I think I know why so many people believe in god; it certainly makes things easier. Buddhism, true Buddhism, is hard work. Having to take responsibility for my own fate, advancing myself purely upon my own effort, not having the comfort of someone else who is watching over me and will make everything all right in the end. I think of monotheism as a child's view of the world, and Buddhism for adults.

Now to really make it anywhere in the U.S., your religion has to appeal to the military mindset (forget about the pacifist nature of real Christianity). So perhaps we should view the mind as an arrow, being trained to pierce. Buddhism as a way of sharpening the mind, intellect. The Buddhist as a mind soldier?