First things first

[Bad Writer]

Do you believe in aliens? Yes no? Is it a cool concept? Do you find it believable? Now ask your self the same questions about souls. I find it believable, because I understand why other people believe in them.

The value I place in religious claims has come from man. But if you asking if I believe that religious claims have a higher power behind them? They could. I don't really find that important. I don't believe they do. I find more significance in the value people place on them.

Point 4. I could stop at that. Usually I do. Sometimes I don't. If the word spiritual fits, better I'll use it. There is a labyrinth at a church in my city. It is a spiritual place to me. A deep connection doesn't cut it. If I say my husband and I have a spiritual connection, then deep connection doesn't go far enough. If spiritual fits the situation better, I'm not afraid of someone disagreeing with me or answering the questions it raises.

I think the last point just shows how different we are as people. I'm not going to question a persons beliefs, that is personal. If they have questions, I will answer if I can. If I know someone with an outrageous belief, that doesn't hurt anyone, I'll let them keep it. I might research for myself, but you can not convince someone to change their beliefs unless they want to.

I think we're coming to some good common ground here, and I'm starting to understand better where you come from on your label. I just wanted to address a few other things before we move on to bigger and better things.

Concerning your example of belief in aliens, I do find the concept fascinating. I'm a huge Trekkie, so of course the prospect of intelligent life beyond our own gives me a huge boner (excuse my crude comparison...hehe). However, just because I like the idea and can understand why others may believe it, doesn't justify me if I ever decide to believe in the same. If I were to make the claim, the burden of proof would be on me to say why that is. I would be unable to provide any evidence that would point to anything resembling pointy-eared Vulcans. That is why, though I can understand why people might believe in E.T.s, I find the concept, based on our current evidence, pretty absurd. (If aliens landed on earth tomorrow, I would not take back those words of mine. Yes, the proof would be undeniable, and I would not even be surprised. But hopefully it makes sense as to why I kept my former assertion until they landed.)

As for religious claims coming from man, I suppose I should just clarify that that's as far as I think it goes for me. I think if their claim is unsubstantiated, that is, if it's undoubtedly false, then there is no reason to even believe that there could be a higher power beyond just the man with the claim. Simply put, I will put no credence to a claim just because someone said it. I believe that you and I definitely are just going to have to differ on that point.

So, back to point 4, I just have to take to mean that you understand the word "spirituality" in the realm of your senses, and not really in the traditional sense, especially if you're using it as a superlative of "deeper connection". Am I right?

You're right, we disagree on that last point. While you may not realize the damage someone with a false belief has on the world, others do see it. Internet trolls do damage all the time by purposefully trying to get people to believe something is false. Misinformation has started wars, gotten people killed, and ended long-lasting relationships. You bet your bottom dollar I'm going to do everything in my power to promote truth, and I'm not going to let people get away with spreading lies, even if they themselves don't realize that they're lies.

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Welcome to the forum, BadWriterSparty. It's your first day here and you're off to an amazing start.

Thanks! I really appreciate it. I like that this forum promotes an atmosphere of discussion and learning.