Throughout recorded time man has questioned his presence on this earth. We have searched for meaning. Always we looked to a higher power than our own. We have sought the power that controls the whims of nature. We have sought control. We have prayed, offered tribute and provided sacrifice. As to whether these actions have had any effect, is left to interpretation. I refuse to believe it is all a random act. I believe there is purpose and direction. I also believe it is beyond my comprehension as to the nature of this plan. I am but a molecule in a universe of molecules. Fate and faith are one and the same. In the best case scenario I can influence my fate. Without faith, I have no hope of doing so. Some may say that it is a pragmatic approach to religion, but I am a man of thought. Having faith does not exclude one from the acquisition of knowledge. Nor does knowledge exclude one from faith.
Man has always prayed to his God. Whether that God was a stick figure on the wall of the cave or a God living in Valhalla he prayed. Man has asked his God for guidance and mercy. We have sought to explain the unexplained in our lives. We have always asked our Gods for favor, and after being granted that favor, we celebrate our God. When things go well, we thank our God. When things go badly, we question why ? Is it because we have displeased our God ? Is our God a revengeful God ? These thoughts are only human. Faith and Hope are difficult to keep. It requires effort on our part. All too often they are cast aside in times of trouble. Desperation and fear become the controlling factors. This is the human condition.
Good and evil. Man has sought to define these two opposites. We have used our Gods to decide these things. Are Gods the creation of man ? Has man, in his attempt to explain his condition, invented a scapegoat ? Someone to blame when things go wrong. A place to turn and say, it is not my fault ? Some may believe that is the case. Some will say that is why God has been invented and reinvented throughout the ages. Our Gods shaping our environs. Thomas Edison thought it was our need to live on. He felt we invented our Gods to satisfy that need.
On a strictly intellectual level this theory may make sense. The problem lies in the fact that man is not a strictly intellectual being. Man harbors emotion. The fulfillment of our emotional needs share equal footing with our physical needs. Man is a product of nature. As such the laws of nature should govern our actions. These actions are sometimes in conflict with the wants and desires of man. On a basic level all matter is energy. Our scientists have shown this to be a fact. Energy can never be destroyed, only transformed from one state to another. This is also a scientific fact. The fact remains that this energy has to emanate from somewhere. What is the source of this energy ?  What is the eternal ?  That is the mystery of God.