I believe in God. I try to follow basic spiritual principles. One of those principles is to live and let live.

I tried to be a Methodist, twice. I met some wonderful, spiritual, giving people. Deep down, they reached out to help the community in small ways, not to control it. I did not see a lot of self-righteousness or judgementalism. But, I just cannot accept the basic articles of faith.

I've also seen people turn to religion because they are searching for a cure to a very deep spiritual illness. The illnesses are not addressed, just re-directed into zealotry. This is why these sickness based religious outfits focus on things like porn. This is why they love to have people "witness" by telling stories with shock value and prurient interest. This is why this crowd will go to any lengths, break any type of ethics, to further their agenda. They still hate, because of fear, that is the heart of the sickness.

I've studied the Gospels, and see great beauty in these teachings, they apply to my life to this day. The people I met as a troubled Methodist were close to what I think Jesus would have us do. The troubled group I describe in the last paragraph are very far away from the ideal, and really have no hope, since they don't understand the goals.

Please don't paint all religious with one brush. And allow room in your rhetoric for free-thinking diests like me. I, too, am tempted and sometimes guilty of letting the fear turn into hatred of the sickos. I have found that is counter productive. We need to wall them into their own sick world, just like Max Hardcore is walled into the world of his customers who seek him out.

-Chuck, Vegetarian fanboy