Tweaked about Big G

Prayer is one of the things about religion that I have faith in. Our minister is fond of saying that faith is "acting as if". From a secular, humanist point of view, it's the power of intention; focus. From a more mystical, but still non-religious standpoint, it's a way of aligning the powers of the "collective unconscious" (if you believe in that sort of thing).

Does God (look -- big G) really "care" about insignificant you? In fact, "He" does, and there's proof. I'm reading a fun book called "The Dancing Wu Li Masters". It's been around a while. The author interprets many of the findings of quantum and particle physics as being more and more in line with philosophies and beliefs of religions and traditions from the east and the west, throughout history. For instance, at the level of the sub-atomic, it's impossible to observe a system without affecting it. (Remember the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle?) In fact, there IS no objective reality "out there." Reality, according to modern physics, depends on what you observe. All subatomic particles are, in fact, mathematically modeled by probability functions which only manifest in real "things" if you observe them and pin down some of their characteristics (and give up on pinning down the rest). If there's no one there to hear it, the tree in the forest would not only not make a sound, it wouldn't even fall.

So you see, according to the most modern science, there is no reality without us. Reality is within us -- intimately connected to us. God not only cares about "insignificant us", but DEPENDS on us. Put another way, reality isn't made up of things -- it's made up of our relationship with things. If I were smarter, I could quote scriptures from every major tradition that would say this in their language. You say "it's not a science based on earthly proof -- it's a religion based on faith." In fact, it IS based on earthly proof -- which is, at the core, identical to "faith". It IS your imagination -- that's all there is.

Please rent "What the Bleep Do We Know". You might be inspired.

I get tweaked with religion when it is used to divide people rather than unite them. It saddens me to observe that, throughout history, most people use religion to set themselves apart from others rather than embrace them (unconverted). The people who really "get it" don't do that -- they see past that trap. That's the devil in disquise.

With most people, I get tweaked even with the language, because I don't trust (there's that "faith" word again) that they mean anything similar to what I do. "He" is too paternal, and brings with it all the garbage visions of some human-like "being" sitting "up there" somewhere with a "plan" for my life. Man, I have to stretch my metaphors a long way to make it match that. Some of the people in our church use "She" -- goddess types. Whatever -- similar problems. "It" doesn't work, either -- too impersonal. So, as I would expect, God is beyond language, and we have to settle on something. I guess most of the time I use "it" (or maybe "It"), despite those problems.

I get tweaked when people quote scripture to me. Partially because of the language, and partially because it usually carries a tone of "thou shalt" something or other, which I find troubling. The Bible says "Thou Shalt Not Kill". I think, for most (undeducated, unthinking) people, this puts the responsibility outside us. Some being out there tells us what to do, and forgives us if we mess up. I prefer, for instance, the Buddhist version of this, which is more like "I voluntarily choose to abstain from killing." which puts it all back on ourselves again.

I get tweaked when religion is used to justify things that are wrong. It happens all the time. Terrorists, crusades, invasions, torture, everyday manipulations and power grubbing...

I get tweaked with the word "worship". I worship "God" in the same sense as I worship my children, or that magnificent cockroach the other day, or a really great math problem. To me, "worship" means to "stand in awe of" or "to recognize the greatness and beauty of", or something like that. Too often, I hear people use the word "worship" to mean something more like "stop thinking and subjugate onesself to". The "stop thinking" part I have a problem with. And by "thinking" I include "feeling/praying/searching", too.

I get tweaked when religion is used as a way of NOT thinking. The Bible is SO often misquoted, or quoted out of context, or selectively quoted, or interpreted just so... Somebody quotes scripture to me and I find myself reeling in an attempt to reconcile what each of us means.

I get tweaked when children -- especially children -- are brought up to use religion as an instrument of fear. Happens a lot around here.

One day, I expect a conversation with a student. The short version might go something like this...
- "Mr. Franke, you go to that Universalist church, right? Do you believe in God?"
- I say "yes, though not everyone at my church does."
- "The same God I believe in?"
- "I believe so, yes. Though probably not the same way you do."
- "It's not that complicated, Mr. Franke. Do you believe in the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?"
- "Not the way you do, I'm sure."
- "Aren't you a Christian?"
- "What do you think?"
- "Aren't you afraid of going to hell?"
- "I don't believe in a hell outside of the kind we create for ourselves here on earth. So, no."
- "What about the Bible?"
- "What about it?"
- "Do you believe in the Bible?"
- "The Bible is a book. It's not something to believe in or not."
- "Mr. Franke, I'll pray for you."
- "Thank you. And I for you."

I did have a student once tell me, during a tangential discussion I can't remember: "Mr. Franke, you're asking us to question our beliefs!" Knowing where this could lead and how much trouble it could get me into, I approached carefully (as the class waited in rare, hushed silence). I said "Let's be clear -- I'm not teaching religion, Rhonda. I know you a little bit, so I think I can say that I'm not asking you to go against your faith in any way that I can imagine. But I'm your teacher, so it's my job to encourage you to think. Thinking implies questioning what you think you know, and it's often hard to tell where 'knowing' ends and 'believing' picks up. So do I ask you to question your beliefs? Yes. It's my job. If your beliefs don't hold up, then you need to re-evaluate. That's what we do in here. Do you believe that "pi = circumference / diameter"?