great question--
it helps to see the difference between DEISM and THEISM-- that is, in simplest terms-- respecting that there is a GOD versus respecting god through a RELIGION.
I see GOD as a universal power, and high consciousness as a universal force as well.
what religions try to do is channel the power of God and univeral truths, and make them more palatable for the masses. Many religious texts contain the same basic principles, but with a lot of other stuff that is false, manipulative, and contradictory between one another. But they are used as systems for domesticating certain societies, so they work at the time they are needed. They are not pure truths in themselves, simply systems for understanding the higher power.
it's like, GOD is pure water, but religion is the branded form-- coke, pepsi, tropicana, vitmainwater, etc-- they each have some form of the pure essence of water, but they are adulterated to make it more palatable for the masses. Its important to see these things are not as pure as water, as religion is not as pure as GOD.
(also refer to Power vs Force-- the section where Dr Hawkins calibrates the levels of truth of each religion.. in order of purity-- Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam (in their current forms)
each of the original teachers, Christ, Buddha, Krishna, Abraham, were most pure in their teachings, but as their teachings were passed down to different people, their teachings became progressively less pure.)
It's unfortunate that many atheists see impurities in religion, and then doubt the existence of GOD-- its important again to see that religion itself is not GOD, but simply a branded channel for it.
You can learn about God through religion, but you have to be able to discern what is true in the teachings, versus what was added for societal control. By studying many religions, it can help to see the overlap where the higher truths reside, though that's quite a process. Finding purer spiritual texts and teachers helps.
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