Catching Idle Butterflies

Having a bit of controversial fun

I had been knocking around in my brain looking for even the remotest possibility of an idea to write about in today's entry since last night, but came up with nothing.

Teaches me to be a little patient; sometimes an idea surfaces when I least expect it.

I started out this morning reading my favorite blogs, Mavis Moog being one of them. In her latest entry "Invalid Entry"  she discusses not only Intelligent Design, but also a bit about God and faith, or the lack thereof.

My eyes initially went a little foggy, my knee jerk reaction being, "I can't read this. It will only piss me off."

But then I shut my eyes for a moment, took a few deep breaths, and decided, "Mavis is an intelligent person. Let's see what she has to say."

So, emotions set aside, I read her entry to the end with a more objective and discerning eye. She made some very good points, defended them well, and I found myself even agreeing with a few.

Much to my surprise, I even left -- as of this writing -- two comments.

Something I would not have done six months ago.

Perhaps I've grown enough in my own faith to defend it, but I have also matured as a human being not to scoff and walk away from one who believes differently. It's quite possible my own world and spiritual view needs to be challenged once in a while.

After all, if I can't stand behind my beliefs, then why do I believe in those things in the first place?

One of my favorite quotes is by Galileo: "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."

Addendum:

Speaking of controversies, I just read this little article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_re_eu/did_jesus_exist
It's so ridiculous, you'll have to laugh, but at the same time, you might wonder how far our own legal system is away from hearing a case like this.