[alison]

that wouldn't exclude the possiblity that the universe is constructed in a way that makes oneness with God and realization of inner potential nearly the same as a matter of fact.

That's roughly Aquinas' point (that God is perfection and that man's desire towards perfection therefore is a striving towards God). I must say that I don't think of any serious religious thinking as an "easy way out" - look at Kierkegaard! Or any of the mystics! It's just that something in the way my brain is constructed doesn't permit me to believe in God, and when pressed I would say that I think that the universe is Godless; as someone said recently, a "cosmic killing jar" in which we have to make our all-too-mortal and frail ways as best we can. The desire to believe in God (or gods) is endlessly fascinating to me though (that very desire has itself been cited as a proof that God exists). Still, at bottom I think these big abstractions - God, Truth, etc - are metaphors for humbler things, and sometimes obscure them entirely, which is perhaps why they trouble me.

[Hereford Eye]

Assume for a moment that god exists. The implication then is that she created us and the natural question is why? That's where I run into problems.
Any answer I come up with constitutes man understanding god which is almost as far as out as my poor dog trying to understand me. I can hear the mob screaming that I am not supposed to come up with the answer. That's god's job. That's why she reveals her word to us.
I'm sorry; that begs the question why would she do that? What obligation does she have to explain anything? Pretty damned arrogant of me to believe god owes me an explanation, isn't it?
That's what appeals to me about the non-monotheistic religions. They don't appear to worry about what god wants; they appear more concerned over what makes me a better person for my own sake. That makes sense to me.
That and the fact they remind me pretty much of Michael Smith and the need to grok the fullness of life.

Added after the fact:
Alison: Interrogative, please. An example of a humbler thing for which god or truth or courage is a metaphor?

[Gary Wassner]

How absurd, honestly, is it to think that in an infinite universe we were created by God? Or that in an infinite universe God could possible exist. It is impossible to grok, I suspect. But it seems quite arrogant to assume.

[Hereford Eye]

As a Moderator in good standing, are you going to mod yourself there, GW? That's a pretty powerful swipe at least one third of the world's population. Wasn't there a commercial one time that pointed out that 2 billion people can't be all wrong? Brought up on causation, the Big Bang leaves a big question mark for me. Mostly, I don't worry about it, though. I go back to Godel.

[alison]

An example of a humbler thing for which god or truth or courage is a metaphor?

Hi HE - hard to write without sounding sentimental. But very particular and small things. A child's kiss, for example. Does it have to mean beyond its very considerable is-ness?

[Gary Wassner]

God is what WE make it to be?