Dear Noisy,

For many years it was widely felt that as science progressively
provided rational explanations for the mysteries of the
universe, religion would have less and less of a role to play and
would eventually disappear, unmasked as nothing more than
superstition.

But, there are still gaps in our understanding that science
can never fill. On the ultimate important questions -
of the meaning and purpose of life and the nature of morality -
science is utterly silent and, by its very nature, always
will be.

Few people of modern socieites would utterly deny the
possibility of some bigger power in the universe, some
supernatural, transcendental realm that lies behind the
boundaries of ordinary experience, and in this fundamental
sense religion is probably here to stay.

I believe in "live and let live," so to me my belief is
a private matter - I'm not out to convert anybody.
I find religious rituals such as Baptism, Bar Mitzvah,
Weddings, Sabbath services,Christmas Mass, and funerals,
important. To me these rituals serve to bring people
together, to remind them of their common group
membership: to re-affirm their traditional values;
and they offer comfort in times of crisis; and in
general they help transmit the cultural heritage from
one generation to the next.

I think that every society needs a religion, or at
least some belief system that serves the same functions.

Thanks Noisy for your advice,
for sharing with us your dreams and your
son's job hunting experience. I'm glad that things
turned out well for him in the end.

Cheers.

I wish to be careful and respectful, but at the same time honest
My mum, later dad too lead us to their Christ.
Small country towns pecking order, and miss use of the Church, drove us away.
I became a mid life born again, full on, unfortunately my hobby was ham radio.
I heard a Minister brag about the financial benefits of his job, he was unaware he was over heard on the then mobile phone.
Many things awakened me, praying over a kid with a broken arm, sending a woman with no problems on to a stage and her running off, the healers mother in law.
I no longer believe in God.
I would not touch or allowed those boards in my home.
Have spent days researching all Gods, seen links to ancient Gods of pagans long before any to todays.
My mum had favored songs of praise beautiful well crafted but nothing different than a thousand hit tunes of my day.
Not homosexual, I nearly cry if truly considering the words of that song muma I don't want to die .
Grant mankind its due we can and do make things that impress even our selves.
In the bush or on the beach at night Australians around a camp fire have true story's to tell.
Runner you know from your story not every such one is from evil.

I have a few incidents that are hard to explain, so I will tell you of the main one as briefly as possible.

When I was perhaps five my family were on a train heading for the zoo. An old guy in a old style straw hat paid particular attention to me in an avuncular fashion, do you go to school yet, what games do you like, etc, but as we left the train he asked my name and said "my boy you will be lucky today". As it transpired I found something at the zoo, and got a big reward from the owner for its return.

When I was perhaps nine I use to search for lost golf balls at the local course to sell to the pro shop. One Saturday morning an old guy wearing a straw hat came to me and said search between that tree and the rise, he went on and I found about ten balls within 20 meters of where he said, never before or after did I find so many balls in one spot.

When I was perhaps fourteen I was fishing from one of the Harbour wharves and an old guy in a straw hat came over, asked how I was doing, then suggested I fish the other side of a pole further down the wharf, I moved I fished I caught a really decent size fish, not the yellow tail and mackerel l I usually caught. This time I recalled the straw hats of the other two old guys from the previous encounters, and thought it was so familiar and weird and then promptly forgot all about it.

TBC

Shoot forward twenty years, I my wife and two kids, one in a pram, the other about four are fighting our way to the ferry to the Quay. My wife pushing the pram is about 20 meters in front of myself and our daughter, suddenly my daughter stops dead in her tracks causing me to lose grip of her hand and move some steps ahead of her. I looked back at her and she is half turned and transfixed on an old guy in a straw hat who was getting off the ferry, he too was at a dead stop and half turned and totally transfixed on her. Time stood still for me, the commuters were still pushing off the ferry I could sense the rush and see the people moving, but deep in my mind all was stopped. I grabbed my daughters hand and we just made it before the gang was pulled.

When I found my bride and seated ourselves she said "what was that", I replied honestly "what was what". She then went on to explain that as she reached the ferry she looked back to find our girl and the old guy stopped and transfixed and me looking on motionless, she said that she went cold and time slowed down for her and a fear she has never felt overcame her. At that point I recalled the other old guys and told my wife of the other weird linked events.

The old guys face escaped my memory on all occasions, even now, but the hat and old fashioned clothes along with an inner sense of familiarity leaves me only guessing of the odds involved in this scenario and this theme being reproduced throughout my life. When I was a kid the hat was old fashioned and by the last encounter the only place you saw a hat like that is in old movies. My wife took a couple of days to shake the feeling the incident brought her, and she is not a skittish kitty.

Lexi,

As someone who enjoyed reading The God Delusion, I would strongly recommend you read Sam Harris's The Moral Landscape, where he argues - and quite brilliantly too - that science does indeed have a lot to say about morality and human values.

I was sceptical at first but couldn't flaw a single point he made.

http://www.amazon.com/Moral-Landscape-Science-Determine-Values/dp/1439171211

belly...there is a god..[one]..and he is all good
all loving all mercyfull and all grace

there are from memory over a billion xtians
divided into 3000 sects..[then there are the 'other' religious beliefs assosiations etc]...none can claim to be the only way to god

god cant be judged
by what any of us/them..chose to do
to judge god is as silly as judging ourselves
to judge god..by those claiming to believe in god is equally invalid

every religeon/belief/non believer
could disappear..and god would still be
all loving mercyfull and full of mercy and grace

even the highest quality human being...called a menche
like the messiah misscalled jesus..more properly called josua
or as the bible says..'you shall call him emmanuel'..comes no where near revealing..the extreem loving of the living good..[god]

emmanuel tried to be like god is
so much so he said silly words like
to see me is like seeing our father

none could look upon the father
him being pure light...and as you know light reveals things
but is in itself invisable..untill it 'reflects'..off..something

i once demanded of the sun..
that god reveal himself to me
and stared at the sun..intending to be blind..rather than not know for sure..[i soon saw the suns emmision..go to a dull blue..and saw within the radiance an engorged nipple like blob]

that i decided upon reflection and study of it
looked much like a single cell..[of which every life has trillions]

indeed our flesh is made up of these images
cells..[of god]...thus i feel we are created...of his image
more than in his image..[we together reveal the qualities of the unseen sustainer of light/life/love/logic]

how i came to be daring god to make me blind
involves a long story...and a guy called ross kelly

he claimed to be the 7 th angel
claimed to have traveled in time..and with his wife elain
they have a good story..he told in a book called all for the love of ana..

[that has not been printed/nor published]..though he gave out copies of a letter..and in time..disks with the story..[his part of the story]