There has been too much writing sans thought. Or outline for that matter. I am not a fan. Without any more ado...
Got back from skiing today. Amazing. Certainly makes me feel grateful for the opportunities presented to me. How can you not be thankful on top of a mountain (for pleasure)? With the season of lent coming to a close it seems that we have much to be thankful for. Money may be short, but friends are plentiful. Always plentiful.
I was having a conversation the other day about the rationality of religion. Is it possible to remove a diety from the picture and still find the organization useful? I would say yes. Its by far the simplest form of community, and there is nothing wrong with that. It teaches a set of values that are useful for making the community successful and thriving. That presupposes work and such is a preferred goal, but one im willing to admit. Religion has a purpose sans god and worship, and that is as an orginizational apparatus.
Does it lose its purpose without a diety to worship? probably. How then, do you keep intellegence, logic, and sanity within the community? Faith is a horrible excuse for an organization with huge potential for good. However, maybe you can rationalize thusly:
1. religions are founded on firstly a fundamental belief in a creator. a diety whose power is worthy of worship so as to appease or recognize.
2. Life, the jump from matter to what is defined as life, cannont be scientifically demonstrated.
With these two statements in mind, there is an impass. Science can show imperically, and with relative reason that many of the examples of faith are not 100% truth. However, we know these examples to uphold some of the greatest instutions man has made. Perhaps we can take the uncertainty of creation and say that LIFE itself is divine. If faith is an answer for lapse or absence of reason, this would be a good place to insert it. If you build religion for a respect for life overall, you may be able to rationalize religion in general.
