Would you like God with that?

The trouble with vocal atheists like Dawkins and Hitchens, according to Sukie, is that they preach to the converted; they offer absolutely nothing as a replacement for the warm fuzzies that religions offer; and they are far too late to stop the juggernaut of religiosity that will some day soon lead to McDonald’s staff asking us if we would like God with our burgers.

"Dawkins and Hitchens and others of their ilk provide absolutely no kind of alternative for the warm and fuzzy side benefits offered by the theist belief systems,” says Sukie, “and that is only to be expected because they are intellectuals, upper middle class and have no inkling whatsoever of what life is like for the rest of society – lonely kids, the unemployed, the working poor, the sick and the aged.”

“That’s why, I suppose,” says Sukie, “that they preach, if that’s the right word, to the converted – people like themselves.”

“Atheism is a belief system that suits young, wealthy, healthy and hedonistic people,” says Sukie. “It’s logically correct, no two ways about that, but it has never been, nor will it ever become, an ‘organization’ capable of providing the huge good works that the religious organizations do.”

“If the atheists wish for a rational society, free from religious bigotry,” says Sukie, “then they should put their money where their mouth is and start providing the sort of services that society needs (the sort of services that are now provided by the religious organizations).”

go forth, multipy and starve

Jerri is adamant that religions urging us to go forth and multiply are thinking more of their own survival (in terms of bums on seats and monetary gain) than the physical survival of the multitudes they create, and unless agreement is reached by all nations to put aside religious proscriptions and adhere to a one-child policy, we are all doomed to death by starvation.

“There will ultimately come a time, well within 30 years, possibly next year for all we know, when the 72 nutritionally sustainable nations can no longer feed the expanding populations in the 91 unsustainable nations.”

“The underlying causes of poverty and starvation are the same the world over – too many people depending on not enough arable land – and are easily addressed by doing something that most religions prohibit (limiting one’s family size by using contraceptives).”

“If the world’s leaders refuse to pursue the one-child solution out of fear of upsetting the major religions,” says Jerri, “then the other alternatives, being considered right now, bring their own problems and will upset a lot of people who are responsibly limiting their families.”

“Extending arable land by denuding rainforests is no longer an option.”

“Limiting all arable land to food production and prohibiting the growing of such crops as cotton and tobacco is one solution,” says Jerri, “and another is irrigating, desalinating and fertilizing every desert and wasteland in the world in order to render it arable (which is something Israel is doing with considerable success, but at astronomical expense).”

“Pushing more and more of us out of houses with gardens into high rise dwellings is a bleak future,” sighs Jerri, “and religious leaders who believe that genetically modified seed will one day allow a biblical loaves and fishes scenario to be played out are living in la-la land and should listen to what Prince Charles is saying about the dangers of relying on GM food.”

the gods of war

We see them in old movies when they were young and fighting for freedom, now we see them in veterans’ marches, adorned with medals. At cenotaphs around the world we worship at their altars. Marina’s gods of war are not mythical gods but real life men now well into their 80s and older who fought in WWII - and like to be compared with Olympian gods - and the war they fought in has achieved a reverence similar to that of a religion that previous and later wars never achieved.

“I attribute this religiosity surrounding WWII to the artful manipulation of those who fought in that war, in combat or behind a desk, whose coincidence of birth at a critical time in our history endowed them with spectacular opportunities after the war that they have milked non-stop ever since at our expense,” says Marina. “And, just like the early Christians used Jesus’ death to inspire guilt and line their pockets – he died for us, you see – the gods of war used the death of their fallen mates to do likewise.”

“The gods of war enjoyed unprecedented hero status and respect after WWII,” says Marina. “Their war films, veterans’ marches, war medals and endless stories about the war assured them respect and reverence that it is totally out of proportion to the achievements of earlier and later generations, as if WWII were the only war ever fought or the only war worth remembering.”

“My generation, the Boomers, held the WWII vets in awe, opened doors for them, offered seats for them, called them sir and m’am, never spoke out of turn to them and never questioned their right to the best of everything from our taxpayer dollars,” says Marina. “They deserved it – they fought for our freedoms – or so we were forever told!”

“Compared to the freedoms the gods of war had after the war – no censure on drugs or family size, no politically correct speaking or environmental restrictions – our lives are so circumscribed by their rules and regulations, far more than the simple Ten Commandments they grew up with, that I don’t feel very free at all.”

“WWII was an abomination caused by greedy old men and should not be revered,” says Marina, “and those who fought in it were pawns not gods and should be exposed as such before they wreak even more damage upon us.”

airbrushing smokers

When the control freaks are airbrushing out the cigars and cigarettes from old photographs and films and drawing up lists of books to ban or burn when they achieve total power and can rewrite history to their liking, Segolene believes it is not just smokers who should be worried.

“Enjoy the Internet whilst it lasts," sighs Segolene. "What's normal and abnormal today is sure as hell going to be abnormal and normal tomorrow if we allow these control freaks to get away with it much longer."

"It's happened before in history and it will happen again if too few sane people stand by and allow the control freaks open slather on our freedoms."

"Remember when you could drive a car without buckling up and when you could ride a motorbike without a helmet and feel the wind in you hair? When you could fish without a licence? When you could expect same-sex wards in hospitals? When you could smack a naughty kid? When you could fell a tree, light a fire, party all night, smoke a cigarette in a bar and do a million other quite normal things without the Spanish Inquisitors descending upon you?"

"They -- the Spanish Inquisitors -- say it's for your good, or for the good of society, but we all know whose good it is for," says Segolene. "Society managed just fine without all of these abnormal laws, people tolerated each other and Darwin's Law operated just as it was supposed to. These guys are just control freaks, using these laws to justify their jobs and existence in the same way that the old religious leaders once did."

"At what point will the masses tip? Will routine cavity searches at airports do the trick? How about routine house searches at 3am? Or routine drug testing and weigh-ins at work or school? Or compulsory registration and rationing to buy alcohol, cigarettes, hamburgers, twinkies, gas or whatever? Or compulsory sterilization for hereditary diseases? Or carbon footprint naming and shaming? Or prohibition on pets? We aready tolerate public screening of court cases, how about public screening of toilet use and
handwashing -- all in the public good, of course?"

"Muslims aren't out to get us, passive smoking won't kill us, there are more paedophiles at home than at public parks, climate change has been going on since time immemorial and the sky isn't falling," says Segoline. "If we allow ourselves to be seduced by any more mass fear-mongering our grandchildren will be forced to live in a time worse than the Dark Ages.”

“What's more, they will be deprived of knowing what life was once like before their ancestors (us) allowed the control freaks to take charge and airbrush out of history everything that disagrees with their peculiar mindset."

Read more by Segolene on this subject:

has cctv replaced god?

abnormalizing the normal

the curse of the katholikos ethos

Despite the legal separation of the church from government, Poppy believes that the katholikos ethos is very much alive and kicking in our governing bodies and that it holds as much sway in determining policies as it ever did, and is cursing us as much as it ever did.

“The Soviet Union was ostensibly atheist,” says Poppy, “but the Orthodox Church of Russia never died out, and indeed continued to pull strings.”

“It’s the same in even the most socialist of our governments,” says Poppy. “Politicians pretend to be freethinkers or even atheist, but none of them rose to prominence without the power of an almighty organization behind them.”

“The policies of our elected governments are mostly in synch with Church edicts,” says Poppy, “and when conflicts of interests arise the politicians always have the men in frocks to whisper into their ears and absolve them of their sins."

“Most parliamentary sessions start and end with prayer,” says Poppy, “and most officials swear on a Bible. Why is this done if there was, indeed, true separation?”

“If the Pope in Rome is the head of the universal Catholic Church, which is higher than any government and upholds the original Greek katholikos ethos,” says Poppy, “then the God Bods in government are not representing us, or our wishes, but that of their true masters and the end result will be a world government.”

has cctv replaced god?

Segolene believes that the former all-seeing, all-knowing god has been replaced by electronic transaction tracking and closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) with infra-red night vision which peer down on us from street corners, banks, offices, airports and shopping malls – and are soon coming into a bedroom near you.

"Once upon a time the fear of an all-seeing, all-knowing god was enough to keep the masses in line -- it was for this very purpose that god was invented," says Segolene, "but since the Enlightenment man has been able to use reason to deduce, increasingly, not only that no god exists but also that those pushing a fear of this imaginary person were the most corrupt."

"Once the fear of god was removed, and their hypocrisy exposed, the control freaks moved into government and went crazy with legislation which, by and large, was totally ineffective because law-breakers knew they could get away with it – the ridiculous prohibition on alcohol in the 1930s, for instance, was the most lawless period in modern history."

"Robbed of their traditional cushy occupations as moral leaders -- and seeing more and more of their celestial palaces turned into housing for the godless masses -- those who would have entered the god industry are now finding alternative employment in government positions and while such employment may be less lucrative it is definitely more amenable to their purpose in life which is, as we all know, to chastise, control and tell people to do what they want them to do (whilst often doing the exact opposite themselves)."

"For instance, most of us grew up believing homosexuality to be abnormal -- because religious leaders told us so -- and it is no coincidence that as more and more of the religious hypocrites were exposed as raging gays, and moved on to new jobs within the government, that homosexuality gradually came to be seen as normal."

"Just about everything our religious leaders told us was abnormal is now normal," laughs Segolene, "and while a hard core group still holds fast to their old beliefs about the abnormality of homosexuality, abortion, masturbation, adultery, sex before marriage, women's submission to men, stem cell research and other such things, the general consensus is that these things are now as normal and wholesome as apple pie."

"So normal, in fact, that one's right to do some of these once abnormal things is now enshrined in law."

"Without getting into a philosophical discussion about man's innate corruption," sighs Segolene, "it would appear to me that the more laws are passed, the more lawless we become. What happened to parental and personal responsibility?"

"Normally, I'm a mild manner woman, but increasingly I'm becoming abnormally angry at being frisked at airports, having my every move being monitored, my every transaction being recorded and my whole life being reduced to a mass of data to be mined by faceless control-freaks,” says Segolene, “and in many ways I wish we could return to the old God.”

“With the old God we had personal responsibility; with the CCTV god we have none.”

selling trees like papal indulgences

Kirri has worked out that the creation of guilt and fear in the masses for things they are addicted to or need for comfortable living underpins the political and religious basis of western civilization and, rather than becoming a fire and brimstone preacher or a politician, she judged that easier money could be made by taking advantage of the new fad of environmentalism preached at both religious and political pulpits. She set herself up as a carbon footprint expert selling trees like papal indulgences.

"Governments and religions are nothing more than protection rackets -- justifying their existence by whipping up fear and guilt," says Kirri, "and while I can opt out of tithing away my income I cannot opt out of paying tax. So, when I was looking around for a self-employment opportunity I thought it would be a good idea to capitalize on what they were preaching. Global warming!"

"Were I living in the 1930s when the new fad was prohibition, I would have found some way to make a living out of that -- as many people did, not always legally -- and it's the same throughout history," says Kirri. "Watch what the government and the church is doing -- who and what they're for and against at any point in time -- and jump on the bandwagon!"

"Look at the tremendous self-employment opportunities that came about after the invasion of Iraq," says Kirri. "A woman can't easily enter the security or reconstruction field, so I had to wait until environmental issues came into focus before making my move."

"My work is very similar to preaching," admits Kirri. "Instead of calling upon the wrath of God I call upon the wrath of Nature -- probably one and the same entity -- and people are happy to pay me for my services."

"People want to do the right thing and be accepted as good environmental citizens -- yet we all have our little weaknesses," laughs Kirri. "If I can make a family with five gas-guzzling vehicles feel good by advising them to plant so many trees then what harm have I done?"

"Before the Reformation, the whole Catholic church operated on selling indulgences to offset sins and that's exactly what I am doing," says Kirri. "Offsetting environmental sins by selling trees won't stop people sinning any more than the papal indulgences did, but at least I can run a nice little business from the exercise."

"My business plan is very simple," says Kirri. "I increase guilt and fear in people already spooked by the demise of Planet Earth and offer my services to help them reduce their carbon footprint."

"Mostly, I urge my clients to plant trees to offset their environmental sins -- yes, just like the old papal indulgences -- and I have a good financial deal with a plant nursery that gives me a great commission on the trees I recommend."

"I advertise in the local newspapers -- but already I am getting most of my clients by word of mouth," says Kirri. "And, although I admit to being an opportunist, I am sincere about making the world a healthier place to live in -- and pass on to our children -- and my clients do appreciate getting the right advice about environmentally correct living."

"No, I am not a qualified scientist -- I come from a sales background," admits Kirri. "What I do does not require me to be Einstein and besides which since when have qualifications been required by politicians and preachers?"

"Does George Bush need military qualifications to start a war and call himself a commander?"

"I do extensive research on products and advise clients how to cut down on their carbon emissions," says Kirri. "My work also involves being something like a professional de-clutterer. Most of the stuff in people's homes is useless rubbish, wasting space and resources, and another one of my sidelines is gaining commission from second-hand dealers that I recommend to pick up this junk for recycling."

"Do I practise what I preach?"

"Well, I own my own vehicle so I don't come down hard on clients who have more vehicles than they need," laughs Kirri. "That would be like a alcoholic priest denouncing the demon drink wouldn't it?"

"I also tend to fly rather than use trains or buses for long distances and I know that's naughty," laughs Kirri, "but I salve my sins by having lot of pot plants around my apartment."

"I also do little things like turn off lights when I'm not using a room and switch off at the main plug rather than use standby," says Kirri. "Every little bit helps -- which is what I keep on telling my clients."

"If every politician and preacher were required by law to practise what they preached nobody would enter those professions," laughs Kirri. "It's always been a case of do what I tell you to do, not do what I do."

"I'm planning on extending my commission income by connecting with solar energy providers, double glaziers and tradesmen generally who are environmentally conscious," confides Kirri. "Right now, people just want to know how much energy they are using and how they can cut it, but eventually I hope to be able to scare enough people into totally changing their houses to become 100% carbon efficient."

"Am I ethical?"

"Just as ethical as anybody out to make a buck for themselves and be their own boss," says Kirri. "But I do believe in the moral correctness of what I am doing. The world is becoming a polluted and nasty place and with global warming we are at risk of terrible flooding and all sorts of disasters."

"I believe people need to hear about these terrible things and be made to feel guilty and scared because their actions are contributing towards ultimate disaster."

"No, I am most certainly not in favor of banning all environmentally hazardous products and actions -- and neither is the government," says Kirri. "Without these sins I wouldn't have a business, would I? And without sins in general, no politician or preacher would have a job either."

"The creation of guilt and fear in the masses for things they are addicted to or need for comfortable living underpins the political and religious basis of western civilization," explains Kirri. "Simple societies are considered simple because their entire lives are spent sustaining themselves on a daily basis -- hunting, fishing and growing edibles -- and with this sort of lifestyle they don't produce people who want to make an easy living out of making people feel guilty about what they do naturally."

"As a product of western civilization, I can only exist by exploiting others," explains Kirri. "I didn't devise the system, I don't particularly like it, but being part of it I have to do what I have to do in order to make a living. After all, politicians make an easy living out of scaring me into paying tax to keep the wolf from my door -- I know there's no wolf, and so do they -- and that's why it's a protection racket."

"The new religion of environmentalism may not last long so I have to keep on eye on what's coming next," adds Kirri. "Already guilt and fear have been stirred up for just about everything people are addicted to or need for comfortable living, so in order to keep the fear and guilt alive and the money coming in they're going to have to start recycling fads or become draconian."

Kirri's story first appeared as capitalize on global warming!

the right to live in peace

After its longest continuous military campaign in its history (38 years) the British Army supposedly left Northern Ireland July 31 2007, but by leaving 5,000 soldiers to ‘keep the peace’ Regan believes that the ‘troubles’ are by no means over and any peace that must be maintained by a military presence is no peace at all and Ireland should reunite.

"A military force is for defense against enemies, not our own people," says Regan, "and while Middle Eastern terrorists are infiltrating into Europe, coming as immigrants, refugees or even doctors, the British government is doing a lousy job in protecting its citizens from the ‘real’ threat.”

"According to the social contract, we all have a right to live in peace and, because it’s the majority who rules in democracy, Ireland belongs to the Irish, not the British," says Regan. "The British should have given Northern Ireland back to Ireland and re-settled all those who didn't want the Union into comparable homes and jobs in England."

"Bigoted people will always be among us,” says Regan, “but even bigots believe in democracy and the western way of life and when faced with the prospect of our government allowing people who hate everything about us into our country, living next door to us and imposing their values on us, we should bury our petty differences and elect to government people who have our interests at heart -- not the interests of the Arab oil lords."

Read more by Regan:

Irish troubles

cementing global ties

time to return to ireland?

catholics vs. protestants

bigoted neighbors

Irish sectarian conflict

ideologically driven education

Myra remembers angrily how her education was blighted by compulsory religious instruction spewing out anti-communist propaganda and that of her daughter's with compulsory hygiene instruction spewing out anti-smoking propaganda. Now, she is hopping mad that her grand-children's education is not only going to be blighted by similar political agendas -- this time global warming -- but also by a complete curriculum change.

"Was education ever intended to educate children -- to stretch their minds and inspire them?" asks Myra. "Or was it always intended to be ideologically driven by whatever political agenda was in vogue?"

"I've heard that a complete curriculum change is being proposed -- to replace subjects such as geography and mathematics with more politically relevant subjects such as global warming and financial planning."

"Hello? Since when has global warming been established as an undisputed fact?" asks Myra. "And, although I like the idea of slanting subjects towards a practical application I am not happy about my grandchildren being force fed propaganda and being denied a rigorous academic grounding in time-honored subjects."

"Who are the gnomes responsible for proposing these changes?" asks Myra. "And how dare they dumb down our children more than they have been dumbed down already."

"Grammar started going out of fashion when I was at school -- along with classical Latin and Greek," sighs Myra. "My mother still corrects me for my grammatical errors and wonders how an ignoramus such as I ever gained a university education!"

"Likewise, spelling and the times-tables went out of fashion when my daughter was at school," sighs Myra."Nevertheless, she gained a higher degree than I did and not wanting to be like my mother I never dared correct her or take away her calculator."

"I truly believe that academic standards are dropping with each generation," says Myra. "I would never have passed an entrance examination of my mother's era, and similarly my daughter would never have passed one of my era."

"And, I believe that for every political agenda pushed into schools, some vital academic knowledge is being pushed out."

"Is it the aim of our educational gurus to churn out a bunch of politically correct idiots or what?

"I remember being scared out of my wits by Reds under the beds and the wrath of God when I was at school," says Myra. "And my teachers achieved this politically inspired instruction by dropping grammar, Latin and Greek."

"Similarly, my daughter was scared out of her wits by the evils of smoking and did so at the expense of a thorough grounding in spelling and mental arithmetic."

"So, what are our political masters going to drop from the curriculum in order to indoctrinate the next generation into being good little green environmentalists?"

"Oh, I know, it's going to be history, isn't it?"

"We're going to exchange history for current affairs so that the next generation never gets a chance to learn from the mistakes of previous generations, right?"

"Of course, past events significant to the political agenda being pushed will be mentioned," says Myra, "but all of the blood and guts, the heroes and the villains that we learned about will be dropped, and children will never be able to form their own opinions about anything."

"When teachers push political opinion rather than education and become more concerned about political correctness than academic excellence, we are doomed," says Myra. "Children will be indoctrinated, not educated."

"Okay, I survived my indoctrination -- there never were any Reds under the beds and God was never watching me with an eagle eye -- and my daughter survived hers to become a smoker of all things," laughs Myra, "but did we really need to learn this rubbish and do so at the expense of academic learning?"

"In years to come, global warming like everything else will have lost credibility," says Myra, "and I shudder to think of a world populated by grammatical dunces, bad spellers and people without any grounding whatsoever in mental arithmetic, geography, history, Latin or Greek."

"To be totally cynical," says Myra, "it's as if our political masters want to take us back the Dark Ages of illiterate masses and despotic rulers."

has feminism caused the fall of religion?

It is only within the last 50 years that the status of women has improved in the western world, and it is more than coincidence that the rise of feminism coincided with the fall of religion.

As feminism permeates non-western cultures a scenario similar to the one the west went through plays itself out. Every gain in every sphere of life - from the franchise, to equal pay and equal rights in marriage - was bitterly fought for by women and bitterly opposed by men in churches, government and private lives who, quite obviously, did not want to lose the absolute power they had enjoyed for thousands of years.

The rise of Black Rights shook the world but not the churches as the movement was predominantly led by black men for black men. Black women, like white women, were still described as chattels, male property, to be beaten for disobedience, in law books as well as religious tracts.

It is difficult, now, to imagine a time when western women had no voting rights, no right to own property, no right to their own bodies, no right to marry or divorce as they pleased, no right to equal pay, no right to walk alone, no right to wear what they pleased, etc. The list is endless. And yet while great changes have taken place in the secular world over the past 50 years, very few changes have happened in the religions regarding the inequality of women. And this desperate clinging to power by the male establishment in the houses of God has turned many women - and enlightened men - away from established religions towards new areas of spirituality.

Religious leaders are not elected by their 'flocks' and are thus not under the same obligation to 'serve' as politicians are. Even while half - or even three-quarters - of the seats in houses of God are emptying, religious leaders remain in the 1950s. Until the old religious leaders die off - opening the way for more enlightened leaders - organized religion will continue to fall in relevance in the western world.

It is only in less enlightened countries - where the vast bulk of women remain downtrodden - that religion remains strong. These countries are centuries behind the western world - but eventually they will catch up. Until then, women will suffer under the yolk of a male dominated dark-aged establishment, earning half the wages of men for equal work and being severely restricted in other areas.

Before feminism, western women were expected to marry at 16 or, at the very latest 21 at which age they were considered 'old and shelf material', and many had to accept a husband chosen by their parents. Very few women were accepted for higher education. It was not considered important to educate girls. Married women were frowned on for working and if they fell pregnant, they were required to leave work. If a single girl fell pregnant, she was required to put the baby up for adoption. There was no easy divorce. Women were effectively at the mercy of men, and men loved the way things were. If any woman complained, the bible was shoved in her face.

Just like thousands of years ago, an adult western woman in the 1950s was expected to live her life through a man and male dominant political and religious institutions forced young girls to toe the line. On half the wages of a man doing similar work, there was no way an ordinary girl could make it on her own. If she didn't marry, she had no social status whatsoever. Although many of these women had competently done the work of men during WWII when their men-folk were at war, they were expected to return to the kitchen sink when their men-folk returned!

The generation of western women that were born after the 1950s - the baby boomers - take their freedom and equal pay for granted, often completely oblivious of the awful fight their mothers and grandmothers fought on their behalf. They are, however, continuing the fight in the houses of God - places where their mothers and grandmothers had no impact whatsoever. They compare their secular lives with their religious lives and see glaring chasms of inequality, iniquity and misogyny. These are the women who are spearheading the shakedown on churches everywhere.

They don't send their children to Sunday school or church camps or allow their sons to become choir boys because they fear they will be molested. And they don't go to church any more because they don't want to see men in frocks telling them what they can and cannot do. And they won't support any organization that does not give career opportunities to women. If a religion bars women from performing ministerial duties, then it is not a religion they want to belong to.

It is any wonder that the non-western religions are tightening their grip, battening down the hatches against the spread of feminism in their lands?

why do modern societies follow ancient religions?

The English Civil War of 1642 and the American Revolution of 1770 set a precedent in modern history by sweeping aside a dissolute aristocratic form of government and giving power to the people, but the French Revolution of 1789 and the Russian Revolution of 1917 went further - sweeping away not only a dissolute aristocracy but also a dissolute religion.

The French and the Russians succeeded in ending the ancient rule of kings, but they did not wholly succeed in ending the worship of ancient religions. The French Revolutionary Calendar of 1793, for instance, was intended to be aggressively new and anti-Christian, but it so confused the people that Napoleon abandoned it in 1806 - and the French, like the Russians a century later, lapsed back into their old religious ways.

Neither the free revolutionary humanist spirit of the French nor the communism of the Russians could supplant the people's belief in their ancient religions - and this is hardly surprising because all of the ancient religions themselves were based on an accepted need for human beings to worship a power outside the realms of mundane human existence.

Before Judaism, Christianity and Islam came into being there was Paganism - the worship of many gods - and having accepted a belief in one god, Jehovah or Allah, there was no way people could revert to Paganism. Neither communism nor humanism satisfied the wretchedly poor masses. They needed the spiritual comfort of the wonderful life after death that Christianity and Islam offered.

Unlike western civilization - which has sought at various times to sweep away not only ancient systems of government but also ancient religions that have little relevance to modern times - the other civilizations have, by and large, not dared to deny their people observance of their religious beliefs.

Democracy was adopted in India, but Hinduism - and its totally undemocratic caste system - carried on regardless. Communism was adopted in China, but Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism also carried on regardless. Some Islamic nations have also adopted democracy, but Islam is stronger now than it ever was.

It is true that only a small percentage of western populations actually believes in and faithfully practices the teachings of their ancient religions. Many more, however, would claim to be Christian, Jewish, Moslem or whatever. The continued existence of ancient religions is largely related to rites such as marriage, christenings, comings of age and funerals - and celebrations that owe more to Pagan festivals than anything else - and without the opportunity to perform these rites most would flounder in a void.

Those who examine the ancient religions - and the wars and abuses they have perpetrated over the years - and turn away from them in disgust or despair, are similarly suffering a void that is either being filled by kindly eastern religions - such as Buddhism - or New Age beliefs, some of which lead them right back to Paganism.

It is, without doubt, very perplexing that ancient beliefs and laws pertaining to what god supposedly told - or did to - mere mortals thousands of years ago should remain believable whereas other ancient beliefs and laws in respect to medicine or astronomy, for instance, are universally shunned as ignorant rubbish.