It would appear the joke is on me.... (salvation, Buddhist, grace)
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I don't post much on the Religious Forum, not really sure as to my religious status. The OP has also been one of my favorite posters to read as are others mentioned--Shrina, Warden, Woodrow to name a few.
We too have had a "aha" moment in the last few months. Can't really say if it was a "Christ" moment or just a reality of a greater clarity regardless of deity.
That moment was our SSM on August 8 of 2014. We had been engaged for 39 years and living in sin. Yet this simple ceremony, performed by a wonderful lady/chaplain who was at the vanguard of the New York marriage equality movement, has awoken a bit of awe and wonderment in both of us. This act, in a beautiful garden, witnessed by people we didn't know who welcomed us as old friends brought us fully together. Whether a spirit, a god or the grand unification theory/reality await us, we will all find out at our appropriate time. Just hope its not to soon.
I wish Arequipa well and look forward to his return.
Consider this. CS Lewis, the great writer of Christian literature? The thing nobody wants to admit was that he was a former atheist.
Sure he was. It's no secret, and I've never seen anyone not admit it.
You can bet that when I was a Christian, my overlords milked that for all the mileage it was worth. Still, his arguments largely rang hollow to me and they certainly do now. I don't doubt his sincerity, but also don't doubt that he was sincerely wrong.
Aside from all that, he wasn't exempt from having to deal with the same thing I did ... the loss of the love of his life through protracted suffering. He chose to excuse and rationalize such obscenities -- obscenities made all the more obscene by the promise of protection, blessing and comfort to the faithful. I chose not to make excuses. God, as they say, has broad shoulders; he should answer for himself. Of course, he doesn't, because he can't, because he isn't.
It should also be pointed out that Lewis was a Christian and "fell away" from it at age 15 in a particular manner which he himself described as "being angry with god for not existing". That in itself is telling. He was not an atheist if he was angry at god. I chose atheism specifically because life is too short to be perpetually angry at a distant, withholding, emotionally unavailable father. It is far healthier to simply admit that his "behavior" (or lack of behavior, really) is a simple product of his non-existence.
God and/or personal belief entities. Trust me, I've changed from:
Typical Christian
Christian with Taoist leanings
Christian with Taoist, Shinto, and animist leanings
Reclaimed Christian
Reclaimed Christian with a conception of the world as an illusion (as per much of Eastern thought)
"" "" who also is gaining some insight into my previous faith paths
...And my faith continues to evolve.
We can't tell Arequipa what to believe, or where the journey leads. Just promise one thing. Alot of ex-Atheists seem to gravitate towards fundamentalism, where they wind up trapped because they don't know all the denominations, and don't know that all worship is not this controlling. If you wind up in a weird fringe group, remember there's folks to talk to.
well put again bulm.
I am a general-ist. Like with the gas laws, I remember pvnert and everything just falls into place.
I would make your statement more general:. literalist tend to gravitate towards literalism. 'fundamentalism is just a sub set of that. I think arg maybe messing us. or maybe something to do with a prescription being off.
I don't mean that with malice. I really hope he is ok and just yanking us.
Sure he was. It's no secret, and I've never seen anyone not admit it.
You can bet that when I was a Christian, my overlords milked that for all the mileage it was worth. Still, his arguments largely rang hollow to me and they certainly do now. I don't doubt his sincerity, but also don't doubt that he was sincerely wrong.
Aside from all that, he wasn't exempt from having to deal with the same thing I did ... the loss of the love of his life through protracted suffering. He chose to excuse and rationalize such obscenities -- obscenities made all the more obscene by the promise of protection, blessing and comfort to the faithful. I chose not to make excuses. God, as they say, has broad shoulders; he should answer for himself. Of course, he doesn't, because he can't, because he isn't.
It should also be pointed out that Lewis was a Christian and "fell away" from it at age 15 in a particular manner which he himself described as "being angry with god for not existing". That in itself is telling. He was not an atheist if he was angry at god. I chose atheism specifically because life is too short to be perpetually angry at a distant, withholding, emotionally unavailable father. It is far healthier to simply admit that his "behavior" (or lack of behavior, really) is a simple product of his non-existence.
Lewis and camel ... both soupy and shallow.
like how you said I hacked arg? hollow-ish?
as hallow as this too:
I chose atheism specifically because life is too short to be perpetually angry at a distant, withholding, emotionally unavailable father. hallow religousness
A koan: That which can make your head tilt like a doggy and
you suddenly have an altered awareness...
maybe the Doors of Perception opened...
'You see' ...you see what you did not one minute or a life time before.
That which makes a sane person suddenly say:
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
I've met Christian theologians that can argue for hours about their faith, and prove it at least to themselves.
And there's atheists that can make their case too.
Logic doesn't work that way. I have found God, and a theology that makes logical sense. Unbelieving that, would not be "reasonable" it would be insane.
Consider this. CS Lewis, the great writer or Christian literature? The thing nobody wants to admit was that he was a former atheist. https://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/cslewconv.htm Tolkien was in his class, and with some of his classmates, spent all night working on him. He got talked into belief through logic. And I'm sure some marginal Christians have been talked out of their belief. Also with logic.
Let Arequipa alone. Maybe he is pranking, maybe it's legit. Give him time, and whatever he says goes.
Many have claimed to have found a theology that makes sense to them, a vast number concluding what is contradictory to what you claim to have found. You can't all be right, but you can all be wrong.
I've met Christian theologians that can argue for hours about their faith, and prove it at least to themselves.
And there's atheists that can make their case too.
Logic doesn't work that way. I have found God, and a theology that makes logical sense. Unbelieving that, would not be "reasonable" it would be insane.
Consider this. CS Lewis, the great writer or Christian literature? The thing nobody wants to admit was that he was a former atheist. https://www.ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/cslewconv.htm Tolkien was in his class, and with some of his classmates, spent all night working on him. He got talked into belief through logic. And I'm sure some marginal Christians have been talked out of their belief. Also with logic.
Let Arequipa alone. Maybe he is pranking, maybe it's legit. Give him time, and whatever he says goes.
True-er than true again blum. There usually is not one answer. I say that all the time.
The core issue is not what people believe but rather how they believe.
do we side with people because they are atheist, thiest, black, or white or because of what they are using to support a stance?
weather he is dead, hurt, or on a bender won't change that fact. Or opon his return he will be aggressively pushing the same old' punch or whatever new stance is in his pants that day. All under the phrase 'its the only logical conclusion". He did it to me ten times.
"theology" alone has no legs. That doesn't mean it's all bad. Me saying that doesn't diminish the good stuff you say. I think people misunderstand that. Because I don't agree with a theology doesn't mean it is all bad. If the facts are off, that a different story for me.
Be this a joke or not, I hope the OP finds the one true God, because there is only one way, not multiple ways to attain the Kingdom of Heaven
I don't think the most ardent of believers finds the "one true God." On the other hand, if we seek truly, He may find us.
My own views of God have changed, and changed again, and still again and again. That's what happen when you keep seeking and don't let your spiritual feet get stuck in religious muck.
Finally, temper it constantly by LISTENING, particularly to those without a faith background. They often have things to offer that are spiritually enlightening or thought provoking. We cannot grow in faith if we are unwilling or unable to listen to our harshest critics.
Arq is one of those I depend on to keep me on my spiritual toes, and to help me refrain from getting too full of myself----a problem too many Christians have.
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