I’m a gnostic atheist in terms of the Judeo-Christo-Islamic monotheistic god. I’ve checked. That one was made up by petty ignorant men. There’s these books they wrote: their bibles, their scriptures, their creeds. Whatever. I discern it to be fiction. I know that god isn’t real.

I’m an agnostic atheist in terms of any gods I haven’t bothered to check. I may not know if that particular god exists, but I see no reason to believe. The assertion lacks credibility. Verifiable evidence is not presented. I don’t know. I don’t believe. That’s agnostic atheism.

If, in the future, I’m presented with an entity that fits all the criteria to be a god, I probably still wouldn’t use the term. If verifiable evidence of Creation was presented, and the entity was proved to be omnipotent, omniscient, perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness..? Meh. IF that creature, were presented before me? I have questions. Brain cancer in children. That’s part of your Divide Plan? Meh. I have MANY concerns. I doubt I would be allowed by this alleged god to ask them. I’d probably be chastised. This creature isn’t worthy of my worship.

With all this said, for the record, I’m not spiteful towards all the god concepts. I find many of the polytheistic gods to be rather pleasant. I still presume them to be fiction due to lack of evidence, but if given the opportunity and the pleasure of meeting one of them, I doubt I’d be quite as sour and dour. I may even shake their hand and offer them sugar and milk for their coffee. My visceral acidic demeanor would mostly be reserved for the alleged Creator Of All Things. The one who made this universe, perhaps this multiverse, and is still presumably completely in control of not only its derivation but it’s journey and destination. I have issues with the Judeo-Christo-Islamic god that most Believers of that god insist is The God of Peace. Humanity has shed more blood upon its own species in the name of that god, and presumably that god is okay with it. He’s all-powerful. He could put a stop to war, but he chose not to, because he’s all-knowing, and this blood shed is part of his Divine Plan. Meh.

Any polytheistic god relegated to a particular slice of the proverbial pie, I’d imagine them to be along the ride with the rest of us. They too have roles to fulfill in the maelstrom that is The Divine Plan. I rather imagine polytheistic gods to be kindred spirits. The god of dreams, the goddess of death, the immortal of desire, supernatural beings each tasked with say the earth or the moon or the sun. The deities attuned to delight and despair. I love these stories and the characters tasked to personify them. I have no axe to grind for them. I may offer them a hug if they welcomed it, or simply gave them a wide berth if that’s their preference.

It’s perhaps preferable for we mere humans to imagine a universe in which there are beings greater than us, who have their foot on the gas and their hand at the wheel. We need to believe there’s a purpose to all things. There must be a reason for the pain and suffering. There needs to be justice in the face of horror. We seek these things and when we don’t find them, we fill in the gaps to appease ourselves. Like a primate some millions of years ago looking up into the night’s sky and seeing the full moon and wondering what it’s doing there. Is she in awe of this orb in space? Is she in fear? Does she throw sticks at it to get its attention? Does she shout at it? Does its presence comfort her? Light her way? Is she enamored by its mystery or frustrated by its secrets, and after some time does she tell herself stories about why it is there and where it goes and why it returns? If she finds others like her, who also look up into the sky and wonder, and does she share with them what she believes? Do they agree? Are they in awe? Are they in wonder? Do they fear her wisdom? Do they share their own?

Millions of years later, modern humans uncovered the remains of one of the oldest primates. They named her Lucy. They found about forty percent of her skeleton and they put them together, then tried to ascertain what the rest of her looked like. They sought to understand who she was and how she lived, and where we can’t find solid evidence to fulfill that knowledge, we can extrapolate. Did she look up into the sky? Did she see the same Moon we do today? Was she in awe or fear? Are we in awe or fear of her? What does she represent to us?

Millions of years from now, what will they find? Will they be in awe of us? Will they be in fear? Would they see us as gods or just fools? Is this the circle of life? We are not meant to know everything. We are not even sure if there’s a Divine Plan that seeks to attune us with meaning. A wise man once said “if nothing we do matters, what matters is what we do.” Perhaps Lucy became friends with the Moon in her sky. Perhaps we find a friend in her spirit. Perhaps we’ll leave something behind for our descendants or complete aliens to uncover. Perhaps whatever is left of us will instill awe and mystery but also leave secrets behind.

We do not know. We ask questions. Sometimes we find the evidence that confirms answers. Perhaps sometimes we just fill in the gaps with what we hope is there but can’t find. There is no end to this cycle. There is no destination of purpose. The Divine Plan may not even be there, and if there is, it doesn’t have a solid finish line to it. It’s not about achieving the goal. It’s about the journey. What we learn and experience along the way. There is no end to these words. I will simply choose to stop typing them, but you have your own happy ending. Look up into that sky for me. Tell the Moon I said hi. Respect the Sun but don’t look too close. What do you know? What do you believe? Do we need answers to these questions? ..or are they merely rhetorical? Does it matter?

There are mysteries and secrets which seek to be unraveled, but there are some we must leave behind. Once a mystery or a secret is known, it’s no longer a mystery or a secret. It becomes Known.