I believe that there is a God for a very simple reason:
This planet, galaxy, solar system, universe.... from the molecules in water to the Milky Way reeks of engineering. REEKS of it. If this place happened by accident, I would be hell of lot more impressed than I am with the notion that a creative force beyond the grasp of people -who up until very recently thought caves and fire were terribly high tech- is somehow inherently silly. Somebody, something, built this. And the engineering is absolutely, jaw-droppingly, breathtakingly brilliant. I think the scientific community, as beneficial as they are to mankind, are a bit jealous.
Religion, on the other hand, from what I can tell empirically, is pretty much confined to hoax governemnts, shysters, chislers, strongarm tactics, Ponzi schemes, hucksters, thieves, megalomaniacs, weasels, and hypocrites.
The scientific community will agree to any wild notion, (little green men, spaceships, an inexplicable explosion which vomited forth the universe....)which discredit the idea of God, even as a consummate engineer or force thereof.
Meantime, badly be-wigged shuck and jive artists, charlatans in pointy hats, highbinders with collection plates, and those of their ilk, will pump forth any preposterous, and rigid ideology that dis-credits science and fills thier coffers with $50.00's and widow's pensions.
Somewhere in the middle of any two extremes often lies the truth.
Love,
bunner
---
I wanted my half in the middle and I wound up on the edge.