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@h2o
@Tynan
I think you're rather ignoring the fact that Chinese and Japanese are heavily metaphoric languages because of the way that they are constructed from symbols. A lot of things that sound a bit pretentious in English are plays on the difference in nuance between signifier and signified, which make a lot more sense in the original language. So I'm told by linguists who have studied them, at any rate: I don't claim to speak either.
As for the rest of your stuff on religion - erm, while I agree with you that the content of most religion is clearly irrational, the practice of using communally shared myths to maintain the cohesion of a group, enforce norms and provide a motivating force for collective action was, and still is, rational in a purely evolutionary sense - communities that work together effectively are more successful than those that don't. Admittedly we're still using mythologies created back when we were barely more than hunter-gatherers, but I guess that shows how effective they were.
Anyway, if you want people to stop believing in such superstitions you have to provide them with some other communal mythology to replace it, and as I'm sure you know some of our previous attempts (I'm thinking particularly about the period 1850-1950) were a little, well, bloody.
Regardless, simply pointing at religious doctrine and saying 'it doesn't make sense' isn't going to make any religious person give up their faith.