From the Book of Coming Up

I went to the Master and sat at his feet. 
   Then he said, "Verily I tell you, whosoever will provoke the Son of Man will himself be provoked.  Those who wish to come to the Father must kill me.  The guests will not be satisfied with an emissary, nor does one hold a key without opening the door. 
   Split a piece of wood and I am there, but what is there when you are split in two?
  
A prophecy

   A time is coming soon when the foundations of the West will shake and the ocean rise.  On that day the cry to heaven will be great and many will perish.  Some will say it is because of the sin of Eden; others will claim it is the end of all things.  Do not believe the things they say in the agonies of their terror.  Rather say, 'These things are the beginning of the unrest.  They are a sign.'  For this reason you must go tell the people of the West to flee their homes.  When they ask what way they should go say to them, 'To the Rising Sun.'"
   After the Master had said these things I asked him, "What are those things a sign of, and what is the coming unrest?"
   He replied, "They are a sign of the unrest itself, which is much greater than the sign.  All signs serve something greater.  So too, the destruction of the earth will point to a worse unrest.  This will not be something one can prepare for or avoid, and destruction will find them no matter how far they flee."
   After this he left me to wonder at his words and the coming time.

The birth of natural religion

There are many different religious traditions, and they all hold their beliefs regarding the universe, human creatures, the meaning of life, etc., to be more or less correct.

Many of these religious traditions are quite ancient. Even though they presume to be divinely guided, the recipients of revelation, witnesses of miracles, etc., the only evidence they have is the testimony of others, passed on from generation to generation, and anecdotal stories that seem to support their assumptions. 

What if starting today you choose to set aside the old traditions about deities and spirits, and look at the world with these beliefs bracketed or unassumed? Would the gods or God make an appearance at all? Without your former presuppositions, would you find even a hint of the old gods in the world around you? 

This is a challenge to those who have received their beliefs from others.  What do you see if you use your own eyes?