Critical Thinking Could Only Help Religion

It all begins with how one interprets religion. For myself, religion is the celebration of the Spirit that is shared with people of mutual mind and agreed upon mission or paradigm. We often blow off religion saying that it represents one person's vision and for that reason it cannot be spiritually liberating. Often times this comes from the negative press that Christianity has received as a result of its corruption. Whatever your beliefs, the distaste for religion may exist as a result of bad experiences with clergy, or a misunderstanding by clergy as to what the functions of their office are. This is certainly is not the fault of religion, or all organized religion in general.

What does it mean to be religious? A religious person is an individual that thinks he or she can attain the price of enlightenment faster with a mentor, group of mentors or peers. Community minded individuals might also be religious, as they seek others to celebrate their spirituality with others. This is known as fellowship. But what about the atheist? Isn't arguing for the existence of God just as fruitless as arguing against it? The point is that whether God exists or not is irrelevant to anyone other than ones self. Religion is a highly personal endeavor, and many of the world's problems would be solved by this simple fact.

I have never met an atheist in my life... only people who are terribly upset with a being which is supposed to be all-powerful and yet allows for suffering to exists -- or who have given up on the entire concept thanks to some adherent's behavior. A real priest or priestess is always mindful of the fact that they serve (and therefore represent, to some extent) the deity particular to the religious paradigm they follow. If some one behaves in a way that does not become that deity, then you can rest assured that they are clergy in word only.