It is not without irony that I borrow the structure of the title from Friedrich Schleiermacher's book "On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultures Despisers." This book, written in 1799, was meant to be a response to those who had been influenced by the Enlightenment and concluded that Religion itself causes nothing but conflict and is unnecessary. What made them come to that conclusion? Our history is riddled with grave mistakes that had Religion as one of their primary influences. The Enlightenment was an age where logic and reason could conquer all problems with an almost Biblical resolve. No longer were any old books required or men who preached about spirituality – rather the philosopher, the scientist and the reasoned man with a bit of common sense were hailed as the ones who could explain the world around us. Schleiermacher, while not minimizing the importance of Enlightenment advances, felt that Religion had gotten a bad rap. Religion itself cannot be indicted for the maladies of history, he argued, but rather man's misuse and misunderstanding of that Religion. Religion is something every man is born with and every man experiences some Religious feelings – but not all men act or interpret them in the ways they cry out to be. Oftentimes those feelings are utterly suppressed in men until they no longer have them. Even though the world now accepted a particular way to think and feel, Schleiermacher believed Religion was something innate in every man and could not be nor should it be denied. Religious feelings can manifest themselves in wonderful ways and he thought it was tragic that people had come to accept Religion as being something artificial chosen by some for various reasons.
             Subtle my point may be, I could not help but draw parallels to the contemporary discussion of Gay Marriage. Many who believe it is "wrong" trumpet their theories that homosexuality is something on the surface tha...