[Capt Jack]

hmm.....not too sure I have anything to add here and am hesitant at best, but eh....what the 773H.

my father had a strong belief in god/higher intelligence (as do I), but a strong disdain for organized religions as a whole. I would see him study the worlds great religions in ernest but never take one as his own. he often said in his observation, the two have nearly nothing to do with each other...a viewpoint I've come to embrace myself.

I believe his disdain was rooted in seeing so many singular interpretations spewed about as 'the word of god' while those self same people would line their pockets with the hard earned living of those who needed/sought guidance. those folk seeking the knowledge and wisdom of god would rely on the religious leaders for meaning/personal action/interpretation rather than discovering those meanings for themselves and taking faith in what they themselves feel and learn through personal experience and witnessing god doin' his thing.

that point of view does help (me at least) with separating oneself from unpopular 'popular belief' vs 'what I think is right and by gods design', while putting blame for the inherent ills where it belongs. on the people themselves.

I think the key you are looking for is believing what you believe, act as your personal faith demands and recognizing that organized religions, while they may indeed have their uses for a great many folk, are created and run by people....and are therefore fundamentally flawed from the start.

mi dos centavos


edit: I think I stared at that horse thing for 20 minutes. damn thing is hynotic!