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wil

wil

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Is it one or two?

To be honest I am a bit jealous of those with faith....in any religion.

I just don't see it. It is true maybe I haven't tried hard enough.

But it is also true, I ain't gonna try much harder.

I am also a little jealous of doctors, scientists, cirque de as oleil performers, astronauts and more.

But it is also true I wasn't willing to do what it takes to focus on a topic and learn. Not willing to put in the time, the effort, or the sacrifice for such achievements.

Similar or different?
 
wil said:
Is it one or two?

To be honest I am a bit jealous of those with faith....in any religion.

I just don't see it. It is true maybe I haven't tried hard enough.

But it is also true, I ain't gonna try much harder.

I am also a little jealous of doctors, scientists, cirque de as oleil performers, astronauts and more.

But it is also true I wasn't willing to do what it takes to focus on a topic and learn. Not willing to put in the time, the effort, or the sacrifice for such achievements.

Similar or different?
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I kinda like you the way you are Wil. There are plenty of experts out there, but you have been practicing being a loving person all your life. All in all I find that to be quite an accomplishment.
 
Nasruddin said:
I kinda like you the way you are Wil. There are plenty of experts out there, but you have been practicing being a loving person all your life. All in all I find that to be quite an accomplishment.
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Nothing more to say
 
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Nasruddin said:
I kinda like you the way you are Wil. There are plenty of experts out there, but you have been practicing being a loving person all your life. All in all I find that to be quite an accomplishment.
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Lol, not quite, I was a self-centered jerk till I had kids...I got better.
 
What do you mean by faith? Suspension of disbelief?
 
I don't know why this thread is making me so uneasy. If I didn't know the poster it would come across to me as the usual atheist demanding 'why should I believe?'

As if it is the believer's responsibility to convince the non-believer to 'convert' and thus offering the non-believer opportunity to argue?

But in my few years here that does not seem to be what is happening here in these forums.
 
RJM Corbet said:
I don't know why this thread is making me so uneasy. If I didn't know the poster it would come across to me as the usual atheist demanding 'why should I believe?'

As if it is the believer's responsibility to convince the non-believer to 'convert' and thus offering the non-believer opportunity to argue?

But in my few years here that does not seem to be what is happening here in these forums.
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It didn't come across to me like that at all. Wil said he was being jealous, and I don't think he was being disingenuous - he also included scientists who are strongly convinced of their discipline or so I understood him. I was just asking what faith meant to him. No peering down my nose at anybody, and please excuse if I came across that way.
 
Cino said:
It didn't come across to me like that at all. Wil said he was being jealous, and I don't think he was being disingenuous - he also included scientists who are strongly convinced of their discipline or so I understood him. I was just asking what faith meant to him. No peering down my nose at anybody, and please excuse if I came across that way.
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Oh no, my comment was not addressed at you. I could say all kinds of things in response to the OP, but everything would come across as an attempt to convince or convert.
 
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... or to explain. God is real. That is why my life is in God. I don't need to argue or justify or explain. If someone likes to believe different, that's fine ...
 
I don't think I really know what faith is. Especially as it pertains or differs from belief.

I KNOW the sun doesn't rise or set. Our surface is spinning and has that appearance. There is no chariot required to drag it across the sky.

But I have faith that it will appear to rise tomorrow...that nothing will cause my phone planet to stop spinning or sol to stop burning.

I know others have a similar faith in their belief system (or belief in their faith).

I sought and did not find. Of course I've also panned for gold but didn't find the mother load...

In both cases I feel it is my lack of resilience, of focus, of determination at play. I believe I can do anything I put my mind to, but more often than not I am not willing to do so.
 
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I think that belief and faith have a role to play and a time in which to do it. When a person begins a new practice they must believe in what they are doing and have faith that their efforts will have a particular result. A musician or artist might practice for years before they begin to embody the principles of their art rather than just following the steps, the rules. It might well be Wil, that you are on the cusp of understanding principles rather than just the rules. You spoke about the introspection, the mindfulness, the increased awareness that your current situation brought you. I feel that if you continue your inquiry there are worlds upon worlds for you to see and understand.
In every great story the main character is plopped down into a personal hell, something that would be the total opposite of what the character would prefer. But it is this very thing that drives his growth, and as so often happens in stories, there is a moment when all seems lost, and the goal seems out of reach...and then, suddenly.......
 
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wil said:
I sought and did not find ... I feel it is my lack of resilience, of focus, of determination at play. I believe I can do anything I put my mind to, but more often than not I am not willing to
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May I ask why you want to 'find' God?
 
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RJM Corbet said:
May I ask why you want to 'find' God?
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On one hand I'd say I no longer do, on the other I'd say I'm jealous of your certainty?

By your, I mean believers, my confusion still being y'all are so certain of all your varied beliefs. But I still think of my self more of an agnostic (don't know) more of a nontheistic unitic (I don't believe in any G!d, I've heard of)(but don't deny your beliefs)
 
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My certainty comes from direct experience. I may be the lucky one. I personally don't think anyone finds God. I think God responds to them, when God knows they are ready.

I'm sure you know by now I'm not trying to 'convert' anyone.

I think it's a great pity the American evangelists have done so much damage, in the name of God.
 
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wil said:
my confusion still being y'all are so certain of all your varied beliefs.
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I don't think its about different religions. It's like different languages, that's all. Of course religions can be abused, in all sorts of ways.
 
RJM Corbet said:
I'm sure you know by now I'm not trying to 'convert' anyone.
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I think THIS is the greatest success of this site. Many came here knowing everything and ready to share the good news and bring.others into the fold.

Most left disgruntled when they realized they would have no such luck here...

But those who see who and what we are stY for the exploration and to learn from each other.

When you seek first to understand you lose the need to be understood.
 
To me it's like opening a scripture text and thinking: "Ding! That's it!"
 
Those whom the gods love, they take away from them much; those whom the gods love most, they take away from them everything.

I heard that somewhere and it stuck with me.
 
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