Having An Attitude

RELIGIONS, of which there are thousands, all share certain similarities. for one, since most of them are of ancient origin, most of them embrace a primitive, simplistic, false cosmic paradigm. They all provide inspiration and emotional support for their votaries, and they all purport to provide the truth, usually the unique and only truth. They all contain elements of beauty and wisdom, they all contain truth, and they all contain imperfections and falsehoods. They all evolve over time, as new generations of believers put their stamp on them, and as the exigencies and circumstances of society require. The christian religion, for example, centers around Jesus, who was, according to all theologians, born during the first week of April in the spring, probably around April 6, in the year 6 B.C.  The early church was perfectly willing to change the date to December 25, to accommodate the northern Germanic Europeans, who had always celebrated the winter solstice as their big holiday, when the sun reached its lowest point, the days became their shortest, but finally, began to lengthen, as the sun began to rise once again the the sky. So now we have the eternal evergreen tree and the winter holiday, as a compromise to bring the Germans into the church. If your attitude towards your religion is as follows: "I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, my religion is the one true religion, and anyone who does not do this is not saved, and therefore his or her eternal soul in in great peril", you are an enemy  of civilization, a bad person, and the world would be better without you. If you consider people bad because their religion is different from yours, I despise you. If your attitude is as follows; "Everybody is beautiful, and every religion is beautiful and true, because whatever religious beliefs inspire and sustain people is good, and therefor, all religions have value", then you are a friend of the human species, an upholder of civilization, and your participation in society is beneficial to us all, may the dear lord bless you, and, above all, have a very merry Christmas!