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I Am Not Religious

Spirituality... Spiritual usually has something to do with the immaterial.I personally think that you can have a spiritual connection with nature and experiencing it's beauty. People get so caught up in their busy lives in their dirty desensitizing cities. I truly feel at peace just sitting at the shoreline of Lake Ontario. Understanding nature is more important then understanding the creator. If the creator is sentient, perhaps understanding it's creation will help understand this thing itself if it exists. I strongly admire the Lakota and other native Americans for their amazing connection with nature. I am atheist in the sense of a particular definition of god. that would be the Semitic Idea of god, a hateful, jealous, judgemental psychopath who claims to be love, but then requires bloodshed for forgiveness (yes, yet again I'm emphasizing the bloodshed - forgiveness issue) I have a huge problem with it. Love should not require blood, its illogical. and to make it even worse, this god plays this sick game of letting you get tempted by the evil one, and punishes you for disbelief of one of many many religions - its the more refine form of pascals wager. he seems to have left out the fact that other religions exist.you don't receive spirituality from corrupted men, you get it from understanding and experience. and to an extent you are right, out right nothingness! I don't know how to explain except as a deep connection with your natural surroundings, its a deep emotion like love.The Bible was written by man, which for me is already enough to invalidate it. man's corruption is littered all over it. The Bible and other books are static, they do not progress or benefit with new and improved societies, and they definitely do not improve bad ones True love does not mean the requirement of animal or human blood sacrifice as a condition for forgiveness. Endless torture is not a proper punishment for not accepting love. I like using this moral idea I heard awhile ago, If you were the last person on earth, is there anything wrong you could do? if you said no, then you can only conclude that morality is dependent on the social situation. there is no such think as a set solid rule for what is right or wrong.I definitely consider Buddhists to be atheists in the sense that they reject a personified god.

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Nandor

I'm not an atheist, but I think spirituality is not necessary connected with religion. Of course an atheist or agnostic can be spiritual as well. Besides, human values are not preserved for religious people exclusively. Deep reverence to nature, feeling of being linked with all human beings, non egoistic approach to life are are spiritual and moral tendencies.

Yes morality is a controversial issue. The people have done the worst things in the name of morality. And they keep doing it. Shortly, morality is a feature that strengthens with your self-growing; and spirituality is not prescribed set of rules. It is your quality of relating to others.

"you don't receive spirituality from corrupted men, you get it from understanding and experience."

I agree

"Endless torture is not a proper punishment for not accepting love. "

I agree. Love is unconditional.

"The Bible was written by man, which for me is already enough to invalidate it. man's corruption is littered all over it. The Bible and other books are static, they do not progress or benefit with new and improved societies,"

Slightly disagree. Bible is not a set of rules. It is a product of one time and consequently it reflects all delusions and prejudices of that time. And writers of Bible books are not unmistakable. But I accept liberal tendencies of interpreting Bible. There are new insights that we must take into account when dealing with Bible. And there are liberal believers who accept this liberal points of view. I think the Bible has potential to relate to contemporary Christians. And there are many places in Bible which can help people to get rid of their biases, hatred and intolerance. Because of that, the problem in my opinion is not Bible itself but corrupted people (as you said) who've been using it in nonspiritual purposes.

Of course, I'm not trying to say that you should accept Bible if it interfere with your beliefs and reason.

Thank you for the topic.

MrMorality

This topic was inspired by another thread he was involved in, he isn't that clever to have these thoughts on his own.

dinosaurcavemandude · 31-35, M

I wrote this back in January of 2012.

turtlesplash

i understand what you mean - i would only add that you can never completely separate religion and spirituality anymore than you can completely separate thought and language, for one grows out of the other - religion is certainly an historical cultural formation, but it is one that evolves organically out of, and around, the spiritual practices and beliefs of a particular people - religion isn't simply good or evil, it's just the sociological ex<x>pression of the human spirit, and complaining about it in general terms is about as productive as complaining about anatomy or the weather --- as to your vision of a vengeful Jehovah, i think it can be dangerous to take the symbolism too literally - personally i find this vengeful image of God far more spiritually satisfying than the purely loving God of Christianity which has been purged of all darkness [which is split-off into the Christian Satan, quite a sleight of hand imo] - the figure of Jesus himself deeply impresses me, but Christian theology is too black and white for me to formally call myself Christian - in my opinion evil as well as good comes from God, as anyone who has experienced terrible injustice, disease or natural disaster can attest to

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mistressmonique

...but nature IS God (in my opinion at least)

dinosaurcavemandude · 31-35, M

That point of view is called pan-theism.

turtlesplash

neat

BlueberryAngel

honestly when i read this i felt so.... calmed down so peaceful. you speak with a lot of knowledge. i live next to a forest.... well in the middle of a forest and i absolutely love it. i love nature, it's elegance, it's way of living. nature is always so relaxing and open in a way. i always take long walks in the forest and watch the little things that might not count for one but for me it does a lot. i brought my friend in the forest and she was so rude about it all. telling me how dirty it was and how her new shoes were getting ruined. At the end of the walk i was so frustrated about how she complained about nature every single moment that i told her my opinion about nature. and after i did she reflected on it and realized that, yes nature is an everlasting beauty in a way. :)

omnielementalgirl

I like how you realize that understanding nature may bring you closer to understanding the Creator (if there is one). That is so very true. I love nature as well. So you are atheist but believe in spirit? Forgive my naivety but I don't understand how one can believe in having a spirit or there being a collective (nature) spirit if there is no believe or rejection of belief in a greater spirit.

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dinosaurcavemandude · 31-35, M

Ok, I fucking get it. You're perfect.

MrMorality

when im talking about you numb nuts then put your two pennies worth in yeah? Bloody Troll for no reason. Weirdo

dinosaurcavemandude · 31-35, M

ok, dear.

mistressmonique

Thank you for saying that about Buddhists. I consider myself Buddhist, but I think of Buddhism more as a philosophy of life than as a religion. Buddhism now has all of these supernatural elements, but an atheist friend of mine (who also calls himself Buddhist) told me that Buddhism had become "Christianized". Sam Harris (one of the "new atheists") wrote a story on how Buddhism shouldn't be thought of as a religion-but I can't give you the link because I've forgotten where I read it.

dinosaurcavemandude · 31-35, M

The message was originally to a buddhist. he wanted my opinion about spirituality, I figured I would post it on here when I sent it to him.

StarWanderer

No one said anything about "shedding blood" over anything for salvation. It was a bad idea put into the minds of humanity through a "Bible" that "insisted" on that particular practice. The mind bleeds because the ego (fear and ignorance) rules it. There is no "deity man in the sky" There is only Love in It's Purest Form

The Force

The Source

The Great "It"

Most people just chose to use the label "God" to convey an "idea"There is only vastness beyond the "idea" and all "ideas' simply point to something that conveys the idea of something tangible.

rkitkitavi

You can do no wrong when you are alone, but can wrong the other if there are two of you?

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MrMorality

oh alright then :) still contradicts everything you say

dinosaurcavemandude · 31-35, M

everything I say now contradicts everything I said four years ago when I was a young earth creationist. :)

dinosaurcavemandude · 31-35, M

Maybe in another four years, I will be the opposite of what I am now. you never know.

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