Fresno Famous

Not really, yes, no and depends but mostly not really.

Are you sure you want to ask those questions?

I'm a born and raised Southern Baptist. I married a Catholic. I love science. Even at an early age, my inquisitive brain questioned a lot of the teachings of the bible.

College opened my mind to other possibilities. The biggest thing today, is I see organized religion as a problem. Religion is very personal. I have mine and you have yours and I should not try and impose my religion on you. Organized religion believes theirs is the only right way and be damned to the others.

Does this mean I don't believe in God or a bunch of gods? No, it means my view of them is not a dude in a white robe in a white beard with a finger that points and says "Be done".

Lets look to science to help find our answers.

1. Every system is made up of subsystems. Every system is a subsystem of a larger system. While we cannot see beyond on the concept of "The Universe" or imagine things smaller than sub-atomic particles. They exist. They have to. So a quark could very well be its own universe with worlds even tinier floating in. Our universe could be a single cell of a larger being. In fact, the organization of our universes galaxies look a lot like a neuron. Perhaps our universe is the brain or even a brain cell of a "supreme being". There is something bigger and it is responsible for all of us.

2. Any technology of a sophisticated enough nature is indistinguishable from magic. Lets make an assumption that's as valid as believing in heaven being a cloud city: That there are other planets with evolved species that have developed interstellar flight and they are basically humanish. If you lived 2010 years ago and were sick with an ailment that looked like leperacy, such as some common STD's. And someone gave you a shot of anti-biotics, how would you describe it? "Laying on of hands" perhaps? If you were in a standard NASA flight suit and you were standing by someone in the brown robes of the time, would "scintillating clothing" be an accurate description? A space ship re-enters the atmosphere, would it not be described as a flaming chariot going across the sky? For many of the miracles in the bible or many of the people from heaven (angels) they could be explained with modern day (or future) technology easier than they could be as magic. Yet to the time period, they would clearly be magic. And the people of the time might understand these travelers/angels were not human and thus the immaculate conception quickly explained away). This of course leads us to....

3. Haccem's Razor: Given two competing theories, the simplest one is usually the right one. A lot of things happen that are beyond explanation and given our current knowledge we can either explain something bizarre with some science that will likely be proven false later as we learn more (another reason I don't like religion and a much longer topic of discussion) or to simply say "Its the will of God". It's the simpler explanation and for many people that faith is enough to get them through their times of need. Of course someday science will likely have a better explanation but for now, faith is good enough.

So to me, I don't know what God is. I can't see beyond the bounds of our universe. I'm 100% certain he's not living in a cloud city and toting a white beard. It could be the (pre-miticlorin) version of "The Force". It could be a larger being that our universe is but a cell of. It could be our collective intelligence.

To answer your questions: Is it religious? No just the opposite, most of its formed by logic and science and science fiction. Where was it cultivated? In the dark recesses of my mind. It is my own path. Where will it lead me to? That's the fun part of the adventure.