Always good advice, and please note that references for my Spinoza observations were provided.
By the way. Thank you, Goldhammer, for leading me to Spinoza. About him, Christian also wrote (page 379): "For Spinoza, reason is the trustworthy path to truth, however much it may come into conflict with authoritarian claims."
Knowing that about Spinoza helps to explain why he was formally excommunicated from the Jewish faith, why his work was banned by Christians, and why "... religious opposition to his ideas was so virulent." (Ibid, page 381)
One thing all men might learn from the past millennium -- highlighted by 11 September 2001 events -- is that the infalliblity lock religions claim over matters "moral" should be denounced for what it is; a lie.
Vaya con Dios.
Reason can lead to discovery of the falsehood of authoritarian claims. But reason alone cannot always lead to the truth, and does not lead to morality.
Thinktwice - you're all bunched up about 9/11 and religion. Many claim to speak God's truth, and are in conflict with each other. That does not mean, automatically, that none of those claims may not be true. Morality cannot be derived by reason. It can come from God, it can come from our hearts, it can come from teachers. It cannot come from reason. (Because to construct morality from reason [Rand's futile exercise], you need to have underlying ideas of what is good and what isn't (as she did). Most people who believe in God and accept His claims on moral truth, have strong inferential reasons for doing so. There's no proof, granted. But for most, the weight of the evidence favors that approach. That's why 90-some % of the world believes in God, and 1/3 of all humanity is Christian.