OK. Maybe it's finally time to talk about , not religion, but REALIGION. The problem with that is that it calls for a realistic view of what a workable social/spiritual system is and what it is NOT. And that calls for a totally different definition of what the Universal Force of Life must be and what we can, as humans, really learn, understand and/or believe about that Force.

It certainly isn't the cartoon-like War God judge/avenger/punisher/patronizer that the ancient Israelis invented and that was subsequently incorporated into Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and some of the more "contemporary versions " of other ancient, prescientific and superstitious traditions or notions of Divinity.

Of course, if we begin to accept a more intelligent understanding of our own spiritual dimension and its relationship to time, space and purpose, it does three dangerous things.

a) discounts thousands of years of dumb-ass, "my god can kick the sh*t out of your god" theologies.

b) pretty much discards the nonsense of "holy books" as if the Universal Force of Life could or, even, would inspire or "dictate" attitudes that are purely partisan in nature and ALWAYS (I say again) ALWAYS result in real estate grabs and conquest or power grabs and some form of mass manipulation or enslavement.

c) finally, admit that the "religions" that were good enough for our Mommies and Daddies all over the world are in dire need of re-evaluation, reform and (in many parts) rejection if we are ever going to associate the Universal Force of Life with world peace and human harmony on this planet. As we most certainly should.

OK. Those are the "dangers" if you want to call them that. Everybody is afraid of change. But, on the flip side, whacko fundamentalists like Bush & Bin Laden would be relegated to the trash heap of ancient and out-dated notions. Which is EXACTLY where they belong. And the idea that "Guns and God DON"T mix!" would spread to all cultures. Man, we NEED that! We NEED a religious reformation on this planet that spreads throughout divers cultures. A religious reformation based on our universal commonality and spiritual sensitivity. People who are already connected (and there are plenty of them), people who are on the leading edge in terms of spiritual sensitivity (there are plenty of them, too) already know this. They are the "peaceniks", mediators, charity-driven volunteers and ecologically minded folks and anti-war demonstrators who are the antithesis of the greedy old guard.

They are touched by a more moral sense and inspired by the murmurrings of a new religious reality.And, it's staring at us right in the face!

C'mon!

We know more about how this planet evolved today than any neo-bronze age nutjob.

We know more today of the REAL story of human evolution on this planet. A story of strength, struggle, and gradual refinement. A story with a potential projection towards a wonderful cosmic conclusion!.

We know more about the psychological drives of the human species today than any so-called prophet or priest who was peddling pithy proverbs for a chicken or a leg of lamb.

We know more about the universal commonality of all peoples on this planet today than any conquest crazed king on a chariot with a "holy" icon in one hand and a very sharp sword in the other.

We know so much more today about so many more things than our pre-scientific, superstitious forbears knew because we (including our God-given intellects) have EVOLVED over the past ten thousand years. We are becoming more REFINED spiritually as well as physically and intellectually. That's what evolution is all about. It IS the Universal Force of Life becoming more and more manifest on the material plane.

Divinity is staring us in the face through the intellectual capacity of scientific thought and through the emotional capacity of COMPASSION for human kind. Because, folks, we are all one blessed thing, evolving in the dance and the drama of self conscious life on this pretty little planet. ONE THING! One thing, united and connected by the same Universdal Force of Life that sings in the soul of every one of us.

A Real religion. A REALigion is centered on this beautiful and unifying concept.

It's time to grow up, everybody. Before we waste ourselves with Weapons of Mass Destruction while whacko pulpiteers tell you "god wants us to kill the other half of us before the other half of us kills us" when God ... the Universal Force of Life ...is ALL OF US!

JEEZ! Say it over and over, people. Make it a mantra. Print up bumper stickers. Spray paint it on walls. Tatoo it on your bodies. "God and Guns don't mix!"

GOD AND GUNS DON'T MIX!