perhaps faith is neither choice nor submission
perhaps faith is a demand
for our pain to have meaning
for the stories of the world to rhyme
for a world designed by a loving hand

perhaps I will believe with defiance
in the forgiveness of all sins
in the kingdom of god on earth
and even
the resurrection of the dead

I will believe with clenched fists
and gritted teeth
and prayers that refuse
to be gentle

Straton wrote that the most common error we commit is to think that ideas determine reality, when in fact the opposite is true. Ideas follow from material conditions; belief systems are formed to explain and justify the way we live. We did not have kings because we believed in the mandate of heaven; we believed in the mandate of heaven because we lived in monarchies.

When you are asked, "Where is God? Who is God?" stand up and say, "I am God and here is God, not as yet completed, but still advancing towards completion, just in so much as I am working for the purpose of the universe, working for the good of the whole of society and the whole world, instead of merely looking after my personal ends."

You, sir, are a moron of the highest order.

It's not right to make fun of Melville's comically absurd inability to take decent pictures.
She's a hyper-advanced humanoid machine, not a photographer.