What is Religion? A Rant of a Light Hearted Nature

A question for us all to consider.........

What is religion actually, can this belief in faith actually help or is it just the comfort of some and the crutch that mentally ill people use for help and excuses.

Let's think about it.....

In the Old Testament the world began and the laws and rules of society are laid down. A "story" that was written thousands of years ago has set the foundations for all religions. People who lived in biblical times seemed to live a reasonable type of life. They also seemed to live for hundreds of years. Moses, Abraham they all lived to be hundreds of years old with wives, children and followers.

But, Judaism, and to a large degree Muslimism, is based on these fables. Thousands of years on this great story, the Old Testament, is still being followed and belived.

So what is the New Testamant....

Without a doubt about 2000 years ago a baby was born and named Jesus. Whatever religion that you follow something must have occured to start a whole belief.

Somewhere along the way this person became a "prophet" or spouted theories that have been followed. Has this been a form of Chinese Whispers? Has a story that began with wedding guests drinking water become a miracle where the water became wine and 1 fish fed 5000.

However, whatever way you look at the New Testament this collection of stories has become a foundation of Christianity.

So now let us jump to 5000 years in the future. Will religion as we know it still exist? Or will the reality of religion 2008 go full circle. Currently we are Christian, Jewish, Muslim and a whole host of allied religions.

5000 Years into the future will people be following the religion of "Potterism"or the path of "The Dark Arts" will the current best selling books like "The Dark Matter Trilogy" form the religions of the future. 5000 years on will "The Half Blood Prince" be included in the new "Old Testament" as absolute truth.

We cannot know, we can only speculate. All of us now hope this is wrong and that the current bibles and beliefs will just continue. But wouldn't it be fun if my theory was correct. The new God is Dumbledore and the Devil is Voldemort!!! In the New Testament Harry Potter could be viewed as the new Jesus and Ron Weasley the new John the Baptist!!!

I apologise if these thoughts are blasphemous. They are not meant to be. I am not a heven and I actually believe in something, although what I am not yet sure, and I am afraid that I will be viewed as another mentally ill person leaning on religion.Maybe I am!!

I would welcome any views.........