by Eric J. Lakits

Wednesday, June 26, 2002

This past weekend I had a religious experience. I embarked on a pilgrimage that took me back to a sacred land. I am currently living in Germany, and like so many pilgrimages for those who live in foreign lands, this one took me back to my homeland-the United States of America.

Many define God as "The Creator." Some are more specific and explain that he is that which created the universe and all that exists. This last is absurd of course, because it is the universe that provides the materials and the means by which creation is possible. Creators are those who make use of these materials. If God, properly defined, is the creator, then each man who takes advantage of His ability to reshape the universe is a God-and there are many: Thomas Edison, the God of Electricity; Henry Ford, the God of The Internal Combustion Engine; Aristotle, the God of Logic and Reason; The Wright Brothers, Gods of Aviation; Bill Gates, the God of Silicon; Galileo, the God of The Universe (if only this title could be thrown in the faces of his persecutors); Albert Einstein, God of the Hell Fires that should rain down upon the evil ones who would dare make war with the gods and attack our Heaven on Earth. The pagan list goes on and includes not just these great Men, but all Men who create and/or achieve greatness.

This past weekend, I discovered that as an Atheist I am the most religious of all categories of men. For I understand what it means to revere Man and that any religion that despises Man is one that commits blasphemy and worships false gods. And also because I believe in not just one god, but many. And I do not bow down before any because such true creators do not require nor accept such gestures. For a Man to bow would be to contradict His glory. Instead, I stand before them as an equal, for it is Men in their own image that they seek.

The temples of our gods take the form of shopping malls, museums, and sports arenas. Here, all of their creations and achievements are proudly displayed and are available to any and all who can present the products of their own labor as tribute-not as a sacrifice in the hopes that the gods will be merciful and provide them with food and shelter if it so amuses them, but in monetary trade that guarantees that each man will receive not only food and shelter, but luxuries as well-because they have earned such by a similar creative effort.

And those who cannot offer their creative efforts or achievements in exchange are mere mortals. For those who are not Gods leave behind no legacy, no evidence of their having ever lived or died. Yet each Man who creates is immortal because long after his time on Earth, He will have left behind the products of His creative Will as His legacy. The lesser gods may not be known by name or for specific achievements, but they are gods just the same. Each Man capable of sustaining His own life through His own creative capacity is God of His own life.

And those who despise Man, those who turn away from Him, they are the evil ones who have committed the greatest blasphemy. To attack Man is to deserve to burn in hell.

Now I know that I am religious, atheist, and pagan. These are not contradictions; rather they are different ways of saying the same thing-each within a given context. When I made my pilgrimage to New York, I joined many others and we climbed high to the top of a mountain as a tribute to that which is possible to Man. We proved that Mount Olympus is within the reach of Men. There we listened to Dr. Andrew Bernstein give a lecture on His new book, Heart of a Pagan. The book is about a Man called Swoop, a consummate achiever who comes to a small town in rural Iowa and changes the lives of everyone by giving them a vision of Man as a hero. Andrew Bernstein explains that Swoop criticizes Christianity, not because it is religious, but because it is not religious enough. He referred to his speech that day as "The Sermon on the Mount." I cannot think of a more apt description for this event. We climbed high as Men and descended as gods. I too am a creator. I am an electrical engineer by trade, and my ambitions include other vocations as well such as real estate, teaching the use of firearms, private enterprise, writing and investing. My religion is the Glory of Man. Living is the only way to practice it, and to practice it is to live.

This past weekend was a religious experience for me, not because I found God, but because I discovered that I am God!