations, sects, and sub-religions that contradict each other. The particular family you happen to be born into can also end up deciding your faith for you.

It is one big mess, yet people refuse to see it for what it is because they fear that their temporary god, a god whom they might abandon or even vehemently oppose just a few centuries later if they were to live that long, could become upset with them. Nobody wants to confront the obvious logical fallacies at the heart of it all.

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The only thing that makes sense for me

What does this all show? It shows that it really doesn't matter what people from my country claim God is like, and it really doesn't matter what people from your country claim God is like. Every culture has a different opinion, therefore, it is impossible to know what God is really like based on people's opinions. Period.

The only way we can get an idea of what God is like is by observing God's actions. And what better way to do that than by observing God's creation? What do God's actions reveal about who God is?

Look at the world. God's actions show a system built on suffering, predation, and exploitation. Every living being survives by consuming another, and in most cases, this happens violently. Humans, animals, and insects all must attack, kill and eat another living being in order to survive.

Mainstream religions try to cover this up with promises of salvation, offering hope and moral guidance that contradict what we actually see in the world. Their stories shift constantly with time and culture, changing from century to century and place to place. But the core reality remains the same: this world is built on survival, predation, and suffering. That is why I find the prison planet theory and Gnosticism the most compelling: they reflect the consistent truth we can observe for ourselves. And when you also examine the metaphysical evidence, this conclusion only becomes clearer.

The world itself shows that the being who created it either has no empathy at best or is extremely malevolent and sadistic at worst. All religions try to hide this truth. Covering the prison walls with beautiful stories will not change reality. Every living being is placed in a system where they must kill or be killed to survive. The amount of suffering that every creature on this planet is subjected to is overwhelming, and it is built into the very design of existence itself. A being who creates a world like this is not only unworthy of worship, but they deserve condemnation from everyone. By designing life in such a cruel and violent way, God shows himself to be the opposite of good.