Just some thoughts....

I tend to think about religion a lot. It's an interesting hobby. Several years moderating a religious chat channel tend to skew my perspective, of course. (I tend to look to religion for amusement value these days rather than, say, Truth.) But one of the things that's struck me lately is, well, puzzling. Maybe it shouldn't be, but it was anyway. Just that when people say: "I want to tell you what I believe", they seldom want the same in return. Because they're often really saying: I want to convert YOU, not to be converted in return. It's not explicit, of course, but I think it's often an undertone.

And it makes discussing religion difficult. Few people really think that those who don't believe what they do REALLY understand what they believe. (Say, scientology...) Sometimes it's a safe bet: there's a perspective of any religion only possible to those who are in it. But there's also another only possible to those who are outside it -- not always those who used to be in it, since their views tend towards the extreme and bitter -- but both views, inside and outside, have validity. Is one better than the other?

I'd say no. But I'm not sure. There are aspects of some religions that only fanatics (martyrs) can really understand. In the meantime, let me tell you about what I believe . . .