How can you be informed and still believe in a benevolent higher power??

I just don't get it. I try, and try, but honestly- look at the simmering cesspool of hate, unchecked aggression, unbelieveable brutality, and unapologetic atrocities in the world... and tell me there is some higher power that could give a single iota of caring about the creatures that inhabit this planet, human or otherwise.





:shrug: :shrug:
:shrug: :shrug:
:shrug: :shrug:

..is Myself and other kind, Caring human beings (Mostly Left-Leaning)

People have it and are free to make a royal mess of things.

That does not affect my belief in a higher power.

I don't believe in God myself, but what you said puts down the argument that God wouldn't allow bad things to happen.

There are other reasons I don't believe in God, but I'd rather let people make up there own minds and not try to convince them of things they don't want to think about.

To each, their own. That's my motto.

What baffles me is that the concept of free will flies in the face of all the pontificating, praying, worhipping, and talk of "god's plan".

if you are free to do whatever you like, then what possible reason would you have to pray, or invoke the age old "mysterious ways" adage? if a higher power chose to intervene to affect the outcome of whatever decisions you make then you no longer have free will.



I also can't wrap my mind around this "delayed justice" concept. "go ahead and kill 4,000 people in this life, but i'll make you pay later on for it" wtf is that about? stop them from doing it in the first place!


how many millions dead in the holocaust? and people still pray after a good superbowl game.. how fucking stupid is that?

but I don't think our religion says anything about a "plan". We believe that the Messiah will not come to bail humanity out of a jam, but rather as a reward when humanity has become sufficiently good to deserve his presence. Therefore, we believe, it is our job as Jews (although anyone else is certainly welcome to help :) ) to help humanity improve itself. It is called "Tikkun Olam"- translated into English as "repairing the world".

Jews also believe in earthly punishment for sins.

Speaking personally, I do believe in an all-powerful and just God. I believe that God *can* stop any act and that God doesn't actively cause injustice. However, if God were to stop all evil from happening then there would be no point in individuals choosing good over evil.

I hope that makes some sense, goodness knows I'm no Rabbi or theologian.

I don't know the answer except I know I have had miraculous things happen that can't be explained and prayers answered. Now whether they are a coincidence or not I can't say, I just have faith that they were answered prayers. Maybe one has free will even to pray and ask for a change in the course of actions that occur on earth. Maybe some things will happen no matter what you pray. I'm still trying to figure that out.

Another thing we talked about was about Judas and how Jesus knew he would betray him and how he knew Peter would deny him 3 times????

There's probably an answer somewhere inbetween the two beliefs.

I also have belief in the karma and yin-yang theories. There are certain laws of physics set forth within this world and I think the energy of violence and love also have physical properties as well. There is so much we still don't understand. I hope to find out in the hereafter!

By the way, I love the Chomsky avatar!
hrd

LOL can you explain to me how it works, then? What's the definition of free will?

i understand what the poster was referring to..

jeez..
:eyes:

This is the place where we have a choice on everything. Leave it to ourselves to screw it up and my belief is that we will. I would go further but probably be deemed a crazy person. Some lessons are hard learned. Some people get it but many people don't. You must get it or you wouldn't be asking these kinds of questions, my friend!:hug:

Why didn't he intervene and save the 11 servicemen that got killed today? If there is a disaster and 100 people get killed it is God's
will or if say the tornado doesn't touch down God prevented it. Either way God intervened. I remember Pat Roberson praying for a hurricane to hit Florida instead of Virginia Beach because they had gay day at Disney World, are these people sick or what?

that is all that really matters

and the knowledge to detect the possible causes for them
have much to do with a logical argument against ghosts.

The belief in the supernatural falls under it's own weight for anyone that is willing or able to accept the truth of reality rather than
cuddle with the illusion of there being more to life than the life itself.

... because of their uncritical acceptance of anything Rush says, even though he presents half-truths, misleading statements and outright falshoods, as much at it bothers me that people don't take the time to check the facts themselves, but go on endlessly repeating the PNAC dogma and slogans that Rush drills into them, it annoys me even more when people just as uncritically accept the CSICOP party line even though it is riddled with half-truths, misleading statements and outright falsehoods, without checking the facts for themselves.

As a former hard-line skeptic when I started catching the vaunted Skeptical Inquirer in one falsehood after another presented only to hammer home their flawed dogmatic party line, I decided to examine the facts for myself. James Randi has an AWEFUL LOT in common with G.W.B. He has a dogmatic axe to grind and he can't be trusted to present a balanced picture of the facts. I was a fool to swallow their propaganda. As much as I like the comfortable feeling of certainty that comes with that kind of "we know everything" dogma (be it religious fundamentalism or "materialstic" fundamentalism) I won't make that mistake again.

Materialistic monism is not the only viable metaphysics. There are rational alternatives. To paraphrase Dr. Ian Stevenson of the University of Va., we haven't proven that the supernatural exists, but we have established beyond all doubt that belief in the possibility such things IS NOT irrational.

What scientist in his right mind would believe in the possibility of the supernatural? Planck, Bohr, de Broglie, Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Einstein, Pauli, Jordan, von Weizsacker, Wigner, von Neuman, Newton, ... and (gasp!) Carl Sagan (to mention but a few). (specific quotes on request)

something in the reply from moof ?

there are tons of things that are not explainable at the current time. I understand where you're coming from and you've made some good points. I'm open to all sorts of beliefs, i'm just not willing to buy the benevolence of any one force that acts upon our lives or our world.

I always think of that song. How many millions of people have been killed in the name of religion. We have a religious nut case as pResident now who thinks God told him to invade Irag.

says God told him/her to do this or that. God talks to Bush like he talked to that woman who killed her kids <sarcasm>. I'd like to know what God was talking to them! Wasn't my God in my mind or my heart.

if there WAS a higher power, he wouldn't let all the evil happen.

I guess I just don't ever remember anyone ever telling me that God was here to END all suffering. I mean suffering is sort of the point isn't it? You live on this world now so that you can live in His world when you pass away...

but damn, could there at least be a stemming of the tide?

what exactly is the point of the suffering? so we can float up to "heaven" after you get butchered by a right wing death squad in latin america because you wanted a living wage? or an african soldier cuts off your head and your breasts because he's getting paid to and nobody is there to stop him? There is no logic in it.. no good without bad? what if your life never contains any good?


My biggest problem with the whole thing is the self-reinforcing argument of "faith".. no proof is needed, and you're going to hell because you require or would like a sliver of proof.

because I am convinced that He has a plan for me. I have gone through some extremely harsh times; I feel like I should have been found dead in a gutter ten years ago. I seem to have nine lives.O8)

Some Higher Being preserved me for something; of this I am convinced. But this is simply my humble experience; I am not anything close to a fundie.

And when you go to bed in peace as if someone has their arms around you, you know there has to be something more in this world. And when you have the urge to pray for someone or miss someone just as that person is in trouble or dying, it's not just coincidence, and you'll never convince me otherwise.
Duckie

I had to get from Seattle to my home in Chicago at the end of Christmas break. It snowed every other day the week leading up to my departure (and, btw, Seattleites during a snowstorm are akin to freepers after a Kerry victory in November).

The meteorologists were predicting the Big One to hit right before I was scheduled to leave. I was flying space-available, no confirmed seat. I left for the airport around 5 in the morning; I-5 from Tacoma to Seattle had so much blowing storm that it looked like a mountain pass.

Anyway, I got to the airport--after 2 or 3 hours of snow, there were 1-2 inches on the ground. I got a seat on the early flight, had there not been an empty seat (edit: on that one flight), I would have been stuck in Seattle for a couple of days with no money and no one to go to for help...Someone was watching over me.O8)

i guess god said fuck all those other people who fly and die and chose you to live. is that what you mean? maybe he has a random key on that big computer in the sky to help with these decisions.

Statistically, getting to the airport was far more dangerous. I choose to believe in God partly because I find such beliefs reassuring, not because He "said fuck all tose other people who fly and die and chose (me) to live."

I suppose an atheist or agnostic would say that I just got lucky. But please respect my beliefs instead of mocking them. I extend that respect to other religions; it would be nice if I could expect the same in return.

i mocked,not your beliefs.your beliefs are yours alone. i have heard the logic of that stuff a lot, and maybe i over reacted. even as a religious child, i found it hard to belive that god would pick and choose. i respect all religions, but i believe none.

I can see your point now. Even though my beliefs may seem irrational to some people, they sure help my sanity a lot by giving me a sense of hope.:)

Pick any two.

Why is there cancer, why do children suffer? It's impossible to figure out, and you'll just go crazy trying, or become bitter. I can only tell you that in my opinion God does not cause pain, but allows it to exist.

Paradoxically, I believe God cares when we suffer and is there to offer us comfort. But this is a matter of faith.

Nature's that way - beautiful but sometimes ruthless because it has to be that way? Hopefully God is a parental force. I go on believing that way, but the possibilities are always fun to ponder. I am not sure we are capable of knowing, though.

... when they sent me to school and forced me to take difficult tests and do boring homework.

Hey, we're here to have adventures and learn from those experinces. Take away the tests and it all gets so easy that not only is it boring, but we don't learn a damn thing in the process.

Earthlife is school. Sometimes school is tough. But after we graduate we'll realize it was worth the difficulties we had to face. And when we enroll for the next grade up we'll have even more interesting challenges to grapple with.

Mom wouldn't do your homework for you when you were a kid, don't be asking God to do your homework for you now.

Isn't school fun?

when I was about 5 or 6. I just couldn't believe in a God that wanted me to accept them, but would allow such horrible things to happen to me and others. God is nowhere but within and most of us don't want to look there for some reason.

99.9999% of the world and the things that happen in it are GOOD. Take a closer look around you and show some freakin' gratitude.

sorry, but the rest of us don't live in Candyland...it's just a game we played as kids.

through your seat this very moment? That your car starts every (or nearly every) morning that you put the key in the ignition and turn it? That the Earth is just the right distance from the Sun to keep it heated sufficiently? That you have a house, a family, and food to feed them with?

And you don't think it's a goddamned MIRACLE that when you put that food in your mouth, chew it up and swallow it, your body is able to process it and give you enough energy to go on for 100+ years- no batteries or plugs?

When you don't get exactly what you want on Christmas, do you complain then, too?

i have a congenital spinal condition that causes me chronic, and often intense pain, and i threw away the rose-colored glasses when they stopped working a few years back...

and i'm willing to bet that it's not quite 99.9999% of the people on the planet we live on who don't go to bed hungry, sick, or scared.

although i do wish i could meet and shake the hand of the deity that thought up ankylosing spondylitis.

Somehow.

That's the oddest thing- with all of these horrible things going on, they keep truckin'.

I think that's the very definition of faith.

manage, somehow.

people- LOTS of people, die from starvation, malnutrition, disease, famine, war, ethnic cleansing, etc...every day. and every day, more and more are born into poverty and disease, and with absolutely no hope of a better life.

but i guess if they have faith, that's all they really need anyway...:eyes:

Look at you.

And, yes, everyone dies someday. Great point.

it's painfully obvious that some are painfully oblivious.

I get that you're acting like a spoiled brat. The world's a great place, but you choose to focus on the .00001% of things that are bad, and you're angry at God, or whatever created this, just for those things.

Yet you can't see the awesome fact, right in front of you, that the computer you're typing on connects you with the entire world in a fraction of a second. Or that, even as the United States has invaded their country, the vast, vast majority of Iraqis are alive, healthy, and will see tomorrow. That, even after 9/11, we here in the United States managed to move on with our lives, too. Or even just that the sky is a beautiful blue color.

I'm sorry that you have a back problem, but the world is a mind-bogglingly wonderful place. Open your eyes to it.

I just find it in comprehensible that someone would think that it's 99% a mind-bogglingly wonderful place.


where was god when i was mentally abused, emotionally neglected as a kid? while my sister was being sexually molested? while my mother was being beaten on a regular basis while i was a helpless ten year old?


you are using the superbowl viewpoint.. god made the team that won, win! never mind the other team that tried just as hard.


don't ascribe every little detail in the world as having been a result of divine intervention, and discount every bad detail as well... or is it the work of... SATAN!! no offense, but that's just plain stupid.


I'm not concentrating on the negative, and i try to do my best to make the world a better place for the people around me. God doesn't do it, I do. gravity is keeping my ass on this seat, and you can thank AMD, Kingston, Charter cable and myriad other companies for the computer system that projects my ideas into the world, not god. If you want to put god in charge of the big blue sky, then put him in charge of infant mortality, genocide, earthquakes etc.. how about a little critical thinking to go along with your blind faith?

maybe if you live to be 600 years old like noah did, you could figure it all out..

but my point is that it's nowhere near 99.9999% wonderful- i'd put the figure at much closer to 60%, and that's being generous.

FREE WILL that causes most of the pain in this world. HE allows bad things to happen so that we appreciate the good more. We have to take the good with the bad, that's life. This isn't an argument any of you are going win, and as long as those that don't believe aren't shoving it down your throat, LEAVE IT BE. They're not hurting you one bit. And if they do shove it down your throat (remember, this thread was started by an atheist), then tell them to leave you the hell alone, and most will. They'll just silently go on praying for you, and it won't hurt you at all. And if they don't, I guess punch them in the face or something. Well, not really.
Do you really think if you'd grown up rich and you'd gotten a job and a promotion that was going to pay you $50,000 a year you'd really appreciate it? Think of all the bad stuff in your life as character building and the good stuff as your reward for enduring. Why do you guys have to make every issue like this so black and white? So Difficault? We need to be loving each other and backing each other up. Not fighting amongst ourselves over crap that doesn't have anything to do with us one bit. Then we become like the Conservatives most of you guys hate with every fiber of your being.
Duckie

because the bible said so?

if i were to concede that god exists, i would imagine a being of such magnitude wouldn't have a gender as we know it...







so many of the arguments for the existence of a deity here are not based on the real world, but on the world in the US as we know it, where "hardship" is defined as KFC being out of gravy when we hit the drive through.. or our hard drive crashing. try another perspective, the world is a big place. if your analogy holds true, then migrant peasants in south america are all lined up to win the lottery, marry the spouse of their dreams and live to be a healthy 100 because they would really "appreciate" it.




I know i'm not going to convert anyone, i just find it impossible for educated, informed people that follow world events to still believe that there is something more powerful than man's own greed for blood and money.

If the English language had a gender neutral pronoun, I'd use that. Have you seen Dogma? "He" means nothing. Why are you getting so argumentative and defensive. I've never said that "I can't believe that people don't believe in God! Some educated people only read the evidence they want and everything else be damned." I have never said and don't think think like that. Hell, Skip, my bf, is an agnostic. Why don't you just live your life without nitpicking other people's beliefs. Again, it just makes you sound like a conservative. We act like we're so much better, but this proves how much like them we actually are.
Duckie

If anything it makes me sound more progressive to go on facts/logic rather than blind faith.

and i don't go through life nitpicking other's beliefs. I was just reading last night about yet another example of atrocities, and i couldn't stand it anymore. I have yet to really see an argument that even gives a sliver of understanding as to why i should believe a god exists. That's what the topic of the thread is.. not "you suck because you're not an athiest"

i'm argumentative because this is an argument.. you have free will to participate in this discussion or ignore it, so feel free to exercise it, but don't come into a thread i started with an obvious title and call me argumentative and defensive. I'm defending my assertion that i can't understand why anyone would choose to believe in a god, and i'm arguing it.

Is you're nitpicking at things in other people's lives that have absolutely nothing to do with you. That's all I meant.
And if you'd said, "I don't understand how a benevolent God could exist", instead of "I don't understand how an informed person could believe in a benevolent god", then you could say that you weren't nitpicking, but you didn't, and therefore you can't. If your nonunderstanding of how a benevolent god could exist was your thought, then why bring other people's beliefs into it?
Duckie

edited to clarify.

wow.

i phrased my question that way because that is how i wanted to say it. it isn't nitpicking, it's the conundrum that i see. I have no doubt that people who are well-off, or sheltered, or people who have no access to or regard for education could believe in a benevolent higher power. I don't imagine faith is very hard to come by to the priveledged.


This whole thread is about other people's beliefs, that the whole friggin point.


I understand how a benevolent god COULD exist, that's easy. the point is, there's so much evidence to the contrary, or that if a god exists of this nature, they are far from giving a damn about this particular corner of the universe. read my initial question a little closer and hopefully you'll see that you aren't really getting the idea of the discussion.


your logic is a little faulty, you don't like my question so you are attempting to label me as something i'm not. The assertion i'm "nitpicking" all things in other people's lives, using your logic, could be applied to nearly every opinion anyone has. My original question stands, i feel no need to rephrase it, and i recieved some replies that were well thought out, but unconvincing in my opinion. coincidence that favors the individual happens just as often as coincidence that disfavors the individual, and doesn't hold up to scrutiny as divine intervention.

answered the post like this. While certainly not perfect, theism needs a proper defense. And the argument to take it down definitely isn't "the world sucks."

If the laws of physics weren't the way they are, we wouldn't be here discussing this, would we?
If my car didn't start regulerly, I'd get it fixed.
If the Earth weren't the right distance from the sun, we wouldn't be talking about how it's lucky the Earth is the right distance from the sun.
And if our ears and noses weren't where they are, we couldn't wear glasses that we need because our eyes can't focus without outside help.

Sorry, while I can enjoy my life, I can't do it blindly while supporting a philosophy that requires to regard the things that happen as 'the best of all possible worlds'.

but a good world. These are all good things.

the more you learn, observe and absorb, the more you realize that men created god in their image, NOT the other way around.

higher power. Because, despite it all, things do turn for the better and it takes faith as well as courage to stand up and demand change. sometimes, we meek ones need something to give us strength to do what only heros have been known to do.

Most people receive some sort of religious indoctrination from arents and/or church from early childhood. Once you're an adult the indoctrination is a little hard to break. Also, some people need to believe that there's a reason for everything (in other words, a god) and that evil is punished, good is rewarded and death is not the end of consciousness. The urge is psychological. The fact that it is also irrational, improbable at best and nonsense at worst, matters not one whit to those who harbour such beliefs, because it gives them comfort against the empty finality of the void and the utter senselessness and lack of reason of most occurrences.

Look at the way everything fits so nicely. I believe that good happens in some way from everything. We just don't understand yet. And as always, I reject the notion that my beliefs are nonsense.

Why is it any of your business what other people believe in? As long as no one is cramming it down your throat, ignore it, if you're that atheist.
And just so you know, that's not God's love. That's Satan. They're just touting God so people will let them do it.
Duckie

postgame interviews of players who win a championship in any major sport. God, for example, gave Kurt Warner a Super Bowl ring. Reggie White got one from God too.

Drew Bledsoe made it to a Super Bowl as a starter, but the Patriots lost 34-21. Then he loses his job and the Pats win two rings in three years. This is unequivocal proof that Drew Bledsoe is going to Hell.

I'm just an elitist pseudo-intellectual who thinks he's better at making observations than those who foolishly believe in a God.

Your post is "acceptable bigotry."

If I were to say "I just don't get it. I try, and try, but honestly - look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the unchecked agression, unbelievable brutaility, and unapologetic atrocities in the Gaza Strip, and tell me, wouldn't they be treating one another better if the Muslims and Jews had simply accepted Jesus as the son of God?"

I'd be called a bigot, and rightly so. I don't subscribe to the above line of thought, as I believe good is ultimately rewarded regardless of one's personal religious beliefs, and evil is ultimately punished. Call me a naive Roman Catholic, but that's what I believe, and in the end it's a very comforting thought.

"i'm going to argue about something that bothers me, but has nothing to do with the subject of the original post so i can get my point across."

:eyes:

higher power" to imply that they're mutually exclusive. Silly me

:eyes:

"how can i be informed and believe in a benevolent higher power" for
"how can i talk about the I/P conflict while ignoring the actual question"


odd thing is, the I/P conflict is yet another example of religion/belief systems causing far more harm than good, so you kind of helped my idea along there. I've made no mention of jesus, or any particular theistic discipline, so if you want to call me bigoted, then i'm bigoted against all religion that presupposes deities, singular or plural.

In my belief system, God exists everywhere, including each one of us. All of us have the ability to turn towards or away from that part of ourselves. I doubt I have to tell you that lately it seems more people are turning away than towards. :(

Is it true that there is scientific evidence that prayer works? Is it true that there have been miraculous healings documented in modern-day medical texts? I think so.

Do you believe in spirit? I used to be an atheist, but after much soul-searching, I cannot say that there is no such thing as spirit.

I've been questioning my own belief in God and Jesus and the concept of Heaven and Hell. There are a lot of convincing arguements for both a God and against God. For instance:

FOR God:
1. Why would we be put onto this Earth?

2. Why was the universe created? More specifically, what would spark the whole "big bang"? I'm sure that we didn't come to happen by random events w/in the universe.

3. How did humans evolve from simple single-celled organism, when we ourselves are very complex?

4. Why have so many people witnessed the presence of Jesus, Angels, Mary, etc.?

5. If there is no God, then why are there miracles?

AGAINST God:
1. If there is a God, how come we never see/hear/touch/smell/taste Him or his presence?

2. If there is a God, why is there suffering on this planet?

3. If there is a God, then how come He doesn't play more of an active role in our lives?

4. If there is a God, then why can't He just show us himself?

5. How come there is a lack of "proof" that God exists? I mean, we do have the Dead Sea Scrolls, and for more of an extreme case, the Shroud of Tourin. We also have the letters that Paul wrote. But why don't we have the Arc of the Covenant? The Holy Grail? Where are they hiding?
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I've been stressing myself over these issues for a few months now. I just don't know which side to believe. It saddens me. :(

You'll eventually see your way clear. The idea never stop asking questions. :thumbsup:

Love your Angelus pic! :loveya:

I don't want to waste my life wondering if there is a God or not. If there isn't, I'd like to know. But, on the flip side, if there is a God, I don't want to die and end up in Hell or something.

I don't know which side to believe, and it's bothering me.

You dig the vampire pic, eh? My sister loves Angel (David Boreanez) too.

This one you're going to have to feel out.

I don't know what to believe :(

Without Free Will we are puppets to the Supreme Being. I personally would not want to live in a world that was controlled, even if it were controlled all to the good.

Without Free Will there is no incentive to learn and modify our behaviour in keeping with what we've learned. And it bears repeating here that learning is a messy business.

I go outside and look at the all that encompasses my world and know for a fact that God exists and is truly alive and kicking. You say you don't believe in God.....well prove to me God doesn't exist.

but, if you'd look at my original question, i'd seriously doubt god is a benevolent force. at best, "god" is an apathetic deity.


the fact of your existence is hardly proof of anything.

Yet even though we have free will, there's sometimes a fine line between good and bad. Also, some people have a hard time knowing the difference or restraining themselves. So I haven't ruled out God being neutral. Hopefully, in the afterlife, we'll all harmoniously fit in.

is my Free Will. I don't want a diety, however well-intentioned, fixing my life for me. If that happens, I'm, you're just the diety's plaything.

If there's no god (notice the use of the lowercase "g"), then how do you explain the existence of the ideas of "good" and "bad?" Where do these value judgments come from? Are they to be discounted as simple constructs of the human mind?

Shouldn't they be given more creedence than that?

And even while the ideas of "good" and "bad" are highly subjective, the concepts themselves still exist in some respect, and had to come from somewhere. So, how do you explain them?

Are you one of those people that think the ten commandments are neccessary?


thou shalt not kill. Oh, okay i guess i wont go across the street and kill my nieghbor, rape his wife and steal his TV because the bible says so. please.



i think morality is another function of evolution, hard wired into our brains like caring for our offspring, or working with others of the same species. being kind and getting along with others is conducive to society, henceforth conducive to procreation and propogation of the species. I don't see the need to impart some higher force that drives us to do good things, it's just basic animal understanding. packs of wild dogs generally dont attack each other, but work together to get food for the whole group. you could see it as moral if you want, but it's the same basic concept. our self-awareness certainly affects this, but i don't think it really changes the basic values, it just lets us see them in a different light.

Morality is not reality...there's no objective truth to it.

Is that what you're saying?

I'm just saying that i see morality as a function of evolution, it contributes to the propagation of the species. Morality is certainly ambiguous, but i believe most of that can be attributed to the complexity of modern society, rather than any inherent traits of it. I don't see it as a black and white issue, but i don't need a divine text to define it for me either.

I don't know why we are so quick to assume that if an entity is invisible then that entity is a "higher" power than we are -- actually, we have many powers such entities can't have -- simple example, for me to wash the dishes is a trivial exercise but I have never heard of an invisible being able to get the dishes cleaned in all of human history.

There are enough strange experiences to make me wonder about invisible entities and some of them seem very benevolent and caring, but their abilities are VERY limited.

Here is a metaphor. I used to have a pet bird who loved blackberries. To this small songbird, I was like a god. I could bring or withhold the blackberries. Naturally, each year, when blackberry season ended, there would be several days of pouting. I was a "higher" more powerful being, so I should surely be able to produce blackberries every day, right? Right?

I believe some gods are benevolent, some indifferent, but none of them are capable of doing anywhere near a fraction of a number of the things we fantasize they can do. When we imagine that some god can do anything, we're like that little bird who imagines that I can magically extend blackberry season.

Might be a stupid way of looking at it but it's mine. And I haven't been struck by lightning yet...

right in front of you, and within you, and all around you.

Call it God, or a higher power, or what theologian Paul Tillich called the "ultimate ground of being," or what philosopher Alan Watts playfully referred to as "the which than which there is no whicher," whatever -- but as long as we Westerners think of God as an old man with a flowing beard and white robes, or some sort of powerful "person" like a human being who can do amazing things, then we are hung up on the child's definition, and it is conditioned in our thought by a pedestrian approach to religion.

There is a kind of intelligence inherent in the universe itself -- innumerable galaxies were formed, and they spiral just like the nautilus seashell spirals; planets orbit around a star; you beat your own heart without thinking about it; your skin heals when cut (again, you don't have to think about it); there's the food chain, and gravity, and water seeking its own level. There are seasons, birth death, decay and new life. The rods and cones in your own eyes are as necessary to make the sun shine as is the flaming orb 93 million miles away. You are able to contemplate infinity, and as a human, you "know that you know," which is equal parts blessing and curse.

This intelligence is where I see God (or whatever), and also in a perceived connection among all living things. We're born, we're here, we jazz around a little bit as Mary Jones or John Doe, and then we're gone. And that's not a tragedy, since it's just like everything else in the universe. It makes perfect sense.