I am not a Christian nor religious. I was once a very persuasive atheist, in fact, However, one day I realized that believing there is no God was an untenable position - an atheist having faith that there was no God! I then became agnostic, and now would describe myself as spiritual.

Religions frequently become oppressive - as churches are seats of power, sonner-or-later they become controlled by the Arrogant who then abuse the power to enrich themselves or indulge their insecurities. Because religions are generally based upon very spiritually aware teachings, this acts as a check on the worst abuses, but even so, organized religions have done some horrendous things over the years.

That said, I do believe that we have lost what the religions of the world once tried to capture, and that is our spiritual and moral side. Religion may be all too human, but science has no soul. Here are the Seven Deadly Sins:

• Extravagance or lust
• Gluttony
• Avarice or greed
• Sloth
• Anger or vengeance
• Envy
• Pride

Regardless of the source, it seems quite reasonable to me that these would be sins and would lead to antisocial behaviour and a lack of personal fulfillment.

Jesus said, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Again, whether you believe in Jesus and the Bible or not, we seem to have thoroughly proved that it is exceptionally difficult to acquire great wealth while being a virtuous person.

And it is important to be a virtuous person. Even if you do not care for yourself, we have seen the effects of too many people lacking virtue. Greedy executives destroying communities, polluting the planet and thereby killing the children of others, and even wrecking the very fabric of life upon which we all depend. In fact, corporations are the institutionalization of greed, extravagance, and avarice.

Angry people who make your day miserable - or who go into a rage and kill someone. Prideful people who cannot admit they are wrong. Lazy people who refuse to be independent and want others to support them. Gluttonous people who cannot stop eating - or gambling, or cheating, or shopping, or....

Rand was Wrong

We have reacted to the abuses of organized religion by rushing to embrace science and rationality. We have accepted capitalism's and Ayn Rand's view that Greed is Good, that greed is a virtue. But it is not, and we are now beginning to see the results of our excess.

Rand was Right

Ayn Rand did espouse the belief that that which enhances life is good, that which diminishes it is bad" and we can clearly now see that Greed is Bad. Our greed will destroy us, the ultimate diminishment of life.

In rejecting religion in its entirety, we have lost our moral centre, because science provides none. At the same time, organized religion has done great harm, through its own actions, to its own credibility to provide a common morality.