Sauron Vs. Gandalf

Most likely because of my recent tryst with Paradise Lost, I have thinking a lot about God lately. And the many religions that are all subjugated by this one, or more than one all powerful being(s) that created us all. I was born a Christian. So I am expected to hold Christian beliefs. However, I could just as easily been born a Hindu in India, or a Muslim. And then I would be expected to follow that religion, and their beliefs. A person's belief is all based on the toss of a coin, their location on the globe, their family, and the influences around them decide what religion they will follow. It is not a conscious decision, but more of a fate. From the second a person is born, in a very religious family, no matter the denomination, they are brain washed with that religion's believes and practices, completely unable to see another person's views without a bias. Wars are fought over trying to force a populace to believe in a religion that is different than theirs, millions have died, over something that should have, if it was utilized in the way it was meant to be, spread only peace and acceptance. Religion does the opposite of this ideal, and only turns those of differing religions against each other. It is a conundrum, that will probably never be solved. For what would happen to the world without all of these religions? It would fall to ruin, for people need order, and a set of rules, to be able to keep from falling over the ever-present precipice between good and evil.
The first book that ever made me ponder the idea that humans are inherently evil, and only order and society keep them from the evilness of their true natures was Lord of the Flies. In it, Golding represents human nature at its most basic form; in a group of boys too young to have been morphed wholly by society's expectations dropped on an island to fend for themselves. The boys eventually succumb to savagery, with a light leader leading the few that refuse to succumb to their dark side. The book provides an interesting look at human nature, and although Golding's novel is not a true story, I believe it does an effective job in displaying human nature at its most basic. Society is necessary to keep humans from succumbing to this savagery, and so is religion. For, in truth, the world is raw and cold; for many, the thought of a God sitting up in his cloud-land of heaven watching over them in specific, watching over them and protecting them, is a shield from feeling the truth of how alone we all really are on this Earth. At least that is how I used to think about it. But recently I have begun to think that although I don't believe in 'God' in the general sense, I do believe their is something 'Godly' within all of us, and that we each have the chance to seize it or push it down into the depths of our darkness. This may just be my buffer to the world, but I would like to think that there is good in all of us, along with all of the bad.