Well, some people simply acknowledge God as a higher power that has no concern for human nature, or simply has no direct purpose within our lives. Deists for example may think of God simply in terms of Aristotle's "un-moved mover".. as a source of all events in the universe, that is beyond logic and can't be understood in human terms, but not necessarily that this God is even intelligent or even remotely like humans in any way at all.
I'm okay with people who want to think of a God on those terms, as long as they don't take it too seriously. When someone begins dictating their religious beliefs to others as fact, that's when religion becomes dangerous. Considering the unfathomable size of the universe (and given the fact that so much must exist beyond our 5 human senses and simple brains) it seems to me that any human drawing conclusions about the origins of life and the universe at this point in time must be fueled by arrogance and self-importance to some extent, whether consciously or not. Analyzing the universe with a human brain is a lot like trying to study atoms with a magnifying glass. Actually, it's more like seeing only one grain of sand on a beach, being blind to everything else but that single grain of sand, and claiming that Earth is a grain of sand.
Discussing God and the universe the right way is to take a light-hearted approach, and discuss metaphysical ideas and philosophies in a humble and open-minded manner. Discussing in the wrong way is to be aggressive, stubborn, rely on rhetoric, and to build one's explanation upon faith rather than logic. (Faith is fine, it just has no place in the context of debate or discussion) I've seen people going on for hundreds of pages, often trying to answer a question like "what existed before time?"
Can you imagine? People attempting to apply logic to nonsense questions. Verbs can't be used in a context where we're assuming time doesn't exist, therefore everything following such questions becomes garbage. The funny thing is that most philosophical and religious questions you see today are just as nonsensical as the above example; it's simply a matter of using our primitive language to create semantical games to garner replies and create pseudo-logical discussion. When you break it all down, this kind of thinking behavior is usually fueled by pride, and every argument must be traced back to some original theories or ideas (and anyone trying to bring something original to the table usually gets shot down by others for having no references) so in the end it becomes one group siding with (insert philosopher or religion here) and the other siding with (etc..)
Is it really that hard for people to admit they don't understand something? :P Humans are just dumb animals. Some of us acknowledge that fact, and others don't.. but we're still all the same. It's human nature to look at the differences between ourselves rather than the similarities (and there are far, far more similarities between humans than differences in objective terms) ..so through this process, our society naturally divides into further groups, and as humans separate themselves - they are often further corrupted by prejudice, fear, bigotry, pride, etc.. (human frailties, as some would define) and religious wars are the result of all this growing tension.
Just to add something positive to all this - understanding how conflicts begin through concepts in human psychology would provide evidence that wars can end eventually; social progress begins with ideas, and these ideas can be used in theories and further research to bring forth new social systems and programs. Humans may be very limited genetically, but our environments are open to constant change. Personally, I believe that a growing imbalance between the genetic and technological evolution of mankind accounts for the breeding of "social disease" (my definition of the term generally meaning all criminal and destructive behavior) including even the most minor examples such as pride, greed, jealousy, anxiety, fear, depression, etc.. I label it as social disease because it spreads and manifests from one human to another through social behavior influenced by these emotions.
Now you might be asking how all of this relates to an imbalance between genetic & technological evolution, but I'll save that for another thread as this is beginning to get off-topic. (unless anyone is interested, in which case I'll continue) Anyway, to tie this back in with religious discussion - I would like to see religions being more about community, more about having fun with friends and family and meeting new people, working together.. and less about taking beliefs seriously, lecturing others on why this-or-that religion is the best, or criticizing others for what they believe.
Why can't humans just enjoy life together and be happy to simply be alive? Suppose this life is all we have (and it very well may be) and once it's gone, that's it. It makes sense to spend our time focusing on making life more enjoyable.. can anyone truly think they're doing the right thing by supporting only those of one faith, but rejecting other humans? We have enough problems to worry about (disease, death, natural disasters, energy crisis, global warming, crime, etc..) and really don't need to create more conflict amongst ourselves through religious differences. ;P
Did our ancestors struggle to survive against predators, ice age, drought, other natural disasters, disease, and thousands of wars and other conflict all to achieve this world we live in today? We live in this wonderful age of wealth and technology for what? For people to complain that they don't have enough of what we want? For people to commit suicide because we can't stand the reality of today's world? Did everyone just "give up" when diseases like the bubonic plague threatened to destroy entire civilizations? Did African people give up after being subjected to centuries of slavery and humiliation? How many of you who are reading this now have been depressed; and how many of you are blind? deaf? have 2 legs and 2 arms? have the ability to read and write? have enough money for a computer and internet connection? For all of you who motivate yourselves through the bad and the good, thank you for doing so - that's what life is about, and in the end you will find balance because you put forth the effort to find it.
I directed that last paragraph mainly to those of you who feel that life isn't worth living and who feel empty without a "god" there to guide you. The truth is (strictly metaphorically speaking) god is in each of us, because how I see it - each of us are our own "gods".. when we pray, we're communicating to our subconscious minds to some extent, when we succeed in life we did so by pushing ourselves to our limits. Yes, there is no god in the sense of an omnipotent being watching us all, but there is a god if you believe in yourself, you are god, I'm god, god = humanity. If you believe in your own potential, and aren't afraid to embrace both the pain and the joy of life equally, that's when you'll get what you want. Perhaps more accurately, you'll want what you get.
All religions seem to draw upon and acknowledge this same power of the human psyche, which is why all religions are correct in that sense. The only problem is that what should be metaphorical is taken literally, and people begin defending misconceptions. It's like the old elephant parable... one man grabs the tail, the other the trunk, and the last the foot.. they all touch the same animal but describe something different. It's the same with religions - we're all seeing the same thing but from different points of view. To survive as a species, everyone must begin to believe in humanity. All of that faith people preach about needs to be focused on their fellow man instead of an idealistically all-powerful fictional being or group of beings.
