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Nope. Totally different stories, different cultures....one's a myth, one's real.
Seriously...come up with something new. That one's been handled.
It hasn't been handled at all.
Your religion is just like everyone elses. There's nothing special or magical about any of them. Your prayers have no effect. There is no God helping you in any way. Those are alll just things people who are religious tell themselves.
Here's a challenge to you. A little test, if you will. Tell me one way to distingioush between the power of your prayers versus the power of a Hindu's prayers. Let's through in a mormons and muslims, too.
Tell me one way that we can prove your prayers work, but theirs do not. And here I want to be clear, we are not talking about something that happened to you in the past that you attribute causation to. I'm talking about something in the future. Do you believe you can move mountains with prayer? Heal the sick?
Because I know sick people, and I have mountains. So we can settle the matter pretty easy. Just tell me one thing that your prayers can do but the others can't, and lets see if it's true.
the largest problem that I personally see is that so many people mistake their beliefs for facts. A fact is a proveable hypotheisis, like "steam is a form of water" something proveable, concrete, not a matter for interpretation. All religion is belief, there is no independent corroboration of the allegations. Other believers write books saying why they believe, but this is not proof, it is a simple, "yup, I believe the same thing you do, mostly because it makes me feel safe, or special, or cared for" If you say "most rocks are harder than feathers" this statement is proveable. If you claim that someone a couple of thousand years ago died for your sins, well, that is opinion, there is no evidence that this is actually the case. There is the same amount of evidence for someone dying for your sins as there is for the Grinch stealing Christmas. Thinking for yourself and coming to rational conclusions does not make anyone a bad person.
I recommend that you think of a religion as a set of answers to a set of old and in some cases intractable questions. Some of each religion's adherents see those answers as the Final Answer, but after looking at human history, one can see that that such a point of view is always a mistake.
No...I know exactly what this person is talking about. I got so tired of being made to feel like a bad person just because I didn't think like all the other Christians in my church.
I'm not trying to belabor the point, but I don't understand how someone could make you (or anyone) "feel bad" unless there was a kernel of feeling bad that was coming from inside the person.
like, if someone calls me the b word, but I don't think I'm acting like the b word, I don't care because I know they're wrong. It doesn't make me feel bad that they think that. That would be like someone telling me that I'm blonde (I'm not). I know it's not true, so I don't believe it. Am I making sense?
Where does this bad person phrase come from. I have heard that so much lately. We are all sinners. I remember a little Bible verse I learned when I was about six years old. It goes like this, "No one is good, no not one." So if you are not good, what would the other choice be. So when I ask someone "How are you" and they answer "I am good" that little verse goes through my mind. LOL
Has anyone ever told you about Jesus? I think rejecting Him is a little close-minded. He died on the cross to pay for the sins of all those who believe in Him. However, He does not force this on anyone and you do have a choice. Just know for sure that Jesus loves you. I hope you choose wisely. God bless you!
Well......this is one theory, there are a bunch of other ones.
You're never wrong in what YOU believe.
But, don't you find something "more" in some aspects of life?
Without that little bit of "spiritual feeling" in some things experienced, life would be a dull ride.
So... you're saying that absent allowing for the fact that some things can only be explained by a belief that someone or something else is doing them, it's dull here? that "something more" may in fact be just something we don't have a satisfactory answer for... yet.
I'd hate to think such things will always remain unanswered, but I also recognize that this is a desirable ideal for some, to have things that they purposefully hold to be out of their grasp and understanding. That there must be some "other, mystical" explanations for them outside of logic or rational thought. For me, that's uncomfortable, especially if avoidable.
How about just considering that even though we have yet to find all the answers, they DO seem to be forthcoming at regular intervals even now, so if we're perhaps a bit more patient, the answers will eventually come?
How about that alternative?
What I've been fortunate to see of the world around me has moved me to deeply appreciate it, to always try to learn more, and to be in awe of the beauty that has occurred and that is developing and evolving around us.
As a professional bio-scientist, I've been part of the system that has recognized, categorized and described some of our world's knowledge. This even though I was told early on by some "spiritual" (in the traditonal sense) people that I should just "accept" it as it was and not try to understand or interprete it.
Rather, I chose to remain free to fully participate in the meaningful and natural events around me. All that without having to bow and scrape to some icon. Especially one whose strictures and confines told me NOT to investigate things for fear I'd upset some structured apple cart or the status-quo and belief systems of others.
That "allowed" curiosity has made my ride really worth-while, never dull, knowing I was always open to exciting new thoughts and concepts.
Never a Dull Moment, I'd Say!
Last edited by rifleman; 05-27-2009 at 03:54 PM..
Reason: clarification
Am I a bad person for thinking spirituality is a heap of BS?
No, it's not that, it's your lengthy criminal record.
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Godless Wonderment!
