God is a teapot orbiting Mars.

I read an excellent article on Salon today.

It made me think of a dream that I had when I was very little, one that I've always carried with me. I like to bring it out, dust it off, and reinterpret what it means to me every once in a while.

It's a very short dream, or at least what I remember. It's basically an image, a snapshot of an impossible time, tucked away with my other childhood memories.

We are in heaven. Jesus stands alone on a huge circular dais in an unimaginably large cavern. We surround the dais, millions of us, knees bent and heads down. Directly above is the only source of light, shining directly down on Jesus and quickly fading into the crowd. We will stay like this forever.

When I was little, I wasn't afraid of death. I was terrified of eternity, and being forced to endure it.

Now that America is becoming a theocracy, I do fear death. Now that I finally have something to live for, the religious zealots and their insane fantasies threaten to take it all away.

The above-linked article is described: "Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins explains why God is a delusion, religion is a virus, and America has slipped back into the Dark Ages." If you have strong religious convictions you may want to skip this one. If you have a more open mind, it's an interesting read with some excellent points.