thoughts on God as a freshman in college

If you find contradictions between religion and science, you are simplifying them too much. There is no contradiction. They ultimately work together. It is entirely possible for people to believe in both.

I think I gave the name “God” to forces I cannot yet explain or comprehend. It’s like a placeholder. Someday I will know more; one day I may eventually replace “God” with my own words and conclusions.

Derek was talking about the “God of the gaps.” That scientist that could see the trend in where science was going and could predict it enough to do away with the concept of God because he knew science would eventually explain it.

Derek's comment, in a nutshell (and I believe this too): "I attribute God, not to an entity, but to “what matters most” (phrase courtesy of Denny Clark). My beliefs are vague expressions of my faith. My faith is WMM: my family, caring about people, the ones I love, relationships, learning, etc. My beliefs are expressions of this faith. When my dad was sick and he miraculously recovered, the doctor said “If you believe in a God, he just graced your family today” or something like that. I don’t believe that God has the power to do these things, necessarily. God didn’t interact and switch some red blood cells around for my dad to live; he can’t just choose to interfere like that. But “he” was there. Since God is my faith, and my faith was there, he was there."

I get defensive when people start talking about God as the conventional God that I’ve grown up with, as the bearded old man in the sky. I know, and have finally reconciled, that God is actually just my concept of faith (well, everyone’s concept of faith.) I think I’ve known that for a long time (see “Mortalis Idem”), but Derek just said it again tonight and hearing it again gave it new solidity for me. It’s easier for me to talk about religion. It needn’t be as controversial as it is, or taboo. Just like sex is as simple as procreation, etc. and is taken to new taboos in our society, and politics needn’t be personal, but it’s just about who gets what, and when and who has enough power to get the majority, religion is just a paradigm from which people think.

I wish I was more articulate. Especially when talking.