Seventh Note to “Laila (Part Three)”

Religion ultimately serves two basic functions and roles in the world. One, it seeks to make intolerable communal life tolerable. And two, it serves as a myth to explain everything, given that reality can only be explained through myth. There is nothing else to explain reality aside from myth if you think about it. So we have the myth of creation and so on and so forth. Our best bet when it comes to explaining everything given that there is no explanation for anything – it’s all a mystery – is myth. Thus, religion assumes the role of myth to explain everything. But in practice, and aside from spooking everyone and scaring the shit out of everyone and dividing people and triggering bloody wars and of course failing to answer the one and only question that matters more than any other question, religion is a failure. Religion neither makes communal life less intolerable than it is, nor does it effectively and sufficiently explain reality for us. We still don’t know why any of us exist. And of course, everyone is free to reach their own conclusions when it comes to issues such as politics and religion. No two subjects in the world are as controversial and touchy as politics and religion. But this conclusion comes after having exhausted all avenues and paths and after having read everyone and having listened to what everyone had to say. Everyone is free to come to their own conclusions, as long as they explain the logic and reasoning to us.