Originally Posted by
HWooldridge
Actually, I am an engineer who deals in critical thinking and root cause analysis on a daily basis - but I still come back to the belief that a Creator is behind it all. Your take that the universe is imperfect is a human opinion based on your life experiences developed over a relatively short time - consider if you will, that all humans could be wiped off the face of the earth and everything would still work. We are simply here for the blink of an eye but the cycles of the universe remain in their natural rhythms. Obviously, all domesticated animals would evolve into the best natural version based on their species, and some wild flora and fauna would perish but that has always been the case.
Most religions, including Christianity, began life as simple and direct philosophies of how to live among our peers and worship, but those danged old "people" got involved and made a mess, which is where we are now. We really don't need Satan rummaging around and causing havoc because we are quite skilled at causing chaos on our own.
With respect to God and the Big Bang, perhaps this is the 100th iteration of many Big Bangs and we are only a fraction of the way into many more. However, I think what may scare a lot of people is that we really are alone in this galaxy and Biblical teaching is functionally correct in stating the Lord is above all things. We tend to create everything in our image because that's our only point of reference, which is why most of your alien depictions are bipedal and more or less shaped like humans. We cannot conceive another race or Power that has no form or shape, or are amoeba sized but completely sentient, i.e., the pot cannot imagine the potter...
I agree with most of your comments and am sorry you had some bad career experiences - perhaps you will be able to get past that resentment someday.