When people askm me what my religion is, I usually half-jokingly refer to myself as a Mikeist. My point in calling myself a Mikeist is to say that my beliefs really don't fit into any church, religion or denomination that I have come across. To be a Mikeist you have to: (a) be a good person; (b) be true to yourself and others; and (c) respect the beliefs of others. That's basically it. Thus, I considered Mikeism like Christianity, but without all of the crap various sects and denominations hae added over the years. Pure Christianity. Just act like you believe Christ would have acted. Obviously I come up short in trying to meet this standard.
Lately I have been asking myself, is it true that Mikeism is a type of Christianity? Is Mikeism Christian at all? And I'm not sure what the answer is. With atheism, humanism, etc. on the rise, there are all sorts of names and labels for non-mainstream beliefs. I know I am not atheist, agnostic, or humanist - I firmly believe there is a supreme being, something higher than ourselves, something that cannot be explained by science alone. I believe, but am not sure, that Jesus really existed, and that he was very much like he is described in the New Testament. I am not convinced Jesus was the literal son of God, as that seems a little too mythological for my tastes, but I may accept that he was sent by God. I believe the Old Testament is basically a collection of fables and myths. The suprem being I believe in would not be petty, vengeful, and capricious like the God of the Old Testament.
Deism/Philosophical Theism didn't seem to fit, at first. Notably, Deists do not really believe in prayer, or in the idea that God would concern himself with day-to-day human affairs or, more importantly, intervene. Deism would be pretty close to Mikeism if not for the fact that I believe I had a pryer answered as a child. I prayed almost every day for 10 years that my dog would die when I went off to college because I didn't think I could handle seeing him die. I think it was during my freshman year I came home to visit, and my dog was fairly normal, if not old. I left to go back to school, and a couple of days later he was dead. Now, I also believe firmly in the power of the human mind through concentration and focus to alter events around us. Basically, telekineis. I am convinced this happens all the time (think about how 50,000 fans at a sporting event can almost will their team to win). Thinking and focusing on my dog that intensely for that length of time could have had an effect. So maybe I am a Deist.
The thing is, I'm not too worried about it. I find the constant search for answers to these mysteries to be enjoyable and rewarding, and I don't see anything wrong with it. I would never believe in a God who didn't want us to challenge, question, and explore such fundamental topics.
