In 2005, the inspiration for [SolSeed](/SolSeed), the fictional religion of [Earthseed](/Earthseed) central to the science-fiction novels *Parable of the Sower* and *Parable of the Talents* by [Octavia Butler](/Octavia_Butler), independently gave me ([Ben Sibelman](/user:scifiben)) the idea to invent another real-world institution to be called **"the Church of Gaia/Earthseed"** (CoGE for short). Like [Earthseed](/Earthseed), this "religion" would not make reference to anything supernatural, instead basing its "theology" around James Lovelock's [Gaia theory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_theory). The reason for keeping the framework of a religion was clear to me at the time: religions are capable of lasting for thousands of years, and long-term thinking is what humanity desperately needs in order to heal our living world and [carry life to other worlds](/TheDestiny).
When I discovered [SolSeed](/SolSeed), I originally had the notion of adding CoGE as its "religious branch." But I gradually came to realize that by founding any kind of "religion," even one based on the scientific worldview, I was a) setting myself up to be ridiculed as a crackpot cult leader, and b) setting an absurdly high barrier to entry by asking people to "convert," i.e. give up their most deeply-held beliefs and replace them with my own. This kind of megalomania is completely against the grain of my personality, and I can only excuse my blindness to it by saying that all my writings about CoGE were only notes toward a rough draft; I just hadn't thought it through that far yet. Not much of an excuse, I readily admit.
Instead of creating the text for any kind of religion, I'm now merely seeking to contribute to the rough draft of the charter for [SolSeed](/SolSeed), an organization that could one day be capable of carrying a basic [ethic](/SolSeedEthics) already shared by almost everyone--that of valuing [life](/life)--forward into the distant future, supporting the eventual goal of [TheDestiny](/TheDestiny). To this end, I am proposing a reorganization of the existing content on the [SolSeed](/SolSeed) website, to clarify that the idea of [SolSeed](/SolSeed) is [multifaceted](/SolSeedFacets) and more than just a [movement](/SolSeedMovement). It is still not a religion, but can be viewed through one "facet" as a *scripture* that is [compatible with any kind of faith](/SolSeed_and_Religion). It is also a [philosophy](/SolSeedPhilosophy) and a [community](/SolSeedCommunity).