I get the fact that we grow up to be our parents children, and that it takes a village to raise a child. But what I don’t understand is why people don’t even try to develop their own views on life and morals, while taking the views of others into consideration. I wonder why logic isn’t injected in to our opinions and why people latch on to whatever the media spews, why we don’t sit down and consider the original meanings of things and where they came from. Have you ever considered the life of historical religious leaders, taken the things that they write as accounts of things that happened to them? Have we ever considered that Mt. Olympus, famous for erupting every couple hundred years, just so happened to erupt in the same time period that the legend of Hattie was written? Have you ever looked at more than one point of view on that point in history? Yes the texts you reference are religious, but they are so because you found meaning in them, just as you find meaning in your own writing. It isn’t the stories that make the spirituality of religion, but rather the ability of the person reading them to think in a manner only the most intelligent creatures can, emotionally. Now, I’m not saying there isn’t a greater entity out there, a God of sorts, be they whom-ever you believe them to be. What I’m saying is that if you were the most powerful being in the entire existence of the universe, wouldn’t you want you’re most beloved and greatest creation to aspire to be more like you, while at the same time developing unique character? If we really are created in the image of God, the greatest entity, why don’t we act like we are aspiring to be Godly? I’m sure that there is no book of reference for God, they must act out of what they feel will do the best for those around them. They must consider the emotional, logical and historical outcomes that arise from their actions. If we are really as powerful as we say we are why don’t we act like we are responsible for the things we do as a species? If life is a journey, we should follow our own paths and discover the truths that are talked about in these renowned books, not attempt to copy the meaning we find in them by reciting them. If your religion speaks of tolerance, then find the tolerance in you self to deal with the people who think differently than you; if your religion mentions peace, act in ways that you believe will cause the least frustration and anger among everyone you interact with. To take the words in any book as completely literal is to declare your own ignorance and lack of wisdom to the world use your own original thoughts when examining someone else’s perspective. Besides, all of those books speak of how they were written by people, people whom were inspired by a higher power yes, but unique and differing people none the less.