The evolution of my perspective on God, religion in general actually, has been a long one. I was brought up a Baptist, graduated from a Christian college, entered the ministry, and attended the American Baptist Seminary of the West in Berkeley. Also, I never gave up on rational thought.

The influence of certain philosophers and theologians (Tillich, Whitehead, and Teilhard to name a few) aided the evolution. It became clear that the religious community conflates the terms belief and faith. Faith to many is after the order of Lewis Carroll's Queen of Hearts. She would believe in six impossible things before breakfast. The point of religion is to provide meaning rather than definition. Belief in stupid shit does nothing to facilitate that. Tillich suggests that faith is the 'act of being grasped by ultimate concern' allowing for both meaning and growth. The problem with the Queen of Hearts and other fundamentalists is that to maintain belief in stupid shit, they must deny elements of truth of which they may be only dimly aware. Maybe faith has nothing to do with believing in stupid shit. I do not believe in a god because I see no reason to do so, and that strengthens my faith.