1. Since this is a “living book,” I’ll need to repeat myself a little
   
   
2. Western religions don’t seem to make any sense
3. And, modern Western kids are more dependent upon science and reason than ever before – and consequently, are abandoning religion in droves!
4. Consequently, my objective with this column is to show why modern science, and even logical Western thought, are probably misguided — and that despite the current, apparent, illogic of Western religion, there really are substantial reasons to believe in one…
5. (By “one,” it isn’t that I have a particular religion in mind – I’m just suggesting that Western religions in general, despite whatever mistakes they are making, are all based upon some of the same, or very similar, truths…)
   
   

• Again, the first bit of logical support for Western religion is the likelihood that we humans are simply not as SMART as we think we are — and our current scientific rejection of religion is simply the result of our own intellectual immaturity…
• The second bit of support (closely related to the first) is the real possibility that we can somehow FEEL truths that we cannot REASON to (yet?) — FAITH…
• Again, it would seem that modern science/thought has to be missing a dimension (or something) and religions happen to take that dimension into account…
• Maybe, the missing dimension should be called “MAGIC”

1. So, most of our public schools and universities in the West have been essentially DISCOUNTING religion…
2. And in general, the more education we receive in the West, the less religious we become
3. And, as previously noted, our churches and synagogues aren’t helping very much
4. MY claim is that the serious evidence AGAINST belief is just much more OBVIOUS than is the serious evidence FOR belief  
5. But then – my claim is that some of the evidence FOR belief, once recognized, is almost irresistible
6. For now, at least, I’m including the “paranormal,” or “supernatural” as “magical” – I suspect that someday we’ll be able to explain such events through normal cause and effect, but for now, they APPEAR to actually exist, and we have no explanation for them
7. Whereas Free Will places us ABOVE cause and effect, and “Ultimate Meaning” probably does also (though right now, I can’t find the words to describe how…)
   
   
8. And maybe, I’ll change my mind about the paranormal and supernatural
    
9. But again, if we parents want our kids to be happy, we need to recognize the evidence and pass it on to our kids, OURSELVES
10. And, my purpose with this column is to pass on what I perceive to be the serious evidence of ‘magic’ to other parents –and older kids
    
    
11. Most humans accept that our behavior is the result of a mixture of external realities and our own internal traits and values
12. The problem with free will is that our own ORIGINAL traits and values were apparently determined by external realities…
13. In other words, our ULTIMATE behavior would seem to be COMPLETELY determined by external realities

• In more other words — I can prove that there is no such thing as free will and that no one is responsible for anything
• In order to believe in free will, we have to assume that we determined our own traits and values before we had any traits and values (or something like that…)
• If we didn’t, all our behavior has been the result of outside causes — our heredity and environment
•  But how can we be responsible, before we even existed — for any of what we became?
• And, cause and effect rules…
  
  
• But then, I believe in free will anyway…
• Most likely, you do also
• We must be missing something…

• If free will is real, YOU AND I are simply “magical” — WE ARE SOMEHOW ABOVE THE LAWS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
• We are little Gods — perhaps, we are parts of God
• Perhaps, we are parts of a “universal consciousness”
• (Again, I urge you to look that one up)
• If we have free will, we are at least, LIKE little Gods
• And, cause and effect DOES NOT rule!
  
  
  
• More to come