You spoke this morning about looking at the universe as a beautiful

thing...that tiny speck we call earth, our home. The universe, our galaxy,

our solar system, our sun, the earth, which is millions upon millions of years

old...ostensibly created by this one God who is in total control.

 

Why earth? Why human beings? Why, in all this unfathomable vastness, a

microscopic dot and human beings even smaller than a dot? When did Adam and

Eve exist? This question is more than metaphor or allegory.
It is central to the issue. Was this before or after Neanderthal man and, really, at

what point did humans become human?

 

What was their failure that led to the concept of "original sin" that required a

savior? And why, after a few thousand years (actually many thousands of

years of the development of the human species...cave man and onward...was it

necessary to intervene to save man from himself in the form of a sacrificial

death...now of the very Son of God? It makes far more sense (again, using

logic and seeking the truth) to believe that the creation story of the

Bible, even as an allegory or a primitive myth, is no more viable than the

creation stories of American Indians or of hundreds of other people or faith

systems. I speak here not only of the Biblical creation story itself but of

the "fall of man" aspect built in to that myth.

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While we're asking such questions, why did an "omnisient" god decide on a

relatively small group of people in a small mid-east country to bring about this

"Savior" for the world...and not tell the rest of the people on the globe about this? 
And what about the fate of all those who lived before the time of this savior...to

say nothing of two-thirds of the world's population today who have grown up in

other faith systems, most never having heard of there being "no way unto the

Father but by me." (Jesus)

 

So, basically, faith, the substance of things hoped for, is little more than a

hope. Believing something doesn't necessarily make it so, no matter how strong the
belief or fervent the hope.

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But believing something that is verifiable, or based on scientific evidence is not just

"hoping," not just a matter of faith.  Furthermore, such scientific evidence

is subject to change as more evidence is uncovered. That’s good. It's never locked in to

an absolute. And an absolute is characteristic of religions, and has always

been thus. (I’d love to go into the idea of “believing something that is verifiable” in much

more detail, but will save that subject for another time.)

 

It's a story. There is virtually nothing more about the "fall of man" into a sinful state, the

need for redemption as provided by a benevolent God, than a story that

attempts to explain mankind's penchant for doing bad things.  It’s also bloody. Yes, and even
the "redemption" part of the story is bloody.

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Consider the "body of Christ, the blood of Christ still a part of the mass today.
All this because of the sin of "Adam" whose offspring for thousands of year following
are automatically sinful creatures. Such redemption sacrifices...of animals and even of people...were not

uncommon among ancient tribes of people of all parts of the world. (Consider the

Aztecs and, I'm sure, dozens of others as example.)

 

And what about God? Yes, this part of my thinking about this subject is only

speculation. First, I suspect there is a built-in part of the human brain

that evolved from man's desire to know the unknown. In the cave's firelight

he/she was spooked by the shadows on the wall, the fear of savage animals.

Danger lurked.  It was easy to accept the legends about the unknown. The

vagaries of weather, lightning, thunder, earthquakes, volcanos,

storms...surely all of this was controlled by unknown entities.

 

Not knowing led to more legends and myths. As brains evolved, a part of the brain

developed that became even more attuned to, yes, even things of beauty, such

as music, and even scenes in nature. I think we can be thankful for this

part of the mind that allows us, even today, to love, to appreciate beauty.

I believe that this aspect of the brain is the "spiritual" dimension to

which we refer. Some of us find immense satisfaction in specific forms of

music, for example. Unfortunately, this part of the brain can also lead some people to

religious experiences or acceptance by faith in concepts that offer

explanations and hope for living forever, for life after death, for seeing loved ones again, or for

healing of illnesses.

 

The unfortunate part of all this is that many people are still susceptible

to nonsensical myths, legends, and writings of ancient and primitive tribes.

People study diligently. They look to "sacred" books of Mormon, Islam, and

the Bible. They puzzle over this material and wonder how it could apply to

their lives today. Some accept the Bible, for example, as being inerrant and

are even more puzzled...coming up with amazing explanations...to explain

contradictions and the unexplainable. God seems to change from being largely

vengeful and hard to please in the Old Testament to becoming more of a God

of love and forgiveness in the New Testament. I hasten to say, however, that the

very concept of a hell of everlasting suffering was not Jewish in origin. Jesus

himself grabbed this notion and therefore set things up so that most Christians

of today believe that there are only two alternatives after one's death, heaven

or hell. Continuing the narrative, since God doesn't change, it must be that people's

concept of God has changed. That must be the answer!

 

But maybe the answer matters little. If the concept of God is indeed a

construct of the mind driven by an evolving part of the brain and passed on

over a million years...a construct that may very well have been started by

fear of the unknown, maybe it's time for another way of looking at this.

 

Could we possibly simply be thankful we have a "spiritual" dimension...a

dimension of the mind  that allows us to view beauty, hear beauty, feel the goosebumps,

weep at the glory of a sunrise, moonlight over a lake. Wow! What a wonderful

and refreshing part of the brain we possess and cherish!

 

At the same time, why must we hang with primitive and totally unfounded views based in

superstition and myth? We can find utterly amazing, mind-blowing discoveries

in nature, in biology, in anatomy, yes, and in music. From the microscopic to the infinity of

space, there is unfathomable richness to be found. I came across this quote from
Albert Einstein: "If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the
unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it."

 

There is marvelous freedom in rejecting the myths of religious faiths. I say

that even knowing that the Bible and other "sacred' books have interesting

legends, artistic prose, and all the rest.

 

The freedom of which I speak is not of license to do totally as I please. Mankind doesn't need ten

commandments or the law of Moses or even the "beatitudes" of Jesus to know that treating each other as we would like to be treated is a good idea.

 

Goodness, compassion, fairness and all such issues related to morality don't happen any better with religion, or those claiming God, than with those who simply understand things work better when we deal in civility.

 

While the Christian faith, for example, has brought about hospitals and, in some cases, the

discovery of a good many helpful ideas for mankind, it has also brought the Inquisition, dark ages, religious wars including the Crusades. Even Hitler claimed to be a Christian while killing seven million Jews. Slavery in America was not only condoned, but claimed as acceptable practice by many faithful Christians of the era who used the Bible for verification.

 

I'm aware that many people find comfort, companionship, and a sense of "belonging"
in their church. I certainly can't speak for all who claim Christianity, for example, but I feel certain
singing in their church choir, sharing common beliefs among friends, the repetition of
ritual from service to service, is reason enough to stay involved.  And that's to say
nothing of the totally social...the coffee hours as well as friendships made that result
in socializing together outside of church. Sharing of any experiences, especially those involving emotion, draws people together. From a personal viewpoint, I find much of the music, especially the choral music of the church, beautiful. The canon (as it is called sometimes) of sacred music is replete with virtually every composer of the art adding his or her contribution. The entire mass itself has been set to choral music thousands of times...and parts of it lifted for settings many more thousands of times.

 

I try not to begrudge, belittle, or make judgments against those who find comfort in their faith.
(I’m not always successful at that, especially those who are so “right” in their beliefs that
all the rest of us are automatically placed in the “heathen” category.)

I do find it difficult when individuals cast judgment on me for having come to the conclusion
that the "laws" of the ancient book and the use of my own thinking skills have led me to reject what they
believe and apparently hold so dear.

 

I also find it difficult to understand why "true" believers in the tenets of Christianity absolutely refuse to read and consider other possibilities. A faith system that is secure will certainly stand up under scrutiny of any sort.

 

I'm sorry that my discarding of the superstitions of our ancestors, ancient and late, means it'll make
family and some colleagues uncomfortable. (And, yes, I’m aware that calling these beliefs
superstitions is, in fact, a form of judgment. Sorry about that! But do look up the meaning of the very word "superstition."