Originally Posted by Shap

Hey Mitch!

I remember Beth telling me she had a psychology class that was devoted to the belief of religion and examining those who do and those who don't believe in it. And from a psychological standpoint those who believe in some sort of God benefit more than those who don't. The belief in the possibility of their being a greater force is more powerful psychologically than not believing in anything.

I always think of Holyfield. I don't think he was necessarily the best fighter when he was champ but he always seemed to believe that God was behind him and he seemed almost blinded by that belief.

Also, when I lived in the Bahamas I saw first hand how important it is to society to have religion. It was the first time I witnessed why it is necessary to have poor people believe in a higher power. Religion gives extremely poor people a reason to be good people. The people we saw were so poor they lived in tents and had absolutely nothing and yet spent their days working on million dollar homes doing shit work with no food and just a jug of water in the blazing Bahamas heat. I strongly believe religion is what kept those people from stealing as much as they could from their clients. Jail isn't enough of a deterrent when you have absolutely nothing.