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HUGE, SUPER-GIGANTIC HUGS!!!
LOVE. PERIOD.
One can never do wrong in the name of love.
This is why every rule, law, ritual, or book will never be as all inclusive as LOVE.
In the war for America's soul/psyche, I'd root for the secular humanists -- if they numbered enough to form a battalion, let alone an army.
But they don't.
It's a war between sensible, educated, empathetic, "liberal" Christians and the ones who elected Trump.
I'm walking with Christians, Atheists, Muslims, Jews, Pagans, Agnostics and Others who believe tolerance and empathy trump (sorry) bigotry and judgment.
No, I just hear and obey the Spirit. It's not brain surgery, but some people have such a problem with it. Peace
But if the 'Spirit' is - as I argue -what is in heir own heads - then whatever pops into their head - their likes and dislikes, preferences and what they want to see eradicated - gets divine justification without having to do a darn thing to merit it.
Yes, I get that. I've said before, I don't "Do" Love. I don't see it as possible or even desirable to be on that High all the time. In fact I suspect that the Love -Childs are no more On It than I am (and I'm on a Positive most of the time) and they just crank it up as validation of a amorphous religious Faith in Love as something like God, but without the religious trappings.
So I can Get the idea, and I don't have a serious beef with it, unless -like some of the sortagod agnostics - they start bashing atheists because - like me - they don't "Do" Love as a sort of religious belief. Yes, the Love -children get very huffy about 'reducing Love to chemicals'. Well, love, in a purely bio -way is in that area, but when applied to society, ethics and reasoning, it encompasses a whole lot more. But the huffiness about Understanding what does this feeling of love - apart from making it drearily mundane, de-mystifies it. And the mystification (very often as a purported independently existent and indeed intelligent entity) is what they are really in love with.
True, but we can infer from the surviving writings and practices of the time that agape love as a concern for the well-being of everyone was NOT practiced let alone a prevalent meme. When talking about such broad brush societal phenomena, there will always be the potential for the odd one out. But a human being who could actually love the ones scourging Him and crucifying Him is a rare enough circumstance for the era to suspect that He is a one-off for that era. It is the focus on our failures that is counterproductive. The fact that religion deemed them sins punishable by a wrathful God only amplified its counterproductiveness. The whole point of Christ's existence was to remove the unwarranted concern over our human failures and to provide sincere repentance as a remedy for them. I agree wth your rejection of the exclusivity endemic to the current Christian religion which is why I seek to correct it. Loving one another is the motivation that minimizes (if not eliminates) the harmful interactions among us. When it is extended to everyone involved, it can solve so many of the world's ills. It is not false. I HAVE read most of the inspirational works of the past and many of the more recent vintage. Unlike many, I do NOT think God stopped inspiring us 2000+ years ago. I don't think inspiration has ever stopped. We agree about the counterproductive nature of religious beliefs and their imposition on others. I suspect you are misreading the instructions. They are quite non-dogmatic. It really does mean to simply love God (Existence) and each other every day and repent (change your state of mind) when you don't. God is everything including us who reproduce His consciousness as His children.I apologize for any times I have seemed to be angry or my rhetoric was out of bounds. I am not and never was angry, Matadora Perhaps I did all too zealously and vigorously present my view of things. I will endeavor to correct that. I find your posts enlightening and useful if somewhat stinted in philosophical matters.
But if the 'Spirit' is - as I argue -what is in heir own heads - then whatever pops into their head - their likes and dislikes, preferences and what they want to see eradicated - gets divine justification without having to do a darn thing to merit it.
OUTstanding observation! THIS is why we are told to test the spirits and the basis FOR testing is where the rubber meets the road. If it is NOT how the impulse or message comports with Christ's message of concern for the well-being of everyone in any situation, you can be sure it is a rationalization to justify those "likes and dislikes."
OUTstanding observation! THIS is why we are told to test the spirits and the basis FOR testing is where the rubber meets the road. If it is NOT how the impulse or message comports with Christ's message of concern for the well-being of everyone in any situation, you can be sure it is a rationalization to justify those "likes and dislikes."
OUTstanding observation! THIS is why we are told to test the spirits and the basis FOR testing is where the rubber meets the road. If it is NOT how the impulse or message comports with Christ's message of concern for the well-being of everyone in any situation, you can be sure it is a rationalization to justify those "likes and dislikes."
Quote:
Originally Posted by pneuma
well said
Ok. so what I suggest Is not to go with personal feelings or judge personal impulses (validated by supposing them to be input from the divine) by innate preferences, but using reason and the codes of ethics devised over centuries. Which is, as I have argued, what the religious do, too, but credit the origins of the moral codes (as interpreted by themselves) to their god. Name your own.
This is a dangerous post because of the recent reaction to my views leading me to leave this forum. Unfortunately, religious beliefs are the ones most directly connected to the social-psychological needs that drive selective perceptions and cognitive dissonance. They are also very emotionally volatile and tend to be a source of spark and tinder in social settings. My experiences on this forum over many years led me to expect intelligent, non-violent, and open-minded reactions until recently. My complete views have been thoroughly presented in my many existing posts, but I personally find the retention of magical thinking and ancient ignorance about Christ and His role sufficiently troubling that I want to provide a concise alternative narrative summarizing the Christian aspects of them.
Perhaps an anonymous example of a somewhat irreverent summary of the magical thinking typically passing for faith in Christ will make my concerns about the prevailing Christian narrative clear. Under Christianity we are to believe that God essentially said:
“I'm going to create man and woman and they will commit original sin. Next - I'm going to impregnate a teenage girl with myself as her child so that I may be born as a human. Later - I will kill myself as a blood sacrifice to myself so I can forgive them and save them from the sin I originally condemned them for.”
If this actually makes any intellectual sense to anyone, I would be astounded.... *snip*
Hi there Mystic,
as a heathen / apostate, atheist, much of your post is just straight over my head so I really just came to say love ya and welcome back!
I wish the forum would lighten up and go back to it's old ways so that the lot of us could spar properly again.
I'll just take on the first bit bolded blue.
Of course as an atheist it makes total intellectual sense to me in that it's all totally nonsensical.
That's why I'm an atheist!
(Not coming over to the dark side by any chance are you?)
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