On Sunday May 5, Chuck Wells gave us a presentation of: This I have Come to Believe. Following is the text of that discussion.

THIS I HAVE COME TO BELIEVE

May 5, 2019

I have struggled and searched during my 93 years to find the beginnings, growth and the Realization that constitutes the ‘essence’ of my spiritual being.

I have enjoyed the wonder of the process in its anxious and disturbing encounters and confrontations with my fellow human and other beings, and of course with mortality.

So here are a few of my observations of ‘The Human Comedy.’

I see no evidence of Divine Creation in this universe as I understand it.

Miraculous, yes, but not ‘Devine.’

There is no evidence of Divinity guiding us in the manner that we, the more sentient

species, have conducted and rationalized our behavior toward one another.

How we have so much fear and hate expressed throughout our various cultural and

religious values, while deeply knowing that, at best, we have one life.

As does every other one of us on this earth.

So how can we in good human conscience exploit others and believe in a benevolent

source?

No matter the range of our religious orientations, we all have the blood of avarice and

conflicting cultural dichotomies on our hands.

On too frequent occasion we have done unto others as we fear they may do unto us. And history tells us that is so, for good evidentiary reason. It happens over and over.

This grim game has existed in every culture, in every faith and under every form of government to a dominant andcontrolling degree ever since we banded together.

The battle cries sound from “Onward Christian Soldiers” to every other cultural faith’s

own version of supplication for security.

Yet within this continuous conflict is the countervailing expression of love and grace

under fire and under suppression.

Nearly all of us have an innate sense of fairness.

And each have needs for the basics of existence, love and self-esteem, and self expression.

Unfortunately these universal human needs have been, and are, the currency of the dominating cultures and egocentric controllers.

I should acknowledge them and perhaps thank them for having demonstrated to me my innocence as to what we are capable of.

Some of these people I have known and still experience some as adversaries.

And so they have contributed to the formation of my calling, my nature and my spirituality.

Socially, what else is there to do other than to retain my dignity, self-worth and capacity to love and enjoy my fellows and our Heaven here on earth?

The dominant culture is unable or unwilling to recognize that by never having put a survival for humanity value on natural resources they have de facto condemned our nature to a slow uninhabability.

They are threatening life’s balance and future existence. Environmentally speaking our economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of nature.

Nature is still here, and so far supporting this blinded human rationalization.

So we wake up each day and confront the same problem. To paraphrase Sally,

Do we celebrate this primal experience of awesome wonder of living in nature or do we once again stand into the life and death fight to save and restore our earthly habitat? We generally are compelled to do both. And then have a Sundowner glass in celebration of the glory of it all.

Primary reverence expression here if time allows.