"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
You don't need evidence to make a choice, and using evidence naturally leads to a choice.
I think people are afraid of being accountable for their choices. It can be a scary word.
For instance, say a parent tells a child what to believe and the child accepts the story. That was the child's choice. Maybe the kid didn't have good options yet chose what seemed best to them in their situation (ie when told you don't have a choice, submitting might be the only choice possible)
"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
In this thread I do understand why a Jw would become an atheist thanks to you guys.
I'm looking forward to reading the wall of text on the previous page still
"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
The taking care of itself is choosing tho
"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
I think we choose our beliefs. It's the only real point I'm actually arguing instead of discussing.
Often subconscious choices that we don't make deliberately through awareness.
"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
All I'm saying is that mythologic books help us to connect to our consciousness that leads to God. Like a shortcut or a helper. The metaphors are symbols that do the connecting. Otherwise you're on your own to figure life out, which happens to be a valid choice too.
I appreciate mythological books and having faith particularly in the Bible. I'm no fan of all the rules tho, specifically the ones that don't serve to help me anymore.
"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
No it doesn't matter to me whether those things actually happened. Not that I disregard that they could of happened tho. I don't really know what exactly unfolded because I wasn't there. Metaphorically it all still works. Was Jesus equal to Jah? He may as well have been.
"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
I mean the emotion deep in my consciousness that creates a sense of awe in the universe that can only be expressed poetically. Faith leads me to the word God. God being the closest word to express that awe
"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
I think there are benefits to reading and understanding mythological books.
I define faith as an emotional belief in the mystery that is involved in experiencing life.
"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
When taken to extremes reason serves us better than faith. In it's extreme faith is intolerant. People can't stop making meaning so outside of extremes faith serves man very well.
Delusion seems like an extreme word in this conversation
"traumatic as the initial transition may be, it can lead to the development of a truly personal relationship with these two greatest friends [the father and the son] .
.. "whatever sense of 'belonging' that membership in some religious system may create, it can never compare with the power and beauty and strengthening benefit of the intimate personal relationship the scripture presents .
from reading joseph campbell i've come to understand that there are functions to religion or mythology.
Well belief is probably rooted in the emotional side of our brains. It's difficult to reason out belief. I like how Buddhist can stay in reality and distinguish what are stories. If my intuition tells me a belief is true I will accept that belief as long as it serves me from a personal standpoint.
I really value JWs use of evidence as I value Campbell's use of poetic metaphors. When it comes to working with a book such as the Bible I wouldn't be able to work with any particular church without scriptural evidence.
