Hello, Searcher. Your account convinces me that we've traveled very similar paths, with the exceptions that my christian parents were anything but open-minded about their beliefs, and that, apparently, I was at the point you are now some 15 years ago. I won't bore you with the details. Instead, I prefer to cut to the chase and address the specific issues you're now considering.
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Originally Posted by Searcher  1. What about other religions? Why Christianity? My wife acknowledges she knows little of Islam or Hindu or Buddhism. So I have challenged her that we should seek out more information on those, because no open minded intelligent person should exclude the other options purely because one plausible option has been presented, and others revealed only to those raised in different circumstances. If her faith in Christ is well founded she has nothing to fear, and much to gain if it helps me to reach the same decision she has. Or maybe it will change things for both os us, who knows? Are the other religions as well supported by history, sceince and archaology as well as Christianity seems to be? |
My departure from christianity involved more than its incongruence with the available history, science and archeology. I discovered some basic contradictions within bibical teachings that I never could square. And while I'm far from being a religious scholar, a perfunctory review of other world religions revealed similarly troublesome quandaries.
You mentioned appreciating Og and his viewpoints. I share your appreciation. He's way beyond me intellectually and in terms of his knowledge, but one thing we share is a deep appreciation of the writings of Joseph Campbell who was, until his death in 1987 a professor of comparative mythology at Sarah Lawrence College. In terms of
where to go next in your pursuit of the truth, I can't recommend anyone more highly.
I suggest you start with
The Power of Myth, which is a transcription of a 13-week series of interviews by Bill Moyers on PBS in 1986. It will give you a good overview of where Campbell was coming from (which is that all religions are simply mythological systems). If you're still interested after that, Campbell published a definitive 4-volume collection titled
The Masks of God which delves much more deeply into mythology and its power.
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Originally Posted by Searcher 2. I have a natural inclination to doubt anything I do not understand or have very good evidence for. I thought quantum Physics sounded like a load of claptrap until I really read into it. I still don't really understand it (not many really do without true diligent study) but I do understand what it has given us (the silicon chip among many other technological advances) and accept that while it boggles the mind it must have a firm basis of truth and real-world experience behind it. |
Quantum physics makes sense of a lot of things that would otherwise be considered mysteries. Although, just as I'm no religious scholar, I'm also no expert on quantum physics, it comes as close as anything I've encountered to achieving congruence between science and philosophy.
But, while I applaud your insistence on having "good evidence" for what you believe, I find it incumbent on me to warn you that, in terms of my personal experience, you will never have empirical evidence available to answer all your questions. I've made my peace with that absence of answers, but you may have a tendency to
fill in the blanks with religion.
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Originally Posted by Searcher 3. I do not view open Atheism as an option unless I find very convincing arguments in that direction. Partially I suppose because it could cause serious problems for my marriage unless the arguments are convincing enough to persuade my wife. While I have asked her to read Dawkins' book, and she agreed, I'm not sure she will be in much of a rush as the few excerpts I have read her probably felt deeply offensive to her. But also partially because while the evidence for God is not conclusive - it's not conclusive either way. At least not to me. By its very nature and definition, a supernatural god seems (to me) both unproveable and impossible to disprove. |
Number 3 convinces me that, in the purest sense of the word, you are an
agnostic. You find no evidence to prove the existence of god, yet you find no evidence to disprove it. In other words, as relates to the existence of god, you simply do not know. I hope you'll learn to be comfortable with such a nebulous life view, because my own experience makes me very dubious that I'll discover anything that will sway me either way before I die.
In conclusion, I encourage you to continue to search. Check out everything, but don't lock in on anything that makes no sense to you.