I believe in God - I do not need religion

Hi. Okay, you've made some interesting points. My perception comes from various sources but mainly from my own life experience and many years of thinking very deeply on this subject. I agree, the media does confuse things. I don't rely on or particularly trust it, though I believe it has it uses. I think alot of the confusion lies with the rapid progression of society in this day and age. Ideas are changing and when new ideas pop up, the media and various institutions (including religions) hastily (often fearfully) pounce on them, distort their meaning and try and use them to manipulate people (ie. try and make us believe in certain "truths").In my mind there is very little that is "set in stone" (absolute/unarguable) because truths can change. I see the theory of evolution as, currently, the most viable explanation for our existence on this planet but I fully expect it to change as, in time, our knowledge of nature and the universe develops. I won't outrightly deny creationism though. Evolution currently just makes more sense to me.They way I see it there are two ways that people commonly utilize science. 1) As a means to better understanding reality, and 2) as a replacement for religion to explain reality. While I have no problem with the first, I think the second is like trying to fit a "square peg into a round hole".I don't particularly understand athiesm. I won't try to explain or defend that line of thinking except to say that there are probably many various reasons that lead people to thinking that way. Like religion, however, I see (hardline) athiesm as a little too assuming.Now assumption is at very core of what I'm trying to put forth. I believe that people, in general, should be very careful not to get carried away with it.I haven't studied theology as you have (and I respect the fact that you are probably better informed in that area) but this leads to a point that I feel is relevant to my beliefs and this discussion. Theology is the study of the nature of God, and religion.I don't see anything wrong with studying such things, however, as I stated at the beginnning of this discussion, I don't want to assume to know what God is, or says, or wants, because I think God is most likely too great (immense) to see in anything but tiny aspects, doesn't speak (in the human understanding of the word) and doesn't actually want (or need) anything of us. I think we (via religions - and general over-thinking) very much assume these things about God's nature. I think you and I, and anyone who thinks deeply on these matters (and are willing to discuss them) are are slightly better off, but nevertheless, assumption can be a very dangerous thing. Scientists are just as much in peril if they believe their notions to be immutable.A specific example of assumption about God that has bugged me most of my life growing up in a Christian society, is when people refer to God as Him, He, and our Father in Heaven. This specifically implies that the one and only God (of Christianity) somehow has a gender. It doesn't make any sense to me at all. In fact, it seems made up. I've read that this might not apply to Islam (apparently your word for "Him" doesn't imply gender, and English just doesn't have a suitable translation), but it's just one example of the many assumptions/contradictions that are common in religion.Likewise, I would be far more willing to believe in creationism if it didn't come with stories like the seven day creation of the world, Adam and Eve, and Noah's Ark, that we are expected to believe were real, factual events in our history. I also don't understand why "the devil" is so often made out to be God's opposite. It seems to be an outright manipulation by religion (Christanity at the very least) to fit the universal notion of duality, ie. good and evil. Most of all, I don't understand the idea that I am damned to horrific eternal torture in Hell simply for not believing in the religious version of God and following their earthly practices and rituals, even though I am a decent person, not perfectly decent obviously, but enough so that if I were to stand before judgement, I believe that the nature of what is in my heart would be clear. I don't know alot about about Hindism, and I agree with what you say about Buddhism, but when it comes to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, the above are some examples of the things I find difficult to accept, and prevent me from joining these religions. Basically what I mean by all this is that I cannot place faith in and dedicate myself to something that doesn't make sense to me.This said, I understand what you say about having a "manual" to life. I think that you, as a religious person, have an advantage there in that the great prophets and authors of the holy scriptures have spent accumulated lifetimes thinking about and laying out guidelines for the benefit of humanity as a whole. I have had to struggle (and will most likely continue to struggle) to formulate/solidify my own personal view of morality from various sources, some that are not always as "clear cut" as religion, but they're there and available none-the-less and I feel that the effort has strengthened me. Society needs morality in order to function just as a family does, however a father, mother, son, daughter, brother and sister, do not necessarily need to be told to love and respect each other. Some do, yes, but not me, and not my family. Some need to be taught, yes, but teaching is not always about supplying new ideas to a student, sometimes it is about strengthening/nurturing what is already there.I believe that, if the devil exists, it exists in the hearts of us, a manifestation of all the negative aspects of humanity and, like an exorcism, it can be expelled by knowing it's true name and it's nature. So, if we are the devil inasmuch as we choose to be, or not to be, in our behaviour towards each other or otherwise, we can battle evil by better understanding ourselves.These words are the only evidence I can provide for my beliefs. I don't know if I can explain it any better than this.