Chrome, I must take exception to the blindly following. Although I was raised Catholic, I thought much like you about religion was simply a device to control people too ignorant to see through it etc. It wasn't until I started noticing that something was missing from my life, and that the devout Catholics in my life all seemed to have it. Like you, I am a man of science (engineering to more precise). It is my analytical mind that made it hard to accept what the Church was teaching, but also by taking the analysis a step further it became obvious to me that the universe is far to complex to be an accident. As I studied more about the Church I was brought up in, I began to see the consistency of the Church's teachings and how they fit into my world and more specifically into my life. The more I learn about the whys, the more I strive to accept the rules put forth by the church, and I still struggle with them. My point is that I couldn't blindly follow, and didn't. It wasn't till I stepped back and questioned the teachings AND listened to the answers that I grew to appreciate them and accept them. Yes there are many people who blindly follow, and I am in many ways envious of their blind faith. It took me much more convincing before I got to where I could take the leap of faith, and I am by no means complete in that leap either. Unfortunately, I think the Catholic Church does an incredibly poor job of teaching the faith, and as a result there is an incredible amount of misinformation and disillusioned Catholics out there.
