Very interesting exploration of theism. I particularly enjoyed the insertion of your own interpretation of the words being used because given how nebulous “God” and “religion” are as terms (including love); it is important to first clarify one’s position on the topic.
That said, my definition of religion is different than yours. I consider religion to be used as a word to describe a significant amount of people adhering to an ideology. What differentiates cults from religions in my mind is simply the number of people involved despite the negative associations each of these words have attached to them.
By my metric, science absolutely qualifies as a religion. Vegans too, subscribe to a set of rules and ideology that I would consider as a religion.
As for the word God, that is a difficult one for most people to agree upon. My personal definition boils down to “an intelligence greater than that of mankind whom is responsible for the creation of all existence.”
My definition of God actually does not involve Jesus or his resurrection (though I would consider myself Catholic) and I’m sure most intellectuals would not see my interpretation as anything that threatens their own beliefs. Either we are the product of random chaos or we are the result of some type of intelligence that we don’t fully understand the workings of.
I feel that dogma becomes problematic only when it is exclusionary and closes itself off from the most basic of truths. Any scientist should agree that an intelligence greater than that of man is responsible for all that exists. Just this simple truth should be the only thing adhered towards because everything else after that is purely speculation.
This brings me to my final point. I believe that the chasm between theism and anti - theism needs to be bridged. Science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind. If we collectively ponder the question of intelligence and focus only upon what is responsible for creation; I’m certain that our civilization will make great strides in discovering evidence that supports intelligence as being the driving force of all that exists. Whether one wishes to call it Allah, God or Brahman is irrelevant as to the label provided or the particulars demanded by such deities for us to abide by.
It’s really quite simple. Is evolution a result of order or chaos? Starting from here can lead us to the work of proving the existence of a “God” or supreme intelligence. I think this is the ultimate question to be asking and focusing upon.
What theists crave most is understanding and developing their relationship with this intelligence.
And atheists crave understanding and knowledge.
This kind of partnership would be of immense benefit to both.
