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There can't be a world without religion. Government dogma is itself religious. Institutionalism is inherently religious. Both provide a sense of identity and control. Stop signs are religious icons! Chris

Ah yes! Chris

There seem to be a number of elements to religion. Among these are an ethnic and/or cultural component, a theological component, and a sort of moral component that interlocks to some degree with the institutional power structures. I often wish that people would say which component they're...

Pious peasants? Chris

What is the essence of all religions? Hmm... Maybe that they provide a sense of identity within a group, and control- both personal and in an overall cosmic sense. Like: "I'm in control, God's in control, everything is for a reason, etc. Religion seems to work very well with political dogma...

Well, I guess I would say that there's a large cultural component to religion in the way it provides identity and a sense of who is us and who is them. But there's also an anti-identity component available to those wishing to eschew their cultural programming. A person brought up with western...

That's a good way of putting it. Chris

I think there comes a point where one simply has to let go of the negative emotions that come from being wronged by another. I just hurts too much to hold on to the anger. I'm beginning to feel this way about my ex wife. I'm tired of carrying around a big sack of anger, so I think I'll try to...

Hi. I'm agnostic as well. The thing about belief is that it's just something you decide to do. I guess the pay off is a sense that there is an element of cosmic control and overall meaning to things. On the other hand, the thing I like about being belief-less is that it keeps all the crappy...

Sometimes I just feel like saying what I'm thinking. Think about what religion in general, and Christianity in particular, as a cultural, institutional force, does, and has done. When missionaries were a vital component of colonial expansion, what were they there to do? Bring the love of God...

Not talking about Jesus, talking about what the institution of religion actually does. Chris

Bumper sticker: "Religion is what keeps the poor from killing the rich." Religion is a cultural blueprint. Religion facilitates ceremonial-ism, which is a mechanism for conferring status. Religion provides a sense of order and control, and substitutes for the glaring lack of just...

What you do is take what others write, mash it into the blender of your own loosely related analogy, hit frappe, and then serve it up as some sort of abstruse critique of the original thought. I've watched you do this consistently since your arrival. Why don't you just put out your own...

I attended the Easter service at the Lutheran church my fiancee goes to yesterday. I was struck by the beauty and utter nonsensical nature of the thing, and I couldn't help thinking that it doesn't really matter to the participants that they're celebrating what amounts to an entirely creative...

I dunno, sometimes it seems like I'm the rod and it's the wool. I can't help rubbing on it as I go around, and then I feel tingly like the static electricity being generated is spiritual, somehow. And I wonder what it is that's doing it, but maybe it's just me rubbing. Chris

Well, if an apple were an orange, a lemon would be a Volkswagen. I once had a Volkswagen that was a lemon, so that proves my point. It's one thing to extrapolate and extend human experience to the rest of the universe, and quite another to reflect that construct back as self-created. Chris

With regards to Thomas, wil ,and Andrew, and not to be argumentative, but just sort of throw out some personal observation... I don't know that I buy the idea of a separation between natural and supernatural. I've tried to get to the minimal roots of my experience; that is, what I think I...

Interesting distinction, but perhaps one is the demi-form of the other? I often hear people speak of having their "spirit renewed" from attending services. When I stand on the first tee box in the early morning, listening to the birds stirring, watching the sun rise in the sky, and reveling in...

This is my experience as well, Mark. I would define "spirituality" simply as that which edifies the spirit. In that sense I find Paul's words about dwelling consciously on that which is lovely, true, and of good report, etc. quite profound. But the grit and gristle of life is also worthy of...

What is God of Itself? Who is the God who creates the World in Its image, as opposed to the god who is created in the world's image to support memes and mythology of a particular culture and it's dreams of superiority, and demands this or that form of adulation and penance? If we are...