Turned on the glass tit and CNN is doing a piece on religion vs. science. I’m not here to offend anyone but I’m certainly not afraid to either. But then, you knew that.

Here then, are my thoughts:

Creationism as opposed to evolution? A walk in the park. The idea that the earth is merely between six and ten thousand years old and that humans were created essentially as they are today is bullshit. The very notion is archaic and absurd.

Now, having said that, why do the concepts of creationism and evolution have to be mutually exclusive?

In my mind, it certainly didn’t transpire the way any western religion would have us believe.

All the religious texts including the bible, are but attempts at an explanation by people far more primitive than we today to elucidate our origin and provide reasons to abstain from killing our neighbors and stealing their stuff. At best these texts are metaphorical and symbolic.

And you know what? There’s not a lot wrong with that.

At least not in theory.

In practice however, it is my empirical observation that religion has done more to corrupt and subvert the decency of mankind than any other force or belief system. More lives lost and blood spilled in the name of the god du jour than for any other impetus in history.

Yet isn’t it somewhat arrogant for us to believe that our existence is the result of some random explosion and then a nearly impossible series of events and conditions that led to some sort of biologically rich primordial soup from which all the creatures we see today eventually emerged?

Again, why do the two concepts of creationism and evolution have to be mutually exclusive? Certainly the profound miracles of things like love and compassion are no accident. Forgive me, but kittens and flowers and a scorching guitar solo seem to stand out a little to me and fly in the face of the notion of some grand elaborate accident.

Here’s the deal; we have yet to even approach the answer. Therein lies the rub. Neither of the two conflicting concepts are adequate as rationale for why I pee standing up and women should probably squat, and other brain pulverizing ideas like horseradish and republicans.

Logic would dictate that either both are bogus or the answer lies somewhere in between.

I prefer the latter.

In my mind, there must be a higher power. But I don’t doubt that it has very little to do with some white guy with a fairly lustrous head of hair and beard. The bible is a fable. C’mon, if Jesus lived, he was most likely black. That doesn’t bother me in the slightest. It really chaps the ass of some dude in Alabama named Bubba though. And that’s just silly.

Christianity is is rife with contradictions and hypocrisy. It’s disturbing and disgusting to posit that an individual will suffer agony for eternity because of sexual preference. Regardless of whether that proclivity is genetic or by choice makes little difference to me. Muslims for example, are forbidden to wipe their asses with their right hand or eat/drink with the left. I’m sure that made sense five thousand years ago when the concept of germs was callow at best, but these days it’s just ridiculous. The same can be said of the various kosher ceremonies of food preperation and consumption.

I am agnostic but that is not at odds with my spiritual nature. In important ways, humility is fundamental. It’s important to not just tolerate, but accommodate other’s beliefs. It’s important to be aware of the fact that we can’t be sure we know any better.

Yet, I will not waiver in my disdain for those ignorant and judgemental. With all sincerity, I do not give a mad fuck what your book says if it’s your excuse to discriminate, malign or commit violence.

Drinks for my friends.

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