by d 281 Replies latest members politics
I hypothesize that searching for the spiritual is evidence of a need.
People desperately searched for something that would turn base metals into gold. Does this make alchemy true? Since the answer is clearly no we can also say searching for the spiritual or UFOs or fairys in the garden is not evidence for the existence of any of those things.
No, Caedes, but base metals and gold are real things.
Why would all human civilizations or groups, in all times, and in all cultures, develop a need for something that does not e x ist?
I believe it is because the spiritual is a real thing.
Now, how you interact with that, what you want the spiritual to do for you... that is like 'alchemy'. It might not be true. But the gold and the metal are still real.
Peace,
tammy
Hi Tec, sorry to interupt, just a quick question.....you mentioned a page back (I think) about those who enter the kingdom of heaven, and about Jesus? saying "whoever shows love to the lesser ones etc"......what does that mean. I mean, I know what the JW taught me.....but what does it mean for you? Im sorry, Im not making myself very clear lol....I can find my glasses and my 2 synapses arent connecting well today
Thanks, Paula
To me, that means anyone who does good to even the least of Christ's brothers - those who belong to Christ.
Did you mean something else?
Peace,
tammy
I think the story of Jesus had been revised over the years since the gospels were written. Their is way too much contradication.
Thanks Tammy.
Have a good Thursday all x
Bottom line is this. We're all going to share the same fate. Whether you believe it to be nonexistance, life in heaven, here on earth or reincarnation. So just kick back & enjoy the ride. We'll all get together some time in the future & have a good laugh over how we thought this was all going to pan out. In the mean time.....Live Well......Enjoy Life.
Yes this may be but belief in God is stifling to fully enjoying life.
Why would all human civilizations or groups, in all times, and in all cultures -
This blanket statement is not true. There are plenty of ancient nomad and hunter-gatherer groups that left no indication whatsoever they believed in any invisible spirit-world. An unbiased study of history helps give you a better perspective of how such beliefs developed (and relatively recently compared to total time humans have been around). These weren't athiests, but rather un-thiests. They couldn't "not believe" in something that hadn't been invented. Where did the invention come from? Much of it was stemmed from a shift from hunter gatherer to agricultural - more time to sit and reflect and come up with creative answers for things they couldn't explain. Germs, disease, epilepsy, natural disasters, etc. all needing to be explained away. Not hard to see how that developed.
But still even after that, Ancient Greece and even Ancient India and China had plenty of records of people not buying into spirit creatures. It might not have always been the popular view seeing how that the Mesopotamian cultures that spread beliefs and government codes often enforced belief in their gods. Nonetheless, plenty of records of actions and philiophies emerged that showed many questioning these invented "spiritual" ideas. Finally you have the age of enlightment and of course scientific doscovery - all showing answers to just about anything that previously had been explained away to invisible spirits.
All-in-all, the full history of mankind paints a picture that includes many groups and time periods where no invention of spirit life existed nor was needed. It's hard to claim that because a few thousand years of creative explanations got attributed to a spirit world, that it negates all the previous and in-between millenia and groups that such spiritual encounters and inventions didn't exist or were similarly dismissed. Saying that all humans have needed to search for the spiritual world proves that it exists is the same as saying that because all cultures tell of flooding that Noahs flood must be true. First, it's not true - not even by a long shot, many cultures, particularly in Africa don't have any such records of any historical flooding. Second, even if the majority of cultures had such distantly-similar legends, none of them have been able to provide actual documented evidence that such an event occured, and third, any claims they make do not pass basic scientific testing to determine that they happened.
Now having said all that, I'm always glad that so many variety of beliefs have survived and been nurtured and refined to survive in this day of scientific dicovery. It's fascinating to discuss magic and astrology and judeo-Christian mythology. Understanding how it developed and the fundamental principle that people believe because they want to believe, it really helps me feel connected to humanity. I don't want anyone to change their personal beliefs if they don't want to. As for the OP, I've never experienced hostility as an athiest because I'm not an athiest (nor agnostic).
What is sad about religion is the reaction that family's have toward those who are atheist. Why are family members hostile toward atheist family members.
