Late on Christmas Eve

It's just after 10:30 pm on Christmas eve. I don't feel that tonight, nor tomorrow, is a religious day, at least not for me. I know that for many people, though, this time of year is profoundly important. It's profoundly important for me in some ways, too, but not for the same reasons as my believer brethren. I think, though, that the roots of the import of this time of year for me and for others are found in the same glimmer of hope.

Some people turn to the supernatural for solice; they believe, or create, stories about people or beings that convey important concepts that should guide the way we live our lives. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist...they all have specific ideas about the genesis of our planet and our lives and they all offer their interpretations of what those ideas mean. Ultimately, I think most religions have, at their core, a desire for mankind to treat other men with dignity and respect and to respect this planet and the universe surrounding us. The way they try to imbed that message in their followers varies dramatically. Some religions have, over time, become dangerous, instead of protective and comforting. Let me revise that; it's not some religions, it's most, if not all.

I know virtually nothing of Islam, but what I have read recently makes me believe it is dangerous. I believe Judaism is dangerous. I believe Christianity is dangerous. Buddhism, from what little I know, is mostly positive, if deluded. I haven't paid much attention to others. Lately, though, I hear from religious leaders the sort of vitriol and hatred that I thought was reserved for the insane. The concepts of tolerance and embrace seem to be disappearing.

I struggle with religion. I have no use for it, but then I wonder whether my own beliefs...we're born, we live, we die, and we should be good to people in the process...are religious. Mind you, I fail in my execution of my beliefs, or my wishes. But isn't religion a means for us to codify our moral codes? How do we give rationale to our moral codes without religion? I think I do, I just don't know how.

At this time of year, I hear Christmas carols and hymns and wishes for world peace and I am touched by them. It's hard to describe, though. I'm not touched out of my religious beliefs, but out of my desire, my wish, that the world were indeed modeled after what is considered by at least some religions as compassion. Part of my rejection of religions (aside from the primary, fundamental problem...belief in a superior being) is the fact that they preach tolerance and goodness, and then turn around and condone and promote hatred and prejudice and intolerance.

Happy holidays...Merry Christmas...however you see this world we live in, I wish for you and yours safety, happiness, closeness with those you love, and a better and more tolerant world in the days and years ahead.