I was watching a rerun of CSI last night and saw a great dialog at the end of the show where the lead character (Gill Grissom, played by William Petersen) and a a guest star (Father Powell, played by Dylan Baker) had a rather interesting exchange …
Father Powell:You don’t believe?
Grissom: In religion. I believe in God, in science, in Sunday supper. I don’t believe in rules that tell me how I should live.
Father Powell: Even if they’re handed down by God?
Grissom: How many crusades were fought in the name of God? How many people died because of someone’s religion?
Father Powell: Fanaticism, not religion.
Grissom: Semantics. They’re still dead.
This kind of sums up my feelings on religion and why I call myself an Agnostic.
With a few exceptions, I really can’t understand why most people would want to associated themselves with any organized religion… with all the clergy abuse and murder-in-the-name-of-god problems in the world.
That said, I also believe it is absolutely fine for anyone to worship (or not) in the way they choose (just so long as nobody gets hurt).
But, hey, that’s just me. Your mileage may vary.