A Religion for the Non Religious

[ignoramus]

I'll read it in full tonight Cath and give you an honest unbiased opinion.
At work now, freezing, Melbourne time, etc.
Catch.

[ignoramus]

Cathy. Don't you hate it when you ask them to read it in full and they just quickly skim over it and tell you how bad it was! So rude.
Anyway, I took my time and read it all as promised! ............. They were right...
It wasn't stupid or woo like, but it reminded me of Dr Seuss being asked to write the secrets of "oneness" for 6 year olds.
The point is, you thought of us, that's more than any other theist has done for us! That's why you're special here! We all do appreciate your kindness.

[Whateverist]

A quick skim says I like it.  Now to do the dishes and finish the bathroom remodel so my poor wife won't have to work so hard at nagging me.

Fair enough, I'm glad you're putting your wife first. Now that's a man!

If you ever find yourself with a particularly bad case of diarrhea which puts you in the bathroom for 1 hour or so, consider this article for some toilet bowl reading. I say this because I really do think you will enjoy it, my friend!

Nothing like doing the dishes to get a lady hot for you.  Easy there Cath-y.

[Mister Agenda]

I thought it was going to be about Unitarianism....

[The Grand Nudger]

I think that it was a meandering appeal to ignorance.  At what point this provides a justification for a "truthism" designation neither I nor the author seems to be capable of demonstrating.

For those who don't feel like wading through the stick figures. I can sum the entire thing up. "There's alot we don't know". Fun article, on that count.

So, Cath, what appealed to you the most in all of that, penny for -your- thoughts, at length?

[Whateverist]

Okay one impression my skimming left was the emphasis on stair cases and how there is always more we can achieve, consciousness-wise. I would have found such an analogy more exciting in my twenties. There are times in your life when you embrace growth, peaks and becoming. But it isn't because I'm washed up and cynical that I'm now critical of that perspective.

I now view the transcendence project as a little escapist. I owe James Hillman for this idea. He distinguishes between "soul" and "spirit". Don't worry, it isn't anything literal. But the impetus to climb the highest peak and put all of life's cares and woes in perspective -or at least make them look small down there- is at its root, escapist. Insight is good, it just isn't the only good. Spiritual questing and transcendence are the draw of the spiritual. From the rarified heights of the spiritual, what we are is no longer bound by being a human with a particular history and point of view.

By contrast soul embraces the particular. It takes what and who we are very seriously, and not just as inconvenient details to be gotten past. If spirit is about achieving the heights, then soul is about embracing the swampy quagmires on Dagobah. That is where Luke meets Yoda, confronts the inescapable but also finds inner power.

So the emphasis on staircases in the article identifies it as an enterprise of spirit. I know something about that too. Exhilarating it is, but ultimately sterile and lonely too. I would never abandon the swamp entirely. I embrace the animal I am and don't hanker for what is 'higher'. Been there, done that, got something but now it's good to be home.

[Catholic_Lady]

Cathy. Don't you hate it when you ask them to read it in full and they just quickly skim over it and tell you how bad it was! So rude.
Anyway, I took my time and read it all as promised! ............. They were right...
It wasn't stupid or woo like, but it reminded me of Dr Seuss being asked to write the secrets of "oneness" for 6 year olds.
The point is, you thought of us, that's more than any other theist has done for us! That's why you're special here! We all do appreciate your kindness.

Ok.

Well I sincerely appreciate you giving it a chance and being kind to me. I honestly thought you guys would like it. Maybe I'll have better luck next time!

[The Grand Nudger]

It was better, by far, than an article on why islam is true.  I'll give you that.  

(look at whatevs up there, goin deep!)

[Whateverist]

Must have gotten a good nap.

[Catholic_Lady]

So, Cath, what appealed to you the most in all of that, penny for -your- thoughts, at length?

Oh gosh... the most?

I thought the whole thing was great!

The fact that we are still evolving, that there are levels of consciousness and we are not necessarily at the top level of it, that there is a very real possibility that there are beings out there who are far more conscious than us at a level we can't even comprehend, that there is always conflict in our mind between acting on animalistic impulses and reaching for something higher, that those animalistic impulses holds us back from really seeing the big picture and the world around us as we should, putting daily nuances into perspective by always remembering how small we are in the universe and how insignificant these nuances are in regards to the big picture, that what we know is such a miniscule amount of what is actually out there....

Of all those things, it's difficult to pick a favorite, especially because they all go together. But.... I think the takeaway that I liked most was about trying to reach that higher level of being by not letting our lives be clouded by our animalistic impulses of selfishness, narcissism, pettiness, etc.

What about you? I know you didn't like it that much, but you said you thought it was kinda interesting. Which part did you think was interesting?