I am a freethinker... (yes I know it's a code word) 

Freethought: a philosphical viewpoint that holds that beliefs should be formed on the basis of science and logic and not be influenced by authority, emotion, tradition, or dogma.  

Politically I would self-identify as a moderate, though many other golo members might still consider me a "moonbat".

One of my favorite pastimes is studying the philosophers of history, especially in the area of religion. I spent years mentally "at sea" on the topic, knowing my Methodist upbringing wasn't ringing true in my mind...yet not being willing to entertain the possibility that what I had believed all my life might not really be true. I came across the writings of a man named Robert G. Ingersoll, and realized I had stumbled on what I was looking for. If you have never seen or read any of his speeches, do yourself a favor and do so! You can find his work (among others) at www.infidels.org  He echoed all my unspoken sentiments about everything that was wrong with Christianity.

http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/why_i_am_agnostic.html

I floated for a short while in the deist realm, along with the likes of (the much maligned) Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. After more study of the theist/non-theist debate, and soaking up all the modern evolutionary biology I could get my hands on, I began to realize that the universe is explainable without a god as a first cause...in fact it was more convoluted to insert a complex un-caused being at the beginning! Occams razor chops away the unnecessary complexity and leaves a simple conclusion: The universe, in some form or other, has always existed. A hard concept for us to grasp, but much simpler than a creator god who was there when it started - but who had done "god only knows" before that! (pun intended)

The hardest part of letting go of God is letting go of the idea of an afterlife...we all somehow feel we should continue on forever, even after our bodies die. I came to realize that this life is all we have. This bothered me for a bit, but it makes a lot more sense than tripping off into an eternity of existence after just a quick 'blip' of a biological life. Epicurus long ago noted that death need not be feared..."If I am here, death is not! When death comes, I shall not be here." Why fear something we will never "share the room with", so to speak? Mark Twain brought his wit and common sense to the topic as well when he said, "I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit!" I expect it will be the same when it's all over. My memory of 2112 will be the same as my memories of 1812! :-) The belief that our lives are just a quick prelude to some vague eternity to come later robs us of the full appreciation for the life we have right here, right now! When we can realize that this is our one and only life, it becomes all the more special and dear to us. 

The other difficult part of letting go of religious belief is realizing that there will be no "final justice". Hitler is dead; simply dead. There is no hell for him to go to...his existence is ended except for the horrible memories of all the wrongs he perpetrated on humanity while he was alive. Horror was his legacy. Hopefully his miserable life will continue to teach us what the fruits of racial hatred and fascism really are.

You and I have our own opportunity to leave a legacy as well...hopefully a positive one! Maybe this is our shot at immortality after all - to leave behind good memories in the minds of people who knew us..to bequeath to the future all the best we could muster, seen through the eyes of our children.

But, I digress. If you want something to happen in your life, go out and make it happen! If you want justice, you will have to work for it. There is no celestial umpire that is going to call the game in your favor and fix all that was wrong with your life. Prayer is mind-talk and may help some people, but if you use your mind and your reasoning skills, one day you will realize that you're only talking to yourself.  YOU are the architect of your future! Be proud of your successes, and don't beat yourself up over your failures. Life is short, and precious....live it for what it is: a rare and special opportunity!  

BTW - Since GOLO doesn't support 'thread tracking', I tend to respond to messages left in my profile - in my profile. This way someone reading along can follow the thread without having to jump back and forth!

ALSO - I have learned (through experience)  that serious, thoughtful golo posts can wind up being censored/removed, not because they contain profane or vulgar content...not because they personally attack anyone...but because they contain unpopular ideas.  Golo is a great place, but it's achilles heel is that posts must not only pass muster with the Golo admins, but must face a new moderator all over again in each individual's blog.  I have no problem with censoring vitriolic hate-speech, obscenities or threats, but deleting a post because you disagree with a person's ideas detracts from the discussion, deprives readers of different points of view, and makes your blog something less. 

favorite music: from steely dan to dave matthews

favorite movies: good sci-fi

favorite hobbies: computers - philosophy - astronomy - audio production

favorite tv shows: any good educational show covering science topics.

favorite restaurants: good mexican restaurants

favorite web sites: pandasthumb.org (recently)

favorite vacation spots: uhhh....vacation?

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