Wow, this is quite a discussion. I hadn't read this topic until today. I'm almost afraid to chime in, but here's my 2 cents.

About the original topic, I read a book quite a few years ago called "Pole Shift" (can't remember the author) and if I remember correctly, the jist of the book was that a sudden shift in the location of the magnetic poles caused the Earth to change it's position. This caused climate change all over the world, like floods, and tropical places on the equator were suddenly at the poles and became cold. I believe the book said a pole shift may have been the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs. The author's proof was a wooly mammoth that was found encased in ice and just before it froze to death, it had eaten fresh grass. The book also warned that another pole shift could occur again, and I think the author predicted one to happen around 2000. So, watch out, it could happen any day now.

My feelings about religions are that all religions are valid, and one is as good as another. In other words, I don't think there is one "true" religion. Religions are human interpretations of things we deem Divine. There are so many diferent religions in the world because there are so many different people in the world. Different people express their spirituality in different ways. And basically every religion has messed up somewhere along the line (the Crusades, killing in the name of God or Allah, etc), but they are still around because most people need to feel connected with the Divine in some way.

I call myself a Christian, am very active in my church, but the closest I feel to God is when I'm out looking at the stars.