I don't have a scientific or deep philosophical answer about religion and God in general. I haven't taken endless hours of university classes about mythology, theology, psychology, or any other ologies, I went to business school instead. I haven't read a bunch of books regarding other peoples ideals or theories because I don't want anything to influence me one way or the other. I'd like for my conclusions to be my own, and I've come to a few of them largely on my own.
I believe that there most likely HAS TO be a deity of some form. If you really sit down and think about it, it seems almost obvious, at least to me. I'm not saying that what I am saying is exactly right, but I think it's on the right track. Just look at our Milky Way Galaxy. Look at how little we actually understand, look at how far it reaches, and everything that exists within it. I have a hard time believing that it's all an accident, or that a singular explosion is responsible for the existence of all these things just within our own small part of the cosmos.
I find it too coincidental that everything works in perfect harmony, and that if one thing were not scientifically perfect down to the smallest atom or microbe that it would all come undone. I don't want to call it "intelligent design" but it does seem rather BY design. The odds of chance creating all of this and it all just happening to fall perfectly in line to allow everything to function in harmony with everything else is theoretically impossible.
Going beyond the tiny part of the universe we call home, it is all the more baffling. Think of the endless and infinite reaches of space, think of the worlds beyond worlds, and countless universes that we know exist but can't really look into. I have a harder time believing that it's all for nothing, created by chance and mere coincidence, than believing that some kind of divine force must have brought all of it into being some how. I also accept that as a mere human being of flesh and bone, that with my limited understanding in the grand scheme of things, I could never understand everything that lies beyond it or truly comprehend the reality of it. It goes too far beyond human logic and understanding. We don't really know anything about it, all we have is theory. We don't know what actually lies beyond the other side of the galaxy outside of our little Milky Way system, we can see it, but we know next to nothing about it. I have a feeling we aren't supposed to either.
This brings me to religion. I don't agree with a lot of things that revolve around religion as it's been developed throughout history. I don't agree entirely with any one religion over the other, and I don't think anyone has really got it entirely right, not by a long shot. I do believe however, that man has communicated with whoever or whatever the deity is. If you look at all the religions through time, they aren't all that different from one another across the board. If you've payed attention, they almost all teach the same lessons and hold up the same values ultimately. I find it hard to believe that this too is coincidence. We even see some of the same stories changed to fit different religions through time as they travel through different civilizations, and people try to make them make sense to the people they are telling them to.
Considering that people too far apart to collaborate on developing systems of religion all came up with largely the same ideas, and all of them say they come from God seems too deliberate. I think that God tried to give his message to humanity, but that mans intervention in that process corrupted that message which is where you see in all religions, the clear motives of man through history. I think that everyone got the same message for the most part, but due to geographical and cultural differences around the world, they were all interpreted differently, bringing about different religions. It's like the game "telephone", by the time the message gets around to the last person, it's not the same as when the first person gave the message, everyone tells it to the next one differently. So we have different adaptations of the same principles spread throughout the world forming these different religions. Add into that the different motivations of man through time and it's not that hard to see how some of it became convoluted, contradictory, confusing, or corrupt in many ways.
I believe that there is something of value and truth to be taught from virtually any religion as a result, and value the messages from them as I believe that beneath the ink, and beneath the bullshit that was thrown in through time, the truth is there. That truth being, that God, by whatever name you call him, whatever form he takes, does exist and did want man to know to some extent that he does. The whole problem is that if man knew without any doubt that God did indeed exist, there would be no point in faith, and no strength in it either. It wouldn't be faith it would be fact, and it would ultimately destroy what we know as "Free Will", because once you KNEW God existed and that what man has said about God was true, there wouldn't be much negotiating about right and wrong, morality and immorality, the lines would be clearly drawn for everyone, and it would be pure ignorance or insolence to disobey whatever the word of God was. It wouldn't take anything more of a person because they would then know for certain what the outcome of their actions would be and that there most certainly were consequences for those actions. As it is, you just have to have faith, you just have to trust in whatever it is that your religion says about God and what is right and wrong, you must battle temptation not to do the things you are told are wrong, and it takes more to do it because you don't know for sure, all you can do is have faith. No one ever said you have to agree with all of what religion tries to teach you, but it is at the least, wise to have faith.
I believe that there most likely HAS TO be a deity of some form. If you really sit down and think about it, it seems almost obvious, at least to me. I'm not saying that what I am saying is exactly right, but I think it's on the right track. Just look at our Milky Way Galaxy. Look at how little we actually understand, look at how far it reaches, and everything that exists within it. I have a hard time believing that it's all an accident, or that a singular explosion is responsible for the existence of all these things just within our own small part of the cosmos.
I find it too coincidental that everything works in perfect harmony, and that if one thing were not scientifically perfect down to the smallest atom or microbe that it would all come undone. I don't want to call it "intelligent design" but it does seem rather BY design. The odds of chance creating all of this and it all just happening to fall perfectly in line to allow everything to function in harmony with everything else is theoretically impossible.
Going beyond the tiny part of the universe we call home, it is all the more baffling. Think of the endless and infinite reaches of space, think of the worlds beyond worlds, and countless universes that we know exist but can't really look into. I have a harder time believing that it's all for nothing, created by chance and mere coincidence, than believing that some kind of divine force must have brought all of it into being some how. I also accept that as a mere human being of flesh and bone, that with my limited understanding in the grand scheme of things, I could never understand everything that lies beyond it or truly comprehend the reality of it. It goes too far beyond human logic and understanding. We don't really know anything about it, all we have is theory. We don't know what actually lies beyond the other side of the galaxy outside of our little Milky Way system, we can see it, but we know next to nothing about it. I have a feeling we aren't supposed to either.
This brings me to religion. I don't agree with a lot of things that revolve around religion as it's been developed throughout history. I don't agree entirely with any one religion over the other, and I don't think anyone has really got it entirely right, not by a long shot. I do believe however, that man has communicated with whoever or whatever the deity is. If you look at all the religions through time, they aren't all that different from one another across the board. If you've payed attention, they almost all teach the same lessons and hold up the same values ultimately. I find it hard to believe that this too is coincidence. We even see some of the same stories changed to fit different religions through time as they travel through different civilizations, and people try to make them make sense to the people they are telling them to.
Considering that people too far apart to collaborate on developing systems of religion all came up with largely the same ideas, and all of them say they come from God seems too deliberate. I think that God tried to give his message to humanity, but that mans intervention in that process corrupted that message which is where you see in all religions, the clear motives of man through history. I think that everyone got the same message for the most part, but due to geographical and cultural differences around the world, they were all interpreted differently, bringing about different religions. It's like the game "telephone", by the time the message gets around to the last person, it's not the same as when the first person gave the message, everyone tells it to the next one differently. So we have different adaptations of the same principles spread throughout the world forming these different religions. Add into that the different motivations of man through time and it's not that hard to see how some of it became convoluted, contradictory, confusing, or corrupt in many ways.
I believe that there is something of value and truth to be taught from virtually any religion as a result, and value the messages from them as I believe that beneath the ink, and beneath the bullshit that was thrown in through time, the truth is there. That truth being, that God, by whatever name you call him, whatever form he takes, does exist and did want man to know to some extent that he does. The whole problem is that if man knew without any doubt that God did indeed exist, there would be no point in faith, and no strength in it either. It wouldn't be faith it would be fact, and it would ultimately destroy what we know as "Free Will", because once you KNEW God existed and that what man has said about God was true, there wouldn't be much negotiating about right and wrong, morality and immorality, the lines would be clearly drawn for everyone, and it would be pure ignorance or insolence to disobey whatever the word of God was. It wouldn't take anything more of a person because they would then know for certain what the outcome of their actions would be and that there most certainly were consequences for those actions. As it is, you just have to have faith, you just have to trust in whatever it is that your religion says about God and what is right and wrong, you must battle temptation not to do the things you are told are wrong, and it takes more to do it because you don't know for sure, all you can do is have faith. No one ever said you have to agree with all of what religion tries to teach you, but it is at the least, wise to have faith.
