Pope's gone on

I was raised as Catholic, although I lapsed about twenty years ago. I'm not sure how to take the death of the Pope.

On a personal level, religion hasn't meant anything much to me for quite a while. At least that's what I kid myself, in reality I still worry about all kinds of things 'just in case' it's not all a load of rubbish. Who want's to burn in Hell or whatever the punishment would be?

It seems a little extreme and most of the time I just think organised religon is useful in keeping people on a decent moral footing so we're not all murdering and raping each other. But there are millions of people who genuinely believe in God(s).

Admittedly most of them find it hard to go through life without being told what to do but, the pope was obviously an intelligent man so, if it's all hokum why did he believe? Maybe he was instituionalised and lacked the life experience to prompt the doubts and questions at any serious level.

Perhaps I am the one who's wrong not believing and assuming that a lack of evidence of an afterlife and a deity means there is nothing. It does sadden me when I think that i'll be gone for good one day. I guess i'll just have to wait and see (or not).

Either way, belief or not, I still think it's self-evident that most of the religious tenets (regardless of denomination) came from men and not God(s). So organised worship is simply following the rules laid down by some men in power claiming to be speaking on God's behalf.

The best I can do is try and be a good guy without getting stitched up. Oh and teach my kids to do the same, especially the bit about not getting stitiched up.