I have spent most of the day and indeed last night trying to find the best way to explain what I want to explain and ask what I want to ask. I feel that both the explanation and question will be inadequate, and for that I apologise in advance.
So let me tell you about last night:
I had planned to go out with a friend for a few drinks and while waiting for him to turn up here decided to have a smoke. I don't smoke inside because of my kids so I went out into the back garden and lit up. It was a very clear early evening - the Plough, (big dipper), shone in the night sky along with dozens of other stars and I spend a good few minutes looking up at them, (I am truly fascinated by space).
From the west 4 big lights appeared and travelled slowly across the path of my vision. I looked at them, somewhat bemused and yet as a natural born skeptic trying to associate them to something I could relate to. An airplane perhaps - it is after all flying in the sky. When the 2 middle lights started to get closer to each other I assumed it was still a plane and that it was merely my line of sight that made those lights appear to move closer to each other. But you see, the front light move off slightly by itself while the 2 middle lights 'danced', for want of a better word - the left light becoming the right light and vice versa.
I have gone through everything I can think of - and I know the explanation does not do it justice, but can't seem to come up with these lights as being anything 'from this earth' as it were.
So, I hear you ask.. what does any of this have to do with religion? Well, you see, I find myself in a slight predicament - a sane, rational, very skeptical individual finding it hard to come to terms with what I have seen. If I was now to say that I was under the impression that 'aliens' existed and were observing or at least passing by this planet I would at least have some form of personal experience to support (at least to myself) my 'belief'. So if there is a god and it wants people to worship and believe in it, why does it not provide everyone with an 'experience' that would leave them in the position I am currently in? I did not have to track down, want to find, or search for UFO's or aliens, I just had an experience that now clearly affects my views. So why does a god not do this?
I have heard of people having claimed experiences of gods and whatnot, but surely it would be in the best interests of both man and god if we were all given such an experience?
Your precious "faith" would still exist regardless to the experience - after all, even though convinced that these things were alien craft I could never provide anything to support such a claim and so ultimately it is along those same lines. (Trust me, I am ultimately pissed off that I didn't have a video camera on me). You would still have the choice and ability to accept or reject, but you would at least have been given an experience of this entity.
If anyone has anything interesting to say, I invite you to do it.
So let me tell you about last night:
I had planned to go out with a friend for a few drinks and while waiting for him to turn up here decided to have a smoke. I don't smoke inside because of my kids so I went out into the back garden and lit up. It was a very clear early evening - the Plough, (big dipper), shone in the night sky along with dozens of other stars and I spend a good few minutes looking up at them, (I am truly fascinated by space).
From the west 4 big lights appeared and travelled slowly across the path of my vision. I looked at them, somewhat bemused and yet as a natural born skeptic trying to associate them to something I could relate to. An airplane perhaps - it is after all flying in the sky. When the 2 middle lights started to get closer to each other I assumed it was still a plane and that it was merely my line of sight that made those lights appear to move closer to each other. But you see, the front light move off slightly by itself while the 2 middle lights 'danced', for want of a better word - the left light becoming the right light and vice versa.
I have gone through everything I can think of - and I know the explanation does not do it justice, but can't seem to come up with these lights as being anything 'from this earth' as it were.
So, I hear you ask.. what does any of this have to do with religion? Well, you see, I find myself in a slight predicament - a sane, rational, very skeptical individual finding it hard to come to terms with what I have seen. If I was now to say that I was under the impression that 'aliens' existed and were observing or at least passing by this planet I would at least have some form of personal experience to support (at least to myself) my 'belief'. So if there is a god and it wants people to worship and believe in it, why does it not provide everyone with an 'experience' that would leave them in the position I am currently in? I did not have to track down, want to find, or search for UFO's or aliens, I just had an experience that now clearly affects my views. So why does a god not do this?
I have heard of people having claimed experiences of gods and whatnot, but surely it would be in the best interests of both man and god if we were all given such an experience?
Your precious "faith" would still exist regardless to the experience - after all, even though convinced that these things were alien craft I could never provide anything to support such a claim and so ultimately it is along those same lines. (Trust me, I am ultimately pissed off that I didn't have a video camera on me). You would still have the choice and ability to accept or reject, but you would at least have been given an experience of this entity.
If anyone has anything interesting to say, I invite you to do it.
