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I understand that this is a highly charged topic and I don’t claim to have all the answers. I’d also like to recognize your courage for expressing what may prove be an unpopular viewpoint in a lion’s den of free speech :)

That being said, I offer the following observations on your comments, with the understanding that it may be offensive to some:


It does and it doesn’t. Can’t speak for every Christian sect and, to the best of my understanding, more or less all of them permit the possibility, indeed declare the existence of, multiple entities (i.e. angels and demons). This view does not exclude the existence of a singular, guiding force.

The polytheistic religions of ancient Rome and Greece were focused upon archetypes of humanity, with the various deities manifesting characteristics of the human experience. Even so, many great minds of the age refer to a singular god that rules over all.



I have held this viewpoint as well and I think your statement has merit. The trick is to separate the teachings themselves from the so-called “teachers”. Spiritual teachings are rife with metaphors as they attempt to describe that which is beyond description. As such, it is natural for many to miss the meaning by trying to interpret things literally. Alan Watts gives a good description of this by way of another metaphor, where he likens this sort of behavior to climbing up a road sign to reach the destination, e.g. “See? it says Phoenix right here!!”.



Totally agree. Charity should be a personal choice.



You can forgive without forgetting. Forgiveness is more about unburdening your soul from the burden of hatred than it is condoning the behavior of others. I find that it helps if I try to keep in mind that everyone is doing the best they can with what they’ve got, even if they’re doing a terrible job of it.



You are absolutely right. However, there may come a time when you seek greater meaning in your life. Where will you find it? I can tell you, for my part, that I did not take the straight and narrow path. I wandered all over eastern religions and ventured out to the frontiers of science before truth hit me like a bolt of lightning. I do not consider myself a Christian and I do find truth more or less wherever I look, at least within the new testament (though I strongly suspect that many teachings oriented toward personal power may have been removed during the many ecumenical councils, among other revisions). At a bare minimum, being conversant in the prevailing western tradition enables one to relate to, and therefore reach, a greater number of people in the west than you would be able to otherwise.



Just because a path isn’t right for you doesn’t make it wrong. All (well… most) paths lead to the center. It matters less which one brought you there than that you made it at all.

I grew up in a household that didn’t go to church or follow any dogma. I went to services with friends families because I was curious. Every single religious group I watched treated me the same way, as a lesser being. That alone was enough for me. I was a non-believer, and infidel, a goyim, but I followed the rules set by majority religions both poly and monotheistic better than the average follower. The lack of self awareness and hubris was sinful in my opinion and none of these churches has properly addressed that situation.