The New Religion...better than the old?

Submitted by John Douglas (United Kingdom), Feb 20, 2008 at 15:16

"Millions mourned her death around the world?" Now why would that be? Did they know her personally? Had she visited them, or allowed them into her home? No, most people mourned an 'image' that was created for them in the Press and Celebrity magazines, a potent image that made a lot of photographers rich and sold a lot of magazines.

It was,like most religions,a mass myth perpertrated on people who needed something to believe in, in this case, merely to alleviate the boredom of their lives. If you have $5 to spend on a 'glossy' then you're not exactly on the poverty line are you? In the so called, third-world, that amount would feed a family for a week! So what do those poverty entrapped people believe in? A religious 'faith' that promises them much, only when they are dead. Catholicism, and Islam prevail in countries with the highest poverty rates because of that ignoble reward, and the belief that one day there has to be something better available to a person beyond the daily grind of their pitiful existence. So, there you have it, the new 'western' religion is defined as The Cult of Personality.

It's not surprising then, that whenever one of these 'Personality Prophets' is laid-low, we seek to apportion blame with all the fervour the Catholic Church reserved for the Jews in crucifying Christ. That is why many Islamists, and associated radicals, are unhappy. They see their countries, and their populations little by little absorbing more and more 'western' ideals. The motor-car,the TV,,rock n' roll,Coca-Cola and the high-fashion sneaker. It is moving their societies further and further away from their own religious 'ideal', and thereby like any church, from under its power-base. Therefore, the radicals have to grab their attention every now and again, in a futile attempt to reaquaint their fellow believers with the true-way. True, or false, being the baseline of any faith.

Lets face it, there have been thousands, if not millions, of people around the world who have perished for not believing in the 'true-way' of Christanity, as the western powers and empires of the day, trundled into their countries and later splitting the spoils with the Church. For myself, when it comes to religion, I like to paraphrase Ebeneezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol' when he says," Bah, Humbug!" I think I'm safer that way.

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