daddytodd | All religion is irrational

Back in the mid to late '90's, Ron and I used to spend quite a lot of time in Boise. I grew up in Boise, and my parents still have a recreational property in the mountains north of town, in the old mining town of Placerville, which is about halfway between Idaho City and Horseshoe Bend on an old dirt road. I love the place, it's beautiful. So, we used to drive up there a couple times a year for vacations. Not so much any more; I'm less willing to make 7-hour car rides than I was in my 30s.

Anyway, we did a lot of stuff with BOI, the Bears of Idaho. The group has since declined and, apparently, ceased to exist, but we used to have a lot of fun with Mikey and Bobo and the rest of them.

One of the signature summer activities in Boise is tubing the Boise River. Drive up to Barber Park, a few miles outside town, rent inner tubes for a few dollars and lazily float for a couple hours, drinking beer and goofing with buddies. Climb out at Ann Morrison park, then go barbecue in someone's backyard. BOI used to do it every August.

On one of these long float trips, I got into a discussion with one of the BOI members about religion. He was a former Catholic monk, who had left the monastery after he discovered Bears online. He was riffing on the silliness of Mormon beliefs. I laughed along, but when he finished, I looked at him and said, "Catholics pray over a cookie. They believe it then LITERALLY transforms into the flesh of a man who has been dead for 2000 years. Then they eat it."

My point? ALL religion is irrational. The silliness of many religions is masked by their familiarity. But it's all ludicrously idiotic, if you get right down to it.