middle school philosophy

My 8th grader, like many (most?) eighth graders, has a MySpace page. Unlike a lot of parents I know, I think it's a fine idea. For one thing, he knows I read it and I like reading it because it gives me an idea what he and his pals are talking/thinking about.

I looked at it today and his newest blog entry struck me as rather fun...for a middle schooler:

Though I am definitely not the first person to comment on this, I just want to voice my opinion on the issue of religion.

Humans learn through experience, they can not imagine something that they have never experienced for the most part. Therefore, as it does in our lives, everything must have a beginning and an end. There can be no infinity, we can not even begin to comprehend the concept of infinity. People must have some belief that reassures them that there was a beginning and there will be an end. Do you honestly beleive that the universe (outer space) just ends somewhere? I don't think any logical person does. So why should there just be an end to how small it gets. The reverse order of the ladder? Everything must be made of something, so matter in this infinite universe is ultimately, infinite. This would say that there was no beginning, because there has always been matter, and even if the world was to come to a sudden halt today, there would still be matter. Because to understand this theory, you have to think, the easier thing to do is just say, "God created the universe." Also according to my theory, this debunks the age old argument, "Well who started this infinite universe?" The answer is simply that, the universe has always been and will always be, though it may change, it will never vanish. Therefore, we are all one being. Many manifestations, but all one. There is no "Me" or "You" truthfully, there is only the universe, and maybe even the dimension. So is there a higher power? Yes, the universe and its infinity.

I also like it that he lists his heroes as Nelson Mandela, Abbie Hoffman and...Jello Biafra.

As you might imagine, this is a child who can and DOES argue his head off with me about just about anything and everything. It can be exhausting.