Little Pakistani boys hate Americans because of the skewed Islamic beliefs they are taught. Little Israeli girls hate Palestinians because of the skewed Jewish beliefs they are taught. Little Catholic Northern Irish kids hate little Protestant Northern Irish kids because of the skewed Christian beliefs they are taught.

President Bush insists the conflict we are in has nothing to do with Muslims and the Nation of Islam. It has to do with terrorists. What do you say if the terrorists themselves claim it is a religious war? They are angry enough to blame all of their misfortune on a country on the other side of the world. The Israelis are angry enough to start taking over Palestinian towns, blaming all of their misfortune on a bunch of displaced people. The Americans...well, God Blesses America.

Almost all of the fighting going on the world has something to do with religion or sects of a religion. If Saddam was a twice-a-month Christian, do you think we would have been so ready to mow him down on his own turf? Yugoslavia had Bosnians, Muslims, Serbians and Croats. All fighting with each other with God on their sides.

Welcome to the downside of putting an immense amount of faith in all-powerful entity who never actually stops by to say hello. History is full of atrocities done in the name of religion. David Koresh, Jim Jones, the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, Indian Death Walks, and that's just touching on western civilization.

As a child, I had to go to church every Sunday for several years. I always felt uncomfortable that I had to get up early, put on nice clothes, and drive in all kinds of weather just so we could pray, sing and listen quietly just like we did the week before. We had to thank God for everything, and I think this is a major problem. People thank God if they score a touchdown, they plead with God when someone is sick or dying, they question God when things go badly. I was sixteen years old when I finally came to the conclusion that God didn't take as active a role in this religion thing as I was expected to do.

People ask God for the impossible. Help me win the lottery, help me hook up with sexy girl with five other guys hovering around her, help me destroy the evil Satan that is America. For many, God is a fairy godmother with a bag full of wishes. God makes everything we believe okay. It's divine intervention, it's a gift, it's a blessing.

If we want to do something that does not jibe with the basic teachings of our religion, we amend or find loopholes in the rules. Thou shalt not kill...unless the people we hate don't believe in our God. Thou shalt not steal...unless its part of our Manifest Destiny to kick out the Indians and Palestinians. Thou shalt not bare false idols...unless there's something really good on TV. Thou shalt not take the lord's name in vain...but goddammit, everyone else seems to be breaking the rules.

I believe in spirituality, I believe in the golden rule, and I believe in not judging people solely on their first impressions. All this organized religion is much more trouble than it's worth. All these rules, all these regulations, all these specific ways we have to be. Pray every Saturday, pray every Sunday, pray before meals, pray five times a day. At a certain point, the massive amount of rituals resembles brainwashing techniques more than intense faith.

Once you believe in whatever faith you believe, then they have you. They can convince you of anything. They can tell you to drink poisoned Kool-aid, they can tell you to kill yourself so you get a ticket on the alien spaceship, they can tell you to plant a car bomb, they can tell you to shoot an abortion doctor, they can tell you to send anthrax through the mail, they can tell you Jerusalem belongs to you and nobody else, they can tell you to hijack a plane and crash it into the World Trade Center. And you will do it all in the name of God will, hoping the silent entity will finally notice you.

Chris Jungle has eaten the body and drank the blood of Christ several times over, and he's still hungry.