Can Any Good Come From Religion? Basically, I Think Not. Do I Need to Take Another Look? Maybe.

Well, my best friend, Mr. Charlie, sent me a link today. His only message along with the link

was, "Sometimes faith really makes us do strange things." Mr. Charlie, himself a Catholic, knows my thoughts on religion. 

Though I am surely far from being a religious scholar, I do have my opinions. In

fact, among Christian religions Catholicism is way up there in being downright weird: annulments after ten kids and 30 years of marriage, saints, miracles, lots of men parading around in truly tacky ostentatious costumes with nutty hats...oh, yeah, they

actually have exorcists.

Of course, the Mormons are not slackers when it comes to being weird. Let's see, it started after a dude found a couple of gold tablets and went from there. Do all of them end-up with their own planet, or something? Oh, yeah, they one-up most religions with their magic underwear, for cryin' out loud.

Then we have the so-called evangelicals.  Yes, if I'm not mistaken they take the Bible literally. Well, they should be out by the village gates stoning unruly kids...and, oh, yeah, going to their neighbors in nearby villages who don't believe in their God and killing them all. Yep, even the babies, livestock...hey, even little puppies.

OK, enough of that for the time being. Here's what I want to write about.....

Dr. Tom Catena, a 51-year-old Catholic missionary.

"He is driven, he says, by his Catholic faith. “I’ve been given benefits from the day I was born,” he says. “A loving family. A great education. So I see it as an obligation, as a Christian and as a human being, to help.”

I guess the point I'd like to make, at least for me to think about, is this quote. If this man is doing this strictly because of his religion and not just because of his inherent goodness and compassion for humankind, then maybe I need to take a harder and closer look at religion. Or, at least for a few minutes, just shut-up about religion and drive myself nuts over other things.

BTW, click on the above link and read the article! Here's the link again. Do yourself a favor and read the article.

EDIT: Send Dr. Tom a donation:

You can donate online at the Camboni Missionaries website, but make sure to specify that it should go to “Dr. Tom Catena” in the Donation Note field.

Alternately, you can make a check out to “Comboni Missionaries” and write “Dr. Tom Catena” in the “for” line and mail to:

Comboni Missionaries
1318 Nagel Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45255