I won't argue the flaws within the content of your post here for I suspect that we both have studied much about religions, humanity, values and such.

I suspect, also, that what you have probably not studied is cultural conditioning or the commonalities of religions from a disinterested, i.e. objective point of view.

Of course, I can't know, though I could certainly question, with evidence, the lauding of the men known as Jesus or Mohandas K Gandi.

A major problem of what is understood by most to define 'faith' is that their understanding is flawed. Faith, for the vast majority, is more akin to fandom. In other words, it is a conditioned response that is reinforced by peers as fanatical as themselves and just as manipulated by those who seek to profit from their ignorance and foolishness.

However, I respond here because:

* as tritely nonsensical a reason it is, someone who chooses to write as 'Fred', has to have at least one foot on the ground;

* in expressing disagreements with me, you did so with at least a modicum of what might be called 'argument' (in the sense of discussion as opposed to heated debate);

* despite their being some clear differences in how we view humanity and its fancies, you were polite, clear, able to use the language coherently and did not resort to abuse;

and

* you dared me to follow you.

That latter reason still gives me some ambivalence & discomfort for I consider 'dares' to be nefarious devices that are almost always, (perhaps more often than not), made to mock, shame, demean or otherwise humiliate a person - usually in front of others - on the basis that the originator expects or even is certain that the victim will be reluctant to accept the challenge for whatever reason and even if that reason is perfectly valid, will be seen to 'lose face' and 'less than', should they refuse to fall for what is a crude & often cruel ploy - generally also used by those who themselves are the real cowards. (No, I am not suggesting that you are a coward in this instance, in fact I suspect that you were attempting a friendly humour.)

Unfortunately, I have a strong appreciation of language and a strong social conscience and care for the disadvantaged. The result is that I readily see the influence of how one can affect the other and how it does so, more often than not, extremely negatively and often also by deliberate intention.

Today, (perhaps always, I can't know), language is increasingly debased and used carelessly, either from low levels of literacy or, and I think more often, from laziness, the influence of the United States on English speaking nations and a modern society that confuses superficial understanding with actual communication; puerile playground sparring as rational argument; a pervasive ignorance that regards punctuation or grammar as an obsolescent nuisance and some unfathomable notion that there is nothing worth saying that cannot be said by the invention of an initialism, acronym, cryptonym or other assembly of letters probably understood, (at least for some time), by relatively few.

The result is an appalling and saddening loss of nuance, precise meaning, avoidance of misunderstanding, loss of well constructed speech or writing and a despairing lack of elegance to most of what we hear or read.

As you can see, I also say too much. I think too much. I have done so from the time that I first discovered that amazing experience as being something over which I had a degree of control, as opposed to it just being there. It coincided closely with, at around 3 years old, my introduction to the concept of having to work in exchange for others giving me the necessities of physical life. From that time I read, (though that is perhaps too grand a term for my initial excursions into the world of letters), to my grandmother, each day, from a large, King James version, family bible. It was an eye opener and led me, as an interest, to explore religions throughout my life. It was a chore and a trial, too. However, on balance, it meant that I was literate by the time I entered school at the age of 5 years. 'Blessings' are not a concept that I consider sensible or realistic, but if I were to use the word it would probably be in relation to that introduction to language and literature. I say that because it allowed me, at a very early age, to recognise that schooling is not education and that learning is not about answers.

Understanding those facts has allowed me to use what intellect and/or intelligence and experiences I have had as vehicles for learning. Accordingly, though a vast distance from expertise of any kind or possession of even a minute amount of knowledge, I do think - an ability, I regret to say, that seems to be fast disappearing from the human race and, perhaps, one of the main reasons that humanity is unlikely to see out another century, let alone another millennium. - So, in yet another contradiction to my usual practice, let me finish this missive by stating categorically that, there will be no supreme deity to prevent this event. Humanity will disappear as it came, not through a 'creator' but out of whatever exists and to which it will return.

So, I have followed you and sincerely will that my action gives you some pleasure or satisfaction.

take care. stay safe. ☮️