I have read this entire thread.
My thoughts are many and varied on this topic, and I take the matter very seriously.
Saint Augustine wisely advised: "Never judge a philosophy by its abuse." Unfortunately, most people judge "religion" by its abuse, and they then inflict that judgment on their children.
Twenty-eight years ago, I was diagnosed with an incurable life-threatening disease that had only a horrific unimaginable major surgery with an extremely poor prognosis for success as its possible treatment � a surgery that had as its best hope the mere possibility that the condition would not worsen. I contemplated suicide as a better alternative because the disease symptoms were intolerable, but I decided to go on a spiritual quest first � a most sincere, deeply heartfelt, and very motivated search for God. If I could not find God to my satisfaction (read: if God did not reveal God's Presence to me), I was done.
Well, my spiritual quest � what I call my war experience � lasted fully two years, and those years were at times excruciating in every way imaginable. The dark night of the soul is pitch black and icy cold � just harrowing and unmercifully bleak. I would not wish what I went through on my very worst enemy, and I have truly hated a couple of people in my lifetime.
But I can report to you with absolute certainty that the Presence of God is real in every sense of the word, including in the physical realm. Unfortunately, though, there is great sadness in that blessing because most people do not believe me.
Ask yourself: If you actually physically encountered an angel, how many people who have known you for your whole life would believe your story? I can tell you the answer to that question is: "Almost no one." And that is the dilemma of religion.
But the conundrum of it all is this: Explain the Jewish Passover celebration and its precise and elaborate story and rituals that have been faithfully repeated every year for thousands of years. Explain the conversion of the Pharisee Saul of Tarsus to become Saint Paul, a man who endured utter brutalities for his new-found faith. Explain the Pentecost event, how a cowering group of cowards suddenly became profoundly bold and courageous in their faith, despite having to eventually suffer terrible consequences as a result. None of those three explanations can make any sense at all unless you factor in an undeniable miracle � an intervention of the supernatural realms into our natural world.
Children should not be denied the wonder of it all. Nor should the wonder of it all be diminished for them by those who judge a philosophy by its abuse. If you cannot know God, do not make the mistake of thinking that your children cannot know God. If your children know God, believe them, for they might have been visited by angels.
The churches in our world generally fail in their work, especially when they ever imagine that their work depends solely on their own efforts, which is an imagination that is almost always standing in their way of getting things done. It is terribly sad. I attended a Lutheran parochial school from first grade through eighth grade, and I would not teach God the way I was taught God. Somehow by the grace of God my faith survived anyway, though almost all of my siblings have become hostile atheists. Such is my fate.
My more precise thoughts can be read at:
http://steven-a-sylwester.blogspot.com/2011/01/revealed-truth-love-god-science.html#But I am not one who is opposed to science. In fact, I champion science, and am doing my very utmost to fund STEM education in America's K-12 public schools. Please read:
http://steven-a-sylwester.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-deserves-macarthur-genius-award.htmlAlso read:
http://school-usa-proposal.blogspot.com/Whatever you do, do not mock God. If you must, just turn and walk away � be a prodigal to your heart's content. In the story of The Prodigal Son, the dutiful son � perhaps the church-going son � was the greater disappointment to the father, and was the son who had the most to learn. Remember that.
Steven A. Sylwester
