Religion as Literature
“If every trace of any single religion were wiped out and nothing were passed on, it would never be created exactly that way again. There might be some other nonsense in its place, but not that exact nonsense. If all of science were wiped out, it would still be true, and someone would find a way to figure it all out again.”
Penn Jillette, as quoted here.
This is a very interesting argument, but it sounds more negative for religion than it really is. The very same could be said for any piece of great literature or any great painting; and people don’t usually go around calling the works of William Shakespeare or the paintings of Pablo Picasso “nonsense,” even if strictly speaking they are.