Religion does tend to appeal to the emotions, far more than the intellect, so those who might want to look at it objectively should step back and consider the processes at work.

The function of our minds is to sort signals from the noise. Presumably after weighing all the evidence and considering it carefully.

Yet all of us know that's not how it works. The mind is little more than a referee of the emotions and desires. Some demanding immediate gratification and some looking a little further ahead. What the taste buds want, is not always what the stomach wants, or needs.

Essentially those signals that most appeal to us are what we select, not necessarily the wisest. Then they become a habit, as the feedback kicks in.

The same factors play into the people we tend to hang with. Basically the ones on the same wavelength, with similar interests, the one's we have known a long time. It is essentially magnetic.

Yet the thing about magnetism is there is no attraction without repulsion.

So there tend to be in groups and outsiders.

Then as new generations grow up, they tend to follow older members they respect.

As this goes on for multiples of generations, various habits, rules, languages, codes, models, maps accumulate and it's culture. Then as different groups interact and find ways to balance and harmonize all the various groups, it becomes civilization.

Yet under all that, like the grain of sand at the center of a pearl, are those original myths and stories. The center of gravity.

As such, it is very powerful. If you want to be a member of the group, you have to believe and if you want to be a leader, you have to promote.

The most foundational belief in Western culture is in one God. Monotheism. That there is some omniscient omniscience looking down, permeating all of the universe, human activity, the world, whatever. An all-knowing absolute, in the words of Pope John Paul 2. Probably the most influential Pontiff in recent history.

Yet that is a contradiction.

The absolute, the universal, the state were all is one, is the most basic, the most elemental. Like a temperature of absolute zero.

While knowledge is those signals we select from all the cacophony of sounds/noise around us.

If we tried to take them all in, it would be just mush. Like all the colors added together is brown. Or too much light is whiteout. Remember magnetism? How do you have both attraction and repulsion mushed together? Though looking at some relationships and habits......

So is it possible to sense every possible signal in the noise? That would mean this God would have to be every point of view and every point of view in-between. Which would be whiteout.

Logically a spiritual absolute would be the essence of sentience, from which life rises, not an ideal of wisdom and judgement, from which it fell. More the light shining through and animating the film, than the stories playing out on it.

Which is an entirely different kettle of fish, than this Big Guy that's going to save the true believers.

That guy is an ideal. That locus of the community. The grain of sand at the center of the pearl. What you better believe, if not promote.

It is a very centripetal dynamic. What we would refer to as a rabbit hole. Plato's Cave.

All these nodes build up and break down across the network. Organisms in the ecosystem.

Harmonization balancing the synchronization.

Like galaxies are structure coalescing in, as energy radiates out.

Obviously to those sitting back and watching, Israel is definitely spiraling down some rabbit hole. Yet for those of us looking at the bigger picture, it's not the only rabbit hole out there, or even the largest one.

We have an economy based on printing money and running up debt to back it. Which is as much a doom loop as some drug addict needing ever stronger hits to get the same high. Just follow the gyrations of the Federal Reserve, as it tries to tame inflation, without blowing up all the economic activity built on low interest rates.

Israel might happily smash every Palestinian and swim in the blood, but what will take them down, is when the dollars they have a direct line on become worthless and only the most crazy are left. If World War 3 starts, it will be one of the ground zeros, but rabbit holes spiral down, not up.