Interesting post. It seems to me that all religions eventually descend to the level of superstition. That is, a way of gaining some control over things that are simply beyond our control (death, etc.). The religion that most attracts me is Buddhism, though --- precisely --- it was never meant to be a religion. It's homo sapiens that made it into one, a giant superstition with the usual death-knell edifice of Clergy. Thus in countries like Burma and Thailand, you see people purchasing thin wafers of gold to stick on the local temple. This will supposedly please Buddha --- who by definition doesn't give a fuck about gold --- and make things easier for you in your difficult life on this crappy planet. My wife is Catholic ---- worse, Italian Catholic. So I have a ringside seat. If this happens, she'll go pray to Saint X. If that happens, it'll be Saint Y. It's always fascinated me the way Catholicism (and, in turn, Protestantism) coopted polytheistic religions. The better to convert the pagan Romans and all the other pagans in the rest of the empire. So now you have all these minor gods running around: the Saints, each with his or her own specialty. Just like polytheism. @Asyncritus -- rumour has it you live in France. Have you read Graham Robb's The discovery of France (meaning the process of the French coming to accept that they lived in an entity known as France)? It's abolutely great on the subject of the neck-and-neck race between Christianity and paganism, a race that still wasn't over in the 19th century in places like Brittany.
The Virgin Mary was sleeping, When Angel Gabriel appeared. He said, "You are to be the virgin mother," and Mary thought that was weird. Mary said, "I'm not a virgin, I blew a guy last year." But then Gabriel said to Mary, "My child, have no fear." 'Cause you can suck all the dick you want And still be a virgin, Mary. You can suck all the dick you want And still not be considered flawed. Although you went to town and sucked some semen down, You're still a virgin in the eyes of God.
Yep. No exceptions that I know of in human history. Yep, when I'm not out of the country, I'm in France. Have lived here for over 40 years. Nope.
