great post by the way. it reminds me of an old story, where a king in inda summoned three wise men to his palace. he blindfolded each one, and put them in a a room with an elephant. then he asked each to tell him what was before them. each man only had felt a portion of the elephant- a trunk, a tail, a tusk, and so with great certainty described to the king what it was that was before them.

of course they were all wrong, and only partially right. their experience allowed them to “glimpse” only partial truth, but their faith in themselves led them to believe they had the whole truth.

i really like this story and its implications, and often reference it when i talk about religion, only i substitute “elephant” with “God” and “trunk, tusk, tail” with “Christianity, Islam, Judaism…