Is religion good or bad?

My favorite In-n-Out Burger was packed, so Bob, a business acquaintance, made small talk while we stood in line, “What was your favorite rock group in high school?”

“The Association. Saw them in concert and they seemed positive and filled with promise. I loved the song ‘Enter the Young.’”  And then I recited a verse:

            “Here they come, some with questions, some decisions

            Here they come, some with facts and some with visions

            Of a place to multiply without the use of divisions

            To win a prize that no one’s every one.

            Enter the young!”

“You still remember that?”

I nodded.  “I’ll tell you why.  Jules Alexander was a member of the group whose stated goal was to study the religious life of India.  He left the band at its height just to do that.  And when he returned, I saw The Association once again in concert, but this time they were all drugged out and seemed empty…all except Jules Alexander.  It made a huge impression on me.”

By now, we had had received our orders. I dived into my no-salt hand-cut fries.

“So you think religion made the difference, huh?”

“In general, I think religion is good for people and makes them better than they would otherwise be.” 

“Are you kidding?  Look at all the wars fought over religion!” Bob declared as he bit into his Double-Double.

I pointed a fry at him. “Name a religious war of the 20^th Century.”  He frowned.  He couldn’t think of any.  “I’m sure there was one, but World War I and World War II were not fought over religion.”

And then he smiled and said, “Well in this century, we have jihad.”

“You have a point there,” I relented, “although I wonder how much of that is thugs using an ideology to unite the masses.” 

“Still religion,” my friend emphasized, “and they want to kill every Jew alive.  I’m sensitive to that because I’m a Jew.”

“But do you think religion itself is bad?”  He shrugged, so I said, “Let me paint a picture.”

He nodded “okay” as he sucked his chocolate shake. 

I charged on: “Imagine it’s late at night and you’re on a dark street.  You see a gang of teen boys walking towards you.  Would you be glad to know they just got out of a Bible class?”

“Okay, you got me. And I’ve been baitin’ ya.”  He laughed. “I kinda agree with you, but here’s the problem: most religious people don’t practice their religion.  But if they did, I would agree that they would be better people and the world would be a better place.” And that was that.

So is religion good or bad?  I share this conversation with you because Bob makes a good point. In my opinion, we shouldn’t be “In” and then “Out” with God.  I firmly believe that we become better with God and religion in our lives and hearts, and so I urge you to include God in yours…and to keep living.