[Aeolwind]

Many of you have had interactions with me....would you believe that I was raised a southern baptist? I'm of the ilk that no religion is 100% correct, too many texts mention Jesus, both secular and non-secular, to have the stance that he wasn't a man here on earth. Not only that, he felt so strongly about his position & his ideals that he was willing to die for them in an unbelievable painful manner is extremely noble. He could have been smuggled out of the Middle East and into Greece or Crete where scholars were revered and protected and lived a full and dedicated life. And, while many would disagree, most of the tenants that lie at the core of most religions (10 Commandments for example) when viewed as nothing more than a code to live by, would make the world a better place.

With that said, on both ends of the spectrum Fanaticism and Atheism are equally wrong. We live in shades of gray on a day to day basis, but in some sort of surreal cosmic or benevolent joke there are 10 rules that could remove the gray. Convincing 6 billion people not to lie? Ever? Surely you jest.

With all that said, I think the last estimate I saw was the 95% of the world still believed in the existence of some higher power, be it God, Yahweh, Buddha, or any other hundreds of different interpretations, all with the general concept of: "Be cool with each other". Yet people still try to kill and maim each other because they have a different name for their Almighty. Mans downfall is not the existence of religion, nor the absence, mans downfall is himself and his own arrogance and ignorance. Two traits that are as far from a divine being as can be. Some of the greatest atrocities have been carried out on the world in the name of religion, and by that same token some of the greatest care-givers and benefactors the world has ever known have done so under that same flag.

In closing, Scientology is weird.