God for atheists, agnostics, doubters, religious humanists and others

Can you explain what you mean by intellectual deductions if you see scripture as the inerrant word of God?
sounds like a contradiction.
 
madera said:
Can you explain what you mean by intellectual deductions if you see scripture as the inerrant word of God?
sounds like a contradiction.
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The intellectual deduction part of my beliefs is more about doctrine than anything. My faith is not an intellectual deduction.

Did you click on the words "Observer Effect" in my last post? Just curious what you thought about it.
 
Madera wrote in #59:
...how does the group "self reflect".?
...interesting.

Madera wrote in #61:
...Self reflecting is between man and God, not a group thing.
...makes no sense.

As a group, we recite a "prayer," of sorts, that allows each of us, individually, to reflect upon our past year and commit ourselves to trying to make the next year better. Because we are a secular group, most of us are not making a commitment to God but to ourselves.

I don’t have the exact words of our recitation but it is something like this:

---Are we patient with our children or are we quick to snap at them?
---Do we take pleasure in the small things of life or are we overly attached to our material possessions?
---Do we walk lightly on the earth or do we squander the earth’s resources?

I hope this answers your questions. Feel free to ask for clarifications.
 
One of the important distinctions between Judaism and Christianity is precisely that Judaism is a group covenant.
 
Marcialou said:
Does anyone else ever invoke non-traditional ideas of God, either to translate the God-talk into something you believe or because that’s how you really think of God?
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Marcia Lou: You may want to look up the works of Mordecai Kaplan, the co-founder of Reconstructionist Judaism.

Basically, he rejected the concept of a personal, supernatural God. He saw God as a cultural concept. It's hard to explain. Wikipedia does a decent if brief job: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordecai_Kaplan#Kaplan.27s_theology.
 
Lincoln,

I'm a somewhat familiar with Reconstructionist Judaism through the writings of Rabbi Harold Kushner, a student of Mordecai Kaplan. He's the author of "When Bad Things Happen to Good People," and other books.

I see the second link use posted describes Kaplan's thoughts about God like this:

Kaplan did not understand God as a supernatural force in the universe, but rather as the power which makes possible personal salvation, which Kaplan understand as the "worthwhileness of life."
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To me, the power which makes it possible to feel that life is worthwhile, even when we're suffering greatly, is a function of our evolutionarily constructed brain. Since Kaplan described God as synonymous with nature, and evolution is a function of nature, I guess we're basically in agreement on these points.

However, I still prefer not to label the functions of nature, God.
 
A Cup Of Tea said:
No, no idea, there is a pretty sturdy wall between me and my emotions, and I've always imagined a connection there. The wall has crumbled some during my 20s, and I'll hope it'll continue till the day I die. With luck, I might see what others see so clearly?
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I think some people just don't feel the need for it. My father didn't.
 
Having lost my faith by the time I was 20, I have never felt a need to try to rekindle it. I don't have a longing for the spiritual.
 
JJ50 said:
Having lost my faith by the time I was 20, I have never felt a need to try to rekindle it. I don't have a longing for the spiritual.
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Which makes it rather interesting why you would join a faith forum?
 
LincolnSpector said:
I think some people just don't feel the need for it. My father didn't.
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I guess it's simple curiosity on my part, there are a great many things I wish to experience before I die.

Thank you for sharing about your father here and on your thread, it's appreciated.
 
wil said:
As I age... I find I tear up...with joy....with reverence....with bliss....at the smallest of things.
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I very rarely cry, and if I do it is tears of anger, no other emotion.
 
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