A little about my take on religion

I've never really understood why it's so important to have a God. All of man kind has the same potential. It's just a matter of how much a man or woman chooses to achieve for him or herself.

 

I think the history of humanity would indicate that beliefs in supernatural agents are as prevalent as sexually transmitted diseases: Once contracted, they can be pretty persistent, and highly communicable.

 

It's not about it being "important", nor about you understanding. As I stated earlier, it is between you and your god, or lack thereof. It's not up to us to judge the personal beliefs of another (intelligent people judge actions, not beliefs), but it is a sign of intelligence and good manners to respect the beliefs of others just as you would expect them to respect yours. Also, if you "can't understand", isn't that more of a statement about your own potential lack of intellectual capacity, rather than that of those who do believe in some sort of god? After all, you are the one who doesn't understand...not the people you seem to be denigrating.

One question: if what one achieves is all just a matter of what one chooses...have you achieved everything you have chosen? If not, why not, if after all it is just a matter of choice?

Why does a god have to be supernatural? Why can't it just be? You're an educated feller, Chell...surely you understand the concept of the "uncaused cause"...nothing supernatural about that, is there? How about ecosystems...is there something supernatural about them? Is there something wrong with believing that you are part of an ecosystem?

Me thinks some of you think that one's god must fit into your own narrow definition of what a god must be.

 

The problem is that so many people choose the narrow deffinition of God. I agree 100%, a person's relationship with God should be personal... but it's not. It's more like joining a members only club for the faithful. As I said before, I respect those with faith. I have many friends who have a relationship with God as I used to. I have just come to realize that the world seems to operate fine without a God. People can't come to a clear definition of God and, though I've tried, I can't seem to find a place for him in my reality. I will always be open to the possibility if it can be proven but I feel that I can accomplish more in my life with the absence of faith and a clear mind on what is real or not. My moral compass stays keen thanks to my personal philosophy which is to basically live to be the kind of person I would hope my children would be.

Despite not believing in a god, I believe in an afterlife. For me, astral projection proves the existence of the soul. It does not imply that there needs to be a God for an afterlife to exist though. Instead, accounts of astral projections describe planes of existence with higher and lower vibrational frequencies. The planes with higher vibrations are described as beautiful with entities of pure positivity residing while the planes with lower vibrational frequencies are described as dark and gothic with more negative entities. That's why I choose to be a positive person every day of my life no matter how crazy life gets. I can find strength in this belief.

 

So you do have a god...and you don't even know it.

Question: If you agree that one's relationship with their god should be personal, why did you choose to make it the subject of a public discussion? Or did you really wish to discuss religions, which have little to do with one's personal relationship to their god, and more about humans wishing to control other humans?

 

I suppose I was more hoping to gauge the responses here before I made another topic that's been on my mind. I'm trying to look at the ways that humanity is being controlled and think of ways to break the chains that bind us. One of those ways is possibly through the freedom of religion as it's protected by the 1st amendment. As I said, I plan on making a topic about this but I want to try to make a no bullshit religion that can be recognised by the American government as a person's right to sovereignty. It will take some time to clearly define it the right way but I think that pastafarianism is a testament that it can be done.

 

There is a lot to unpack from a brief two paragraph post. For those with a low boredom threshold for replies to each of the points being made...do yourself and others a kindness and move on without complaint.

1. I wasn't the one to assert that "a god had to be supernatural". I referred to "supernatural agents" A little about my take on religion | Page 2 | Survival Monkey Forums ...which would encompass a wider range of entities than just gods; though gods are commonly understood to have supernatural characteristics / qualities.

Here is one theist's (Christian apologist's) definition of God.....some may agree with him...some may not. I guess there are as many
understandings of what a god is or is not...as there are gods, and people who believe, or disbelieve in their existence.

2. I guess because humans tend to curiosity, and want to know about the agent/entity that they are worshipping and making burnt offerings to. Similarly, some people are also curious as to whether worshipping and making burnt offerings to that entity is justified. Human curiosity tends to not "let it just be"....

3. I would like to think that your remark as to my being an educated person was genuine and generously intended, but I temper that with the thought that disagreeing with your suggestion that an uncaused cause had nothing supernatural about it, might undercut any claims to my being considered an educated person.

I have a basic understanding of the concept of an uncaused cause. The "uncaused cause" is usually a component in Christian apologetics (and also the apologetics of some other faith traditions) relative to the Cosmological argument for the existence of god. I won't go into the detail of the Cosmological argument for the existence of god....you (and others) can look that up for yourselves Cosmological Argument (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) but the important thing to understand is that those who support the Cosmological argument generally posit (their god) as being the "first cause" of all causes subsequent to it. The problem with the Cosmological argument is, that if all causes are preceded by a regression of earlier causes; who or what caused god to be? It would imply an infinite regression of causes for god. Theists have attempted to get around the infinite regression problem by simply declaring, as a brute fact, that god is eternal and as such, is the "uncaused cause"

I find the notion of an uncaused cause, unpersuasive as an explanation for the existence of god. http://atheism.wikia.com/wiki/Uncaused_cause It's not much of a god, that has to rely on the "special pleading" Fallacies | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy of their devotees, to explain or justify his/her/their/its existence...or that it had no cause prior to its own existence.



Feser to Krauss: Shut up because of the Uncaused Cause

4. It depends upon what god(s) are under discussion....Is an uncaused cause, a natural entity within the material universe? What evidence is there that that is so? In the case of the Christian triune godhead, many of the attributes and characteristics claimed of that godhead would seem to be supernatural.

5. I would not consider that an eco system would be a supernatural thing, nor would I see any particular reason to consider an eco system a deity.

6. I would probably be considered odd if I claimed that I was not part of an ecosystem...given that I am an ecosystem for many beneficial, benign and baneful micro organisms. That would not infer that I should be considered a god, even by the organisms that inhabit me.

 

There is so much to be discussed regarding such a statement...

I have difficulty knowing how or where to begin...

It would take awhile and require a lot of links and such...

what I was aiming at with the drop it thing was there are laws that simply put... happen...

our entire existence involve these laws... good or bad the laws apply...

a point worth considering is the laws in Leviticus and Deuteronomy...

the ones on dress and appearance are there for a purpose and that is explained...

but the laws on food and health are different...

some molecular biologist had a look at the food laws and said you wanna live a long time follow em...

and the foods warned against for consumption often carry organisms and or chemicals/minerals with little or no harm that will out right kill us if the food is not properly prepared...

and consider that at the time there were no antibiotics or microscopes or many of the things we take for granted today...

how do you explain to people that usually only trust what they see, hear, smell, taste or touch about viruses and bacteria and germs?

yet the information is there and has proven to be sound medical and scientific in nature...

some claim it was all made up by a bunch of guys back then...

really?

then HOW DID THEY KNOW this stuff?

 

@Chell - did you really go to wiki to find out what an "uncaused cause" is? Seriously?

It is not an explanation of god, it's merely one theory that counters the notion that the universe has always existed...that something must have caused it. Some use it as their "definition" of god, rather than as some explanation...and they usually are not Christians since the Christian god is pretty well defined by their religion as some supernatural being. You obviously have a hard time distinguishing between an abstract concept of a "god" that is perfectly logical and natural and the supernatural "gods" of many religions. I've always considered you educated and open-minded, but on this issue you seem to be as closed-minded as the religious zealots.

The definition of "god", like the belief in such, is a personal thing and not subject to approval by others. If people would worry more about their own beliefs and less about what others believe, perhaps we wouldn't always be killing each other over the subject.

 

One's perception of truth has a great deal to do with belief systems and this belief system dictates almost every aspect of life .
If some one is doing business with you, and the scales of their balance are not a an agreed standard, one of you are cheated and distrust fractures any agreement .
We as a society rely on government standards to do business ,weights an measures ,the value of money and so forth.
It was the lack of standards that kept the world in the dark ages, and only as people began to learn to read and print was made available to the public, did standards become more important and the truth became an issue we cared about.
Now that we have more means of finding the truth , "because I said so" doesn't fly any more .
Now days ,in order to get people to behave themselves, there are cameras posted very where. Why
Because standards are being twisted and broken and abused ,and in order to maintain order we have to put every one on close observation .
Before this, men that honestly believe in ,believed that God was observing their lives, and thus their behavior reflected that belief . This belief system was the example that helped build a world of higher standards a people with more self discipline .
Sadly as it is men don't like having to be held accountable to any one, particularly God whom they choose not believe in, the standard of moral excellence is drifting downward on a mud slide.
If it is perfectly OK for the government to lie , why is it wrong for me to lie ,what exempts them from the consequences of this behavior ?
Proof that men that do not believe in god, nor accountability to god, are the corruption that will destroy this society.

I personally have a deep devotion to God, and know His interference in my life , and answers to prayer, and guidance in every day life. Jesus Christ made it possible , and I owe Him a great debt I do not wish to be free of.
This understanding helps me to behave Him, though there is not another person in the world that knows what I am doing or thinking.

 

Religion and beliefs are, to me, a personal and private journey. I will share if asked or encouraged to do so, but it is never forced on others. Live and let live, folks.

 

To me; religion, code, creed, philosophy is a crucial part of the development of the human psyche. Your religion or philosophy can be thought of as the concrete slab upon which a person builds the rest of their life on top of and compares the world to for moral guidance and direction. No matter how basic, warped or wrong, everyone has this base foundation of belief and it reflects who they are as a person. I feel that it is part of the mechanism of learning. Mine is unique in the sense that it is my own. I invented it and have altered it accordingly to fit with my own proven perception of reality to make it strong yet I can still alter it if I find the need.

That foundation of belief in other people has always fascinated me. Please, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to hear about the philosophy you keep and possibly why you choose to keep it.

 

I am not a big fan of religion. It inspires too much stupidity.
Most recent local example a religious nut job anti-vacancier, who happened to be an HVAC tech and unknowingly a modern day "typhoid marry" made a bunch of people sick to include a new born baby, who later died.

I'm not anti religion because that would be communist and some people seem like they need it.

 

I'm even less of a fan of unprofessional and amateur clergy.....having human authors of sacred texts, and theology also get in the way of sensibly understanding reality, by unnecessarily superimposing a metaphysical realm on top of reality. Mankind creates its own gods, and consequently mind-binds itself to the diktat of its own metaphysical creations. Fortunately some manage to escape from that imprisonment.

 

I'm doing my best to escape but money has proven to be the most dogmatic religion. That is another one of those superimposed metaphysical realms. It has proven to be quite resilient because of the amount of faith that is placed in it.

 

Here is a interesting take on the topic, www.classicredneckradio.com

 

...and then you die and go to Hell! With GOD there is a chance to go to heaven!

 

Book of Eph 4:6 last sentence...

 

Even if there were no promise of heaven or threat of judgment, I enjoy the comfort of God's guidance and healing and intervention through out my life.
Most of the prophets suffered, some were tortured, that doesn't mean God didn't care, quite often it is a test. If you know it's a test, though it's personal it reveals to oneself strength and weaknesses, and a greater dependency on Gods mercy.
I have actually lived longer than I had expected. it's neither good nor bad. I've been in a lot of close calls in 72 years, yet I sustained no broken bones yet though I've fallen many times.
I get injured/sick and I am healed, I don't rely on modern medicine much, and have determined to trust God to the end.
I endeavor to seek Gods direction in most everything I do, and have no interest in attempting to manipulate God, though that is how many seem to pray.
Jesus Christ is my Lord, and He provides me the Holy Spirit to teach me His will and all the things I need to know.
I am here to serve Him.