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RE: Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)
November 21, 2015 at 6:09 pm
(This post was last modified: November 21, 2015 at 6:09 pm by Alex K.)
I don't know what people mean when they say that.. probably vastly different things, ranging from believers in God not wanting to be lumped with any corrupt or dogmatic man-made religions, to atheists who don't want their theistic surroundings to think that they are bad people.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
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RE: Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)
November 21, 2015 at 6:14 pm
Most versions of pagans / wiccans / spiritualists / psychics would probably make that claim. They are sure that there is a god, or probably many gods, out there, and that they can communicate with them. (And manipulate them.) They will tell you that most churches started out good, and were corrupted by greed and power. (I'll agree with that last part.)
As I was pulling away from traditional belief, I studied some of these things, attended a few psychic fairs and gaia circles.
It's really just trying to substitute the "god loves ME I'm special and here's my special group" feeling that they had with traditional religion into a different brand of WOO.
"The family that prays together...is brainwashing their children."- Albert Einstein
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RE: Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)
November 21, 2015 at 6:20 pm
I feel spiritual at times. I define that simply as feeling a connectedness to something larger than myself -- in my case, humanity and and the universe. It's got nothing to do with woo, gods, Feng Shui, or any other horseshit. It's just me pondering my place in the universe.
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RE: Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)
November 21, 2015 at 6:36 pm
(November 21, 2015 at 6:20 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: I feel spiritual at times. I define that simply as feeling a connectedness to something larger than myself -- in my case, humanity and and the universe. It's got nothing to do with woo, gods, Feng Shui, or any other horseshit. It's just me pondering my place in the universe.
Yeah, that's my personal take on spirituality as well. Another person's meaning may be very different though, perhaps involving their personal experience with telepathy with vegetables. It makes the word almost meaningless. We need a whole lot more words with much more precise definitions in order to have a good conversation on this subject.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein
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RE: Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)
November 21, 2015 at 6:37 pm
(This post was last modified: November 21, 2015 at 6:38 pm by Alex K.)
(November 21, 2015 at 6:20 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: I feel spiritual at times. I define that simply as feeling a connectedness to something larger than myself -- in my case, humanity and and the universe. It's got nothing to do with woo, gods, Feng Shui, or any other horseshit. It's just me pondering my place in the universe.
That's it for me, too, and I don't have a problem with calling that spiritual, for lack of a better word...
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
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RE: Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)
November 21, 2015 at 6:41 pm
Right, AFTT - the definition is so muddled as to be meaningless.
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RE: Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)
November 21, 2015 at 8:25 pm
"Spiritual" is just runaround speak for being connected to Something or Anything. Non-believers who claim to be spiritual are typically quite rational folks and don't necessarily have a any supernatural beliefs. They're probably just sick of feeling alone. Who can blame them? It becomes very frustrating at tiresome at times.
If I believed that was even a slight chance that I could comfort myself with deep breathing, chanting, or by rubbing a crystal, I would probably do it.
Too bad I don't, though.
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RE: Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)
November 21, 2015 at 9:20 pm
(November 21, 2015 at 8:25 pm)Thena323 Wrote: "Spiritual" is just runaround speak for being connected to Something or Anything. Non-believers who claim to be spiritual are typically quite rational folks and don't necessarily have a any supernatural beliefs.
Maybe, maybe not. As most of us agree, it's a vague term that could mean almost anything. An astrophysicist who is moved emotionally while looking through a telescope might call him/herself spiritual while a nut trying to communicate with a palm tree under the influence of tequila might claim the same. It's too general a term to be very useful as it stands.
I think it would be useful if we clarified what the term means and came up with alternative words for different situations as well. We ARE emotional creatures and we should have words that allow us to talk about profound, emotional experiences in a meaningful way.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
Albert Einstein
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RE: Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)
November 21, 2015 at 10:23 pm
(November 21, 2015 at 8:25 pm)Thena323 Wrote: "Spiritual" is just runaround speak for being connected to Something or Anything. Non-believers who claim to be spiritual are typically quite rational folks and don't necessarily have a any supernatural beliefs. They're probably just sick of feeling alone. Who can blame them? It becomes very frustrating at tiresome at times.
If I believed that was even a slight chance that I could comfort myself with deep breathing, chanting, or by rubbing a crystal, I would probably do it.
Too bad I don't, though.
It works for Evie! He can't stop rubbing his voodoo stick!
It must give him enlightenment.
No God, No fear.
Know God, Know fear.
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RE: Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)
November 21, 2015 at 10:30 pm
(November 21, 2015 at 10:23 pm)ignoramus Wrote: (November 21, 2015 at 8:25 pm)Thena323 Wrote:
It works for Evie! He can't stop rubbing his voodoo stick!
It must give him enlightenment.
I have no voodoo stick.
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