You've Gotta Have Faith ... and Religion?

I saw this story in the news about the former Governor General of Australia who was once an atheist, getting baptized into the Roman Catholic Church and why he wants Aussies to join him.
Personally, I would have to say that I am no way an atheist, but would have to label myself as agnostic if you wanted me to slap a label on myself.
By agnostic I mean agnosticism is the view that human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist.
Of course I have my own faith that "God" does exist and that we ALL live on after death.
And I don't mean believers go to heaven and the rest go to hell.

There is no way in hell that I could ever believe in an everlasting hell anyway.
And while I am a confirmed member of the Liberal Catholic Church, because I like the mystical side of the Catholic Mass and the Church's mystical teachings, I certainly don't think people need a religion to be close to "God".
If you're alive I can't see how you aren't a part of "God" anyway, and I don't see a loving "God" snuffing out your "soul" no matter how evil you are in this life.
Not to say that you won't have some serious karma to work through the more evil you are though, in my view.

Not that I think Theosophy is
any more truthful, either

I see nothing wrong with being part of a religion as long as you are operating from love, rather than fear.
And I have to say when I saw Bill Hayden the staunch atheist get baptized into the RCC my initial thought was here is a scared old man facing death and trying to hedge his bets with a "God" or the "Devil" throwing his "soul" into hell for ever.
But that might just be my cynical thoughts on how a lot of people turn to religion late in life more from fear of their own immanent death and the fear of "what if?"
Maybe Bill just finds a sense of peace and at-one-ment like I do when in a church or partaking in the Mass?    
Bill Hayden explains why he decided to be baptised

I see and approach Christianity very much in a mystical sense like Carl Jung wrote about in his writings.

And having just read Gregory P. Smith's excellent memoir 'Out of the Forest' and watched a TV special where he details the abuse he suffered at the hands of a Christian institution when he was growing up, I can see why some people recoil at the thought of organized religion.

Out of the woods

Gregory P. Smith in the 'Shaping Life Into Story'
talk at the 2018 BWF 

I highly recommend reading Gregory P. Smith's memoir 'Out of the Forest' and I'll have another post coming soon about that book.
It only just struck me that Gregory's initials are GPS, so he shouldn't get lost in the woods or in life you would think, wouldn't you?-)
A Hike Through the Black Forest and Hitting the Turps?

I was wearing the above Mullumbimby t-shirt the day I met Gregory, not even knowing who Gregory was, or where he was from.
I bought the t-shirt off Iggy Azalea's father years ago, so I don't know if the guy on the shirt is meant to be Gregory the legendary man of the bush around Mullumbimby, or just some generic cartoon hippy.

Jessie Cole, Gregory P. Smith, Bri Lee and
Zacharey Jane at the 2018 BWF talk

At the end of the day, I think you have to make your own mind up about religion, but I personally believe that "God" is bigger than any one religion and that life will provide the answers when religion won't give you the comfort you seek.

Follow your heart?

But when it comes to joining a religion or finding the wonder in life, I would ask myself, "what would Jesus do?-)"
I know what Paul Cox would do.

Amen

UPDATE: 2018

Out of the Forest and Back into the Jungle?