God
Lomanno (lomanno@ix.netcom.com)
Sat, 17 Oct 1998 10:16:03 -0400
Erin wrote to Tim:
> How do you not consider God? I mean, how do you not think
> > about it? I find this whole atheism thing intriguing. Apparently, this
> > mailing list has at least a few. So I'm wondering, what's your meaning?
> > I mean, why do you read and look at art and have kids and buy houses and
> > write poetry? Aren't you looking for something? Or do you just think
> > whatever you're looking for exists inside you and your frame of
> > reference. Just wondering...
A thousand apologies for responding to a question directed at Tim, but I
find your point extremely intriguing. As a devout agnostic, it really
got me thinking. Obviously, I read and write, etc. to fulfill something
inside me, but does that have anything to go w/god?
I've always pictured god as Thoreau and the Romantics did--god is part
of me, part of nature, part of the universe. God isn't some SEPARATE
being standing in judgement of me, nor is it some force that drives me
to do "good things." I create god for myself; god is simply that part of
me that is what I strive for. In fact, my god has absolutely NOTHING to
do with religion. It exists only for me.
So to answer the question about what it is we look for when we look at
art or read or write poetry, maybe in some way I am looking for god, but
only as I've defined it; that is, I'm looking for something that MOVES
me, something that incites that ultimate emotion inside, something that
may (pardon the cliche) make me a better person by providing some
insight into the nature of this world that I had never thought of. God
is more a synonym for my own inner growth.
Thank you for an excellent question and for allowing me the opportunity
to answer, as much for my own benefit as for the list's.
--Kari