In an increasingly border-less and globalised world, can a person have an individual concept of, and relationship with, God, without coming under the strictures of organised religion?

Or, in other words, does a person have to belong to an organised religion and observe faithfully its tenets in order to have that personal relationship with God? And will that person be ultimately vindicated through eternal salvation?

In that context, one cannot simply discount secular and humanistic values as being either misguided or 'an oxymoron' . Qualities of courage, compassion, truthfulness and 'looking out for your neighbour", for example, are no less praiseworthy, just because they are 'secular' or 'humanistic'.

One would ask if the supposedly 'decadent' West is in a state of terminal decline, with reported statistics showing a decline in the followers of most organised religions. It would, on the surface, appear not, because in the West (or in China, Japan and India for that matter), tremendous progress is being made in all aspects of human endeavour and quality of life by people who, at least on the surface, are not overtly religious.

It would seem that because I freely choose to believe in God, I can consciously decide to live my life according to a set of principles - a code of moral conduct, if you will. My friend, who is a secular humanist, may choose to live his or her life according to a no-less demanding set of principles.

Who am I to say that he or she is on the wrong path? For, at the end of the day, we will be judged by our actions and on what we failed to do for our neighbour.