Could I be Christian?

As I sat alone in an empty church, as I occasionally do, I thought that maybe I could adapt to Christianity. I've been drawn recently to the Jeffersonian Jesus that John Shelby Spong introduced me to (see earlier entry). This is a Jesus with no supernatural elements, but no less profoundly inspiring. I am inspired almost every day by the idea of a human who taught us to rise above our biological and tribal instincts to be more human. There is power in that, even if we never know what Jesus really said, and that it is only fairly likely that he even existed.

Perhaps this alone makes me Christian. But can I be a Christian who does not believe in god? I don't know. I could says I believe in a pantheistic god--the totality of the universe is divine, but not a distinct entity. But does that even mean anything? It certainly rejects the Christian god. And it is more of a judgment about the universe.

But I do have this certain spiritual sense of the divinity of all existence that stems from basic arguments about whether god exists. The believer asks, "If there is no god, then who created the universe." The atheist rejects this, because he'll ask who created god, and the theist's answer is that god always existed. But I wonder two things: 1) If something could have always existed, why can't that be the universe itself in some form? And 2) If the universe needs to be explained with the existence of a divine entity, perhaps it is the universe itself that is divine. The question of whether the universe could have always existed is above my pay grade, so to speak, but it still leaves open the idea the universe itself being divine. However, I can feel reverence for the very idea of the universe, but not consider it divine. That may be where I never really feel plugged into religion.

All this is philosophical thinking. Practical issues are more clear to me. The bible seems like a rough draft that people misguidedly take seriously. And some religious institutions are disgusting.

So, yeah, don't feel like I have a religious home in Christianity. I read someone thinking about this and asking, "Will I ever be whole?"

What the fuck is going on?

I've always understood that much of the voting public are loopy space cadets who don't know what is going on and vote with their gut. The public is constantly polled on their candidate preference and opinions on matters of public debate. But when they are asked factual questions, an astounding proportion lack basic civic knowledge. Thirty percent or more cannot name the Vice President! Holy shit!

Stupidity is found all over the political spectrum. Religious conservatives, of course, are skeptical of global warming, evolution, and the history of the universe as it conflicts with biblical history. Secular liberals have their own religion of sorts that distrusts anything they can classify as unnatural, such as genetically modified foods, nuclear power, and even vaccines.These goons vote stupidly.

A big segment of the population has been especially vulnerable since the postwar industrial bubble burst and good-paying, low-skill jobs disappeared. Does their stupidity plus insecurity plus sense of entitlement fuel Trump's popularity? I don't know. It seems like a good guess. Was there something that could have been done to keep these people happy? I don't know how society can make low-skill, good-paying jobs abundant again. And I don't know that thinking about it that way is useful. I need to think about this some more.