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Prayer and meditation are the essence of religion (or spirituality) in my opinion. I guess ritual would have to included also.
And magic. In our modern society, we think of magic as fake, for entertainment only. Most people don't realize how much magic there is in the Old Testament. The ritual sacrifices described are magic. People tried to influence the gods with their rituals.
I am religious but I don't follow any of the mainstream religions. I just take parts of them. In the 1980s I became interested in New Age and Spiritualism. I liked those because they seemed non-dogmatic and general.
However, I gradually stopped liking certain aspects of New Age and Spiritualism, to the point where now I don't seem to like them at all. Unfortunately, because there aren't too many other options.
Recently I had a conversation with someone I know from the Spiritualist church. I asked him if there are any bad spirits and he said no. And when I go, occasionally, to the spiritualist church there is no mention of anything except love and goodness. Nothing about the dark side of spirituality. And I have watched a lot of youtube videos about spiritualism -- same thing, all the mediums say the afterlife is all good, no bad.
Obviously, there is a dark side. People have been battling evil spirits since our species have began. Were they just imagining things?
The same for New Agers. Evil does not exist, it's just an illusion caused by fear.
This kind of lovey-dovey unrealistic thinking caused me to become interested in born again Christian ideas. Unfortunately, born again Christians believe in all kinds of stupid stuff, so I can't join them. But at least they understand that if there is light there also has to be darkness.
Why not ask what God thinks, rather than all of the different groups?
Why not ask what God thinks, rather than all of the different groups?
You can't simply look things up in the bible to find out what God thinks. The Jewish and Christian bibles were written by lots of different people, who had their agendas. And even if everything they all wrote is "true," it has to be interpreted, from a very different cultural perspective.
People try to find the "truth" in the bible, and they wind up twisting every phrase to fit their idea of what the truth should be.
We can ask God directly, through prayer and meditation. There still aren't any simple answers, but praying and meditating is better than trying to find answers in books.
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he sowed, some seed fell alongside the path; and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky patches where there was not much soil. It sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow; 6 but when the sun had risen, the young plants were scorched; and since their roots were not deep, they dried up. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 But others fell into rich soil and produced grain, a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as had been sown. 9 Those who have ears, let them hear!”
The Lord founded the earth with wisdom, established the heavens with discernment. יטיְֽהוָ֗ה בְּחָכְמָ֥ה יָֽסַד־אָ֑רֶץ כּוֹנֵ֥ן שָׁ֜מַ֗יִם בִּתְבוּנָֽה:
20With His knowledge the depths were split, and the heavens drip dew. כבְּדַעְתּוֹ תְּהוֹמ֣וֹת נִבְקָ֑עוּ וּ֜שְׁחָקִ֗ים יִרְעֲפוּ־טָֽל:
21My son, let them not depart from your eyes; guard sound wisdom and thought, כאבְּנִי אַל־יָלֻ֣זוּ מֵעֵינֶ֑יךָ נְצֹ֥ר תֻּ֜שִׁיָּ֗ה וּמְזִמָּֽה:
22and they shall be life for your soul, and grace for your neck. כבוְיִֽהְי֣וּ חַיִּ֣ים לְנַפְשֶׁ֑ךָ וְ֜חֵ֗ן לְגַרְגְּרֹתֶֽיךָ:
23Then you shall go securely on your way, and your foot shall not stumble. כגאָ֤ז תֵּלֵ֣ךְ לָבֶ֣טַח דַּרְכֶּ֑ךָ וְ֜רַגְלְךָ֗ לֹ֣א תִגּֽוֹף:
24If you lie down, you shall not fear, and when you lie down, your sleep shall be sweet. כדאִם־תִּשְׁכַּ֥ב לֹֽא־תִפְחָ֑ד וְ֜שָׁכַבְתָּ֗ וְֽעָרְבָ֥ה שְׁנָתֶֽךָ:
I am religious but I don't follow any of the mainstream religions. I just take parts of them. In the 1980s I became interested in New Age and Spiritualism. I liked those because they seemed non-dogmatic and general.
However, I gradually stopped liking certain aspects of New Age and Spiritualism, to the point where now I don't seem to like them at all. Unfortunately, because there aren't too many other options.
Recently I had a conversation with someone I know from the Spiritualist church. I asked him if there are any bad spirits and he said no. And when I go, occasionally, to the spiritualist church there is no mention of anything except love and goodness. Nothing about the dark side of spirituality. And I have watched a lot of youtube videos about spiritualism -- same thing, all the mediums say the afterlife is all good, no bad.
Obviously, there is a dark side. People have been battling evil spirits since our species have began. Were they just imagining things?
The same for New Agers. Evil does not exist, it's just an illusion caused by fear.
This kind of lovey-dovey unrealistic thinking caused me to become interested in born again Christian ideas. Unfortunately, born again Christians believe in all kinds of stupid stuff, so I can't join them. But at least they understand that if there is light there also has to be darkness.
I know what the bible says. And I do not see the bible as a verified source of true information. How can we possibly fact-check something written thousands of years ago? At a time when anything put into writing was assumed to be true.
Well said, Go4No. Undoubtedly you have moved away from the shameless Bias position exemplified by BF 'Ignore all those other Faith -claims; just focus on mine'. There's just a sort god -faith that's still getting in between us.
Which doesn't need you to give it up to start a dialogue, but to understand why Our Lot have a logically -sound reason not to believe it.
Well said, Go4No. Undoubtedly you have moved away from the shameless Bias position exemplified by BF 'Ignore all those other Faith -claims; just focus on mine'. There's just a sort god -faith that's still getting in between us.
Which doesn't need you to give it up to start a dialogue, but to understand why Our Lot have a logically -sound reason not to believe it.
I never moved away from whatever you mean by BF. I never was a Christian. I went from no religion to believing the universe is conscious, for scientific reasons.
You don't happen to be familiar with my scientific reasons, so you assume my beliefs are just whatever I was indoctrinated into.
I was not indoctrinated into any religion, just the opposite.
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