(May 10, 2018 at 1:21 pm)vulcanlogician Wrote: What I did like was the homily. The priest talked about cultivating love within oneself, not only for family and close ones, but also for strangers. This seems like a good idea to me. I have reservations about equating love with Jesus or advising one to express love to an imaginary being. But where else (outside of religious institutions) do people intentionally and meditatively cultivate love within themselves? Hippies do it, I guess. But otherwise this sort of thing is only practiced in a religious context.Loving oneself is all well and good, also showing compassion and love to strangers, but I would set the limit to loving your enemies. They are your enemies after all.
(May 10, 2018 at 1:21 pm)vulcanlogician Wrote: Freed from its doctrinal trappings, I think this sort of spiritual exercise may be of benefit. What do you say? Is gathering together with other people to intentionally cultivate love within oneself a beneficial spiritual exercise? Or is it just wishful/imaginative thinking that serves no real purpose whatsoever? As atheists, I think we sometimes forget that maybe some people don't go to church just to hear about Sky Fairy. Perhaps some are motivated to participate in a spiritual exercise they can't really do anywhere else.I think it's irrelevant and a superfluous experience that can be had without the religious strings attached. Not that it doesn't serve any purpose whatsoever, just that it can be had without the religious stuffing attached to it.
It's a communal experience, not exclusive to a church or ministry. I can get the same caliber communal experience in a club or some other social event. It's the people that matter, not the setting, IMO
