I don't believe in religious bullshit, I believe that there is a God (unlike the God's of the past or of any religion that I'm familiar with - which therefore would be "revolutionary"). I didn't claim that I was revolutionary, I only said that most people didn't agree with revolutionary thinkers in the beginning, and therefore would not get offended by his comment. But hey if you're gonna get your panties in a wad why don't you take the advice of the OP and just gtfo with your negative vibes? Exactly, that's an example of some of the "revolutionary" thinking.
I never knew what exactly you believe in. Do you believe in the Christian God? Or do you like...somehow believe there is a God, who is similar to the Christian God, but not the Christian God? I don't get it. If you don't believe in the Christian God, then you have no reference point to ascribe any characteristics to God; those who believe in organized religion take their religious text to be truth, but where do you get the idea that God is omnipotent, omnibenevolent, omniscient etc?
And it makes so much more sense to consider our emotions, instincts, language and "morality" as tools to ensure the survival of our species, instead of the whole story of Christianity.
I don't believe in the Christian God, I just believe that they had the right idea about some aspects of god, for instance omniscience. That's exactly it, I just believe in a "higher being" that shares some aspects of the Christian God. I base my beliefs both on observation and feelings. For example, why do we feel that some things are wrong (for example stealing/lying/cheating) even if nobody is there to witness it? Is "God" perhaps speaking to us through our conscience? I'm not sure, I'm still trying to figure it all out myself lol
I addressed that in my morality thread, and in the post just above us here ^^. But how does your observation and feeling have any correlation with an omniscient, omnipotent and all-loving God?
I don't see how self-awareness or morality would ensure our survival... I think if survival is our only goal that it would be better to evolve some rock-hard skin, or fur, or sharp teeth, or claws . And if morality/emotions truly were derived just out of natural-selection, why haven't any other beings "evolved" this higher consciousness/morality? I really don't see how telling the truth or not stealing would ensure your survival? How would an evolutionist explain homosexuality? Just curious.
I never claimed that God was all loving, I just think that God is, that we are all a "part" of God, that we're all a "part" of each other. I feel his prescence, and I observe his prescence acting upon myself and others, that's how it correlates. Could I just be imagining these feelings? I suppose so. Could some people have just ignored their feelings for so long that they're not even aware of them any longer? Perhaps. I guess it just comes down to I feel the way I do, and I'm honest about how I feel. I feel that there is a greater prescence at work in the world than humanity, or anything we can see or fully comprehend. I feel connected to other people, and to nature, and to "God"- whatever he may be. Other people share very similar feelings, although they differ on who exactly "God" is and what exactly "God" wants and his purpose for us, there are more people in the world that feel there is some form of a God than those who do not. Again I'm not implying that makes it right or more propable, it does make you wonder though... I know a lot of people just claim to be a Christian/Muslim/Jew etc as "fire insurance", or so they can "get 1000 virgins" or some other crazy notion, but that's not why I believe. I'm not afraid of death, in fact I'm kinda of looking forward to it. Not that I want to die tomorrow, but when my time comes I can't wait to see what's next. Personally I think after we die our "souls" just go onto the next step of progression. Perhaps we are reincarnated as another being in a completely different universe, or as a human again if we're not ready for the next level of progression. Maybe some souls will digress into lower forms, beats me. I don't know, my views are perpetually evolving. I don't limit myself by choosing to blindly follow one religion only. As I learn more and more, and experience more and more, my religious views adjust accordingly based on observation, feelings, and others' thoughts. Like I said I, like everyone else, don't know for sure, but I think as a whole Theism makes much more sense than Atheism. What if religion was wrong about creation? What if we were created through evolution? What if the world was just created by a big ball of dust exploding? Where did the "dust" come from? I think that one day science will progress enough to prove that a God does exist, and to see exactly what our souls are, but right now we're not even close. Atheism will only be clung to until we can prove a God, just as the earth was the center of the universe until it was proved we revolved around the sun.
An evolutionist would probably describe it as a defect in brain or something. Thats funny though I would love some sharp claws GRRRRRR . Rock hard skin is a turn off
Because it allows for efficient cooperation. Society > Individual. And many social animals do show traits that would allow for effective cooperation and the minimization of selfishness. I don't know.
So do you believe that organized religion somehow developed by people "experiencing" God and interpreting it in their own way, which led to the Abraham religions? What about ancestral gods? Or Greek gods, or other mythological gods? Did they all experience the one true God and interpret it in their own way? Why do you feel that the Abrahamic religions are somehow closer in truth to the true God as opposed to all other Gods? Er...I guess what I'm getting at is, I wonder how much the characteristics of these traditional Abrahamic gods influenced your interpretation of what the true God is like.
Well the the greek gods are not all powerful they control one realm of things. Same with norse and Hindu gods. Maybe people think a "True" god should be all powderful
This is what bothers me. I see no reason to believe the "true" God must be all-powerful (or omniscient, or benevolent), nor do I see any reason to believe that monotheism is any more reasonable than polytheism. And I think that so many people's conception of God is so influenced by the cultural/traditional idea of a god and they don't even realize it.
Meh i dunno I just think people like to deny what happens to you when you die. And people want to feel like they are special and not insignificant
Exactly, many social animals already show effective cooperation in survival. Why would they need to develop self-awareness and a higher intellect? And minimization of selfishness? Surely you must be kidding lol, greed has been an ongoing problem with humanity as far back as our history goes. I think monkeys get along with one another far better than humans ever have. It seems to me the more things we understand, the more things we disagree on.. I can't think of a single species that mindlessly kills other members of it's own race. And no, religion isn't the only thing we kill each other over, by a long shot. Yeah I see your point, I don't deny that Christianity probably had an influence on the way I perceive God, but that doesn't mean I have to believe in the religion. Like I said I believe that this "God" this "force" if you will affects each person differently, and therefore everyone has differing opinions on what God wants in their lives. Every religion was started by one Man, who had such a likeable interpretation of God, that people chose to follow their interpretation rather than coming up with their own. At least, that is what I speculate happened. And yet others may have "believed" in a particular out of fear of what would happen if you didn't, or promises of what treasures would await you in the afterlife. Still other people (the ones in power/control) often times chose to manipulate the power that these "religions" had over the masses. Spilling out lies and misleading the people into war, or squeezing money out of them, none of which were ever intended by it's original "creator" or "interpreter". It's like trying to read a book about how to fall in love by someone else. There's no "one size fits all" love book. But that doesn't mean you still can't glean advice from such a book like "always be yourself" or "don't become dependent on anyone else" etc. etc. I'm sure you see the point, just because some things in some religions don't suit you (and shouldn't since your connection is unique, although it may share some similarities with others) doesn't mean there is nothing useful to be found in religions. Hell, even most of the major religions have a lot in common with one another, especially where morals are concerned. Hope that clears things up, sorry I'm a little blazed atm Very true, and I know this seems kind of crazy but we ARE special. We are the governing creation in ths universe, and the chance of our existence just occuring randomly are close to 1 in 100 trillion. It's like every single baby that is born just won the lottory 10 times! I mean... Don't you feel as if you were made with a purpose/plan in mind? And as far as what happens to you after you die, let me ask you this. Do you believe in the basic principle of physics that states energy can be neither created nor destroyed? Do you also believe that our consciousness is a form of "energy"? If so then I would say our consciousness does continue beyond our bodies. Supposedly, right at the point of death you lose 21 grams. Some people believe this 21 grams to be the "spirit" but nobody really knows for sure. Interesting shit to think about.
We're the top dogs in the animal kingdom. Our intelligence has allowed for immense advancements. Well that's the battle of the individual vs the group. I said minimization; our social conditioning, our sense of empathy, and our moral code (and religion) do a good job of keeping the collective group from falling apart, but certainly those with more power are capable of taking advantage of the system. Fair enough...I guess.
I do believe that energy can not be destroyed nor created. I think consciousness is the product of the brains chemical and electric signals, when we die these chemicals and signals cease to flow. As for the 21 grams, to determine something like that you would have to have someone lying on some sort of scale, a fairly accurate one Scientific balance maybe, at the point of their death. If you even blow on a scientific balance the numbers change. It is physically impossible for people to stay completely still, at least while they are alive. Even if you aren't moving a muscle your heart is still beating. Perhaps the weight loss is due to lack of movement after death?