RE: First things first
June 25, 2013 at 3:17 pm
(This post was last modified: June 25, 2013 at 3:21 pm by Bad Writer.)
(June 25, 2013 at 2:52 pm)Savannahw Wrote: Ok, lets see. Spiritual is defined as
1: of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit : incorporeal <spiritual needs>
2
a : of or relating to sacred matters <spiritual songs>
b : ecclesiastical rather than lay or temporal <spiritual authority> <lords spiritual>
3
: concerned with religious values
4
: related or joined in spirit <our spiritual home> <his spiritual heir>
5
a : of or relating to supernatural beings or phenomena
b : of, relating to, or involving spiritualism : spiritualistic
So all of those to some extent.
Concerning point 1, you would, by its definition, need to believe that there exists a spirit, either within people or without. Do you believe in an actual spirit?
Point 2: both bullets, a and b, point towards ecclesiastical (religious dealing with matters of a god) and things that are deemed sacred, which means some invisible power has sanctified something or must convince those involved to believe that such sanctity exists (in a religious sense, once again). Are you religious? Do you believe in a god? You state that you're atheist, but this kind of spirituality negates that claim.
Point 3: This one is iffy. I still have values that are attributed to my former religion, but I do not label them as religious values, simply because I have since made them my own. Also, I'm of the mind that any religious value has its origins in the theories of man anyway, so all values are man-made...meaning I don't think there is any such thing as a spiritual value. Again, are you religious? (As a quick caveat, I'm not being incendiary...rather, I'm just trying to get to the bottom of the assumed title of "Spiritual Atheist", so as to put any ambiguity aside.)
Point 4 is an ambiguous definition, and has no place in a dictionary since it has not put forth a description to what it calls a "spiritual home". That's just my opinion though. What do you consider a "spiritual home" or how would you define being "joined in spirit"?
Point 5: This one assumes you believe in supernatural beings. What kinds of beings or phenomena would you consider believable, and do you have evidence that they are legitimate phenomena (meaning that no natural means will ever explain their happenstance), or do you, conversely, believe that they can be explained in some rational way? If you believe the latter, then you are thinking like an atheist. If it's the former, then it's all the way on the other end of the spectrum, as far as I'm understanding it.
If you find my questioning too intrusive, please let me know. Do not in any way feel obligated to answer my questions. If you would rather I not pry into your label, then I'll stop.
(June 25, 2013 at 3:12 pm)whateverist Wrote: I think dancing with the mystery is great but subjugating it, not so much. But remember not doing is still doing and still is still moving ..
Whoa...I didn't say anything about subjugating the mystery. I'm just here to promote a need for understanding.
As for that second line...well...if you say so. I don't really have a response for that, so, in essence, I suppose I'm leaving that mystery be.
