Religion bereft of the "human cause"? How about this?

'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me'....‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'
(Matthew 25, NRSV)

To me and to many Christians, this sort of compassionate God is the central focus of our belief - that the essence of God is within everyone and everything. Virgins who spare popes from bullets and deities who damn homosexuals don't really fit into the picture for us. I believe that all those who show this sort of compassion will "inherit the kingdom," no matter what they do or don't believe...but don't ask me what the "kingdom" is. I don't really know...some sort of absorption into all that is good, I think.

Why do I believe? It doesn't have anything to do with doctrine or authority - that's just the institutional structure intended to serve those who share the faith. And to my mind, theories of creation or the origins of things, have very little to do with the essence of faith. I believe because all my life, I have experienced glimpses of a profound goodness. I see that goodness embodied in Jesus Christ, and I call that goodness God. Other people don't have that same experience, and that's fine with me. I cannot and will not impose my experience of what I call God on others. I respond to that experience through my (Catholic) religious tradition, and other people respond differently. If people see that this has a good effect on me, maybe that will make a difference to them - or not. Whatever the case, it's good for me, and it's sacred to me - and I don't want to argue about it, or impose it on anyone else, or allow somebody to back me into a corner and beat me on the head about it. It's part of who I am, part of my essence. If you don't like who I am, leave me alone and go talk to somebody else. I don't want to force anything on you, and I don't want to prove myself to you, and I don't want to defend myself to you. Why should I have to?
-Joe-