Death to false religion (and metal, obviously)

"I cannot forgive Descartes. In all his philosophy he would have been quite willing to dispense with God. But he had to make Him give a fillip to set the world in motion; beyond this, he has no further need of God."- Blaise Pascal

This is, essentially, why I despise the theory of Intelligent Design so much. Not only is it appalling non-science, horribly misleading and dangerously backward, but it also implies a very unpleasant approach to religion. God is supposed to be something you love, something you worship, not something to be used to your own dubious ends, to be crudely squeezed into other peoples learning patterns in a blunderingly primitive "God of the gaps" type way. "There are gaps in the fossil record, therefore God must exist"? If one were to feel the need to justify their religious beliefs to others (something I still don't understand), surely a statement such as "I feel God acting upon my life in such an overwhelming way I can scarcely believe it- I see him moving in every living thing and feel his love filling me with courage and comfort every day of my life- therefore God must exist" would be better? This cold reductionist approach to spirituality implies no actual belief whatsoever. When Richard Dawkins speaks of Darwin and evolution, he does so with conviction and passion and yes, love. That is a true belief, something conspicuously absent from the writings of the vaguely sinister Intelligent Design Network and their allies. If you love God, love him- stop restricting and manipulating him, and please stop this ridiculous anthropomorphism. It does nobody any favours.

On an almost completely unrelated note, I've noticed that the staff at Co-op in Frodsham are always incredibly happy and friendly. I reckon they either enjoy extremely good working conditions or are partaking in a post-menopausal dalliance with Ecstasy. Either way I want in.