the inhabitants of this world throw religion and superstition out completely. I'm afraid that until that region of the world begins to show movement away from Islam just as many western societies are slowly rejecting organized Christianity, we will continue to see chaos, violence, intolerance, death, and absurdity.

Once someone allows their mind to rationalize the absurdities their religion forces upon them such as virgin birth, life after death, faith healing, soul travel, martyrdom rewarded by multitudes of virgins, or any of the other ridiculous things, they are more open to accepting absurd actions of other humans that have no logical basis and generally diminish their quality or quantity of life. They are easily led by master manipulators.

In my religious days, despite believing strongly in the kind and giving teachings of Jesus, I could easily accept the death of other people in war and in the name of justice because I knew there was some God to sort the mess out if we got it wrong. I figured I shouldn't be asking those nagging questions about the blatant contradictions I kept seeing all around me. Gradually though science and logic overwhelmed that programming and I came to my senses.

I am actually a much more peaceful, forgiving, and just person than I ever was under the spell of Christianity and I can't even imagine who I'd have been if I'd had a real fundamentalist propaganda program thrown at me from an early age.

Whether this natural cultural evolution away from superstition can occur before we blow ourselves up in the name of Allah or God, I have no idea.

Art