The 'my God or the highway' approach

Everybody's got an opinion about God. They cherish their opinions, and they confuse their opinions with the truth. On a topic like God, the truth is by definition unknowable - except by divine revelation.

If you don't believe in divine revelation, you're pretty much up the proverbial narrow waterway these days. I myself am vaguely secular, which means I have some floaty idea of the natural world being capable of providing inspiration and life lessons.

But not much, not really. It's all just an impression. It doesn't take up much room in my head. I understand that a community of ritual might provide satisfying spiritual experiences. I have had, all by myself, meaningful spiritual experiences over the years. They did not make me think, "Oh, how wonderful is God." They made me think, "Oh, how wonderful is the human mind."

But I don't worship the human mind. I don't worship anything; I have character traits that I aspire to. Spiritual experiences can make me more ready to adopt those character traits. Insofar as religion does give people that kind of energy, I'm for it. Unfortunately, I see religion trading in another kind of energy, a my-God-or-the-highway kind of approach. I'm not fond of that.

I have no investment in my beliefs. They've changed over the years, but not much. I really don't care whether you believe what I believe or not. If you don't believe what I believe, you are not a bad person. "Belief system" is way down the list of criteria I use when choosing whom to hang out with.

However, the idea that the creator of the universe - the universe, mind you, the whole thing - cares personally about my private moral choices - I'm just not buying that part. The universe seems to have been born without a morality, with a cruel undertone of inevitable death and reduction to dust. That's the way it seems to me.

If it seems some other way to you, great. I am not proselytizing for my view, which in any event does not have many moving parts. It's not like a real religion, where there are wheels within wheels.

I understand the attraction of religion; I wish I could believe that there was an all-loving being that was going to carry me home after I died. But nothing suggests that's true. I wouldn't want to be judged harshly for failing to believe in something that is entirely unproven. I hope I would never do the same to you. I know that being vaguely secular is not as passionate a position as rejoicing in the word of God and his or her prophets, if any.

This is true: The doorbell just rang. It was two ladies from the Jehovah's Witnesses. They were nice, as they always are. They left a copy of Awake! with an article titled "Do You Need Organized Religion? The Bible's Viewpoint." Not surprisingly, the Bible says, yes, we do.

Was it a sign? There I was writing about how I didn't believe in God, and two nice messengers of God showed up at my door. How do you suppose they knew? Boy, a couple more coincidences like that and I'm going to sign up at my local something.

Be a great story if I converted. But no, that's not going to happen today. Pretty sure I'll have the same belief system this time tomorrow, no matter how many people God sends at me waving pamphlets.

A history of religion seems to suggest that, at some times and in some places, religion can be a malign force. People acting in its name can raise armies and start crusades. They can topple governments and impose their will on others. Thus the theocratic state, where the government and the holders of the revealed truth are the same people.

I worry from time to time that this country is drifting toward a theocracy. Certainly there are people in public life who would like that to happen. Interestingly, the theocrats in public life belong to several different Christian religions. If we become a theocracy, how ever would the Mormons settle up with the Roman Catholics?

Even in that area, diversity is our friend.

I know there are people who remain loyal to their church even when it is doing disturbing or inappropriate things. I think of the role of women in some of the patriarchal desert religions. I think the religious attitude toward women has done much to retard positive social change. As long they are second-class citizens in the church or mosque, they can't really be first-class citizens in society at large.

So I keep my little nature-loving soul to myself, and hope that religion does not yet turn this country toward totalitarianism.