You knew it was coming. Another popular God that I don't believe in and why.

If you are a very sensitive person with deep religious convictions do not read any further. Also if you are new to your faith and just now enjoying the sense of purpose that it has given you, then I suggest you skip this post and wait for something more political to come along.

God, and his representative here on earth, Jesus Christ were my first introduction to the idea of divinity. They were on the television, in songs, on my money, and I was told in the hearts of many of my family members and friends.

I remember having doubts when I was very young. I think I was about eight when I began to question what I was being told in church. There is no loneliness like the loneliness of the unbelievers in church. It is like you can feel a spotlight following you and watching you pass the collection plate without adding money, and keeping your eyes open when asked to pray, and asking too many questions in Sunday school until you are asked to sit in the corner. Though outwardly you appear as everybody else, you feel that you are different. And it sucks.

These were the first steps on my journey. The journey toward what I hoped would be the truth.

I met a fellow from another country who had been raised with a completely different set of values and religious beliefs. I remember how amazed I was to be asked to explain who Jesus was and what our God looked like. The idea that not everybody knew our God was shocking to me. Those conversations altered my perspective forever.

As I grew older I availed myself of numerous resources found in the library within old dusty books. I read them, I compared their origins, I looked for unifying themes , and I looked for what set them apart. I took a college class called "Comparative Religious Studies", which opened my eyes to many things that had not occurred to me before. I read the Torah. I read the New Testament. I read the I-Ching. I read everything I could find.

I studied Philosophy. I studied Socrates, Plato, Nietzsche, Camus, Descartes, Confucius, and many, many more. I was always left with more questions then answers. I filled my head with different theories and points of view until I could barely sort through it all.

Then I stopped. I reached a point of complete saturation. I could take in no more. And I was no closer to the truth then the day I asked the first question. For an intellectually curious being like myself it was unbearably frustrating.

And still I struggled with the idea of God. If you imagine what it must have been like for primitive people, it is easy to understand how comforting it must have been to know that you were being watched over by a being of absolute power. To go into war believing that even if you fall you will be whisked away to a place of beauty and peace. To know, without a doubt, that you are one of the chosen, who's God is the real God, and that all other people are wrong and will suffer for their mistake. How empowering that must be. There were groups of these people all over the world. Each believing with the same certainty that they are correct. Each believing in an entirely different God. It was that understanding that answered my question.

Is the Christian God the right God? Not for me.

It has been my observation that people take more care in choosing the type of peanut butter that they feed their family then the type of religion that they choose to feed their faith. The majority of people join their local church. They attend the services that there friends and family attend. They believe the same as the other members of their community. How often do they stop to think. Not often. That would disrupt their feeling of safety. Safety is really the key. Safety and convenience. The question I always ask is "Would you still have your faith if you were born in a community that had a completely different religious belief then you do now?". If you ask yourself the question honestly then you come to a sobering revelation. Then ask yourself do you think that you were just one of the fortunate few who was born in a place where you had easy access to the truth? How did you get so lucky? Why are other faiths born so unlucky?

The Christian faith itself is really made up of a hodge-podge of different religious beliefs that were popular at the time. The idea of the virgin birth is similar to the one told about Buddha, and Alexander was also reputed to be born of a God and human union. It was not an unusual tactic to imbue your subject with divinity in an effort to get them to be taken more seriously by the common folk. The worshippers of Mithraism seemed to be the group most heavily borrowed from. A skeptic might come to the conclusion that these stories about Jesus were created simply to fool a gullible populace. The unfortunate thing about religious belief is that it cannot stand up against the harsh light of critical thought.

I have been asked why I don't just cover my bases and go to church to make sure that I will go to heaven when I die. Okay, which one? The one in my neighborhood? Should I assume that I am lucky enough to be placed in the vicinity of the correct church? Or am I expected to sift through the choices and come up with the truth by some sort of dumb luck? Perhaps the real religion is deep in the mountains someplace with only a handful of adherents. Or maybe I should just cling to a belief to give my life hope until I die, and then who cares anyway?

No. With all due respect to my friends with deeply held Christian beliefs I fear the Christian God is no more believable then the other Gods I have discussed on this website. Having read so much about early beliefs in spirits, and demons, and families of Gods, and then monotheistic beliefs, you reach a certain understanding. It all follows a particular evolution which eventually leads to the rejection of God in favor of intellect. All that we once attributed to magical beings is slowly revealed to be more complicated and grounded in observable natural phenomena. And then we, ourselves, become able to create life and answer the great questions which puzzled our ancestors so much.

Long winded aren't I? Now you might be tempted to make a couple of character assessments concerning my lack of a religious belief. You might be tempted to assume that I have no rules to live by, wrong! You might assume that I am frightened, wrong! You might believe that I live my life in despair, wrong! You might think that I think I have no purpose, also wrong!

I live my life with both eyes wide open and anxious to learn and experience as much as possible. I see my life as a gift and I have dedicated my life to helping children see that their life is also a gift and to find their true potential. It is very gratifying and it makes me feel necessary. I never inflict my viewpoint concerning religion on these children and allow them their own personal journey toward their religious beliefs. I read with fascination stories about scientific breakthroughs and believe that we have an obligation to discover all that we can about our planet, ourselves, and the universe we live in.

So once again, if Christianity is your religion of choice then I wish you well. I, in no way, wish to diminish your experience or faith. I respect your choices in life as long as they don't negatively impact myself or others. I hope that whatever your choice you have a long and happy life and continue to keep an open mind about the amazing possibilities that exist around us.

May your God bless you.