Religion

Caveat: 

If you are offended by anti-religious writing or want to change my opinion, bring proof or read no further and post no comment, to all others, welcome, read on, add to the discussion.

Religious, Agnosticism, Atheism

I like to think of myself as a "Man of Science" and as such I follow the Royal Society's philosophy: Nullius in verba "On the Word of no-one".  The fundamentals of religion require you take someone's word for it, so without proof or testable hypothesis, I cannot be religious.
I used to be an atheist, vocally against the existence of a deity but have mellowed with age.  I am now of the opinion that the existence of a deity is about as likely as Bertrand Russell's teapot. Whilst not impossible, there is no logical reason for there to be china teapot orbiting between the earth and mars.  It is for this reason I must call myself Agnostic, if proof of a deity is found, I have an open mind to accept it, until that time it will just be a cosmic teapot.

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Jesus - Fact or Fiction?

The truth will probably never be known.  The existence of extensive historical records would indicate that yes, assuming natural conception (Virgin means conceived before marriage) is likely that he existed and according to records a blood relative of both David and Solomon.  Recording of his life would be the equivalent of the paparazzi following prince William about. 

Jesus - Our savior, Scientist, Psychologist or Magician?

Modern theorists suggest that Jesus was taught by druids, possibly in England.  This is speculation but in my opinion it is likely that a royal descendant would be higher educated, in England or elsewhere.  Druids, our scientific ancestors had broad knowledge in medicine, chemistry, physics, mathematics and I am pretty sure behavioral psychology.

So lets re-cap:  Jesus spent time with a group run by highly intelligent people and emerged tying to change society with speeches and clever party tricks.  A responsible hypothesis would be that he spent time in a cult and tried to get the rest of the world to join it.  This is not an uncommon practice by today's standards.

There is scattered documentation about others who did the same thing, 5 majors including John the Baptist and scattered reports of 10-20 more. The existence of a deity is not required. 

Let me tell you a story of a young man with bright view on how a peaceful society could be run where all men are equal and respected.  The guy was Karl Marx writing Das Kapitol  - Critique of Political Economy. Not that different to Jesus and the bible.

The Bible

Compiled from selected eye witness accounts by emperor Constantine 300 years after Jesus' death.  The interesting information is that there were many eye witness accounts that weren't included and were subsequently destroyed.  We know this because of the scattering of documents that the Romans weren't able to find and destroy during the time the Bible was composed.

The Dark Ages, The Middle Ages

Over simplifying a bit, the dark and middle ages began with the establishment of the catholic church and ended after Henry the 8th's separation from it.  Ancient Rome saw massive advances in science and technology which slowed to a crawl until Renaissance and the industrial revolution.  Coincidence, I think not.  A friend of mine said to me "If it wasn't for religion we would have made it to the stars by now". An interesting thought, slowing technology development for 1200 years where could we have been?

Richard Dawkins  

I have mixed feelings about Richard Dawkins,  on one hand he is a brilliant scientist explaining many anthropological phenomena grounded in evidence.  On the other hand he uses this knowledge to go "Bible Baiting" - Aggressively starting arguments with religious types.  In my opinion I like to be able to have my own views and not to be "Street Converted" by local door knockers and pamphlet poppers.  In Richard's case I believe he should observe reciprocal respect and not convert Christians to atheism it is a bit two-faced.

As far as religious groups dictating government policy, my answer is: well, it depends on how it is approached.  I believe everyone and every interest group has a right to influence how our country is run.  If a group uses  threats or violence or "God's word" as method and justification for their actions,  Richard, go Baiting and expose these groups for what they are.   Same applies for cults and similar groups that use religious manipulation to extract wealth, property and or freedom from their followers.