Religion: The Forbidden Topic

I’ve been told that religion and politics are two topics that should never be discussed and especially should never be the topic for an editorial.  I believe both are topics that should be discussed openly and regularly.  One of our problems is that we have too many topics that are off limits for discussion unless we already agree with the other party to the discussion.

That being said before I discuss religion I will add that I welcome your opinions, your disagreement and your abuse. If you agree or disagree send us a letter to the Editor and we’ll print it.

In the past few weeks I have heard two statements regarding religion that are both bull. They sound reasonable but are not.  The first was that “all religions are equally ridiculous.”  That is ridiculous. There are religions who worship God or a god. There are religions that worship animals. There are religions that worship nature, statues, natural occurrences, and ancestors. There are or have been religions that demand the sacrifice of children, virgins, slaves, animals and possessions. There are religions that commit great evil. There are religions that forbid certain foods and clothing and there are religions that promote slavery and the abuse of women and children. There are even religions that believe nothing.

There are religions that are pacifist but allow others to defend them.  There are religions that claim to support peace and love yet murder on a regular basis. There are religions that support using mind altering drugs to worship. There are religions that promote almost any action imaginable.  Many or maybe all of these may be ridiculous in your opinion BUT to say they are EQUALLY ridiculous is ridiculous. Some are simply more ridiculous than others.

The other statement is that “All religions are the way to…(whatever cosmic outcome you find desirable). That is also ridiculous. If you do not believe in any religion you are not qualified to determine any outcome.  If you claim to believe in a specific religion but do not believe your religion is the only correct one you are a fraud.  You do not have a religion you have a social group.

One group claims,  “The way is one;  the paths are many. “ That makes sense when taking a trip but not when joining a religious group.

For those who do not believe in any religion I have a question. If you believe mankind is a cosmic accident then religion is unnecessary and ridiculous. Yet for some reason every culture everywhere on Earth has developed some sort of religion. Almost all have developed some belief in an afterlife. Almost all have developed some sort of deity.  Why?

Even if there is no Supreme Being it is obvious that belief in a Supreme Being is somehow built into the DNA of humans and may even be a survival characteristic.

In the past few weeks both the Pope and our President have made statements regarding the historic abuses by Christians in the name of God.  This apparently somehow justifies or excuses the current abuses by radical Muslim groups made in the name of Allah.

I would counter that argument with a theory that just because the person doing an act claimed or claims it was for GOD, that God or a god is often the excuse not the reason. This would include the mental patient who says, “God told me to do it” and the literally thousands of times individuals, groups and countries and even religious groups confiscate land and wealth and claim God is the reason.

In many cases Greed or avarice is the religion even though God is blamed.  I would add that when someone justifies a despicable act using their religion, that religion is false or they do not truly believe in in it.

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