The God topic

[McParadigm]

Every conversation about religion is awful....be it between two people in agreement, opposition, or what.

Unfortunately, it's such an influential facet of individual and societal existence that it's hard not to talk about.

[Alex]

Every conversation about religion is awful....be it between two people in agreement, opposition, or what.

expound, mcp

[spike]

Every conversation about religion is awful....be it between two people in agreement, opposition, or what.

expound, mcp

[Alex]

Every conversation about religion is awful....be it between two people in agreement, opposition, or what.

expound, mcp

that post was my christmas gift to you, spike

[Rob]

I can't tell if Man In Black is being hostile to Christians or Atheists.

[malice]

I can't tell if Man In Black is being hostile to Christians or Atheists.

boredom dictates he be equally condescending to all belief systems

[Harry Lime]

Every conversation about religion is awful....be it between two people in agreement, opposition, or what.

Unfortunately, it's such an influential facet of individual and societal existence that it's hard not to talk about.

That's the thing though. I'm trying hard not to start debates. It's not so much about religion, but more of one's approach to life & how they handle adversity. Take away the institutional element of faith and you'll have a lot more tolerance here. I love discussing this with people. I'd rather show it through my stories, but this is fun too.

[broken iris]

Every conversation about religion is awful....be it between two people in agreement, opposition, or what.

Unfortunately, it's such an influential facet of individual and societal existence that it's hard not to talk about.

That's the thing though. I'm trying hard not to start debates. It's not so much about religion, but more of one's approach to life & how they handle adversity. Take away the institutional element of faith and you'll have a lot more tolerance here. I love discussing this with people. I'd rather show it through my stories, but this is fun too.

Subjugating the self to any institution, be it religious or secular, is a dangerous path for most people.

[Harry Lime]

Every conversation about religion is awful....be it between two people in agreement, opposition, or what.

Unfortunately, it's such an influential facet of individual and societal existence that it's hard not to talk about.

That's the thing though. I'm trying hard not to start debates. It's not so much about religion, but more of one's approach to life & how they handle adversity. Take away the institutional element of faith and you'll have a lot more tolerance here. I love discussing this with people. I'd rather show it through my stories, but this is fun too.

Subjugating the self to any institution, be it religious or secular, is a dangerous path for most people.

That's why I'm such a big fan of Thomas Merton. He was a rebel within the Catholic Church. Stern catholics today still renounce him over his interests in Eastern religions & philosophy. While he devoted himself to the Christian monkhood, he had the thirst for knowledge & wisdom outside his institutional wall.

[Man in Black]

Harry, do think that if you lived in a predominantly Muslim culture, and grew up in a family which practiced, Islam would be the faith that came to you "from the inside"?

[Man in Black]

I can't tell if Man In Black is being hostile to Christians or Atheists.

Repent and accept Jesus, or burn in eternal hellfire.

The choice is yours, sinner.

[Harry Lime]

Harry, do think that if you lived in a predominantly Muslim culture, and grew up in a family which practiced, Islam would be the faith that came to you "from the inside"?

Hell, I don't know, maybe.

There are some great chapters in William James' "The Varities of the Religious Experience". One explores those who have inexplicably found faith (in no particular God) during the most mundane events of their life. Nothing traumatic, it just hit them. It includes peoples journal entries describing the experiences. It's actually closely akin to the stories people tell while under the influence of hallucinogens. But this came to them, you know, naturally.

[Man in Black]

Harry, do think that if you lived in a predominantly Muslim culture, and grew up in a family which practiced, Islam would be the faith that came to you "from the inside"?

Hell, I don't know, maybe.

There are some great chapters in William James' "The Varities of the Religious Experience". One explores those who have inexplicably found faith (in no particular God) during the most mundane events of their life. Nothing traumatic, it just hit them. It includes peoples journal entries describing the experiences. It's actually closely akin to the stories people tell while under the influence of hallucinogens. But this came to them, you know, naturally.

What are your views on salvation, aka the afterlife, The Big Dance?

[Harry Lime]

Harry, do think that if you lived in a predominantly Muslim culture, and grew up in a family which practiced, Islam would be the faith that came to you "from the inside"?

Hell, I don't know, maybe.

There are some great chapters in William James' "The Varities of the Religious Experience". One explores those who have inexplicably found faith (in no particular God) during the most mundane events of their life. Nothing traumatic, it just hit them. It includes peoples journal entries describing the experiences. It's actually closely akin to the stories people tell while under the influence of hallucinogens. But this came to them, you know, naturally.

What are your views on salvation, aka the afterlife, The Big Dance?

Have you seen Jacob's Ladder? It's probably a complex trip. A lot like Dante's Purgatory. But I wouldn't even know how to begin to speculate.

[Man in Black]

Harry, do think that if you lived in a predominantly Muslim culture, and grew up in a family which practiced, Islam would be the faith that came to you "from the inside"?

Hell, I don't know, maybe.

There are some great chapters in William James' "The Varities of the Religious Experience". One explores those who have inexplicably found faith (in no particular God) during the most mundane events of their life. Nothing traumatic, it just hit them. It includes peoples journal entries describing the experiences. It's actually closely akin to the stories people tell while under the influence of hallucinogens. But this came to them, you know, naturally.

What are your views on salvation, aka the afterlife, The Big Dance?

Have you seen Jacob's Ladder? It's probably a complex trip. A lot like Dante's Purgatory. But I wouldn't even know how to begin to speculate.

Harry, I think your journey is quite typical. I'm guessing you're in your twenties. Many folks raised in Christianity (and other religions, I'm sure) at some point start to reject the exclusionary nature of its teachings, and start to form hybrid beliefs based on what they feel religion should teach, rather than what it actually does. Perhaps one day you'll realize that it's all kind of silly, there is no objective evidence for anything you believe, other than the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you think about Jesus.

[Harry Lime]

Harry, do think that if you lived in a predominantly Muslim culture, and grew up in a family which practiced, Islam would be the faith that came to you "from the inside"?

Hell, I don't know, maybe.

There are some great chapters in William James' "The Varities of the Religious Experience". One explores those who have inexplicably found faith (in no particular God) during the most mundane events of their life. Nothing traumatic, it just hit them. It includes peoples journal entries describing the experiences. It's actually closely akin to the stories people tell while under the influence of hallucinogens. But this came to them, you know, naturally.

What are your views on salvation, aka the afterlife, The Big Dance?

Have you seen Jacob's Ladder? It's probably a complex trip. A lot like Dante's Purgatory. But I wouldn't even know how to begin to speculate.

Harry, I think your journey is quite typical. I'm guessing you're in your twenties. Many folks raised in Christianity (and other religions, I'm sure) at some point start to reject the exclusionary nature of its teachings, and start to form hybrid beliefs based on what they feel religion should teach, rather than what it actually does. Perhaps one day you'll realize that it's all kind of silly, there is no objective evidence for anything you believe, other than the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you think about Jesus.

uhhhhhhh ok!

[McParadigm]

Harry, do think that if you lived in a predominantly Muslim culture, and grew up in a family which practiced, Islam would be the faith that came to you "from the inside"?

Hell, I don't know, maybe.

There are some great chapters in William James' "The Varities of the Religious Experience". One explores those who have inexplicably found faith (in no particular God) during the most mundane events of their life. Nothing traumatic, it just hit them. It includes peoples journal entries describing the experiences. It's actually closely akin to the stories people tell while under the influence of hallucinogens. But this came to them, you know, naturally.

What are your views on salvation, aka the afterlife, The Big Dance?

Have you seen Jacob's Ladder? It's probably a complex trip. A lot like Dante's Purgatory. But I wouldn't even know how to begin to speculate.

Harry, I think your journey is quite typical. I'm guessing you're in your twenties. Many folks raised in Christianity (and other religions, I'm sure) at some point start to reject the exclusionary nature of its teachings, and start to form hybrid beliefs based on what they feel religion should teach, rather than what it actually does. Perhaps one day you'll realize that it's all kind of silly, there is no objective evidence for anything you believe, other than the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you think about Jesus.

I think the board cut off the last line of your intended post:

MERRY CHRISTMAS

[red calzolaio]

I dislike the word "worship". I don't worship Christ's story. It just makes sense to me.

Does it make sense to you that he was born of a virgin, brought Lazarus back from the dead, healed a blind man with mud, fed a multitude with a couple of fish,and rose from the dead 3 days after dying?

Or just the peace and humility part?

Personally - I'm cool with all of it.

What have you seen in this life that makes you believe such supernatural occurrences are possible?

nothing in this life has proved to me these things didn't take place.

Other than the fact that science has taught us that such things aren't possible, I suppose.

sorry, i'm an ignoramus...didn't realize science told you there wasn't a supernatural god.

[red calzolaio]

I didn't broach the topic, but somehow at work we got to religion and someone asked me mine and I answered atheist/ agnostic. At which my rather conservative coworker just kept repeating something about how I should be smarter than that, and brought up the claim that humans are descended from monkeys and how that is (presumably) preposterous. I really didn't push back and tried to disengage but, yikes. He was chiding more than seriously arguing, but still it was a bit awkward. I feel he could have gotten his point across within the first three utterances of, "I thought you were smarter than that".

now imagine the roles were reversed and you were chiding him about his faith, would you still have a job?

Considering that he and I have the same position and that management is French Canadian, I have no doubt that they would side with me. Perhaps they would have some sort of séance to cleanse the building after his firing or something. I realize this is not typical, but the French Canadians are especially godless from what I gather.

there's a Sodom & Gomorrah joke in here, let me see if i can figure it out...

Our building is LEED certified, if that is enough to dispel YHWH's wrath.

Jehovah!!!

[simple schoolboy]

I didn't broach the topic, but somehow at work we got to religion and someone asked me mine and I answered atheist/ agnostic. At which my rather conservative coworker just kept repeating something about how I should be smarter than that, and brought up the claim that humans are descended from monkeys and how that is (presumably) preposterous. I really didn't push back and tried to disengage but, yikes. He was chiding more than seriously arguing, but still it was a bit awkward. I feel he could have gotten his point across within the first three utterances of, "I thought you were smarter than that".

now imagine the roles were reversed and you were chiding him about his faith, would you still have a job?

Considering that he and I have the same position and that management is French Canadian, I have no doubt that they would side with me. Perhaps they would have some sort of séance to cleanse the building after his firing or something. I realize this is not typical, but the French Canadians are especially godless from what I gather.

there's a Sodom & Gomorrah joke in here, let me see if i can figure it out...

Our building is LEED certified, if that is enough to dispel YHWH's wrath.

Jehovah!!!

Using vowels is cheating. Back in Moses's day, they didn't have time for such extravagance.