PFR sez: Joe - the arts certainly are not superfuous, it is a basic function of our humanity.. our imagination..

Our urge to create, to ponder, to amuse, to entertain, to titilate, to thrill, to question...


Exactly, and very well said. I would propose that serious religious thought (as opposed to packaged ideology) should fall into the same realm. We in the Western world seem to have a certain self-loathing for our own religious traditions, and that makes it hard for us to understand what their roots are. And so we have people seeking enlightenment in religious traditions that are not their own, that are not authentic to them. That works for some people, but I question the lack of authenticity.

But if we look back at a religious tradition that is no longer in practice, we may be able to get a perception of the root purpose of such traditions. Ever since I visited the Upper Nile in Egypt with a very good guide in 2012, I have been fascinated by the very imaginative practices of Egyptian mythology, which spawned amazing art and architecture - and, no doubt, literature and music and other accomplishments. I think that if we can drop the self-loathing, we can see that our own Judeo-Christian traditions have given us many of the same gifts.

Steve doesn't like the word "proof." It's "evidence" that he seeks, although I don't know that I can really see much difference - the evidence supports logical conclusions which most people would consider to be "proof," no?

Anyhow, I think that religious traditions have left behind a lot of evidence of their value, and I've spend my life enjoying my exploration of that evidence.

-Joe-