SCRIPTURES, n. The sacred books of our holy religion, as distinguished from the false and profane writings on which all other faiths are based.

This interesting definition was penned by Ambrose Bierce in his classic satirical book, The Devil's Dictionary. It's probably one of the most accurate and perceptive things he ever wrote, particularly in view of the rise in religious intolerance in the world today. Fundamentalist Christians tend to believe in the absolute, literal word of God as expressed in the Bible (although they have, for the most part, managed to step back from some of the more hideous punishments sanctioned in Deuteronomy). Unfortunately, the Islamic world hasn't yet found the ability to step back from anything. It seems that if you are not a Muslim, and if you so much as breathe in the vicinity of a Koran so that bacteria in your infidel breath land on it, you deserve death...as you do for a whole host of other transgressions, from the horrific sin of wanting to worship in a different faith ("apostasy"), to adultery (but only if you have also committed the unforgiveable sin of being a woman).

As you may have gathered from my accumulated posts, I am not a particularly religious person, in the sense that I have chosen not to align myself with a specific faith. Do I believe in God? I think I do. But I don't believe in God as defined by any of a series of competing texts written under questionable conditions in a desert more than a thousand years ago. Especially when I consider that absolute, literal belief in a particular religious text grants anyone the ability - indeed, the duty - to kill me if I don't believe exactly as they do.

We've just started into Daylight Savings Time by turning our clocks ahead an hour. Unfortunately, the world is full of people who would chose to turn their clocks - and yours - back hundreds of years. And I'm afraid it's going to get worse before it gets better.

But for now, the weekend forecast is for pleasant weather, and I'm looking forward to working in my yard and admiring the beauty of land and sky, plants, animals and birds. And you don't have to worship from any particular book to admire the handiwork of a higher power in all of that.

Have a good weekend. More ruminations tomorrow.

Bilbo