Last night I was on the internet again, searching for some sort of guide, a sort of "manual to faith." But then it struck me--I had an epiphany, if you will--I think organized religion is [insert expletive here]. That's how I started all those many years ago to gather and organize my thoughts into a faith of my own. Belief is all your own and faith is ultimately a personal experience. The ultimate personal experience. I don't think believing in common divines is a problem. After all, humans are a social species and just because you incorporate the ideas of another is only the difference between a research paper on original lab work and a review of other's lab work (ie your own conclusions).
Gods, what am I trying to say? I feel like I should invoke the muse.
I guess you could take an example, such as the Christian tradition of Sunday School. The idea of Sunday School is just... *shudders* Someone "teaching" you what to think. Thought cannot be "taught." But (as evidenced by the prevalence of Sunday Schools) it can be shaped. Like damming a river to change the contours of the land. Virtually irreversible, I might add. "Taught" implies the introduction of something new and foreign; numbers can be taught, and grammar, and history, but you cannot be taught the truth because the truth is yours.
But what are we [as a species] without religion? The short answer is: I don't know. This simple question has kept me up at night. Keeps. I don't know.
