Paul,
No worries about hijacking anything. I enjoyed reading your post. Sounds like we've both had some rather similar experiences. I was raised in a very strict denomination of Christianity that taught that EVERY other religion and even every other Christian denomination was "wrong" and therefore "those" people were all going to hell. WOW!?!? Really??? The church that I was raised in thought the Boys Scouts of America was too radical because of their inclusion of other religions, so they had their own version of scouting. I remember as a kid being asked to come up with a Bible lesson for my peers in that scouting group. I must have been 8? or 10? year-old? I used a road map, pointed to a city on the map, pointed to all of the major roads that lead into the city and compared that to Heaven; saying that there are many roads to choose from but they all lead to the same destination, like the many roads that lead to "God." I got in so much trouble for that! Because I dared suggest that one little denomination of Christianity wasn't the ONLY way to God, I got kicked out of their scouting program. LOL
I cannot explain why, but I've always had this desire to truly understand "God." I rejected my parent's religion at the age of 13. I researched, studied, dabbled in many spiritual and religious beliefs since then. I've studied WICCA for a time, I was also a member of a "New Age" spirituality meditation group for awhile. I've even had a Saul/Paul falling off his donkey, road to Damascas, born again experience in a modern worship music, Holy Ghost, Holy-roller, tounge-speaking, radical Christian church! I can say without a doubt that all of my studies and all of my experiences had "something" there but was missing something, too. I can't really put into words what that something is.
Hence, why I identify with agnostic. There may be "something." There might be "something." There seems like there should be "something." But I'm pretty sure that whatever that something is goes beyond description. Our religions are merely our best attempts at describing that something. There is no empirical proof for the existance of that "something." Therefore, I identify with atheism. Not because I can say without a doubt that there is no "God." I'm just pretty sure that there is no ONE religion, or philosophy that has ALL of the answers. I reject the anthropomorphic view of God that most traditional teachings tend to promote. The multitude of descriptions of God and the multitude of different Gods that humanity has created over time are merely ways to tell a moral story, or describe that "something."
I've only seen one of John Spong's videos on YouTube, but what he said in that video was pretty much exactly what I've been thinking for many years now. You mentioned his view that, "there is something that makes all life try to 'live'. Maybe that is God?" BINGO! I think that is what I've been trying to put into words. I think I need to watch more of his videos or maybe read some of what he has written.
Sorry! Probably WAY TOO DEEP for an introduction. LOL