The Author
Fool n. A person who pervades the domain of intellectual speculation and diffuses himself through the channels of moral activity. He is omnific, omniform, omnipercipient, omniscient, omnipotent. He it was who invented letters, printing, the railroad, the steamboat, the telegraph, the platitude and the circle of the sciences. He created patriotism and taught the nations war-founded theology, philosophy, law, medicine and Chicago. He established monarchical and republican government. He is from everlasting to everlasting -- such as creation's dawn beheld he fooleth now. In the morning of time he sang upon primitive hills, and in the noonday of existence headed the procession of being. His grandmotherly hand has warmly tucked-in the set sun of civilization, and in the twilight he prepares man's evening meal of milk-and-morality and turns down the covers of the universal grave. And after the rest of us shall have retired for the night of eternal oblivion, he will sit up to write a history of human civilization. Bierce s.v. 'fool'.
Bierce conveniently excludes himself from the ship of fools, to stand apart and judge their folly. But do we have any choice?
The foolishness that this site sets before you logs (quite incompletely) a personal journey. This journey had some interesting twists and turns, and has given me a sort of personal experience of thousands of years of religious history. The purpose of this site is to apply the lessons learned to the religious problems currently besetting the world.
I was born into the Roman Catholic Church and became deeply involved with it, entering a religious order. After my solemn profession (but before ordination) I was asked to leave. There followed a long period of disentanglement from Catholic doctrine. In the last twenty years I have actively sought alternatives to the Catholic position.
After a long period in the dark, I see a little light on the religion question. The major battle now seems to be over, and some interesting ground covered. This site is the first step toward documenting an alternative to Christian theology.
History suggests that a century is a short time in religion. I will probably spend the rest of my life developing this site and its various collateral branches. I do not expect to make much of an impression in my lifetime, but I do believe that real salvation for the planet earth can only come, in the long run, from a scientific theology based on the hypothesis that the world is divine and creative.
[revised 3 January 2012]
