I have posted a new article for the Milwaukee Examiner titled “My faith (part VII) – Conclusion.
In this seven part series I have tried to cover as thoroughly as possible the primary influences to my spiritual path so that you can see where I have come from and, potentially, to assist you to more easily see where I will be going with my writings. I have a wide variety of influences from civil rights and globalizisation to games and a visceral desire to takecharge of my spirituality.
In retrospect I am very thankful that my parents were not very religious. This has allowed to me have a very open mind about religion, morality, and spirituality. I have not had the ‘benefit’ of being indoctrinated into one belief set so as to potentially blind me to learning of and from other spiritual paths. I have been very thankful for this freedom to choose my own path… more than you can probably imagine.
Associated and important labels
I think I can safely say that I am a sex positive soft agnostic deist with strong secular humanist tendencies as a member of a Unitarian Universalist and Free Thought Congregation. Below are some of these labels (and more) that I ascribe to myself in some fashion and my interpretation of them:
Deist: believing in a divine or supernatural creator of sorts, whether actively present or not.
Evolutionary Creationist: believing that if a divine or supernatural entity did create all of existence then evolution could very likely be its engine for life.
Logical: finding that having degrees in computer programming/networking and training as a reactor operator/electronics technician in the military has made logic, science, and reason a heavy part of my spiritual needs. If something does not make sense, then it does not make sense…. or I may just not understand it yet. =)
Other Religious Interests: learning of Yoga and Buddhism, which my wife teaches and knows of, is an interesting path. Paganism/Wicca have been quite interesting to read about, as well the history of Christianity and of the Bible.
Secular Humanist: believing, very strongly, in the separation of church and state, and the inherent strength and necessity for humanity to take charge of saving itself for no one or nothing else can. We are in charge of our destiny and and we alone have the choice to do good or evil in this world, which is the mixed blessing of free will. The absolute freedom to make that choice – to do good or to do evil – can be overwhelming and powerful, almost too much for some to deal with. To some the path to the dark-side can seem the easiest to follow, even though the ramifications are not pretty..
Sex Positivist: believing that our sexuality is a very natural part of our existence and there is nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. Our sexuality is a beautiful thing that allows us to grow closer together and to celebrate our humanity, and possibly even our faith.
Skeptic: skeptical of the possible existence of a divine being, but the possibility of the big bang and our self-awareness gives me great pause and reason to believe otherwise.
Without evidence in the supernatural I find it hard to believe or consider it. Believe me, I love fantasy, science fiction and the supernatural. I love playing Dungeons and Dragons and watching sci-fi and fantasy movies, and nothing would give me a greater sense of awe and wonder than if any of that was just a tiny bit true.
Soft Agnostic: acknowledging that their may be a divine creator but are skeptical of the possibility barring proof, but I am still comfortable in my assumption that there is one and working forward, in some manner, from there. The creator might be on his 7th day of rest which may be several hundred million years long, so it is in our best interest to work together to make things happen instead of waiting on some deity (or his minions) to do it for us. If ‘he’ exists then ‘he’ has faith in us to do the right thing, so perhaps we should have the strength to try to prove ‘his’ faith correct.
I hope this helps to give you some perspective on my spiritual path. I am still learning and I am still growing in my path. I hope that I do not ever stop for I wish to always be a student.
