faith, religion, spirituality

[amplify]

There are basically three main components of any spiritual or religious system; morality (ethics), compassion (forgiveness) and purification.

The world's great religions are in basic agreement about these. They all teach that you should not kill (murder), not steal, not lie, not commit sexual misconduct, not (over)indulge in intoxicants. The founders of all the great religions were also masters of compassion. The death stories of Jesus and Buddha are ideals that we should all live up to. The traditions all teach that we need to improve our current state of consciousness, whether that is through meditation or devotion or prostration or examination or whatever.

They all run into trouble with sectarianism though. They all get into trouble in the same ways, just like they all teach the same truths.

Rites and Rituals. You are only following God if you are baptised by full immersion as an adult, or only by sprinkling as an infant, or only if you prostrate towards Mecca five times daily, or only if you eat certain meals at certain times.

Culture identity. The religion accepts those who wear yellow robes but not those who wear green ones. Or they reject those whose skirts are too high, or whose hair is too long.

Exclusion. Our God is the Only True God, and your god is nothing. Your religion teaches nothing but hate, while our religion teaches only compassion and love, except towards you godless heathens.

So my conclusion is, learn the eternal truths and dispense with the accompanying claptrap. Dispense, even, with any particular concern about God. I find that when people are really being honest, what almost everyone believes in is "some sort of something, somewhere." Not a man in the sky, not a King on a Throne, just something, somewhere. Why do you think that preachers and ministers constantly exhort their flocks to have faith? It's because they don't believe what they are being told. Not really. If people really believed all these things there would be rioting in the streets, no one would care about daily life.

Be a moral person, don't harm others. Be compassionate and forgiving. And strive to improve yourself.

Be happy.

[tpir]

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Atheism imo = a religion.

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this is way off.
Atheism isn't a dogma like Christianity or Hinduism. Religions, in the simplest terms, are telling you what to believe and how to live your life. Thats it. Atheism [if you can call it that] doesn't pretend to know how you should live your life or what to believe. Its just a word for the mindset of a person that demands evidence for his/her beliefs.
Consider it, are you an astrologer? No? Whats the word for that? There isn't one. Theres no term for an non astrologer. Nobody wakes up and says 'I'm not an astrologer' If there was such a term, would we view that mindset on the same terms as astrology? of course not. For you to say that Atheism is a religion is the same thing as saying that non astrology is a superstition on a par with astrology.
As you learn more about the world, alchemy gives way to chemistry, astrology gives way to astronomy, and religion gives way to natural philosophy, of which atheism is a part.

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re·li·gion
–noun
1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.
4. the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.
5. the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.
6. something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience: to make a religion of fighting prejudice.


As far as the definition of religion, atheism is one imo. Atheist get just as fervent and unwilling to budge their beliefs, in probably about teh same ratio as christians. there are tons of similarities imo, and I fail to really see the difference.

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I think you are confusing anti-theism with atheism. Actual atheists do not have any "beliefs"... they just think there isn't enough evidence at the moment for God. If evidence comes along, they will stop being atheists. There is no certainty or dogmatism involved.

Very common misconception. As you were... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[amplify]

Also, arguing about the exact technical definition of atheism is the biggest waste of time that human beings have yet devised.

[Anacardo]

I believe in the tenets of the Baha'i Faith (see surprisingly informative wiki article here ) as well as in the divinity of their origin / character. Since I started gambling for a living and otherwise doing frownable stuff I have distanced myself from my co-religionists and do not take much active part in the Faith, but I have never lost my belief. I converted as a teenager; before that I was raised as nothing-in-particular and made the same kind of standard smart-kid 'religion-is-bunk' arguments that everyone else does. I regard the Faith as a step beyond that.

[guids]

you guys are at odds here, one guy says that there is no dogma to atheism, the other guy says there is. What is the standard practice?

fwiw, the dictionary says a doctrine of beliefs there is no god. tpir, what abotu agnostic? is that the same thing you are describing?

[Anacardo]

Amplify,

I'm pretty sure the sea otters have that all straightened out.

[amplify]

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Amplify,

I'm pretty sure the sea otters have that all straightened out.

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well, they otter

[hexag1]

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Atheism imo = a religion.

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this is way off.
Atheism isn't a dogma like Christianity or Hinduism. Religions, in the simplest terms, are telling you what to believe and how to live your life. Thats it. Atheism [if you can call it that] doesn't pretend to know how you should live your life or what to believe. Its just a word for the mindset of a person that demands evidence for his/her beliefs.
Consider it, are you an astrologer? No? Whats the word for that? There isn't one. Theres no term for an non astrologer. Nobody wakes up and says 'I'm not an astrologer' If there was such a term, would we view that mindset on the same terms as astrology? of course not. For you to say that Atheism is a religion is the same thing as saying that non astrology is a superstition on a par with astrology.
As you learn more about the world, alchemy gives way to chemistry, astrology gives way to astronomy, and religion gives way to natural philosophy, of which atheism is a part.

[/ QUOTE ]


re·li·gion
–noun
1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.
4. the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.
5. the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.
6. something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience: to make a religion of fighting prejudice.


As far as the definition of religion, atheism is one imo. Atheist get just as fervent and unwilling to budge their beliefs, in probably about teh same ratio as christians. there are tons of similarities imo, and I fail to really see the difference.

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could you explain to me how atheism fits any of the definitions above?
1.does atheism say anything about the nature or purpose of the universe? no. does it consider the universe a creation of a superhuman agency/agencies (i.e. god/gods) no. does it involve ritual observances or lay down moral codes? no. so def. 1 doesn't fit
2.is atheism a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices agreed upon by a number of persons/sects? No, atheism doesn't have any set beliefs. It tends toward an absence of belief in the supernatural, but this is not the same thing. Is it generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects? Well there are a number of atheist organizations, but the existence of the philosophy of atheism is quite independent of them.
3.the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of atheists? no. as above, atheism isnt really defined or bounded by a group of people.
4.the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion. Nobody devotes their lives to atheism
5.the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith. If you can find me any atheist rituals, id like to see them. Note that this definition includes faith, which atheism rejects.
6. I suppose that this definition is the toughest to refute. But look at how broad it is, if a religion is 'something one believes in and follows devotedly' then isn't being a Green Bay fan a religion? How about vegetarianism? A lot of people believe in vegetarianism, and follow it devotedly, but it is hardly a religion.

While were on the subject of definitions, what does the dictionary say about atheism?

atheism
1.Absence of belief in the existence of God or gods.
2.Disbelief in the existence of God or gods.

[rutang]

angostic = not claiming to have any special knowlege
athiest = specifically disbelieves in the existence of a god

there is a lot of confusion, IMO, because so many agnostics call themselves atheists.

personally, i'm quite agnostic, but a spiritual one. I believe that it is very likely that there are forces in the universe that conform closely to spiritual concepts, but we just don't understand.

for example, I think it's likely that justice is a law of the universe, similar to gravity. I think it is likely that whatever makes up our "consciousness" does not go away when our bodies die.

I have no idea how these things work, mind you, I just think they are likely.

[JaBlue]

Just say what your personal beliefs are and why. Ask others about their's if you want.

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Absolutely no bickering.


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Diablo, please remove all the [censored](?)