The Suspension Of Disbelief

My father is an atheist.  I'm not sure how his beliefs differ from the Quakers I just spent the week with, some of whom call themselves non-dious.  I do know that I have enjoyed listening to my father's recent musings about the nature of humanity's fascination with some entity other than ourselves, to whom we give some power of external inspiration or control. 

He took time to share his theory that bacteria in our bodies (hens forth referred to as the Bacteria) are actually leading us in all directions of development, evolution, and societal structure.  We exist simply to keep them alive. He and I discussed the need that humans have to identify a sense of being lead by a greater force other than our ego or self-will.   We were, I think, teetering on a theological discussion about religion being the opiate of the masses, an opiate keeping us unaware of the Bacteria.  I don't want to go into great detail on this, because he is writing a book about it and I want you all to read it with new eyes.  He just may be on to something. Though I don't think they will be teaching it in science classes in Kansas. 

His theory meanders the lazy river along the shores of belief and the meaning of life.  I do not claim to possess any certainty about the nature of his purely mental explorations.  Nor do I feel sure of his true feelings about the existence of a higher being.   The Bacteria do sound a bit like "that of god in everyone".  This unity stuff reminds me of his notion of matter being energy.  I feel akin to this notion of "energy" being the grand unifying theory in physics, specifically quantum physics.  Also that this energy may be the life force, the light of god, what animates the Chakras.  

For me, all of this is more about the analogy or the allegory than it is about the truth.   What matters is that my father and I can talk about spirituality.  There is very little about this "energy" that can be tested and quantified, like testing gravity by falling down.  I'll let the physicists do that.  I use my five senses to note its significance in my life and I listen for its significance in the lives of Friends.  The sense of oneness I feel may be better than any drug ever discovered by humans, with the exception of love, which very well may be the same thing.

So, what does this have to do with bacteria, besides the fact that, according to my dad, we might be killing god by washing our hands?  (Title of the editorial headline in response to his book)  There is something about this mortal coil that brings on a craving for survival.  Even at its worst, life is hard to leave.  My dad loves life and thinks it is beautiful, even if humans are only an appendage of the bacteria in our bodies.  He loves life so much that he believes in peace, love, and that we are all connected. 

As a Friend, I occasionally meditate on the story of Jesus.  In it, I discover a sense of relief that god would manifest a living being here among us to prove that being human does not mean we must give into the urge to participate in a desperate competition for survival, by vying for the failure of "others". So, my dad and I agree on these points.  There is an energy that enlivens our existence.  And that life is beautiful.  

Bacterial Bonanza: Microbes Keep Us Alive (NPR):  

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129862107 

The Quantum Activist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDi24IfILZ0

More Than You Wanted To Know About Quakers:
http://rachelheldevans.com/ask-a-quaker-response

Laughter Is Good Medicine

Who's Bill McKibbon?

http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/mag/contributor/56/

Buy a Gnomeland Security T-shirt:

 http://store.funnytimes.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TFTGS&Category_Code=TEES#.UA9mvupKBVc

Very Nice People

When I was in Junior High, my estranged father called to talk to me about God.  He detailed the atrocities of the Christian Church and its followers.  I was enlightened as to the dichotomy between seeking the truth and having faith.  It was explained to me how keeping safe in the mind throughout life would require a great deal skepticism to avoid being brainwashed.  Brainwashed, my father said, was the worst kind of defilement of one's freedom.  Walk your own path and know that at the end of it lies a clear understanding of the world around you that will induce a state of awe and inspiration.  Then he showed me Carl Sagan's The Cosmos.  It was actually quite spiritual and Carl seemed like a pretty nice guy.

I had asked my mom about God at age seven.  She said I would have to find out about God on my own, but that she believed.  She was not sure about her chosen spirituality.  As a result, we were an interesting mishmash of "everythingists".  I truly enjoyed fishing for religion with Mom.  She did it whole heartedly and seemed to hope she would find the perfect spiritual home for all of us.

Ultimate respect was given to my brother and I in this endeavor.  When I was ten and my brother was twelve, my mother scheduled a visit from some Mormon missionaries, who came to our house and tried very hard to explain the father, son, and holy ghost using finger puppets.  My brother and I had spent an hour making iced tea to share with our visitors, as we were latchkey kids and my mom was still at law school classes when they arrived.  They did not accept our kind offer and went on to tell us why they could not drink caffeine or Coke.  That, coupled with the finger puppet story, was just too much. They were not making any sense to us at all, but they were very nice people.

Today, my mother is a very satisfied Mennonite.  And a very nice person.

For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelism  or http://www.carlsagan.com/