I go to church, everrry Sunday

And so the Pope is dead. I am not a religous person, never have been, and do not envisage myself as ever will being. I am, however, interested in religon for its historical value; the power, the money and the beliefs as compared to another religon. This is because I am mad keen on historical nerdy crap; in particular, I am studying my way through The Tudor Age at the moment. The influence that religon had back then is mind-boggling. Marriage, murder, and general mayhem is all attributed directly to religon. One cannot wait to get into the Stuart succession with the parliamentarians, etc. (What a cool group!).

Reading back, I am slightly concerned that I used the expression 'mad keen'. Odd.

But I digress. With all the hoo hah over the Pope's death, it is amazing to see how many people around the world are still essentially 'sucked in' by the teachings of the Catholic church, and its money grabbing ways. A friend was describing how a parcel of land next to her kids' (catholic) school was up for sale. The kids used it for sports, actvities, etc. It was owned by catholic church nuns. Said vacant land was in a fast developing, well-to-do sort of neighbourhood. School & community offered a seven figure sum - the nuns sold it to developers for a higher price. Lesson of the day kids; The Catholic Church is a shrewdly run business and if you really want faith, you will find it within yourself, instead of donating your faith on a collection plate.

Don't get me wrong, I am not against people following Catholicism, going to church, having faith is someone that may or not exist. Deep down, I think we all have faith in something that doesn't exist - whatever floats your boat. I am also aware that there are some relgions out there that don't seek to make 'profit'. My research really hasn't stretched into all of the religions as of yet; I am really only studying the break from Catholicism to Church of England - as it's relevant to my study of the history at that time. Needless to say that studying the different religous factions is going to be one hell of an interesting task.

Honestly, I hope the Pope rests in peace. I admire him for his devotion to his god; I only hope he is not disappointed when he gets where he is going. With all the talk in the last few days of the Pope meeting his maker; imagine if he died, and it was just 'nothing'. No meeting St Peter at the gates, no welcoming arm of the person/entity you have served your whole life for. Just 'nothing'. You'd be pissed, wouldn't you? All of that for nothing. My own views on the 'afterlife' are somewhat torn between several thoughts - all of which are far too rough to wax eloquent on them here. But, I hope Jean Paul II finds what he's looking for. I hope we all do.