Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Religion and Spirituality
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Closed Thread Start New Thread
 
Old 03-29-2015, 07:55 AM
 
Location: Eastern UP of Michigan
1,204 posts, read 870,306 times
Reputation: 1292

Advertisements

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.

 
Old 03-29-2015, 08:37 AM
 
Location: Northeastern US
19,825 posts, read 13,361,179 times
Reputation: 9822
Quote:
Originally Posted by bulmabriefs144 View Post
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.
 
Old 03-29-2015, 08:57 AM
 
28,432 posts, read 11,521,721 times
Reputation: 2070
Quote:
Originally Posted by bulmabriefs144 View Post
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.
 
Old 03-29-2015, 09:02 AM
 
28,432 posts, read 11,521,721 times
Reputation: 2070
Quote:
Originally Posted by mordant View Post
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
 
Old 03-29-2015, 09:24 AM
 
Location: Southwestern, USA, now.
21,020 posts, read 19,291,518 times
Reputation: 23659
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.








William Blake
 
Old 03-29-2015, 10:05 AM
 
7,381 posts, read 7,678,753 times
Reputation: 1266
Quote:
Originally Posted by bulmabriefs144 View Post
Who says there's one reasonable conclusion?

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.
 
Old 03-29-2015, 10:10 AM
 
Location: USA
17,156 posts, read 11,349,101 times
Reputation: 2376
Quote:
Originally Posted by TroutDude View Post
I'm opting for a dramatic post of his Road-To-Damascus moment when he returns - on April 1st.

3 days is a long time to wait for a punch Iine.
 
Old 03-29-2015, 10:29 AM
 
28,432 posts, read 11,521,721 times
Reputation: 2070
Quote:
Originally Posted by bulmabriefs144 View Post
Who says there's one reasonable conclusion?

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.
 
Old 03-29-2015, 11:19 AM
 
Location: Sitting beside Walden Pond
4,612 posts, read 4,881,022 times
Reputation: 1408
Quote:
Originally Posted by perry335654 View Post
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 know if our FSM* god is the true god or not, but he provides us with spaghetti at our house of worship, and that is good enough for me.

* Flying Spaghetti Monster
 
Old 03-29-2015, 01:38 PM
 
Location: Tennessee
10,688 posts, read 7,683,804 times
Reputation: 4674
Quote:
Originally Posted by perry335654 View Post
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.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:50 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top