What’s worse? Organized religion or organized crime?
What an odd question, I know…
Some time back a friend asked me this question over a few beers. ”Don’t answer it now!” he told me, “Just think about it for a while.” I have to be honest about it. I didn’t think about this question for some time. Until last week that is.
I had some free time to reflect about things for a few days as the family was away visiting more family. I found myself in front of a clean notebook with three pens: one black, one red and one blue. I thought to myself that such a question comparing organized religion to organized crime would be a given – organized religion would win out. So I wrote down on one column all of the positives of organized religion. Then on the other side of the page something quite strange happened. I told myself that I would brainstorm all of the positives of organized crime, and guess what? I came up with as many good points to organized crime as bad points. So then I decided that I would do the opposite and write down all of the bad points of organized crime on one side of the paper and see if I could match the bad points of organized religion on the other side of the paper. And I could.
Before this creates a moral vacuum or a philosophical conundrum I just want to be clear. I am not trying to state that organized religion is bad and that organized crime is good. In fact, I am not saying that I have become neutral on either subject. I am just saying that all the evidence gleaned from this exercise just supported the notion that there is no black and white.
So now I ask you for your own answers. Which is worse (or better)? Organized religion or organized crime? What say you?
