Christians, Jews, Atheists, Hindus, Budhists, Shamans, Wiccans, and Shintos ONLY?
But really for the atheists. Using science, the senses, and rational thought I can certainly see how you would dispute the existence of a supreme being; particularly giving the zealotry of so many out there. But the idea of God means more than just joining a religion to many people. It's a medium to address the mysteries of life, the deep emotional connections with others, and the creative impulses that pop in and out of our consciousness.
My question is, in your personal philosophy how do you address these experiences and do you accept that there are facets of the universe that lie beyond the five senses?
The answer to your question is that you do not understand what an atheist is!!!
ATHEIST - someone who does not believe in a God ? any God ? not just the Christian one. But that does not mean they do not hold strong moral or religious beliefs! They can follow any religion that does not have a god and there are a lot of those!!
Therefore probably the majority of atheists in the world believe in a religion or spirituality and even an afterlife!!!!
The realm of the sacred is not the same as the realm of the secular. At times they meet, but overall exist separately from each other. Hel, I even leave room for the fact that I might be completely wrong.
My religion is a way of life though, and I enjoy that as much as I enjoy my worship. I practice ancestor worship and I KNOW they existed so I am at least half right?
I wholeheartedly agree that religion (for me) isn't about the religion; it's about a connection to something greater than myself. My spirituality grows, not through understanding of teachings and rules, but through life experiences that speak to me on a level that is deeper than my physical being.
Ignore them and they will go somewhere Else to get their attention. They answer and ask questions because they know most will argue with them. That is what they thrive on.
When they post in questions that are related to Religion and Spirituality Report all their answer as "insulting to Others"
Emotional responses in humans are actually our instinctual behaviors at work.
Creativity comes from the release of serotonin in the brain and can be increased by different activities including but not limited to the ingestion of mood altering substances.
Everything in the Universe is knowable, we just don't have enough time to learn it all.
It's a reasonable hypothesis that certain things are beyond detection by our 5 senses (or by the sophisticated machinery we have built to detect other such things already). But like any hypothesis, it must be tested to be validated. How would you test it?
Creative impulses and emotional connections are not supernatural occurrences. I address them by trying to understand them, not by lighting a candle and murmuring koans.
The Universe is made of pure energy. Human senses are not usually tuned into all of it. But some humans can tune into way more than what they get just using their physical senses.
Yeah, there certainly are facets of the universe that lie beyond the five senses -- there are frequencies of sound I can't hear, and parts of the light spectra I can't see. Or did you mean supernatural facets? Because I don't believe in the supernatural.
Religious experiences have beneficial social aspects, as well as potentially beneficial personal side-effects (like stress reduction). If you're really interested in the evolutionary aspects of religious experience, read Dennet's "Breaking the Spell."
Yes I do. I certainly don't expect my faith to solve all the mysteries of the universe, or that I know I am right, right now.
There can absolutely be things out in the universe not within our comprehension.
I do accept that there are a lot of unanswered questions and mysteries in the universe, but to simply state that a deity is the reason behind it all just doesn't suit me. Sounds like a mad scientist made a huge mistake in the lab and went into hiding. Not saying life is a mistake, but it's certainly not a bowl of cherries if you know what I mean. It's just hard for me to believe in religions because there are SOegative connotations, and like you said, zealots, as well as hypocrisy galore.
Of course, atoms, subatomic particles, can't see those or feel them, even sense them. There will always be things beyond our realm of knowledge, but that doesn't mean they are god, just we don't know them yet.
Nobody needs to have some god to address the mysteries of life, deep emotional connections, or creative impulses. These things can exist in a non-religious person as well, and yes, I 'know' there are facets of the universe that lie beyond the five senses, and play some part in our daily lives that we're not 'aware' of.
Christians, Jews, Atheists, Hindus, Budhists, Shamans, Wiccans, and Shintos ONLY?
