As human beings, we feel compelled to explain everything in our world. So reliant on language are we that we label and categorize everything in the physical and spiritual world. The drive to explain our environment is an innately human characteristic that not only hinders our understanding of that world, but also creates false preconceptions of the true nature of our reality! So, tell me, how is God any different than my imaginary friend?
Think about it. Can you see Fuzzy Freddie? He's sitting right beside me. He tells me not to hit my supervisor over the head with a frying pan, so I don't. He tells me that stealing olives from the olive bar is wrong, so I don't. Right now, he's dictating every word that I write. Can you prove me wrong? Can you say, for sure, that he isn't sitting here right now telling me what to say? No, you can't. I think organized religion is very similar. God supposedly tells us what is right and wrong, and also, he supposedly wrote the bible through its mortal authors. Doesn't this seem a bit fishy ( and not in a Episcopal way) to anyone else?
I believe in science. I have a certain amount of faith, and in my gut I know that my spiritual beliefs are valid. Yet, I also know that they are nothing more than speculation. Can anyone, beyond a shadow of a doubt, tell me what happens when I die? Can the Pope really paint me a picture of what God looks like? Religious beliefs, actual organzied precepts of God, are flawed in the sense that they are empirically unprovable. Schools of thought, like Buddhism, Taoism, and some of the other Eastern Philosophies, hold more weight for me. They do so because they are philosophies, not religions! There is an interesting notion in Zen Buddhism ( I don't remeber the term for it ) that basically sums up what I'm trying to say... The more you try to explain the unknown, the further it moves away from you. For every active step you take towards gaining enlightenment, enlightenment takes two steps away from you. Gnaw on that for a while...
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