Why do you believe in YOUR religion

seattlegal said:
How can you discern between the 'inkblot effect' from what we see in nature, and what might actually be there by design. We would have to examine our mind, which is not only within the realm of psychology, but has been within the realm of relgion for a much longer time.
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Well, the arts and sciences resided under the purview of religion for a long time. The politics of patronage played a large role in what kind of art and architecture was undertaken. I don't have an answer for the design question. It's something I'm exploring.

Chris
 
path_of_one said:
But I do believe that those that seek, find. Those that knock, are answered. It is our intent that leads us to spiritual growth, no matter what our religious limitations may be.

I would say I don't see God as a Thing either. More like a Process and a Force. But I don't see God quite as... sterile (?) as you seem to. I would say that God has, perhaps, not Person-hood, but rather Being-ness. Eh, it's hard to describe what I'm getting at.
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I do think that it's an interactive force or process. I agree that focused intention actually changes things, as if the universe rearranges itself to accommodate the intention. It seems that way, anyway. It's hard to put a finger on the actual mechanics of Providence. If my language sounds sterile it's because I'm trying extra hard not to slip into cliches. Instead of just saying "God", which can mean a bazzillion things, I'm trying to say exactly what I mean. It's hard!

Chris
 
seattlegal said:
Now you can understand why I'm so into quotes. :cool:
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Yeah, I'm hip. It's a good exercise to try to name, as exactly as possible, the function of things without resorting to pre-made analogies or well worn cliches. It's really, really difficult. Well, it is for me. Language has become really sloppy. We have to try to do something about that.

Chris
 
My own "spiritual" orientation most closely resembles the kabbalistic concept of Tikkun olam, that is, the repair of the world through ethical action and enlightened contemplation. Informing that sense of ethics is a combination of the Buddhist eightfold path and the philosophy Christ along with a form of a sort of neo Taoist oriented non specific, anti systematic cosmology.

I wanted to say this because I know that I very often come of as atheistic or anti-belief.

Chris
 
Alex P said:
Are they like "zomgz look at the precise detail!!"

Or are they like "Oh that is so nostradamus..."

?
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The prophecies I listed aren't vague. Baha'u'llah wrote directly to world leaders, essentially giving them a choice between unity and justice on the one hand, and the fall of their empires on the other, if they chose their own aggrandizement instead of the good of their peoples. If you want to continue this conversation, I've started a topic on it called "a few historical prophecies."
 
My saying "if you want to continue this conversation" might sound a little, um, I don't know.... discourteous.... I don't mean it that way. It's just that this thread has lots of threads... hehe... ;)
 
China Cat Sunflower said:
My own "spiritual" orientation most closely resembles the kabbalistic concept of Tikkun olam, that is, the repair of the world through ethical action and enlightened contemplation. Informing that sense of ethics is a combination of the Buddhist eightfold path and the philosophy Christ along with a form of a sort of neo Taoist oriented non specific, anti systematic cosmology.
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Wow. Much like me. :) 'Cept I throw in a lot of Druidic stuff too. :D
 
China Cat Sunflower said:
...and Cyberpi who won't say what their religious affiliation is.
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Is this your method of asking? I am affiliated with God.

Alex P said:
Do you trust me? Let me change that, would you trust me with your life?
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Yes. You are trustworthy until proven untrustworthy. Innocent until proven guilty. Honest until proven dishonest. Loving until proven hateful. Faithful until proven unfaithful. Clean until proven dirty.

Even if you were proven otherwise per the judgment, I recognize the power of God and the potential to change.
 
China Cat Sunflower said:
Yeah, I'm hip. It's a good exercise to try to name, as exactly as possible, the function of things without resorting to pre-made analogies or well worn cliches. It's really, really difficult. Well, it is for me. Language has become really sloppy. We have to try to do something about that.

Chris
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Languages tend to become more simple and generalized over time, instead of becoming more specific. (Like how Orwell's Newspeak Dictionary contains fewer words with each updated edition.)
 
China Cat Sunflower said:
My own "spiritual" orientation most closely resembles the kabbalistic concept of Tikkun olam, that is, the repair of the world through ethical action and enlightened contemplation. Informing that sense of ethics is a combination of the Buddhist eightfold path and the philosophy Christ along with a form of a sort of neo Taoist oriented non specific, anti systematic cosmology.

I wanted to say this because I know that I very often come of as atheistic or anti-belief.

Chris
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Oo-er Chris, does Tao know this? :eek:

Regarding the eightfold path, what is your understanding of "right view"?

s.
 
path_of_one said:
It's getting at the same reality from two different halves of our brain. If you're left-brained and approach reality that way, great for you, but it's hardly tolerant or fair to expect the entire human population to see the world just as you do. Likewise, it is intolerant to expect left-brained folks to approach the world as a right-brained person.
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I'm bad I know. I'm reading through the thread and had to stop on this for a second....

What about if your a "balanced brain"? All the test that I've taken tell me I that I use both halves of my brain equally. Guess that's why my husband gets so mad at me for always arguing both sides of an issue :p

LOL, ok, been gone a few days.. back to catching up on the threads!
 
Ok, all I can say is WOW. While granted, this thread took a wrong turn in Memphis and headed straight for New York instead of sunny Florida, I must say I have enjoyed reading it. Thank you to those who apologized for thinking that you "high jacked" the thread LOL.


TBH you all have my brain going off on yet another tangent. If you knew me you'd know that I'm sending you all a virtual /glare atm- my mind is normally juggling dozens of completely unrelated strains of thoughts at any given time, on a normally calm day, it really didn't need to have another one thrown in! ;)

I never thought as science and religion as being related much past the thought "God gave someone the ability to figure out how to......" . The whole theory of how the earth was created and how man got here has always left me with thoughts like "So? Why does it matter how we got here? All that matters is what we do while we are here and how it affects the future for our children." IMO we waste millions of dollars every year trying to answer those questions, just so we can say we "know", and then gripe because we don't have the "funding" to find better ways to help cancer or our children who are born with debilitating diseases.

But I guess when I think on it now, it's not that science and religion are related, per say, but that a certain type of science is related to religion. There's medical science, there's nuclear science and then I guess there is something akin to theological science.

The thread definately turned out to be very interesting. Unfortunately it only opens more questions than it answered for me. I know the core basics of what I do /don't believe in.. I still am unsure where I "fit" with those beliefs.


Oh and Alex- as for me trusting you with my life.. sure, now trusting you with my CHILDREN'S life? LOL, I don't trust ANYONE with that!
 
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sherry said:
I never thought as science and religion as being related much past the thought "God gave someone the ability to figure out how to......" . The whole theory of how the earth was created and how man got hear has always left me with thoughts like "So? Why does it matter how we got here? All that matters is what we do while we are here and how it affects the future for our children." IMO we waste millions of dollars every year trying to answer those questions, just so we can say we "know", and then gripe because we don't have the "funding" to find better ways to help cancer or our children who are born with debilitating diseases.
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Interesting that you bring this up.
Acintita Sutta
Unconjecturable
"There are these four unconjecturables that are not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness & vexation to anyone who conjectured about them. Which four?

"The Buddha-range of the Buddhas1 is an unconjecturable that is not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness & vexation to anyone who conjectured about it.

"The jhana-range of a person in jhana...2

"The [precise working out of the] results of kamma...

"Conjecture about [the origin, etc., of] the world is an unconjecturable that is not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness & vexation to anyone who conjectured about it.

"These are the four unconjecturables that are not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness & vexation to anyone who conjectured about them."​

path_of_one said:
Sherry, I'm balanced too (hence, I'm a scientist and a mystic ;)). I figure we are the lucky ones. :p
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Lucky ones? Maybe. We need both halves of our brain and God's grace to keep our wits about us in order to avoid being caught in the crossfire of the 'madness and vexation' from those conjecturing on origins, etc. :eek:
 
Snoopy said:
Oo-er Chris, does Tao know this? :eek:
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Do you think he'll be pissed?:p I said before that I don't dog pile with anyone.

Regarding the eightfold path, what is your understanding of "right view"?
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Well, first I should say that while Buddhist, or Taoist, or Christian, or Jewish concepts may inform my point of view, what I have to say at any given moment only reflects where I'm at, and isn't intended to be an elucidation of any particular tradition. I have no affiliation, and I'm not trying to synthesize a unified theological field theory.

I think that right view is the goal of deconstruction. To remove all constructs, all attachments, all custom, all convention, and see things for what the actually are. This, to me, is really the one and only requirement because everything follows from it. Of course it's practically impossible in a ultimate sense, but I think that the exercise of trying is the beginning of real enlightenment.

Chris
 
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