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Howard Zinn on Mark Twain, Helen Keller, others and history.
Two Different Opinions and Beliefs on Religion 
Mark Twain on Religion~
“Zeal and sincerity can carry a new religion further than any other missionary except fire and sword.” Mark Twain
“In religion and politics people’s beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing.”–Mark Twain
“Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion–several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn’t straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother’s path to happiness and heaven…The higher animals have no religion. And we are told that they are going to be left out in the Hereafter. I wonder why? It seems questionable taste.”–Mark Twain
Helen Keller’s Religion~
…To conclude, Light in My Darkness is a kind of “spiritual memoir” describing Helen Keller’s lifelong connection to the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Readers were divided by those impressed by her faith and those disappointed that the famous deafblind activist advocated Swedenborgianism rather than a more “mainstream” religion.
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The world would be better without religion, because all you really need is love. 
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…and here I was being selective off that album, as I thought it was supposed to be in the title…
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It was how I was posting as well, but a request was made… 
১১.
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The scriptures of Christianity sanctioned the enslavement of Africans. Despite the scriptures of the Bible being an operational and instructional manual for the killing and enslavement of humans, including children–one of the few, truly enjoyable, emotion/spirit uplifting and redeeming by-products of Christianity is gospel music, ironically when performed by the African-American descendants of slavery.
Lionel Richie from the funeral service of Michael Jackson.
Next:
“How I Got Over”–performed by the Queen of soul, Aretha Franklin and the Southern California Community Choir, conducted by the late great, Reverend James Cleveland.
Note: Background information on this song, which proclaims what African-Americans had to go through, in order to survive–and how many African-Americans survived because of a belief in God; the perils of terrorism, violence, brutal and sadistic KKK type racism in America.
According to her sister, Willa Ward, the inspiration for this song was an experience Clara Ward, Willa, their mother, Gertrude, and members of their singing group had traveling in the racially segregated South in 1951. En route to Atlanta, Georgia, they were besieged by a group of white men. The men were enraged that Black women were riding in a luxury vehicle (a Cadillac), and surrounded their car and terrorized them with racist taunts. The women were rescued when, in a burst of inspiration, Gertrude Ward feigned demonic possession, spewing curses and incantations at the men, who fled…
Nothing like a great gospel choir, lead singer and appropriate accompanying instrumentals.
“My Soul Looks Back and Wonder, How I Got Over”
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𝍠𝍭.
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Not many dry eyes in the church after this moving performance by R. Kelly, at the funeral of Whitney Houston.
R. Kelly performing Whitney Houston’s 2009 song “I Look to You”
You drive me out of my wits when you do that Shih-Tzu
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