Saturday, August 23, 2014

It's hard to believe this Sinatra interview is real

Seriously, this is old Blue Eyes? The following is allegedly from an interview with Sinatra in Playboy:
There are things about organized religion which I resent. Christ is revered as the Prince of Peace, but more blood has been shed in His name than any other figure in history. You show me one step forward in the name of religion and I’ll show you a hundred retrogressions. Remember, they were men of God who destroyed the educational treasures at Alexandria, who perpetrated the Inquisition in Spain, who burned the witches at Salem. Over 25,000 organized religions flourish on this planet, but the followers of each think all the others are miserably misguided and probably evil as well. In India they worship white cows, monkeys and a dip in the Ganges. The Moslems accept slavery and prepare for Allah, who promises wine and revirginated women. And witch doctors aren’t just in Africa. If you look in the L.A. papers of a Sunday morning, you’ll see the local variety advertising their wares like suits with two pairs of pants.
That's Sinatra talking? It sounds more like an atheist blogger. I find this almost unbelievable but apparently these really are Frank Sinatra's words. If so, he was a lot smarter and better educated than the world knew. There's much more at Jerry Coyne's web site. Go read it. You'll be glad you did.