As an athiest, I have to strongly disagree. I have never lost my awe and wonder of the world or outside the box thinking. For me life doesn’t need an ultimate meaning or destination, it just is and I appreciate and value it as it is. But if pressed for an explanation for “loving and awe inspiring things I sense and feel”, I’d say the logical explanation is energy, brain chemistry, all of these things and more can create love, euphoria, a sense of being at the same time at one with the universe and also such a small part of the whole. That it is “only” chemistry and energy at play doesn’t in any way lessen the magnificence of the experience. I just don’t call it God.

The concepts brought out by the new string theory posit the possibility of multitudes of dimensions, spaces, and universes. What we do not know is a quintillion to the quintillionth power of what exists.

My own quest for truth has cast out many of the demons that plague the doctrines of the Christian teachings I was raised with. I have little tolerance for proselytizing but have a thirst of what is over the next horizon. What happens at death?

Several years ago I produced a documentary film on people who had clinically died, been resuscitated, and who’s lives were dramatically changed by what they experienced during the death process. All those who I interviewed and others whom I listened to had one thing in common. There is something which they would call Holy, Glorious, Beautiful and Loving with such overwhelming intelligence and humor that they begged “IT” not to make them have to return back to earthly life. Somehow they were “willingly” convinced to come back because their life had a purpose and that they needed to finish their work.

I would recommend a work by Ken Ring called “Heading to Omega.” Ring carefully examines all aspects of this phenomena without trying to force God on the reader.

One has to examine all aspects of reality including the internal and mystical reports of credible people. Love does not exist. It cannot be measured or quantified, but it can be deduced from multitudes of experiencers. Go beyond non measurable love into the mystical experiences of many who cannot be convinced by any means that their experience of this “IT” or “God” is not real. Unfortunately the religions have corrupted the primal experience and it is rare to find a few to rise above religion to its true essence.

When one sees a person transfigured from fearful bitterness to outgoing love one can deduce by the measurable behavior that the story of this change has crediblitlity. Perhaps it doesn’t fit neatly into a test tube but it gives room for thought. A-Theism loses the childlike mind that thinks outside of the box, no longer with wonder lays on its back in tall grass looking into the starry universe and feeling an intuition of something larger–something bigger then we can yet understood. Not logic only but deep feelings of awe.

Also, I had brought back from a trip to India some of the Indian comics I love, featuring Hindu gods and goddesses in the classic myths, somewhat like superheroes. It’s great fun to see someone with four arms and her tongue hanging out discussing strategy with a blue guy holding a trident…

Ross decided from these that her favorite god was Ganesh.

Please don’t pray for me, do something useful instead:)

Of course, I have a lot of work to do on that, I’m not very tolerant of religious people doing there darndest to change the world to how they think, even though that’s just the way things work in our world.

In my experience, traditions get in the way of both reason and spirituality. I live in what is known as the “Bible Belt”, and am amazed at how my intelligent, educated coworkers (all classically trained scientists) will abdicate their responsibility for rational thought when an issue is brought up that their church has a position on.

For me, the “Golden Rule” is at the heart of living well with others: treat others as you would like to be treated. No religion necessary, thank you.