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Since there's no sub-forum for spiritualism, I'm starting a thread in the main section for the basis of some (hopefully!) open-minded discussion.
First, a bit about me. I used to consider myself a full-blooded Christian until I reached adulthood. That was when I figured out there was a whole lot more to this than a narrow-minded religion practiced by a fraction of the global population. Not to mention the Heaven / Hell thing which bothered me from the time I was "saved" by one of my dear aunts at the tender age of 7. Although I was glad to be one of the ones who got that magic pass to Heaven, it sure bothered me that so many people would be subject to endless torment just because they didn't believe or worse yet, didn't subscribe to a specific brand of Christianity.
Throughout adulthood, I've considered myself an agnostic, bordering on atheist at times, but now, I consider myself a universalist spiritualist. I don't believe in a singular entity called "God," rather I believe in the connecting force which animates the entire universe. I believe that all beliefs are equally valid (so long as they don't try to instill fear and dread in other people...lol.) I also believe that there is a lot more out there then what we know and experience here on Earth. I also believe that the consciousness (or soul, if you will) can exist out of the physical body, and that conscious thought can and does transcend time and space. In addition, I believe I had at least one life before this one, and that I'll at least have the opportunity to experience future lives on Earth. That's just me, however, and I honestly can say that I don't know "for sure." My belief in these matters stem from some rather intense personal experiences which I've been privileged to experience in my lifetime.
There is one thing which I figured out when I was 7 (about the time I got "saved" lol) is that God is the sum of all knowledge in the universe, and that the more knowledge one has, the more like God one becomes. I still believe this to this day. I have an endless desire to know everything. If there is one purpose of us humans being here on Earth, it's to figure it all out, IMHO. Science is a great way to do this, but some things science is unable to do, like explaining psychic phenomena, or merely things which cannot be measured or tested. This doesn't stop me from wanting to learn about it, however.
I'll leave at this for the initial post, although I have plenty of interesting stories to share should this thread take a life of its own. I'd love to hear stories from others which science can't readily explain, if anyone's on here willing to share them.
Since there's no sub-forum for spiritualism, I'm starting a thread in the main section for the basis of some (hopefully!) open-minded discussion.
First, a bit about me. I used to consider myself a full-blooded Christian until I reached adulthood. That was when I figured out there was a whole lot more to this than a narrow-minded religion practiced by a fraction of the global population. Not to mention the Heaven / Hell thing which bothered me from the time I was "saved" by one of my dear aunts at the tender age of 7. Although I was glad to be one of the ones who got that magic pass to Heaven, it sure bothered me that so many people would be subject to endless torment just because they didn't believe or worse yet, didn't subscribe to a specific brand of Christianity.
Throughout adulthood, I've considered myself an agnostic, bordering on atheist at times, but now, I consider myself a universalist spiritualist. I don't believe in a singular entity called "God," rather I believe in the connecting force which animates the entire universe. I believe that all beliefs are equally valid (so long as they don't try to instill fear and dread in other people...lol.) I also believe that there is a lot more out there then what we know and experience here on Earth. I also believe that the consciousness (or soul, if you will) can exist out of the physical body, and that conscious thought can and does transcend time and space. In addition, I believe I had at least one life before this one, and that I'll at least have the opportunity to experience future lives on Earth. That's just me, however, and I honestly can say that I don't know "for sure." My belief in these matters stem from some rather intense personal experiences which I've been privileged to experience in my lifetime.
There is one thing which I figured out when I was 7 (about the time I got "saved" lol) is that God is the sum of all knowledge in the universe, and that the more knowledge one has, the more like God one becomes. I still believe this to this day. I have an endless desire to know everything. If there is one purpose of us humans being here on Earth, it's to figure it all out, IMHO. Science is a great way to do this, but some things science is unable to do, like explaining psychic phenomena, or merely things which cannot be measured or tested. This doesn't stop me from wanting to learn about it, however.
I'll leave at this for the initial post, although I have plenty of interesting stories to share should this thread take a life of its own. I'd love to hear stories from others which science can't readily explain, if anyone's on here willing to share them.
knowledge does not make someone "more like God."
we become "more like God" through kindness, compassion, and refinement of our own character traits.
there are brilliant people who are not kind. we see that on this forum.
learning is empty unless and until we put it into practice to become more kind, compassionate, generous.
good thread topic thank you for starting it.
I don't know why you say there is no forum for "spiritualism" because you are posting in it: Religion and Spirituality
This isn't one for me, but I would enjoy reading the views and discussions. You never know when some interesting point will come up.
And don't pay too much attention to the gripes about 'more universalism'. There are some who feel that nobody ought to be allowed to post but their Brand of Christian.
I have no stories but would like to ask the op a question.
If you believe that " .....there is one purpose of us humans being here on Earth, it's to figure it all out,...."
considering all the lives that came before us and it hasn't happened and assuming it isn't going to be figured out in our lifetime but assuming again that it is figured out eventually, what do you think happens then?
I have no stories but would like to ask the op a question.
If you believe that " .....there is one purpose of us humans being here on Earth, it's to figure it all out,...."
considering all the lives that came before us and it hasn't happened and assuming it isn't going to be figured out in our lifetime but assuming again that it is figured out eventually, what do you think happens then?
Hey, that one's easy. The day we "figure it all out" is the day we become one with God, and our "story" is complete.
That's one way of looking at it. Or, you could just say "that's for God to know, and you to figure out."
I'll share my own story a bit later when I have a bit more time to write it.
On what basis to you define god as the sum of all knowledge? How is that different from defining god as existence, or the universe, or the sum of all consciousness, or any number of other things we have perfectly adequate descriptive words for?
God, to me, is a supreme supernatural / invisible sentient agency responsible for the creation and maintenance of existence. If you're talking about existence ITSELF, or some aspect of it like knowledge, then you're talking about THAT. If you're talking about god as generally defined -- then for starters you would have to explain how you even have information about anything supernatural (outside of or above the natural world), and how we would know you are being honest about it.
If you're just re-labeling the set of all knowable / known things as "god" then that is just a way to turn god from a non-falsifiable hypothesis into something already known to exist.
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There are some who feel that nobody ought to be allowed to post but their Brand of Christian.
