I can still remember that first time I bowed to the Buddha… such a simple act, and yet perhaps the most defiant and difficult thing I have ever done.

I have not lived the life of a saint. I’ve been a rebel from as far back as I can remember—fired from every job, court-martialed in the military, kicked off the mission field twice, branded a heretic by those who once called me brother.

Rebellion, yes. But those acts of defiance were against men, and I could justify them. To bow to the Buddha was different. For me, it was an act of defiance against the God I had known and worshiped all my life. But I was desperate—desperate to know a Truth that needed no apologies and did not require faith.

My body resisted as I began to go forward, as if bracing for a bolt of lightning through the ceiling. Nothing happened. I bowed a second time, then a third, and as I came back to sitting, a peacefulness overcame me that I had never known before. The chains of religion fell away. Its threats of hell and damnation no longer intimidated me. I was free. I felt alive—alive and one with all that surrounded me.

I no longer believe in a creator god, but that does not mean I believe in nothing. I believe the Eternal Life that unites us all, which through us creates the reality we experience, is the God I once worshiped.

The new commandment Jesus gave was not to worship a god but to love one another. In doing so, we become his disciples and can say, as he did, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”

I know many will find this threatening, but I think it’s time to challenge the teachers and teachings of all religions. God is an energy to be lived, not an entity to be worshiped. From what I know of the Messengers we now pay homage to, they would most certainly agree.

I am not a Buddhist, nor do I consider myself a member of any cult. I do, however, enjoy celebrating Life with others who can accept me without conditions. For where two or three are gathered in mutual respect and agreement, there Love gathers as well in their midst.