The following credo statement by Cameron Bossert was one of 19 statements given by the Junior High School students to the congregation of All Souls
My beliefs have changed over the years, and most certainly they will change more in future years, as I learn more about different religions in the world. I wonder about the different possibilities of explanations about how things are and came to be.
One of the first things I'll tell you is that I do believe in God. But this is one of the things that has changed in my beliefs in the past. I didn't go to Catholic school, I didn't go to Church. I was not fed this concept of God, as if it was as true and as easily explainable as 2+2=4. So God was not easily explainable for me to believe. As most people who don't believe in God, I said, "It's ridiculous, it's impossible! How could some guy just be sitting up there in the clouds, ruling our lives?" And I still think that it's ridiculous. There can't be some guy just sitting up in the clouds, in some heaven. I mean, we've all been on planes, right? I've been on quite a few planes, and I haven't seen anything. But God isn't just some guy sitting up in the clouds, he's someone to look to and to pray to.
Every Sunday, to get a parking space near the Church, I wind up this little plastic parking Goddess that sits on the dashboard. And she flaps her wings and sure enough we get a parking space. I bet all of you need one of those. It's kind of a sacreligious example, but it seems to work. If you believe in the parking goddess she will get you a parking space. On any other day, we would have gotten a parking space, that exact same parking space, or would we? There's no way to tell anyway. And even if we really would have gotten the same parking space, it makes the whole process more interesting. I don't know how interesting a desperate search for a parking space can get, but in general, God seems to work.
And you have someone to thank. If you've just won a race, and you've been working and training hard to win it, God is someone to thank so you can stay humble.
I also believe that we all live in a tiny molecule, an atom, a quark. That's what we all are compared to the universe. That's what everything is compared to the universe. There is nothing big in the universe. Everything is small. In the infinity of space, there is little difference between the size of the earth and the size of an atom. So, why is it so impossible that the entire world of intelligent beings could live in a drop of water? Let's say these beings sent probes out to explore beyond their world. They probably wouldn't get farther than a molecule, because that's a long way for them. And I think it's the same for us. We're searching continuously for intelligent life, and we're probably stuck to the sole of its shoe.
When I was little, this infinity scared me. And the whole concept of living for infinity scared me. What would it be like? Just living without end? Forever. Now, infinity is pretty much mathematical. Everything in math is on a scale of infinity. There can always be something more or something less. That scared the hell out of me. I would cry at night thinking about it, and run to my parents' room. What saved me from this fear, or "infiniphobia" was actually a book, written and illustrated by my parents' friend. It was a picture book based on the Buddhist "Book of the Dead." It was the story of a boy who grew into an old man and died. After he died, he was called to choose another life, to reincarnate. He chose what kind if animal he was, where he lived, who his parents were, and whether he would be a boy or a girl. Here I was, comforted by religion. Ever since I have belied in reincarnation.
I don't know what we do to reincarnate; if we become different animals, if we choose what our lives will be like. It just seems to make more sense to me. Some people say if you step on a cockroach you're doing it a favor because it won't have to be a cockroach anymore. The bald eagle in the zoo just might be the fly you swatted with a newspaper one morning. Our soul has to go somewhere. All the thoughts that we ever thought, all the love that we ever felt can't just sit in a dead skull. Just like I know you don't want to sit here for too long so I'll wrap it up.
Everyone's beliefs change, or have changed. It's hard for them not to change. If you just wonder sometimes, new ideas can pop into your head, and you start to question things, and suddenly you can believe something completely different than before. Copyright AllSouls 1998.