The choice between dogmatic religion and atheism is bleak. Liberal, open minded religion seems more palatable.

The choice between the dictatorial god of fundamentalists and no soul or spiritual dimension of atheism is a stark and bleak world, in my opinion. I prefer liberal religious organizations that don't dictate what people believe. There can still be, at least a hope, that there is more to life than just the chemical reactions we are made out of. Beyond clear evidence, from science, what is possible and what one wants to believe is anyone's guess.

Religion can be a space for creativity and people often say, "today's science fiction can become tomorrow's science."

It's true that even scientists don't always stick, unquestioningly, to a rigid set of beliefs. Science follows evidence, but scientific ideas change as our understanding of evidence changes. Science evolves.

I think people may have evolved with survival instincts that program us to avoid death and to seek things like meaning and comfort. If these hopes are removed, our society and psychology seems to suffer. On the otherhand unquestioned beliefs in things without scientific evidence can be a problem as well.

I think liberal churches provide more of a balance between rigid fantasies and total lack of what we loosely refer to as "soul."

Churches are not necessary, but they are one source of community as well. It seems like we are evolved to seek community as well.

While I am not in a church, I often go to events held in church buildings.

I grew up in the United Church of Christ, a liberal denomination.

The summer after my freshman year in college, I went back to a discussion in the church of my childhood. It was a "talk back to the minister" event.

In the discussion, I brought up an idea that there was a difference between faith and belief.

I said most people think of faith as an unchanging belief, but I redefined faith as a less tangible connection between the universe, or something we call god, and ourselves. I thought of faith as being a transcendent reality beyond just the words of a belief.

This philosophy professor, named Dr. Bundy at Washington State University, was also in that discussion. He was very impressed with my contribution to the discussion; especially at my young age. My mom was in that discussion as well and was beaming with pride. I remember walking out of that discussion on cloud 9.

Some of those ideas, about transcendence, probably came from learning Transcendental Meditation during high school.

In Pullman, and across the nation, there was a fad in the early 1970s to learn Transcendental Meditation. Posters of the Maharishi were all over the WSU campus.

I decided to try it.

Discussions about these types of things were very welcome in the church I grew up in.

Since then, I have not kept up the twice a day practice of meditation however.