This one's about God.

    I usually refrain from speaking about two topics, religion and politics.  Those are the two fastest ways I know to lose friends.  However, in this post, I am going to break that rule.
    Here's the deal.  When you took at something, let's say an unpainted wooden chair, you make some assumptions.  The first is that the chair is brown, because wood looks to be that color.  In truth, wood is not brown, it is every color but brown, and because it is all those colors, it absorbs those colors of light and only reflects the color it isn't.  So we don't know the color of the chair.
     The second assumption you make is that it is a chair.  Since we cannot occupy the same space as the chair, we don't know that is is really a chair.  It might be a better doorstop, or speed bump, anything else.  We grope blindly around the edges of the thing and then use it in the first (or most convenient) manner that we see fit.
     This is how man uses God.  We cannot know or see God, we can only grope blindly around the edges of the concept of God.  We do not know or understand God, we just use the idea of God to further our petty ideals, whether they be a suicide bombing, a witch burning, or a trek across some desert.
     I wish I could show everyone why this is perfectly reasonable, but religion is one of those areas where people are not open to reasonable discourse. 
     Don't misunderstand me.  I am not arguing that there is no God, or that religion is bad.  I merely think that Man (and Woman, for that matter) misuse religion in some instances.  (Maybe that 'some' should read 'many.')  I can understand (and also believe) Socrates' argument for the immortality of the soul in "The Apology."  My understanding of science, as well, has shown me that the universe is governed by order, by a set of rules.  It works like one of those old pocket watches that your grandfather might have worn.  An impossible to count number of little gears and springs and cogs all working together in perfect harmony.  This could not have happened by accident.
     Therefore, there must be a 'watchmaker.'
     But Man (and Woman, for that matter) is a petty and silly critter and twists the idea of God (as well as religion) to his own ends.  A lot of mischief has been done to this end.  Just look at the stupidity the Westboro Baptist church gets up to at every military funeral they can manage to attend.  They verbally attack the families of men and women who have died--in combat--to protect their right to free speech.  While these veterans are being interred.
     There is no excuse for this behavior, it is unconscionable.
     I honestly couldn't give two shits what your religious views are.  The only thing worse than being the dipshit that does this is being the dipshit that allows someone to think like this for you in the first place.