As for how I see the universe...I don't know how you'll feel about my somewhat radical viewpoints. I do not believe in any god(s/ess/esses)...I believe only in the highest powers that I can experience for myself: nature (although I sometimes might refer to aspects of nature or nature itself by a deity name in order to understand it more on my level by personifying it), and the powers of the human mind, spirit and will. I believe in reincarnation, in some form or fashion. The spirit is immortal and it survives corporeal death and survives in some other state of consciousness. However, I am not refering to Heaven or Hell by any means. I see religion as something mankind has made up for 2 reasons: 1 being fear-- he is afraid of what happens after he dies, afraid of the unknown, how we were made, why...why is the most important thing. In general, mankind must find a reason for everything. It is a compulsion. Since there are no answers to the quandries I mentioned beforehand, man used his imagination to make up a reason to satisfy his curiosity...hence, God. The Christian God is no different than the Greek pantheon. He is a fictional character made up to explain away things people do not understand. The second reason is the same reason governments make and enforce laws. The people who came up with God attributed to him certain guidelines of living that would make life easier and safer for the majority at large. They found means of enforcing these "holy" laws by threatening retribution...eternal torture in a horrific place (Hell) if people did not abide by the laws of "God". Incentive enough? Evidently so. The bible is an impressive piece of literature which was in my opinion, written by many different people in many places who did so in order again, to contribute to the common good, whether they actually believed in "God" or not...(BTW, I personally think whoever wrote Revelations was on a VERY bad acid trip)...
