Religion... Yeah, I know...

Christianity is the one true religion. No wait! It's Islam. Definitely Islam. But Judaism is nice too. Then there's those happy Buddhists. *Sigh*. Who's right and who's wrong dammit?!?!?

Well from a personal standpoint, they're all wrong. Yep. ALL WRONG. And yes, I am religious. I'm one of those tree hugging, dirt worshipping Pagans, whose Gods and Goddesses rule the universe! And it's still wrong. Oh it's right for me you see, but I'm me. Because at one point I was a Christian like so many other North Americans, and then one night I had an epiphany. I figured out that I didn't like the bible, Jesus was a front man for politics these days, and non of the "Big Three" really made me feel good because let's face it, they're very similar in nature. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that assumption, because that's all it is. I'm not a student of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam so my assumptions could all be completely wrong. But can you tell me that each of those religions don't hate the same way, or fight the same way, or even politicize the same way? You would have to go pretty far to convince me otherwise. It's amazing that anyone can claim they have found the "One True God" out of that mish-mash. After all they pretty much come to the same conclusions, and worship the same person ....errr... Deity. Yeah. That's it. Either way all three are intertwined, and as opposed to saying that they have more in common with each other, they turn around all pronounce, rather loudly, that they have the truth. Truth is a very dangerous word.

If any of them had the truth, don't you think they would be converting people quicker. Judaism seems to not be too pushy about it. It's like they're standing by the door waiting for you to leave before they hand you a pamphlet without saying a word. Christianity gets out of bed in the morning, stretches, eats some cereal, and tackles the day door to door, channel to channel, and person to person. Islam gathers the masses and does the same, although they seem to keep their numbers up by proclaiming that once you're in you can't get out. Kinda harsh really. So really none of them can leave a person alone to try and figure it out for themselves. Kinda like watching a man get torn apart by horses. So let's leave them behind and look around a bit....

Shintoism, Taoism, Buddhism.... Asian religions. And I'm generalizing when I discuss this, because honestly I have no real clue about their individual philosophies. Possibly because of the somewhat alien nature of their teachings. That and I just haven't picked up a book about anything Asian in a very long time. Part of my problem is living so far removed from anything remotely like a Buddhist temple, or a Shintoist shrine. I live in a not so diverse part of Canada, so exposure is what is on the TV that night. But from everything I can see, these religions are not pushy at all. And as I stated before please correct me if I'm wrong. They're not pushy to the point of seemingly non-existence, although I have it on good authority that Buddhism is a rather well populated religion, possibly surpassing Christianity. But find a Shintoist? It's like trying to find a snowflake in Miami. Taoist are somewhere in the middle. Then there's a few other religions that I can't remember at the moment, but I'm sure they have healthy followings as well. They just aren't trying to press gang people into their belief system. It also doesn't help when the likely majority of them are in Communist countries, and are quite possibly repressed by the governments there. So onwards....

African religion..... Ummm.... Sure.... It's in Africa.... I think. TV you have failed me here!

And of course now we have New Age. People like me. Disorganized. Dispersed. Barely able to find their shoes in the morning, let alone be a force for anything. My kinda place. But wrong as well. I mean it's had a huge resurgence in the last 20 or so years, popularized by TV and movies, but it is still influenced by the other religions of the world. Some people call themselves Christo-Pagans. Yep. I have a hard time with that one myself, but if it works for you.... Paganism and the New Age seem to be made primarily of disenfranchised Christians in North America, which can be a problem in one regard as they have a tendency to bring some of the problems associated with Christianity with them. Namely the politicking part, and occasionally the pushiness. I will say that a lot of Pagans lean towards the Activism part of society though. Not all Pagans are lazy and aloof, most are regular people, but some are very busy indeed. And there are a few that are just out right ridiculous. Nothing better for a group than to have one individual dressing the part 24/7, and acting foolishly a lot. It's no wonder we aren't taken seriously for anything. I almost have to wonder if some believe this kind of behaviour reflects on them to the point of shame. Curious thoughts....

Where was I? Oh! Yes. All wrong. In terms of a society, as a people, we should be united by the physical reality of the world. Belief systems are nice, but are corrupted easily when you have many people trying to develop the same religious real estate. Kinda like Islam is Islam, But Sunni Muslims and different than Shiite Muslims. Or Baptist Christians are different than Catholic Christians. Ridiculous. Way to complicate this fellahs. I'm waiting for Sanderian Wiccans and Gardnerian Wiccans to start duking it out next. I'm sure it will happen some day. Such is the price for complicating a mass system of belief. Truthfully though I can be accused of stating that my Gods were right and their God was wrong at one point. It took awhile to realize the fallacy of my statement. The last time I checked, no religion seemed to have gotten it right yet. If they did wouldn't the world be at peace? Or maybe peace will happen when everyone is Christian, or Buddhist, or possibly Pagan. Maybe their has to be a massive social sanitization of all that is intangible in our beliefs as human beings to bring about positive change.

Either way something has got to happen soon, because we are on a long, slippery, and familiar slope of disaster due to belief systems tainting the hearts of the world. Religion, or Spirituality if I may, is an intensely personal thing, and probably be kept personal for the good of society. If a likely minded group of people want to worship their respective deity together then have at it. But once they're finished, and back out on the street, they should keep it to themselves. Proselytizing has got to be one of the worst ideas in the world, and likely has been responsible for more than one fight throughout time.

So in conclusion, if you've found the "One True God", or a whole pantheon of them, keep it to yourself.

Freeman