Belief and expression

[wolfclan96]

Hey guys how's it hanging? Sorry I havnt posted in a while but any who...on with the discusion


So during the last couple weeks I've been doing allot of personal study on a number of different religious ideas. I was just curious if anyone on here has ever read about any kind of religious idea out there and fealt that you kinda...I don't know...possibly could identify yourself with it but at the same time skeptical and have no real reason to actually believe it? Or at least the more supernatural aspects of it?

I may have not worded this right but it's something close to what I'm experiencing.

And don't get me wrong, I'm pretty much sceptical about allot of things especially when it comes to the supernatural. I'm not trying to promote anything or cause debate...just asking a simple question for sake of discussion with people who may have similar experience and thoughts.

And maybe it's not a certain religion but maybe a certain philosophy or what have you...

[Alex K]

I don't even know what a supernatural thing is supposed to be. Like, what the word means.

[TheRealJoeFish]

Hmm... I mean, I'm not extremely familiar with a lot of religions, although I occasionally come across religious-type ideas that I have a lot of respect for. I'm a pretty damn strict materialist, though, and ideas that resonate with me do so for their philosophical qualities rather than anything supernatural. So, I guess I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about; I do think that there are religious ideas out there (like, maybe, a desire to come to fully understand who you are through inward reflection, or something like that) that, even though they're not necessarily going to get you eternal nirvana or whatnot like some of their proponents think, are still noble pursuits from a secular/materialistic standpoint.

[FatAndFaithless]

I still haven't seen any moral or philosophical idea that a religion proposes that can't be equally expressed in entirely secular systems. And as others have said, I don't even know what 'supernatural' means.

[robvalue]

Nah, all religion and supernatural stuff is just made up nonsense as far as I'm concerned.

The only philosophy I need is to try and be nice to people, animals and the planet, and enjoy myself.

[wolfclan96]

You all make valid points and sorry for not being more clear. When I mentioned supernatural I was referring to things like the idea of actual gods, Devine beings, and the like.

I bring this up because I seem to be noticing a trend. Not anything bad, but something I've noticed.

I have a couple friends who tend to have more secular mindsets but at the same time invest interest in things like paganism. I have absolutely no qualms with this at all, in fact, I'm kinda the same way.

For a brief time I actually considered myself a Pagan...then I was like
"Woe man, you just left behind a belief that was so foundational throughout your life (Christianity) and now you're going into another so easily? No...slow down, relax, and try approaching this rationally. Do Some reading, do some more research, and try to determine where you actually stand."

And I have...or at least started to.

I'm sorry if I'm not making a lick of sence, I'm still trying to figure it out myself. Whatever the case may be...I still like to think of myself as a spiritual person and tries to approach things with an open mind. But at the same time...careful about it.

(Also, sorry for replying so late. Bought a new game and became rather distracted Lol.)

[robvalue]

What does spiritual mean?

[Aoi Magi]

Don't confuse philosophy and religious bs. Most religions try to hide their mind-fuckery under a lair of philosophy which they stole from various cultures.

[wolfclan96]

What does spiritual mean?

Again, I apologize for the prolonged reply, I'll try to better at replying in a timely manor.

Anyway, I've been pondering the meaning for awhile and the best I can come with speaking from my own mind is bassicly just this mindset of being able to live life in awe of things. Like the stars, the Earth, even people themselves. I don't have reason to believe an arbitrary being is looking out for me and the choices I make are my own...and they can be positive or negative (though I do my best to do positive things). When I refer to my spirituality I express my wonder Of this thing called reality and its many mysteries. Im not gonna go around and threaten hell or torment on others for not agreeing with me and im not gonna tell people that my opinion is above all else...cause that wont make me any better then theists who "DO" go around and do just that.

Bassicly my recognition of the fact that I dont know everything and theres much to learn.

I hope that was sufficiant explanation from my own thoughts but here is a good wiki entry on the subject.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality

[robvalue]

That sounds like a good definition to me  So, it's a metaphor for awe, wonder and excitement. That's totally cool.

Many other people mean something quite different by it, which is why I ask. They think it means all kinds of weird woo-ey stuff that they can never actually define.

No need to apologize! Good to hear from you.