Religion -- and Multi-cellularity

Multi-cellularity must have started as a sort of mutually beneficial alliance of cells against the wider world. Religion has some parallels. In both cases, though, once created, the multi-cellular organism takes on an identity and self-preserving purpose of its own.

The Palestinians represent a case in point. Once it became clear that Muslim solidarity would not save them from the invading Israelis, the best strategy for the Palestinians would probably have been to covert to Christianity and appeal to the Christian world for rescue. That strategy might have succeeded - or not, since at that point the dissed Muslim world would probably have allied with the Israelis against them.

Any crack-brained theories like that above ought to be subjected to more detailed examination. A case like that of the Sinhalese - Tamil conflict in Sri Lanka might be a good test. There, religion, language and ethnicity all intertwined in an intricate and only partially known history to produce one of the nastiest conflicts of recent times.

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