The Case For The Existence Of God...And Other Thoughts On Religion

So the new Pope is from South America, and he has expressed his concern for the poor. What exactly does that mean? Damned if I know. If you've ever visited the Vatican you'll know that it is adorned with some of the most valuable treasures and relics of art and artifact imaginable. Meanwhile, thousands starve to death each day across the globe. It is my opinion that if a single human starves to death while the Roman Catholic Church hordes it riches, the Church is a fraud and serves no real purpose on this earth. As a lapsed Catholic, I feel so disconnected from the religious spectacle of Rome (and the pseudo-suspense of Papal elections) that I think of it in the much the same way I think of beauty pageants--overhyped, sexist and devoid of any real meaning. Watching what I could stand of the media coverage the last few days, I got the impression that it was nothing more than a ratings grab for TV networks. Like a mid-season mini-series: "Who will the new Pope be? Find out tonight on the nightly news, sponsored by AT&T." Mindless sycophants who watch know nothing of the sordid history of the Church--the Inquisition, the ratlines Pius ran to evacuate Nazi criminals to South America, or the long legacy of pedophilia facilitation and denial. Come to think of it, I wonder if Pope Francis knew Eichman in Argentina? At least he wasn't a member of the Hitler youth like the previous guy. What would Jesus think of what the Church he founded has become? I can't imagine Him letting people starve while the Vatican bank stashes cash collected from the faithful. What's all this got to do with the existence of God? Well...though I talk like a heathen, I believe in God. One must believe in God, or else the SCABs will get away with it. Who are SCABs? Soulless, conscienceless, avaricious bastards (mostly white, conservative males) who run the world. And yes many of them are religious nuts--televangelsists, Baptist preachers, Catholic prelates, and all manner of scoundrels. They are about as interested in the humanist well-being of mankind as Mitt Romney is about the indigent. No...SCABs who run religious organizations, and the organizations themselves, have nothing to do with spirituality. Spirituality comes from within. It springs from genuine concern for others...from a deep desire that one further the causes of justice, equality, and benevolence in the world. Good people don't have to be religious, just selfless and caring. They don't have to make a show of their faith; they just have to know that profit and power will not procure the Kingdom of Heaven. And there really is a heaven. I have to believe this; I do believe this. Heaven is a place where no person reigns over another. Where injustice does not exist. Where truth prevails. And it is a place that SCABs (read Hitler, Limbaugh, Pope Pius, Glenn Beck, Wayne LaPierre, John Boehner, Todd Akin, Pinochet, Franco, et al) cannot enter. For their carcasses will eternally burn in the Netherworld. Don't believe me. Read your Scriptures. The righteous will sit with Him. You will be judged by how you treat the least among you. The last shall be first, and the first shall be last.