Holy Hustlers

To make suppositions appear as facts
And justify theft so priests and nobility stay fat
To offer tribal groups a claim to universality
are "gifts" religion brings

To provide comfy answers to questions which are deep
then obscure hard facts with myths sounding sweet
To make phallocentric views appear as right
and justify mass slaughter as necessary fights
are "blessings" of which many religions sing

The world already has enough holy hustlers
selling various ideologies
Will you permit their propaganda to intoxicate you
or resist their soft-hued pleas?

Too many charlatans use every possible ruse
to make others spiritually seduced

But if you examine their evidence critically
how much is merely hot air & hustling?

Hear the author read this poem
[** K /.MP3 file]

Copyright (c) 1995, 2007 by T Newfields. All rights reserved.
www.tnewfields.info/Poeations/hh.htm
- 18 -

Carlos:	This sounds like a call to atheism.
Bruce:	No - I think it's healthy to look at every religious belief system with scrutiny. Too much nonsense takes place in the name of faith.
Anya:	Well if you are going to give your heart and soul to a given tradition, you better be sure you are making the right choice. Mature religions are not afraid of questioning.
Bruce:	Yes, but more often than not open questioning is condemned. Deep down, religious belief seems to result in some sort of ossification of the brain.
Devani:	It needn't be that way. . .