Maybe we should stop looking outward for deities, and look inward, instead.

[MineralMan]

What are the attributes of a typical deity? Awesome power. Omnipresence. The ability to materially affect each of our lives.

I suggest a look at this candidate: Escherichia coli. Unnoticed by mortals, and unseeable by humans throughout most of history, this underestimated bacterium has the attributes of typical deities.

Without one or more strains of this and other god-like bacteria, each of which may be a deity in itself, we could not live. We could not digest our food, and would waste away and die. We owe our very lives to E. coli and other god-like bacteria that live in our guts.

E. coli is everywhere and within all of us. In fact, almost all vertebrate creatures carry billions of this microscopic deity around with them all of their lives.

E. coli has the awesome power to enable life or cause death. Good strains work symbiotically inside us to our benefit. Evil strains, however fight regularly with the beneficial ones and can cause disease and death.

Primitive man had no way to detect these deities, and had to believe without evidence. Even today, most people have never seen E. coli, due to their human limitations.

E. coli is within you and without.

____________________________________________

Note: I have just signed up for "my own column" on the Science 2.0 website. I'm considering posting this scientific theory there, and believe it will shed new light on scientific side of religious belief.

[Pope George Ringo II]

1. It's not a religion unless you can figure out a way to fleece the faithful

I would suggest this is a crappy way to make a living.

[MineralMan]

2. Are you unfamiliar with probiotics?

For a paltry tithe, you, too, can ingest these deities by the billion in a daily ritual. Available in multiple forms, depending on your denomination, they help ensure good health, mental wellness and offer many advantages to the believer.

To learn more about probioticism, simple search Google for probiotics. You will find many houses of worship who can supply you with a customized blend of deific bacteria.

[Pope George Ringo II]

3. It's a start

But you're also going to need a varied revenue stream to haul in the big bucks beyond just the regular contributions. Sooner or later, one of your faithful is going to have a very guilty conscience and you're going to need an extreme way to relieve him of his wallet, er guilt. I'm just saying you shouldn't make any more enemas than necessary.

[MineralMan]

5. Well, you just have to recruit a downline of new believers.

As a Platinum Level Distributor, you'll receive royalties for every bottle of deities sold to prospective probioticians by your downline. It's foolproof, and we can show you a long list of our own downline distributors, and our balance sheet to prove the success of our religious marketing plan.

[randr]

4. My thoughts on the latest mass murdering

It was people of faith who led the civil rights movement and it was the organized efforts of most American religious institutions who took to the streets every Sunday following services that led to the end of the Viet Nam debacle.
America used to look to our religious leaders for moral guidance. The shootings of John, Martin, and Bobby and all the unrest that followed brought forth a new breed of supposed "Christian" dogma. The rabid zealots with their divisive social platforms reared their collective ugly heads and took control of a political party and the division began. That same party has now become so morally bankrupted that it was fairly easy for a foreign entity to take control of it while still pushing the same buttons that filled hearts with hatred.
The shooting in a house of worship only brings the whole issue home to roost. I believe one way out of this predicament is for unity and leadership from within the religious community. Some authority must arise that reminds us all of how our political ideals and our moral tenets are entwined in the real fabric that make us a great nation once again.

[MineralMan]

6. Perhaps you should sign up with Science 2.0 to disseminate

your social sciences articles. The site has a section for that area of science, which is one I have little knowledge of.

[Iggo]

7. Or stop looking for deities, period.

[DavidDvorkin]

8. E's everywhere, innit?

[MineralMan]

9. LOL!