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Belief is powerful, whether the belief is based on truth or not.
Truth is perspective & process.
What inspires us often cannot be proved, or maybe it can be scientifically proven to not be real... yet it still affects us.
When you were a child - did you pretend to be someone imaginary, like Superman or Wonderwoman?
We've all had some pretty strange dreams that would be laughed at by any scientific-minded person, yet they have real influence on us.
I can see why some avoid religion like the plague... because although religion has shown to offer some hope, better health etc.... it's also offered harmful fear, shame & harassment.
Yet, religion & spirituality are not the same. Religion is external - belief packages not applicable universally.
Spirituality is internal, personal & universally applicable.
Shakespeare wrote, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet."
So, you may not call your God, "God" - we all have influences in our lives that cannot be scientifically proven.
And often those influences... like laughing for no apparent reason, or that which inspires us to dance, sing, or love... are what makes life worthwhile.
Why deny it?
Last edited by SuperSoul; 09-11-2011 at 08:24 AM..
Belief is powerful, whether the belief is based on truth or not.
Truth is perspective & process.
What inspires us often cannot be proved, or maybe it can be scientifically proven to not be real... yet it still affects us.
When you were a kid - did you pretend to be someone imaginary, like Superman or Wonderwoman?
We've all had some pretty strange dreams that would be laughed at by any scientific-minded person, yet they have real influence on us.
Shakespeare wrote, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet."
So, you may not call your God, "God" - we all have influences in our lives that cannot be scientifically proven.
And often those influences... like laughing for no apparent reason, or that which inspires us to dance or sing... are what makes life worthwhile.
Why deny it?
The article has two glaring omissions. While naming other gods, it left out what most consider god. Second, it left out jesus.
The article has two glaring omissions. While naming other gods, it left out what most consider god. Second, it left out jesus.
Quite some omissions.
Yes, those were left out, probably because they cannot be conclusively 100% proven to have never lived.
IMO, God is not limited to a live person, but a process of hoping, seeking & striving for what's best... among all possibilities.
So, I see no reason to deny that, & many reasons to embrace that, even if you don't call it "God." In our human way, we do believe in & pursue what we think is best.
Some use only logic, while others exclusively rely on intuition. Then others take advantage of both.
They seem to left out Homer but included King Arthur. They included Santa claus (where Santa doesn't exist but St Nicholas perhaps did) but left out Jesus Christ (where Jesus probably did exist but Christ probably didn't) and no mention of Gandalf...or Harry Potter...?
Yes, those were left out, probably because they cannot be conclusively 100% proven to have never lived.
IMO, God is not limited to a live person, but a process of hoping, seeking & striving for what's best... among all possibilities.
So, I see no reason to deny that, & many reasons to embrace that, even if you don't call it "God." In our human way, we do believe in & pursue what we think is best.
Some use only logic, while others exclusively rely on intuition. Then others take advantage of both.
Yet you seem to have no problem with including the older gods. Zeus, Apollo etc. But seem to insist that your "god" is real. With the same evidence as for the others. Slight disconnect there.
As they put "St. Nick" in parenthesis I cry "fowl" a bit on that. Even if you don't believe Jesus existed we have St. Nicolas's body in Bari, Italy. (I think it was Bari, Italy) Santa Claus is real, at least after a fashion. He's a Greek bishop whose image developed pagan accretions over time.
Also I think St. Valentine may have existed. Or at least I think there maybe was a guy named Valentine who died and who Christians honored. Hiawatha and Paul Bunyan might also be more "legendary" than fictional. Like real people whose actual story became exaggerated and mythical over time.
Anyway one of the most glaring issues might be that it's fairly Euro-American centered. Where's Genji, Jia Baoyu, or the like?
It's a highly western - oriented (not to say US oriented) list. There's not a mention of Rama or Sita or Arjuna and they are semi - legendary at best but had a huge influence in India and South - east asia. However, perhaps they are steering clear of saying that even semi - religious figures didn't exist.
I think the pantheon of Norse deities deserves at least honorable mention. By Thor's hammer, we call most of the days of the week after them! That's pretty influential.
I think you could find some that aren't religious figures from various nations.
For example Tora-san, a character in a long-running Japanese film franchise. Or Zatoichi, also a kind of legendary film character.
Even from a Western perspective I don't think I saw Captain Nemo or Father Brown. And if we're doing saints I believe the case for St. Christopher being fictional is stronger than that of Nicolas or Valentine and he's a fairly influential saint.
Yet you seem to have no problem with including the older gods. Zeus, Apollo etc. But seem to insist that your "god" is real. With the same evidence as for the others. Slight disconnect there.
Woah... I didn't write the list. lol
And I never said it's just "My God" - That's like saying I'm the only one with a subconcious.
Arjay, IS YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS REAL?
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