Imagine...

Don't misunderstand. I'm a big fan of the Beatles. I'm a "paul" fan though, not a "John" fan.

One night a while back, I was driving home and the radio began playing John singing, "Imagine there's no heaven..."

Now, it's a catchy tune if you're into that genre (which I am), but the words are just so silly...

Have you ever thought about the point of this song? Here it is:

• if there was no God, there could be no religions
• if there were no religions, there would be no war
• if there was no war, there could be no possessions
• if there were no possessions, we could all live in harmony
• we're closer than you think!

(unfortunately the next statement is a bit rude)

It didn't quite work out that way...

Here's the problem with John's worldview. (and I'm certain I'm not the first to say this, but it's one of the things I'm thinking about right now)

For John's world to work, everyone has to be 100% committed to it. As long as everyone is completely committed to communal living, it will work brilliantly. However, if one person decides to act in their own interest, they will quickly be able to exploit all the others and accumulate vast wealth and possessions. The only way to stop such a person will be through force (they have already chosen not to be convinced by reason or argument).

And then, you're right back where you started. People are acting forcefully to either defend themselves or further themselves.

And then you have war.

You'll get no argument that religion has caused lots of war.

But i wonder how many it's prevented?

By the way... I'm still a kinda-pacifist.