John began his ascent up the winding road on the side of the mountain.  Each step with his worn sandals seemed more of a damnation than a spiritual journey.  Questions abound in his head as to the validity of his task.  As he reached the top of the mountain he wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced at the altar before him.  The sun shone down on his back like a lake of fire ready to swallow him up.  He looked up with his arms open and thanked Him for his blessing, John then returned to his waiting family and kinsmen at the bottom of the mountain.  My question is this, who was John thanking?  Was he thanking the Sun?  Or was it Almighty God.  This is my point.  Whats the difference?  For thousands of years countless of civilizations have revered the Sun as God.  After all, the sun is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.  Wait, isnt that Gods abilities?!  Uh oh everyone, I'm starting to see a similarity.  Now I personally don't believe in God, nor do i believe the Sun as God.  I am just comparing different belief structures in hope to shed light on an otherwise a dark subject.  Now the african Munsh tribe considers the Sun to be the son of the supreme being Awondo and the Moon is Awondo's daughter. The Barotse tribe believes that the Sun is inhabited by the sky god Nyambi and the Moon is his wife. Even where the sun god is equated with the supreme being, in some African mythologies he or she does not have any special functions or privileges as compared to other deities.  Doesn't this sound familiar to other mythologies?  As the Egyptians believed the Sun moving across the sky was a struggle between the Pharoahs soul and Osiris.  Countless cultures have given the Sun metaphysical properties and signifigance.  As in christian religion, God is the thing that gives us light in an otherwise dark situation, keeps us warm in a time of trauma and fear, provides us with the means to continue life in his name.  Hmmmmmm, I feel a connection coming on!  Doesn't the sun give is light as to see?  At night I dont think you can see a cricket as well as in the day!  In a different sense, the light is equivical to knowledge, to "light" the way.  But wait!  When its cold, doesnt the sun make it warm?  Remember when you were a kid on a cold day going to school, whenever you saw that patch of sun, didn't it make you warm?  As in some cultures the Sun is equivical to  healing, warmth, as its physical properties.  WAIT WAIT!!!! I SEE IT!  What do plants use as food?!  What powers solar energy cells?!  What is good for our skin and provides us with life nourishing vitamins?!  What can life not exist without?! SUNLIGHT!!! SUNLIGHT!  Now what does christian religion say what created food?!  What created energy?!  What is good for our souls?!  What provides us with life nourishment period?!  What can life not exist without?! GOD!!  You see the similarities?!  Let me pitch this little mind cookie.  God could be the sun, the sun could be God, our existence could be God, God could be nothing, God could be everything, God could be our idea of Him, God could be the absence of our idea of Him, God could be the Devil, God could be me or you, God could be the earth or a blackhole, God could be the universe itself, God could be that feeling you get when youre in love, or when you hate beyond all known fact, God could be that homeless guy on the corner, or there could be no God.  It's not up to me, I'm giving you healthy skepticism, think for yourself.