Thoughts about God

The clergy of all the religions of the world say that they have all the answers about God and the afterlife.

Clerics also say that their approach to God, their religion, is the only one and don't you dare argue with them. For their proof, they all have their "tomes," their Bible, Quran, Talmud, and so on. All of their tomes are accurate to the last detail, they say.I have to wonder about that. It is a fact that history books have some erroneous statements in them. Nobody disputes that. Isn't a religious tome a history book? So, their tomes are correct to the last detail but a history book is not to be trusted. Sounds sort of odd, doesn't it?

Religious leaders tell us about a destiny for all of humankind. They tell us, in one way or another, that we are all destined to meet a supreme being when we die. Some say that they have already talked to that being called God. I myself have not and doubt that those who say that they did actually did. Maybe they could videotape it for all of us the next time that it happens.

I seem very bitter and sarcastic, I am sure. That's exactly how I want to sound because that's how I feel sometimes. But some of the time, in fact, most of the time, I am more optimistic, more happy. It is because I have also seen and heard the truth, as I see it, from clerics and laypersons whom I have metwho are worthy of my respect whether anyone agrees with them or not.

The science of life and non-life makes me think that life is too complicated to have started all by itself.That leads me to believe there is a higher being, which created us for its own purposes.

No cleric can prove anything about a soul or the lack of it and neither can I. All of their "tomes" are part truth, part erroneous translation, part honest mistake, and part politically motivated distortion. Nobody can prove anything at all about the existence of life after death of any life-form. I believe it to be true but I can't prove it.

My own feeling is that we're in a carbon based robot body that actually has no life of its own. Rather, the body is controlled by the soul within.Just as we cannot understand how gravity works, we cannot understand the life force that we call the soul.

It is beyond the capability of modern science to analyze the concept of the soul. However, we do have unexplained occurrences such as knowing who is on the phone before you answer it, knowing that a loved one has died, near-death experiences, or having a hunch about an unusual event that comes true.I need no book to tell me that these things occur.I consider both myself and others who have had similar experiences rational. Something that is definitely unexplainable occurs every day.

I feel that God nudges us with paranormal suggestions that are not grounded on physical events but with vague vaporous stirrings of the soul. God does not use earthshaking extravaganzas to send messages.

I am just surmising and make no claim to be anyone other than plain old "me," an ordinary guy trying to live his life according to the Ten Commandments, which I believe were God-given. Look at them. Like my wife says, they cover every possible transgression. They're stated simply, without fancy legalese or multi-syllabic words. They must have come from God because they are logical rules for living happily and successfully in harmony with others. But, did we listen? You know the answer to that.

An honest man or woman must admitthat they have questions upon questions and very few answers. Look to reason and science and you will find your belief in God. The Ten Commandments and Jesus Christ fit into the rules of scientific thinking because both are the act of a rational God. I do not think that I am operating on blind faith.

Stay away from clerics who preach for their own selfish ends. If you need one, work with the clerics who question and who admit that they don't have all the answers. Them, I trust. And never, never, never, trust any cleric who tells you to kill someone.

Have a nice life and thanks for reading my opinions.

John Royer

Emmaus