Kind of like Grandma's Chicken Soup

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people".

Karl Marx

     As a guy who has spent most of his life in an on again off again relationship with religion and God, I have long pondered the various religions that abound in the world and have often time pissed off religious type leaders with my thoughts and questions.  I once drove a Presbyterian Minister  almost to violence when I pointed out that Christianity had undergone more schisms since Jesus went back home than any other organized religion.  On another occasion, I royally honked off a Baptist Preacher by questioning the validity of any religion where the holiest of holy books came in "Versions."  So you see, I haven't always had a grand relationship with religions and their followers.

     Now as I move into my second 50 years, I am once again finding myself walking the shaky path of enlightenment.  This means I am once again pondering all of the things that I pondered long ago.  I am also pondering other peoples' perceptions of religion along the way.

     So here is the current thing I was pondering today in church when the above quote came to mind.  (And yes the amusement factor of remembering a quote by Marx while in church did enter my mind.)  My thought was, "If there is no God and if all the religions are wrong, does it really matter?"

     Think about it, most religions basically teach a simple idea.  If you are a good person who leads a good life you have a good chance of getting into Heaven.  Many add in help others to that equation.  Sure the idea of what is a good life may vary, but the concept is basically the same.  Do good, be good and teach good so that you may live a better life.

      Shouldn't we all strive to be like that?  Shouldn't we all try to leave the world just a little bit better than we found it?  Why does it matter how we are put on that path just so long as we follow it?  My Daddy always said, "If doing the right thing was easy, everyone would do it."  So if religion gives people the incentive to do good things, then what is wrong with that?
     I hear many Atheists complaining (No Mary not you) about how Religion is useless and stupid.  They rail about how religious people are wasting their time and how religion is being used to spread stupidity.  (Course on that last one I really can't argue sometimes.)  Course I can point out instances of so called science doing the same thing.  Inoculations causing Autism?  Aspartame causing everything from liver failure to dropsy?  The list is pretty long.  I'd say 90% of all Internet Hoaxes are based off some sort of "science."

     If our goal is to do good and cause good in the world, why does it matter how we achieve that goal.  If people having faith in some Big Happy Sky Guy helps them be better people, let it go.  Smile and nod and move on.  We are all on a path to some unseen horizon.  Does it really matter how we get there as long as we finally get there?

Brew Long and Prosper