I think this is a great cartoon. This is a perfect illustration of how cartoons can more effectively portray viewpoints than words.

Religion and Voters

This article by the the Pew Forum shows the preferences each religious constituency has for each candidate both Republican and Democrat. Interesting to note is that Rudy Giuliani has strong support among the evangelicals despite all the rumblings you hear of them being dissatisfied with a lot of his political positions. I guess they must really think anything is better than Hillary...

The Middle East

Is so f**cked up, it's beyond all repair or FUBAR. Look at this picture...this is a of a Palestinians young man staring into Israel. My opinion of the situation is that if I were a Palestinian and my life was totally destroyed by the Israeli army I would be pretty pissed off. Now, would I be pissed off enough to blow myself up killing countless innocent civilians? No. But that is why the Middle East is FUBAR.

The Crusades

The Crusades are a perfect example of why separation of church and state is so necessary today. The Crusades were a set of holy wars which began in 1095 and lasted for the next 300 years. The Crusades were launched with the intent of Re-capturing Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim control. Over the entire course of the Crusades millions of people, both Christians and Muslims died fighting for unclear reasons. The Church promised that any man who fought in and or died in the Crusades would be absolved of his sins and inducted into Heaven. Under this false pretense European kings sent millions of men to their death trying to capture a plot of barren dessert. If I have to go die fighting for a barren piece of land today, at least I know its over oil and not religion.

Religion, Politics and the End of the World

This is an interesting lecturer by Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith. He talks about the implications religion has an on the world. He is really disparaging but thats the best part.

Zoroastrianism

Zoro-what? Zoroastrianism was the religion of the once mighty Persian Empire. Over the centuries, the number of followers of Zoroastrianism has severely declined for numerous reasons. Today the number of followers of this religion stands at around about 200,000 many of whom are found in Iran and India. Many of those who live in Iran today are an oppressed minority officially condemned by the Ayatollah and his government. I would try to sum up this religion for you, but to say its complicated would be an understatement. One of their fundamental beliefs is to practice “good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.” Sounds simple enough, if only the whole world had a few more good thoughts, words, and deeds, we’d all be a lot better off. I found the religion to be an interesting read. If you’d like to know more click here.

America and Relgion

Although this article from the Christian Science Monitor is from 2004 it is a good examination
of the strong ties between religion and politics in America.

"This country is the most religious developed democracy in the world," says pollster Celinda Lake. "On the one hand, Americans want separation of church and state, but on the other they feel comfortable with 'In God we trust' and 'One nation under God.' It's a core value."

This is probably our most striking divide between America and Europe. Europe lost there religion a long time ago and has no tolerance for religious displays in their government. Not so in America where religion holds a lot of power.

On another note, I see a general trend in America away from religion and I wonder what implications this will have on the future of our country. For example, my parents go to church but I don't. This is typical, I feel, of America where the older generations are the religious ones and the younger generations have become turned off by the pragmatic teachings of organized religion. If this trend continues and the younger generation does not go back to religion then organized religion will loose a lot of its power in America and we will become much similar to Europe.