Religion

Religion is indeed a peculiar thing; dry, oppressive and ruthless to the bone. Yet, still has the support of millions.

To be clear, at best, I assume a traditional Marxist perspective, although I have been known, under certain instances of imbibing alcohol and in certain company, to become rather more Nietzschean.

Between Mad Popes and Mad Mullahs spouting off about; homosexuality, godlessness, adultery, lifestyle choices; the decline of 'traditional' morals; the wider distribution of resources and power or, more recently in terms of the Pope, the insidious notion that condoms do not prevent the spread of AIDs and, in fact, encourage it. This all seems to me at least, really, well, insulting.

The belief that there is some a priori 'Good' that is ordained to us by an omnipotent being is an unusual thing. Sense of god and bad are not natural but are arrangements of beliefs and values that are reigning in whichever culture/society at whatever time, this can be seen throughout history. Individuals who do not believe in a God can and do draw morals from other sources such as rationality, humanism &c.

What is the chance of 'us' existing if God didn't create us? Such an astounding question it is difficult to imagine where to begin. So I will start with Einstein dictum: Explain "as simply as possible but no simpler". So, while it is true that the probabilities of us existing is noticeably small the probabilities of an even more complex being is greater still. There is no automatic rationale for explaining a complex phenomena by needing something more complex.

Religion. Shit it.