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Nov. 27, 2004 It's axiomatic that religion is a good thing. "He's a very religious person", is almost always meant as a compliment. I don't know how many times I've heard someone say: John Doe couldn't have done that, after all, he's a very religious person. As if being pious inoculated a person from committing any sin or making any mistakes. When someone asks an atheist, agnostic or freethinker, "what's your religion?", he shouldn't feel ashamed or embarrassed to declare: I'm not a practitioner of any creed or dogma. Because it's manifest that faith in god is not a good thing. Any historian would quickly conclude that religion is a horrible invention. The Crusades, the Inquisition, the spread of Islam by the sword and the homophobia and intolerance of today's evangelists is testament to the bloody fruit of religion. But it doesn't require a historian or a college professor to realize that belief in the supernatural does not benefit humankind. One aspect of religion that highlights its uselessness is its profligate wastefulness. I have a friend who can't seem to find any time to clean house, find a job, or even to help her children with their homework, but she spends hours in prayer every day. Prayer is nothing more than mental masturbation. The hours wasted talking to a nonexistent deity would be much better spent nurturing your very real children, communicating with your neglected spouse or chatting with your lonely friend. But faith in the Almighty is not only a great waste of time, it also devours huge amounts of money. A typical medieval cathedral consumed decades in its building. In the enlightened 21st century, billions are still being wasted in the name of religion. Jerry Falwell has exhausted hundreds of millions building his evangelical empire. If Jesus Christ were alive today, he wouldn't throw away millions building infrastructure, he'd spend every penny ministering to the poor, sick and hungry. Religion is also a tremendous squander of brainpower; gifted minds have frittered away the years pondering how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. We need less preachers venerating old texts that curtail freedom and expression and more writers creating works that inspire individuals to imagine the impossible. Religion does not have the efficacy to move mountains, cure cancer or raise the dead. Religion has been called the opiate of the masses, but I think it's more like a placebo for the ignorant and the intellectually lazy. Faith may prolong life by reducing stress. Spouse left you? Got Fired? Crashed your new car? Don't despair, these minor trials and tribulations can't compare to the Pie in the Sky that will be yours when you die. But wouldn't Prozac accomplish the same thing with less serious side effects? I am not under the illusion that this essay will persuade "people of faith" that their time- consuming, wealth-squandering and hostility- provoking system of belief is at best nothing more than a placebo. It took a leap of faith to swallow the superstitions of religion, and it will take a lot more than my humble essay to convince the devout that they left their brains behind when they took that fateful leap. But maybe my editorial will persuade those who still haven't committed to a religion that it's perfectly OK not to believe in any deity. ------------ About the author Robert Paul Reyes: I am a columnist for the Lynchburg Ledger. Email: rreyes4966@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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