As all magical thinking is intrinsically devoid of reason, there’s precious little value in analyzing any particular mythology or component thereof. We know the human brain is hardwired to prefer simple to complex, and that we have no evolved mechanism for consistency-checking. We also know that we’re hardwired for false positives and to infer intention even when there’s no possible intention present. All superstitious impulses (and religion is merely organized superstition) are a consequence of our neural hardwiring and intellectual shortcomings. As someone wrote not so long ago, “There are few things less rewarding to the mind than the tedious banality of religious discourse.”

And frankly anyone who thinks that the folk myths of a group of neurotic ignorant goat-herders of 3,000 years ago could have any relevance whatsoever to any aspect of life today is beyond the reach of reason.

For a more complete exegesis, The Praying Ape is available on Amazon kindle.