[Lux]

Offtop:
even within a certain religion there are huge discrepancies in belief..case in point: the vatican has stated that taking life at any point in development is immoral/wrong etc. the vatican issued such statement in stating their opposition against stem cell research. as with extracting stem cells from eggs that could potentially become life, it is taking life because after extraction, life cannot develop. with that being said, 73% of the catholics in the state of michigan voted FOR stem cell research. just thought i'd throw it out there. i don't think religion is not really good or bad. certainly many people have died due to kings and rulers using it as a justification for their actions but then again, nations have thrived and survived because of such religious institutions. if you want to weigh out all the good vs. all the bad in terms of religion, the debate would go on for centuries. and it has. i prefer to just take it as it is. i have my beliefs and i do not impose them on anyone. after all, buddha and jesus said pretty much the same things. something about love. and not to forget, this country was founded by people who wanted religious freedom but didn't get it. ironically, they were fleeing from england and a few countries in europe..but that's another story. the again, the first settlers killed, pilfered, and exploited. what can you say about that? sure, it's terrible but most of who i am has alot to do with this country. should i trace back to its religious beginnings and blame how it was founded and why? i can't do that. (this country is still 80% christian. that is, at least 70% of every household goes to some kind of religious practice at least once a week) i think religion is fascinating on a political, social, and of course spiritual level. it's something i've studied and i don't hate it. it's like...with war. i don't hate war but of course i find it unnecessary and utterly destructive in every aspect of culture and politics, but i realize destruction is also a part of human nature. there's nothing to do about it. hating it is useless. just don't participate or support it. be rational. yeah..i've gotten off my rocker...