The logic of most people is something that often confounds me for one reason or another.

In a recent discussion, I divulged the reason for my teetering atheism/agnosticism to a friend.

The concept that had led me to my doubt is simple really.

Religion, for the most part, is based on geography.

The chances are very good that the only reason you’re a Christian is because you’re living in the Bible Belt.

Now, picture for a moment yourself in a different life, in a different place.

Wouldn’t it make sense, being born into a different family with different customs, that beliefs would follow suit?

You would believe as firmly as you do now in a completely different ideology and have the very same reasons to back it up.

Catch up if I’m losing you here.

Would it not follow that if you were born in Asia that chances are you would be a devout Buddhist?

That ideal would be the divine truth for you after all, something that you would believe with every ounce of your being just as you do now.

The simple logic is that the only reason you carry the faith that you do now is because it was conquered or scribed into your blood.

There are many wise and/or cunning men with eyes that looked upon the first script to ever proclaim the faith that you have.

These weren’t Gods themselves, but men who knew the power of the written word.

Now I understand that people are still going to cling to what makes sense to them, and that’s exactly what I’m doing here.

I am clinging to the notion that nothing makes sense and there isn’t a terrible lot we can do about that.

This isn’t a new notion by any means.

It is simply taking a step back to observe the differences between cultures and to understand that culture in itself is an abstract.

Concept, word, religion, all of it.

I suppose ultimately it’s just the counter point to Pascal’s Wager.

If the outcome of the afterlife is a real factor, then to be Christian would be of greater benefit than being a non-believer.

It irritates me that this thinking still permeates a lot of minds.

This idea completely omits the concept that other religions might be correct as well.

Whether it were the case or not, how can you possibly decipher the truth without the actual presence of a deity?

I digress.

Ultimately this was a sophomoric attempt at communicating a basic philosophical concept, but I felt most people around here have never given the thought of ever possibly being another person any real attention.

The concept has fascinated me as a child, and the notion perplexes me to this day.