I also want to say something about how divisive religion is. It is all too often used as a tool of exclusion and prejudice. Most wars have been fought over religious differences, resulting in the deaths of more people than any other cause. I believe there is "more than one path up the mountain". All the various faiths, denominations and sects are merely attempts to lift the veil of mundane perception from the glorious inner workings of the cosmos. If we could "see behind the curtain" and know how the magic is done, we would realize that we are all one with each other and with life.
Lastly, I take issue with the tendency of religion -- and specifically Christianity -- to gloss over its obligation of stewardship to the earth. We have largely trashed our magnificent planet, and its biodiversity is currently in the throes of a downward spiral toward almost total extinction.
There are some religious organizations I do like:
Again, I believe what Jesus said in a very literal way: God is love. Love is the energy, the binding force, which holds us all together and creates order from chaos. Without love, the universe disintegrates into randomness. God is not some kindly gentleman with a long beard watching over us from behind the clouds. No! God is immanent in the universe. He is everywhere and He is everything. He is within us all.
But we have to remember that we humans are not God's only creation. He is the God of antelopes and zebra snails, of walruses and lichen, of mountain goats and cryptosporidium. The Lord God made them all, and He called them good. He loves each of them equally as much as He loves each of us.
Meanwhile, we are busily driving half of our fellow species to extinction (as E. O. Wilson forecasts). Yes, Gaia will survive. But she may have to do so at our expense. Like a person running a fever to kill the bacteria that cause a cold, earth heats up and shakes us off. In Gaian logic, we are an expendable parasite. If we behave, she can tolerate us. But if we act up and multiply out of control, we can be sacrificed for the greater good. So the "master plan" is to preserve life—not necessarily higher, so-called "intelligent" life forms, which can always re-evolve given a few eons. Much more important is the ancient genetic blueprint: the DNA of millions of primitive species, painstakingly evolved over four billion years. How can we lose that? But if we aren't careful, it may happen. Gaia recognizes that the human species could actually wipe out ALL life, causing the planet to become totally dead. In that case, she is better off without us. Life continues. On with the show!
If you want to read more about my views on religion, please see my Articles page. Specifically, my review of "Green Paradise Lost" (also at Amazon.com), and the article "Everything Is Sacred In God’s World".
Note: My thanks to +sachemwolf+ and Madelyn Cain for inspiring this web page. Parts of it were in response to questions from +sachemwolf+. Also, it contains slightly edited portions of an email dialog between me and Madelyn Cain. This dialog was later published in the May/June 2000 issue of the Crowded Planet, under the title One or None?
