Today is a special day for me.
Four years ago on this day I woke up in the early morning with an urge to write a book about religion. In the bio on this website I already wrote about this. The illness of my father was a shock to my world. It worked as a wake-up call. I was full of ideas and felt an urgency to write I had never felt before.
In the end I did not write the book within the deadline I had set for myself (three years, three months and three days), but I started this website.
In my life I have made a transformation from a strong opponent of religion to a careful defender of it, even though until this very day I never formally entered any specific tradition. Sometimes this transformation felt like swimming against the tide. Scientific research challenges religious claims with more confidence than ever before and religious extremists seem eager to prove to the world that religion is the most destructive force in human history.
I love science and detest religious extremists. At the same time I am attracted to religion (especially to the mystical side of it, but that goes beyond the gamma way). I reject the idea that many religious people seem to hold that an ethical life is impossible without religion, but I fully accept that religious traditions have a lot to offer to people who want to live a good life.
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (Thessalonians 5:21)
When I look at the notes I made during those days in 2012, this text of Paul the Apostle describes my attitude towards religious traditions very well. I set out to find a common ground in them, a few basic principles that are easy to understand and can create some harmony among them while upholding their unique place and value within cultural diversity.
About three months and three days later the gamma way symbol and its basic principles were created on my computer and in my mind. This period was also more or less the time span between Christmas and Easter that year.
That is why today is a special day for me and probably will be for the rest of my life.