"So as a nominal professing Christian, I define god as everything, and I worship at the altar of everything, stand in awe of the universe itself, of what Tillich called "the power to be"; but of no person, including anyone named God."

Say, you'd fit right in with Unitarian Universalists (and for others- there IS such a thing as UU Christians) and a man of your erudition and insight would be a welcome addition to any UU congregation- especially those regularly holding lay-led services.

If you haven't already checked us out: www.uua.org

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I am enjoying this letters thread, which given the topic, is nominally more respectful than normal. In my former UU congregation, we had a noisy, and often insufferable, passel of "fundamentalist" Humanists and Atheist- mostly OG's of the Humanist Manifesto, many of whom are now in their 70's and 80's. Good folks, very intellectual, but apoplectically opposed to any "God" talk. These people would bristle every time the "G" word was uttered; even when (nearly always) it was contextually clear that "God" was not being presented as an anthropomorphic, or even supernatural god.

It was sad for me to see these people close down at the mention of a mere word, thereafter blinding them to the beauty of the sermon. I suppose there are still people who were so traumatized by the foolish excesses of those who have so horribly corrupted religion in general, and Christianity in particular, that they cannot fathom any other meaning for "God" than the angry old bearded man in the sky who hears the prayers of earnest footballers before the big game.

To me, such "God Talk" from our UU pulpit was merely an excercise in economy of speech. Something I call "The God Bucket," a repository of all that is mysterious, unknowable and untestable- at least for now.

I am comfortable with this. As a trained scientist and active UU, I know what science is, how it works, and what it's for. Just the same, I also need regular doses of spiritual vitamins, and going to "Church" (Funny- in NY it was called the UU Fellowship, and now here, in Tennessee, it's called the UU Church!) every Sunday grounds me and reinforces my connection* to my immediate community, humanity, the Web of Life and the universe. This is not an attractive concept to people who need to feel Important, or Special in some way. No- we have a keen sense of our place in the universe, and to see that with fresh eyes is a very humbling experience- but one I derive great comfort from, and one that is a never-ending source of awe and wonder.

*(The etymological roots of "religion" are similar to "ligament"- this is to say, religion is that which binds us together)

It's OK if Science is able to explain "HOW?" without always being able to explain, "WHY?"

Maybe some things ought to remain mysteries. I think I'd like it that way.

Do be well,

"...it isn't the Jewish population here in America that the right is pandering to in these discussions... it's the dispensational evangelicals, who believe that a) it's part of God's great plan for history that Israel be the dominant nation in the middle-east, and b) that America needs to do God's work for him..."

Yes, yes. Rinse, Wash, Repeat.

Glen- If you agree with this premise, care to amplify it with a little more depth in a future column? This idea needs more visibility, since the need to neutralize the political influence of ignorant evangelicals has never been greater.