This I Believe

I believe there is more to life than meets the eye.
I believe there is a deeper meaning to most everything that we encounter.

I believe that we have an existence that goes beyond this physical reality.

I believe that God is greater than anyone can imagine.
I believe that our attempts to define God have been inadequate.
I believe that love is the key to knowing God to the fullest extent that we are able.

I believe that Jesus came the closest to knowing God and I have no problem calling him the "son of God."

 But I do not believe that Jesus' intent was for everyone to worship him. Nor do I believe that he would condemn those who do not.

I do not believe in "hell" or any kind of eternal damnation.

I do not believe that God is as egotistical and jealous as the Old Testament makes him out to be. I believe those passages are an example of the authors trying to define God in their image, rather than the other way around.

I believe that God wants everyone to be "saved" eventually and is patient enough to see that happen. 

I do not believe that any of the man-made religions or philosophies, either individually or taken as a whole, have discovered or revealed all that there is to know about God.

But I do believe that most religions serve a good purpose and that there is a communal benefit to worship, praise, Sunday school, Bible study, prayer groups, and so forth.
I believe that science is the best means for explaining the physical universe, while religions are the best means for explaining the meta-physical universe.
While I believe that the Bible is a wonderful book that should be read and studied, I do not believe that it is something that should be worshiped and idolized. I believe the Bible was written by people to express their faith and their understanding of God. I believe that some of the Bible was inspired by God, but it is not by any means inerrant or infallible.
I believe that what we think we believe is not as important as how we live our lives and how we treat other people.