For instance, I am, based on empiricism, 90% confident in evolutionary theory. But there are some things that elude me. For instance, some species of ants may circuitously follow a scent, leading to the demise of the colony; but human beings have constructed immense monuments, taken pilgrimages, and even died in the name of religion. The latter offers tangential evolutionary advantage, perhaps group solidarity, but it is based on something imaginary (religious yearning), not concrete. Humans have clearly evolved from ancestors, but are cognitively on another level, even though other species possess complexity and many of our characteristics. We may even die as a result of our cognitive delusions. Our identity as "apes with nukes" just does not make sense to me, even though I support science. We are in this strange position: having evolved abstract reasoning, we are in a position to destroy ourselves and other life, unlike any other species now or in the past. Yet other species did not evolve in our footsteps, at least cognitively, which I find an improbable occurrence, just as our evolution is improbable. Thus I wonder if evolutionary theory, while not wrong, is missing something that has yet to be discovered.
This makes me search for a synthesis that combines scientific empiricism and complete acceptance of scientific evidence and practice with aspects or elements of religion (and/or other subjects), preferably esoteric, eclectic, and not rigidly bound to any particular faith or dogma. Perhaps the Bible and other texts, when considered mostly or entirely nonliteral, contain hidden pathways to significant truths about ourselves and origins, just as evidence-based science, in its own way, progressively reveals truths about physical workings of the universe and ourselves. Art, like any physical activity (even thoughtful sexual intercourse), is a great medium to sample one's evolving life, as is observation of nature. Even though I strongly suspect that Christianity is of mythical origin and that Jesus may have not even existed (read Richard Carrier's On the Historicity of Jesus), I find great expressive power in the symbols, paradoxes, and other literary and artistic devices of the faith, and appreciate the same in other religions and/or cultures. Michelangelo, in particular, exemplifies the moulding of disparate cultural elements in his "religious" artwork. To be honest, I do not know why his artwork has such a hold on me, and why I find religion to be most interesting when viewed through art, but I do.
Perhaps the (Platonic?) notion of us being imperfect reflections of some transcendent reality tugs at the imagination. I do not know how this can be reconciled with evolution and science, but I find the idea to have some inexplicable appeal, especially in regard to our peculiar position as a species. I also found his highlighting human body and its interdependency with the internal condition to be extremely insightful.
