The wisdom men and women are capable of, doesn't show up much in conservative traditions of religion of 21st Century

Says the witch in Game of Thrones, "The night is dark and full of terrors."  Strong beliefs (easily corrupted) are the launching platforms of action. That explains a lot of the mayhem around the human planet of today, especially in regions rich with oil (and oil money), of strategic importance to ex-colonial powers and riven by religious conflict.  

But the source of the terrors and the darkness of ignorance are not what we hear or see on screen somewhere far away out there. They are deep - or not-so-deep - inside us!  Because traditional organized religion and its off-shoots are "out there", they can't help us much in saving our sanity, procuring for us a sustainable biosphere, and providing us with ethical standards of behavior. In fact they seem inclined instead to drag us into the "dark and full of terrors" regions. The religious founders and pious ancients are not really as helpful in making us intelligently moral beings as the philosophers of ancient Greece and China with their love of natural beauty, elevation of Reason, and penchant for critical social- and self-examination.                        (Picture by Severen, 6 y. o.)