Where Are You … Spiritually?

To many, this may seem to be a strange question. Let me explain. It was prompted by a recent blog post by Jim entitled Physics and Mysticism.

According to Jim, there is definitely a connection between the two and, as I interpret his remarks, he feels one “explains” the other. It’s all a bit deep, but it prompted the question I’ve asked in the title of this post.

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I’ve found that most people that read/visit my blog are non-believers. They may be out-and-out atheists, or they may be “borderline.” That is, they haven’t completely dismissed the idea of a Supreme Being, but they don’t feel the need for attending religious services or carrying out any other religious obligations.

There is also a sprinkling of visitors who tend to reject the idea of “religion” altogether and speak more from a “mystic” point of view. (I recognize the term, in itself, is rather “mystical,” but those who identify with it will know what I mean.)

I guess what I’m actually asking is … how do YOU see the world? Is it all cut and dried? That is … We live. We die. Life moves on. Nothing to see here, folks.

Or do you view life as being more than meets the eye? That is, do you see yourself more as a “transcendental” being?

>>>P.S. I would prefer that individuals who identify as “Christian” refrain from commenting on this post. I know –and most of my regular visitors know– exactly where you’re coming from so anything you offer in response would be superfluous (and may be deleted). Thanks for your cooperation. 😊

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Image by Nicolás Damián Visceglio from Pixabay

Sunday (Church-Day?) Reading

Non-Believers on the Meaning of Life

“I only know one god — and that’s me.”

Atheism … Humanism … Satanism … Agnosticism … Positivism … Naturalism

Which one fits you?

Preach It, Sista’!

On one of Ben‘s recent blog posts, he had a real, true-to-life Christian visitor. You knew this because every comment she made included references to God or Jesus/Christ.

Something I find difficult to understand is when a Christian visits an Atheist’s blog, why do they feel the need to preach? Especially when nearly all the posts are clearly laying out the reasons why the individual left Christianity!

Anyway, here for your reading enjoyment(?) is your religious experience for the week. No need to sit on a hard pew or take communion or get callouses on your knees.

It’s makes so sad that you’ve had such a hurtful experience with Christianity. I hope one day the whole body of Christ will actually be the body and walk as the body, talk as he talked and do as he did. Religion can be very damaging to many. I have not had this experience because I am in love with Jesus. I am absolutely amazed by him everyday. Following Jesus is hard, being different is hard, believing the impossible is hard and hearing your story is hard because it hurts my heart. I desire that you’d come to know the God I’ve come to know. Ben I think about you often and I do enjoy your posts you are talented and your thoughts are raw and real so thank you for sharing your self to all who read. I know your not trying to hurt faith you just don’t believe it and that’s your choice. You don’t offend me, who am I to be offended? it’s your story. I am listening and I care!

God sent his one and only son not religion so I’m not going to try to debate with you. I agree religion does harm but Jesus does not. That’s what I’ve experienced he’s amazing!!! ❤️

My answer is there is not one God that gave his own life for me and everyone else but Jesus the lamb of God. While everyone else can have there own beliefs and I respect that the God they believe in did not come in the flesh and die for me. Jesus did and I will proclaim his name till the end of my days!!

I am not trying to get it right I am right with God because I know and believe in his son and what he’s done for me. I am not trying to be good I am through Christ and his sacrifice. I don’t need anything else but Jesus. I don’t care if everyone else wants to follows the rules but I am going to keep my faith in what he’s done for me. He came in the flesh and died and if that’s not enough to believe then I’m not sure what is. My answer is my faith he is my love he’s changed me from the inside out. Now I will live my life for him.

Jesus is a gift and is available to all. I can’t explain faith to someone who doesn’t really care to know but only wants to prove a point. Pray and ask God for yourself he’s waiting to have a relationship with you.

There was more, but for now this is the …

End. Of. Sermon.

Carpe Diem!

This morning as a result of a comment notification, I revisited a post that was written by a believer back in January 2018. Re-reading what he had written, the following phrase stood out to me:

… the atheist has to believe- that is, have faith in– the idea that there is no evidence proving God’s existence

Of course, I’ve seen this idea presented numerous times by Christians and even though it’s an extremely weak argument against atheism, it’s used again and again and again.

I started to write a response, but then decided to share what I would have written on my own blog.

In today’s vernacular, the word FAITH has come to be associated primarily with religion. However, there are other meanings, such as having confidence in something … or being loyal to a cause or person. So based on these meanings, of course an atheist can have faith — just not necessarily in the existence of any supernatural being.

And yes, atheists “believe.” We ALL believe. We believe we’re going to wake up each morning. We believe the earth will keep spinning. We believe Spring will bring flowers. The big difference is Christians take it a step further and say a “God” is behind everything that takes place — whereas an atheist accepts such activities as a natural part of LIFE.

My personal philosophy is that people can choose to “believe” anything they want. However, I do feel those who choose to believe in an invisible entity — created by humans “way-back-when” — are living a very restricted life in the hopes of “something better” when they die.

Atheists, on the other hand, tend to live by a much more realistic credo, which is often expressed as Carpe Diem!

 

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Image by Faby Green from Pixabay

Our Existence

Courtesy of Stockvault.net

On another blog, there’s been an ongoing discussion between some atheists and a Christian related to our “existence;” that is, our “beingness” — why we are here, why we are alive and living on this planet. Some would describe it as a discussion related to Ontology: The metaphysical study of the nature of being and existence; that is, study based on hypothesis or theory rather than experiment.

As would be expected, there is a rather significant difference of opinion between the two factions.

The atheists naturally consider science as the most important element of our existence because it IS based on experiments. They assert it is the discipline of science that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions, not only about ourselves, but also about the universe we live in. They further contend it is science that has allowed us to survive, as well as improving our lifestyle in the process.

The Christian naturally downplays this perspective and repeatedly accuses his detractors of believing in “scientism,” which has been defined by some as “a scientific method that has no (or few) limits, can successfully be applied to almost all aspects of life, and provides an explanation for everything.” It has even been referred to as a RELIGION and that its followers worship science, its rituals, and its results! The following from Wikipedia is notable:

According to Discovery Institute scientism is an effort to use the methods of science to explain and control every part of human life, in other words, the misguided effort to apply science to areas outside its proper bounds.

Moreover, the blog owner believes philosophy (the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics) plays just as important a role defining our existence as the discipline of science.

He emphasized his perspective by offering the following quote on his blog by Stephen Barr, author, and professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Delaware. I find it very telling …

“There’s a misconception that’s actually at the root of the science-religion tension. Many people think that nature and God are in competition, that if something has a natural explanation that God had nothing to do with it. And, if God did something, it’s supernatural, so it’s an either-or. And, so the more science can explain naturally the less there is for God to explain. But that’s a complete misconception because God is the author of nature.”

(Emphasis added)

I close this post with a quote from the referenced blog owner: Science cannot prove that we have a complete picture of reality.

Considering the preceding discourse, what are your thoughts?