Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I remember going to church as an 11 yr old. Local church rounded up some of us kids and told us about the lord and our savior.
I mean no disrespect to anyone or any religion.
I'm an INTJ, alway score that way. Logical science based view of the world. Test for repeabilty, question results, wash, rinse, and repeat.
I could never shake the idea that religion is a psychological way of coping with the inevitable death that finds us all. Roll the clock back several hundred years ago when life was miserable. Disease, death, abject poverty. People died young by today's standards. Life sucked.
The promise of something or someone who cares about you and the idea of a beautiful afterlife that organized religion proposed must of had some appeal.
Every culture across the millenia has similar notions hence why I'm wondering if it's built in our psyche, lizard brain, if you will.
How does a spider weave a web? How does a myriad of natural phenomena happen? Who or what drives this?
Take every question you have and keep asking, why or what.
Big bang? What or who caused that? Just keep going backwards.
I realize this is a bit disjointed on my part.
Did I mention that I'm envious of the believers?
Religion is not psychology. As much as it can bring peace to some, religion can also turn them away from God. If it was built into our "lizard brain" there would be no atheists, and yet their numbers increase, and they have no trouble finding peace within.
Death and disease are inevitable facts of life.
Deep contemplation and mindfulness, simplifying wants and needs, non-violence, developing compassion and generosity to all, can lead to inner peace, and reconciliation with the world as it is. There is nothing to envy, it is yours if you want it!
I remember going to church as an 11 yr old. Local church rounded up some of us kids and told us about the lord and our savior.
I mean no disrespect to anyone or any religion.
I'm an INTJ, alway score that way. Logical science based view of the world. Test for repeabilty, question results, wash, rinse, and repeat.
I could never shake the idea that religion is a psychological way of coping with the inevitable death that finds us all. Roll the clock back several hundred years ago when life was miserable. Disease, death, abject poverty. People died young by today's standards. Life sucked.
The promise of something or someone who cares about you and the idea of a beautiful afterlife that organized religion proposed must of had some appeal.
Every culture across the millenia has similar notions hence why I'm wondering if it's built in our psyche, lizard brain, if you will.
How does a spider weave a web? How does a myriad of natural phenomena happen? Who or what drives this?
Take every question you have and keep asking, why or what.
Big bang? What or who caused that? Just keep going backwards.
I realize this is a bit disjointed on my part.
Did I mention that I'm envious of the believers?
Belief is easy. Every day you sit in a chair and believe it will not break and you go crashing to the floor. Every day you eat food and drink something and you believe it is not poisoned. I wish I could be more specific but one of the moderators will come after me with a sword. You can look up anything I've said under the Christianity section of religion, but do remember that there is a huge difference between religion and God.
You still have to explain how all of this came into being. Simply saying, it just was, it not particularly empirical. Being an atheist is a leap of faith as much as believing in God.
An agnostic, at least, can say he is not making any decisions.
An atheist can be (and any given atheist would almost certainly claim to be) agnostic in regards to ultimate origins. Atheists simply lack belief in god. That in no way implies knowledge of universal origin, which is something no human has ever had or, given the indeterminate nature of quantum physics, ever will have. I say that with some confidence given that indeterminate processes are fundamentally incompatible with scientific inquiry
You still have to explain how all of this came into being. Simply saying, it just was, it not particularly empirical. Being an atheist is a leap of faith as much as believing in God.
An agnostic, at least, can say he is not making any decisions.
Yes, it's the natural universe that compels me to "believe". And no, it's not easy or comfortable, nor does it give me peace or happiness. I chose it as being "truth". I was happier as an agnostic.
But I don't get all caught up in the inexplicable Old Testament or other nonsensical (to us moderns) stuff I can't reason out.
And I like your other post about the "small things". Our pastor just spoke on that very thing.
You gotta forget that church bs and just go straight to the Source.
That's what I'm thinking.
Sometimes easier said than done.
But at risk of sounding like a crazy person, I had 2 dreams, 25 years apart, where I met Jesus. I went from merely believing in Jesus, to knowing Jesus was real and loves and cares about us all very deeply in ways we cannot fully understand.
I don't recall doing anything super special at either time to have these 2 dreams. I hesitate to call them dreams because they were so vivid.
I'm not sure it's within the realm of human possibility to have peace of mind at all times under any circumstances. Maybe it's not even good for us to not be disturbed ever.
I'm not sure it's within the realm of human possibility to have peace of mind at all times under any circumstances. Maybe it's not even good for us to not be disturbed ever.
Gotta have that catalyst sometimes.
Yes, this is true for both practical and philosophical reasons.
I'm very envious of the opium addicts, those that take opium every day as I gave up opium decades ago. I miss it, but there's no turning back.
Religion is the opium of the masses/Karl Marx
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
