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I don't think that it is accidental that the very part of the world where western civilization began is also the epicenter of western religion.  

It's clearly not accidental that proto-christian religions with shared narratives were in the Middle East for thousands of years.  For example, one of the Egyptian sun gods, Horus, was born of a virgin on about 12/25 with three kings following a star, was a wise teacher at 12, baptized at 30, betrayed and executed only to arise from the dead three days later.  Numerous pagan gods shared this life story.  The number of parallels are staggering.

What's tough for me, though is the built in elitism and therefore divisiveness of so many religions.  Morality comes from God.  Those that accept God naturally have access to goodness that others can't match.  I camped by Christian boy scouts and overheard a lecture with their leader telling them that only Christians can be heros!  No wonder wars with religious overtones are longer and bloodier.

posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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