What I believe … & NOT ( 09 / 12 / 2014 )
What I believe … & NOT ( 09 / 12 / 2014 )
While I am sure of very few things , I do believe in many …
I believe in things still unprovable -- the unexplainable " numinous " that permeates the Universe with its glow of wonderment … the omnipresence of Beauty , the integrity of Justice and the rightness of Forgiveness …
I believe in the morality of Kindness & the immorality of purposefully causing others pain ; in sacrificing personal success & comfort in order to enhance the well-being of the downtrodden …
I believe in the Grace of consciousness , the Guidance of conscience , & the Power of free will ...
I believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ , the poetry of Jalālad-Dīn Rumi & the wisdoms of Gautama Buddha ...
I believe in the Selfless Way as enlivened by St . Francis of Assisi & Mahatma Gandhi & Peace Pilgrim ...
I believe in LOVE -- ( the verb ).
I also happen to believe in things supported by empirical evidence -- in science and the scientific method ; in gravity & inertia … I believe in " quantum interconnection "; the electro-magnetic attraction that binds us all as One … I believe in evolution … I believe in the wisdom of Galileo Galilei & Carl Jung & Victor Frankl , and in the intellect of Carl Sagan & Stephen Hawking … And I believe in the eloquence and the passion of Stephen Fry & Christopher Hitchens .
And , in addition to all of the things in which I do believe , there are a few things in which I do not …
* Even though humility demands that it very well might be possible , I do NOT believe in a supreme being who weighs in on the outcome of athletic contests while millions of innocent people die in wars , millions of innocent children die of starvation , and billions of innocent animals die on dinner plates .
* While it is indeed possible that God is a celestial tyrant who demands groveling & submission , I do NOT believe that over two billion people in India & China are going to Hell merely for not properly bowing down thereto .
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