Religification - I love making up new words!

Let me start this diatribe by saying that I am not a religious man. As a boy, I was force-fed religion and upon reaching my teen years rebelled like most normal teens. I am college educated with advanced degrees and a middle-class professional. Not that any of this is truly important, but anytime a person writes something like I'm going to write, you have to be aware of bias. As one of my degrees is in history, I have an interest there. However, I have never been interested in the history of organized religions. I am familiar with the basic histories of most of the major religions, but I am no expert. Again, not important stuff, but I wanted to establish at least some "street cred." Having said all that, let me espouse my theory.

I am becoming increasingly concerned about the religious rights' attempts to subvert our governmental process and turn the United States into their own little religious sanctuary. I know that I'm not alone in this thinking, several on this board have said similar things in the past.

As I stated earlier, I am not religious. I do understand that religion, for some people, is an incredibly important part of their lives. I don't understand those type of people (that includes several members of my own family) but then again, I don't begrudge them their beliefs. If they find a little organized religion makes them feel better, so be it.

If you look at religions from a strictly secular standpoint, you will see that they have tended to serve two basic purposes over the course of history. First, to offer people a chance at a better life (not this one of course, the one after you die); second, to enforce some sort of social norms and/or standards on the general populous.

Historically, religions worldwide were very successful in drawing converts. Let's face it, for much of recorded history, life on this planet has been pretty shitty. Disease, war, starvation, plagues were all commonplace (and that's just from the Book of Exodus.) Unless you were one of the top 1/2 of 1%, life had a tendency to beat you down pretty badly. Therefore, it is understandable that people would turn to religion for relief. A lot of religious rules that seem to be a bit absurd today, had their roots in the protection of people. A quick example is the Muslim/Jewish prohibitions of eating pork. By today's standards it seems a bit silly (particularly when you consider how good hickory smoked baby back pork ribs are!) But if you take into account the lack of refrigeration back in the day, a prohibition for eating possibly spoiled pork was a lifesaver - truly! So while the world was a crappy place to live, religions had no shortage of people willing and even glad to join their ranks.

But after World War II, the world went and changed. Since 1945, the standard of living worldwide has increased to a level unthinkable during even the Great Depression. This is particularly true in the United States and Western Europe. With this increased standard of living, the base need for many people to be involved in religious activities (protection and a chance for a better life) have also vanished. Although I do not have the statistics to prove this, I'm willing to bet a lot of your money that almost every major religion in the world has seen a decrease in membership since 1945. In fact, the only major draw that many religions still possesses is the social opportunities they promote for their followers.

Being the cynical person that I am, I will say that this decline in membership hits most religions right where it hurts the most – in the pocketbook. Of course, declining membership also means declining influence over people's lives. Less money and less power - can you imagine how that hurts? So, if they can't capture the attention of the masses the way they have traditionally done religions must seek alternatives. Quite obviously I believe that religion, failing to attract people based on its merits, have begun a concerted effort to control people’s lives by taking over government. And while I believe that Christianity is the main culprit in the U.S., I also believe that other religions are doing this worldwide in their areas of influence.

How does this attempted takeover of government affect the religious types? 1) It reasserts their ability to influence people and control them. 2) And by encouraging such things as government support of “faith-based initiatives,” it helps to re-line their depleted coffers. As I stated above, this has me believing that they are trying to create their own religious sanctuary under which those who don’t adhere to their program will become “enemy combatants.”

How am I fighting back? Well it’s difficult as I have chosen to live outside of the U.S. due to a number of factors. However, I still retain my voting privileges. Therefore, during this and every future election cycle, any candidate who evokes “their God” while on the campaign trail will lose my vote. These people obviously do not value the fact that other people in the U.S. do not share their beliefs or their God. I realize that this will leave me with a VERY small pool of candidates (in fact I may even have to vote Libertarian!), but so be it.

If you’d like to join me in my quest, I would appreciate your company. However, unlike my religious brethren, I will not browbeat, coerce, damn or force you to think that your life will be unfulfilled if you choose another path. In fact, I may offer an alternative – the Church of Buffett, Orthodox! http://www.cobo.org

Then again, I might be just as full of shit as your local priest/preacher.

EA

LOL

Religion does not control people's lives.

What about every day rules and laws is that not ten times more controlling of people's lives?

This is comments heard only from those who truly do not believe in God and his teachings.

Won't browbeat or damn believers as your brethen do?
Shall I point out the sentences where you do just that?

I can talk for days and refute most of what you say but this is not the place for it

I will just add

I am increasingly concerned about non believers continuing to do all they can to destroy and violate the family and believers rights such as school prayer, crosses in people's own offices/yards/buildings, Christmas as a known and advertised and celebrated holiday etc.

No one ever brings up the fact that Religious people's rights and 1st amendment rights are being violated much much more than the other way around.

PS. I would check your stats on decline of membership.

I appreciate your taking the time to read this. I thoroughly disagree with your viewpoints. I also agree that you can refute most of what I said.

That's one of my points. I respect the opinions you have, unfortunately to most religious types I'm just damned. Not you, of course, you're enlightened enough to participate in our hobby in spite of all the Good Book's entreaties otherwise

I may be going to hell but at least I'll be shaking hands with most of my friends.

I think I better go out and read Ann Coutler's "Godless". I'm sure she'll set me straight!

EA

By the way, when I say I'm not a religious person it does not mean I'm not spiritual. And yes, there is a difference.

And what did I see when I checked in on CNN today?

Rep. Harris: Church-state separation 'a lie'

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/28/senate.harris.ap/index.html

I'll give her the benefit of the doubt; I'm sure some reporter misquoted her.

(Message edited by el_apodo on August 28, 2006)

Maximus is the tortured soul of the board, the devout christian who also likes to monger with the Playboy-type chicas working in TJ. Pay him zero attention, the rest of us don't.

Hell I hope he continues to write. He's helping to make my point!

Yes, the circular logic has always been interesting, but now they're kinda sounding like smokers pissed off when a city or county makes it illegal to smoke in restaurants. "It violates my rights to smoke" "Not being able to put up the 10 commandments violates my First Amendment rights". I always love that stuff, the point of guaranteeing rights is so that no one person or group is tread upon by the majority, but these types of people love to twist it around so that to prevent the majority of people from being tread upon by a minority, they claim it is in fact they who are being forbidden to do something.

WRONG!!!

The purpose of rights is to protect the individual...the MINORITY.

Dictatorship by the majority is no less vile than dictatorship by despot.

This country was never intended to be run by pure democracy. But of course, so few people now genuinly understand the original purpose of our constitution.

It's not about the majority...it's about the individual.

Oops...I misread you...

We're in complete agreement.

Thank God for catholics, or I'd still be a virgin!

Bud

Bud, I really hope you're not talking about a run-in with a priest back when you were a choirboy

I think he's still " cherry ass " as his pinay friends love to say while giggling stupidly.

Don't quote me on that however as I have never asked him or cared to know.

>Church-state separation 'a lie'

The constitution says nothing about separation of church and state. What it DOES say (in different words) is that the state cannot regulate or promote a particular religion.

Unfortunately, it does not prevent religious zealots from involving themselves in government to their hearts' content (including in a legislative capacity) - thus leading to the outlawing of our favorite little pasttime (and most fun between consenting adults for that matter).

what the fuck are we talking about? My head is going to explode. And Ejack... never mind.

"what the fuck are we talking about?"


No fucken idea. I guess some folks didn't spend enough time in college sitting in sociology and history classes and thus feel the need to banter on and on about nonsense.

Catocony

LOL!

You contradict your own point.

The minority, the one athiest who does not like school prayer wants to stop the hundreds of kids and familes MAJORITY that do want to be able to meet together and pray each day.
Thanks for helping out as usual.

Also Apparently you love to pay attention to me as you always have a negative comment to make towards me
You love to pay me attention and continue to do so.
You might want to examine your own issues before critizing and labeling others.

Oops that's right, that is your role here.
That's ok I have met you and does not bother me as I just pity you when you try to act like a tough guy super stud who is all knowing and and just pay attention to what good information is in some your trip reports/posts.

EA

You wrote:
"I may be going to hell but at least I'll be shaking hands with most of my friends. "

LOL, this is the number one comment I hear. Of course me and any Catholics I know don't judge
people just the actions. God is the soul judge of who goes to Hell and who does not. I know what I do is wrong and I do and will pay for it.

I'll pray for you as I do for others. I know many people who have seen glimpses of Hell and I can tell you from them don't joke about going there as it is everything and more than how it is depicted and you would not be shaking hands with anyone, just wailing in pain.

Maximus: Just took a look at your homepad. I got a question about the picture there. Is that your parish priest?

LOL

Maximus743 writes:

"I am increasingly concerned about non believers continuing to do all they can to destroy and violate the family and believers rights such as school prayer, crosses in people's own offices/yards/buildings, Christmas as a known and advertised and celebrated holiday etc.

No one ever brings up the fact that Religious people's rights and 1st amendment rights are being violated much much more than the other way around."

LOL, this is the number one comment I hear. Of course me and any Atheist/Agnostic friends I know don't judge people just the actions and based on their actions I wrote the above.

Again, I don't want to stop religion or religious people, I just don't want them forcing their sense of morality on me. Is that so much to ask? Why is it that every religious nut in the world seems to believe if you're not with us, you're against us? All we are saying is give peas a chance!

Good stuff, keep on writing it's almost like TRW was back!

EA

Shouldnt this be moved to the thread titled "Do you believe in magic?"

I always thought this was funny (because I believe it is true). GEORGE CARLIN ON RELIGION...

"In the Bullshit Department, a businessman can't hold a candle to a clergyman. 'Cause I gotta tell you the truth, folks. When it comes to bullshit, big-time, major league bullshit, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims, religion.

No contest. Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!

But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't
handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, you talk about a good bullshit story.
Holy Shit!"

God didn't create man. Man created God.

Maximus, with respect, why are you on this website?

"Again, I don't want to stop religion or religious people, I just don't want them forcing their sense of morality on me. Is that so much to ask? Why is it that every religious nut in the world seems to believe if you're not with us, you're against us? All we are saying is give peas a chance! "

You are talking about fundamentalist nuts not the one true Religion Catholics. None of the Catholics I know FORCE anything on anyone. We are a very caring and accepting group. We just try to lead others to the winning team.

Church is not a country club for Saints, it is for sinners. Practically every human is a sinner.

GCl
LOL!
Carlin is so far off base I don't have the time or need to respond in much detail.
Millions of people have witnessed in person many examples of what you call magic.
However it is not magic when an Athiest Doctor says the incorrupt bodies of Saints in France are indeed modern day miracles and more proof of God's existence.

Please tell me more about this "proof".

"one true Religion Catholics".

Wow, so protestants aren't even invited. Your god must really like those homosexual pervs running the church here on earth. Good stuff. One true religion, at least when you guys are slapping each others' backs in heaven - and the priests are slapping each others' dicks - you wont' have to worry about everyone else taking up space.

Yes, my ass is still cherry, unless you count LBFM's tongues.

Religion gives people three things:

It tells them that somewhere out there somebody is in control of everything.

It tells them that whatever happens, there is a purpose for it.

And it tells them that when they die "It ain't all over."

In short, people believe in various religions because it makes them feel better. And it seems that for the vast majority, no amount of logic or evidence will convince them otherwise.

Compare that to the evidence coming from genetics research which strongly suggests that animals (or life forms in general) are little more that communities of cells created to further the fortunes of their DNA...

It suggests that we are our genes factories, storage vessels, means of transport... we are their super-computers and their means of reproduction, all of which the genes have created for their own benefit.....

And when you study socio-biology, specifically animal (human) sexual behaviour, it certainly appears that we are following instincts meant to further the fortunes of our genes.

And if successful, the gene survives while the irrelevant collection of support structure cells dies, generation after generation.

How's that for putting our relevance in perspective?

Is this Club Hombre ?????
WTF ...... we all will have our Judgement Day!
GOD, Allah, Buddha ...

But I don't wanna hear about ANY Virgins Named Mary, Ann, Lek, Tean, Olivia, Lorena, TuK no cherry girls at all & the only ohh my GOD I wanna hear is when I Cum..
See yall in HELL (Lucifer's nightclub Pattaya)or(Help Discoteca RIO)

BLESS U ALL

Well, this thread got off to a pretty good start. But I suppose that had to change...

Maximus wrote, "You are talking about fundamentalist nuts not the one true Religion Catholics." I love how one religion makes fun of other religions. Like when people make fun of Scientology while they are dipping their own fingers in magic water and applying it to their foreheads.

It must give one peace of mind to believe that there is some guiding hand in their lives. I wish I could believe in fairy tales.

For religious types, it comes down to one thing. Fear.

Arellius, you have pretty much summed it up. I have always thought similarly to you with one twist. I think religion gives people comfort not fear. Comfort in that it explains everything they cannot otherwise understand. Now, having said that, I reckon you can just take comfort in the fact that you dont give a shit.

I'm not sure that my previous post in this thread is sufficient to qualify me for the sex, religion, and politics trifeca. I certainly have enough posts about sex and politics on the board, but am hoping this post enhances my ranting about religion credential. In this regard, I pretty much agree with most of the posts here (at least those I have read, which pretty much rules out the posts that are more than about 3 or 4 lines long), and I particularly respect any that include pictures of horns. Keep up the good work!

P.S. I'm still curious about whether Maximus's homepad picture is of his parish priest. Hopefully he will be able to pull himself away from his prayer pew (is that what it is called?) long enough to provide an answer to this burning question.

Actually, I think I will take advantage of the fact we now have a dedicated profound religious thinking thread. So here are my thoughts on religion:

First, I'm not about to believe the religious "wisdom" of people who lived a thousand or more years ago in primitive societies that did not even have air conditioning or microwave ovens. Or more importantly drugs that could cure advanced syphillis and the derangement this could cause.

Second, I see no reason to believe those who have recently invented new religions; their religions have no track record and how can anyone choose from among them, assuming one has any desire to do so?

So, bring on those red emoticons with horns!!

My preference is for religions that utilize hallucinogenic drugs and experiences into their rituals, I generally worship Friday nights.
"I am Sancho" seems to be a member of the same congregation.
CG

http://www.truthdig.com/dig/item/200512_an_atheist_manifesto/

GCL, I say fear because I have had this conversation with a Catholic friend of mine. Deep down, I think he knows it's all a farce, but he reasons "what do I have to lose for believing?", then throws in some bullshit about Occam's razor, which he doesn't completely understand.

Then I asked him, "do you honestly believe you are going to be sent to some place to be tortured and burned for all of eternity just because you didn't say "uncle" and accept some crazy Jew as your personal savior?" He said no, then he gave up and said he couldn't have this conversation with me anymore.

The thing that most gets me fucking fired up the most is when religious people go on their rants is that the earth really is only 5000 or whatever years old, that evolution is fake, that the dinosaurs only died out a few thousand years BC and that everything in the old testicle, er, testament is 100% true. They have the proof to back it up, they always say.

GCL,

I'd forgotten that Carlin bit. Friggin' hilarious and spot on.

Good stuff!

EA

Let me just say, although it may not sound like it, I actually respect some religious people. Not the organized religions like the Catholic church, but people of faith. By and large, they are good people who are just caught up in a fairy tale that they have heard their entire lives.

They say ignorance is bliss, and if you believe there is some guiding hand that has a plan for you, it must be comforting. Sometimes I wish I was ignorant.

It is kind of hard to not like Buddhists.

I've always been fond of Abraham Lincoln's oft-quoted statement about religion:

"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."

Now he's a Republican I can respect. They don't make 'em like Abe any longer!

Abe was echoing a point made earlier by Thomas Paine:

"My religion is to do good."

Einstein expressed a similar sentiment:

"True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness."

As to organized religion, Ben Franklin said it best:

"Lighthouses are more helpful than churches."

Some of my other favorite quotes on religion are:

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -Blaise Pascal

At least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity, idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols. -Aldous Huxley

Puritanism: the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy. -HL Mencken

I always distrust people who know so much about what God wants them to do to their fellows. -Susan B. Anthony

I always like a dog so long as he isn't spelled backward. -CK Chesterton

The silence undoubtedly reflects no one can top the quotes Bwana came up with.

Bwana's quotes were great of course. WHat this thread lacks is input from some offended religious fanatics. That would spice it up a bit.

Arellius: "They say ignorance is bliss..." WHo are "They" and why are they picking on me?

uhh....Hombre? Can he say this???

Gosh, reading all of this makes me so pleased that I live in a corner of the world that is totally devoid of religious fanaticism.

I'm a Buddhist fanatic and all I got was praise as far as I can see.

Ever notice there are no Buddhist fundamentalists ? They just begin meditating if upset or set themselves on fire if they get too radical.
Not a real threat to world peace.

For Blissman, given his corner of the world:
Religious Truths:

1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God's chosen people

2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah

3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian
world.

4. Baptists do not recognize each other at Termas.
CG

I really have no qualms with religious types as long as they don't impose their faith on me. In a simultaneous whammo, I once had a girlfriend who wanted me to start going to church with her on Sundays AND to stop fucking her in the ass. I might have compromised and gone if she didn't include the ass clause but as it was that killed the relationship.

Wow, Deacon Corto, I did not know you lived in this area. How else would you have known about baptists not recognizing each other in Termas? Hell, they do not even recognize each other at liquor stores or magazine counters.

I am not a protestant,catholic,jew,muslim, pope or the messiah. I am blissman.

Why don't Baptists fuck standing up?

Because they're afraid someone might see them and think they were dancing.

What is it with professional athletes and god?

Why does there appear to be so many superstitious ball players assuming some omnipotent creature above wants to make certain players stars by making other, equally superstitiously devout players look like fools???

Of course after the game Sunday it's apparent that god and Catocany BOTH hate New Yorkers...but I digress.

Check this out....from USA Today's Seahawks page...
___________________________________________

—RB Shaun Alexander, sidelined by a broken foot, started telling friends Tuesday night that he had been miraculously healed through prayer. He showed up at team headquarters Wednesday convinced he had a chance to play against the Bears.

"In fact, I jumped all over him actually for not wearing his (walking) boot," coach Mike Holmgren said. "Then he explained to me, then he started to jump around. I said, 'Let's just take this kind of slowly and do the right thing.' "

Additional tests showed Alexander's foot still had a crack in the fourth metatarsal.

I think the answer is pretty obvious.

While God doesn't give a shit about disease, famine, poverty, racism, or enforcing ethics among politicians (otherwise he would have done something about these issues), he's obviously a HUGE NFL fan!

EA

LAGuy, I am disappointed in you. I am an admirer of your intellect and thought for sure you could put Ejack's posts in terms I could understand. Since it is over your head too I will ask someone who knows EVRYTHING else to help us both.

TheRightWay?

GEORGE CARLIN ON THE 10 COMMANDMENTS

Here is my problem with the ten commandments- why exactly are there 10?

You simply do not need ten. The list of ten commandments was artificially and deliberately inflated to get it up to ten. Here's what happened:

About 5,000 years ago a bunch of religious and political hustlers got together to try to figure out how to control people and keep them in line. They knew people were basically stupid and would believe anything they were told, so they announced that God had given them some commandments, up on a mountain, when no one was around.

Well let me ask you this- when they were making this shit up, why did they pick 10? Why not 9 or 11? I'll tell you why- because 10 sound official. Ten sounds important! Ten is the basis for the decimal system, it's a decade, it's a psychologically satisfying number (the top ten, the ten most wanted, the ten best dressed). So having ten commandments was really a marketing decision! It is clearly a bullshit list. It's a political document artificially inflated to sell better. I will now show you how you can reduce the number of commandments and come up with a list that's a little more workable and logical. I am going to use the Roman Catholic version because those were the ones I was taught as a little boy.

Let's start with the first three:

I AM THE LORD THY GOD THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME

THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN

THOU SHALT KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH

Right off the bat the first three are pure bullshit. Sabbath day? Lord's name? strange gods? Spooky language! Designed to scare and control primitive people. In no way does superstitious nonsense like this apply to the lives of intelligent civilized humans in the 21st century. So now we're down to 7. Next:

HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER

Obedience, respect for authority. Just another name for controlling people. The truth is that obedience and respect shouldn't be automatic. They should be earned and based on the parent's performance. Some parents deserve respect, but most of them don't, period. You're down to six.

Now in the interest of logic, something religion is very uncomfortable with, we're going to jump around the list a little bit.

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL

THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS

Stealing and lying. Well actually, these two both prohibit the same kind of behavior- dishonesty. So you don't really need two you combine them and call the commandment "thou shalt not be dishonest". And suddenly you're down to 5.

And as long as we're combining I have two others that belong together:

THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTRY

THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S WIFE

Once again, these two prohibit the same type of behavior. In this case it is marital infidelity. The difference is- coveting takes place in the mind. But I don't think you should outlaw fantasizing about someone else's wife because what is a guy gonna think about when he's waxing his carrot? But, marital infidelity is a good idea so we're gonna keep this one and call it "thou shalt not be unfaithful". And suddenly we're down to four.

But when you think about it, honesty and infidelity are really part of the same overall value so, in truth, you could combine the two honesty commandments with the two fidelity commandments and give them simpler language, positive language instead of negative language and call the whole thing "thou shalt always be honest and faithful" and we're down to 3.

THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR"S GOODS

This one is just plain fuckin' stupid. Coveting your neighbor's goods is what keeps the economy going! Your neighbor gets a vibrator that plays "o come o ye faithful", and you want one too! Coveting creates jobs, so leave it alone. You throw out coveting and you're down to 2 now- the big honesty and fidelity commandment and the one we haven't talked about yet:

THOU SHALT NOT KILL

Murder. But when you think about it, religion has never really had a big problem with murder. More people have been killed in the name of god than for any other reason. All you have to do is look at Northern Ireland, Cashmire, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the World Trade Center to see how seriously the religious folks take thou shalt not kill. The more devout they are, the more they see murder as being negotiable. It depends on who's doin the killin' and who's gettin' killed. So, with all of this in mind, I give you my revised list of the two commandments:

Thou shalt always be honest and faithful to the provider of thy nookie.

&

Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone, unless of course they pray to a different invisible man than you.

Two is all you need; Moses could have carried them down the hill in his fuckin' pocket. I wouldn't mind those folks in Alabama posting them on the courthouse wall, as long as they provided one additional commandment:

Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

Thanks for putting Carlin's 10 Commandments in print. I've watched clips of him doing this piece on TV and Internet, but reading it let's me ponder his words at my own pace.

I'm an Agnostic. Growing up I was forced to go to church, Sunday school, Communion, etc. I really wanted to believe that there is a supreme being of sorts, but when I asked people of religion..."How do you know? What proof do you have?" all I got was blow-back..."AJ, you need to have faith and simply believe or you will go to Hell for sure."

Well, that was not good enough for me. Therefore, as a young man I reject the notion of an invisible supreme being and opt to consider instead that our creator is or was a real being of intelligence and we today are a product of intelligent design and evolution...obviously, yet to be fully proven.

I wholeheartely agree with Carlin...people worshipping invisible men...then killing others who do not worship the same invisible man...that's why everything is so wrong with our world...religious zealots engaged in battle to prove the other is wrong...unfortunately, a lot of innocent people get caught in the cross-fire.

I personally don't have a problem if someone chooses to believe in an invisible supreme being...after all, they may have seen proof that I have so far been unable to find. However, it annoys me when their religion impacts my life or tries to recruit me with what amounts to brainwashing techniques. I refuse to graze with the masses...therefore, I search for the truth...probably explains why I enjoy traveling to remote locations throughout the world.

On one of my trips I met an interesting old German man (obviously in his 80's or even older)living in Panama. Some locals call him a modern day Robinson Crusoe. He lives on an island off the coast where he works as an island caretaker. I assume he receives a penchant of a salary. There he fishes and maintains a garden for food. Every few months he takes his little outboard motorboat to Panama City to buy supplies. He then finds a pub and wets his whistle. He just happened to pull-up a bar stool next to me.

He spoke English fairly well. So we chatted and drank beer together. He told me that as a young man he fought in WWII for Hitler. He said he saw nothing but carnage...all in the name of religion. Because of what he saw, he renounced religion deciding to worship only natural miracles that he can see everyday, and therefore to him are real. He told me since the end of WWII, he shunned most men and instead sought a life of solitude with nature...living on a small and remote island with his woman. (He complained that she is getting too old...just turned 60...he wanted a younger woman...one that could make babies...he made me laugh).

He told me, "I worship the Earth, I worship the water, I worship life, the Sun, Moon and Stars. I worship what I can see and what makes life and death, possible. I reject men who tell me how I must live. I reject men who tell me I must believe in a God I can only find in a book. They are insane, these religious people...killing each other in the name of their God!"

He condemned all religions...Muslims, Christians, and Jews. In an after thought I pondered his apparent Nazi past with the Jews, but then understood that he was lumping the Jews together with all corrupt religions. Now whether or not he is wanted by the Jews for his role in WWII causing him to flee to Panama...only he knows.

Before I left, I bought him another beer for the road. As I said good-bye I was amazed by how well he looked for his age. His hair and beard were gray and white, his face was grandfatherly, wrinkled and weathered...but his eyes were bright and full of life. Though he was old and may not live but a few more years, I envied him. Deep inside I wanted to rip-up my airline ticket and simply abandon my life in the US to break away to a more simpler life. Yet, commitment, responsibility, and the need for money bubbled to the surface forcing me to abandon this dream and step back into the street of the life I live.

AlecJamer