God, Soul, Spiritual and Afterlife

[LightSun]

'God, Soul, Spiritual and Afterlife
"Do you have an underlying view on God's affinity? I. What is the concept of what God is in a personal linguistic term?

II. Does there reside a cognizant master and cognizant 'Lord?'

III. (If there really is existance) Does He or She make determination of any beings living?

IV. Is there a type entity named as Soul?

V. Upon dying is a individual's person-hood remain into the Soul World?

VI. Can there be some manner of spiritual life, regardless of some soul (or no)?

"I am agnostic view and as well the existentialist. What to my being or the term of a God

(1) I do have none such belief that is likened like Moses in conversing with an almighty God.

In my agnostics I open to science as well proof. I definitely am open to a possibility, but I in an hard wired in us likened to a computer. It happens being primary why there might have discussion, reason, pro's, as well con's utilized however no one shall in a way be of any way, shape, manner and form to re-hard wire someone's brain. Every premise imaginable is real to the recipient.
Truth is not a single entity, not one knows truth. It is what our internal data tells us and is not proven by science, god or existence. My saying, "What i fervently hold to be the truth and feel in every fiber of my being. i know it. i feel it. i believe it. With a passion! (May not be existence)."bless

"My perspective is thus;. (2) All writings aren't at all God's word. We haven't a capacity of writing this down without gross distortions in thought coming in and so taint a scripture.

(3) They are metaphorical and definitely not of any serious reality.

(4) If a writing of Bible, Qur'an (Koran for the western), Upanishad, Talmud, Dhammapada, Bhagavad Gita, Sutra, Christian Gospels, Analects of the Confucian type, I Ching, Vedas, Book of Mormon...(etc.) contain a negative slant it is a corruption. That happens to be of the stemming from an author with prejudice, judgmental type of attitude, pejoratives, labeling, cognitive distortion, discrimination, holier than thou.

(5) They all do have just a same validity or a total lacking as of Scandinavian myths, or Greco-Roman type of mythological view.

(6) Each of the old texts belong with history-and possible myths. They are outdated. They have gone on in a time line. People believing in myths are mistaken." I respect your God. He is for you. As such he is your belief. It is part of your belief system. You can believe no other like Agnosticism can believe no other for we are defined by belief and not a proven reality. To me it shall be a wastage in my time, It's so feeble even making attempt.

(7) I love a Hindu view, "There are many paths to the top of the mountain and that no one can tell another how to travel their path." Independent thought should be encouraged, nay cherished and nurtured in society. Along with this comes tolerance and respect for other people's world views. There are many points. And the points can constantly change. They are also unique to the individual.

Everyone has a gift & a seed of life that to find one's gift, and pursue it and to learn to transcend the illusions and distractions of the world, to get into a state of flow. To ignore illusions and be happy doing what one was meant to be. Along the way we learn life's lessons, to be humble and transcend one's ego and to finally live life in present form reality. This also has to be learned in that my way may not necessarily be the best or only way. Each should be allowed to come up with their own answers as free, unique, individuals with unique mind sets.

Which is circular back in my earlier stance of my existentialism. We define our meaning. Truth manifests as a likened to as a veil, or cloud or following 'The Willow the Wisp." It is there; but always seemingly beyond a practical, handy reach. It is lessons in life that give us deeper, plus the deepest of these wisdoms. Much is totally of a unknown variety. Believe, when I state that a large amount that is of a perception of real happens as an opinion. We don't in a significance and with a science examine what is in the belief of our own. We need an explanation our curious mind with its curiosity needs to know, and to classify things both to make ourselves feel better & to explain it to others.

Our wonderful creative brain fills in the blanks. We use metaphors to describe things we may not know the truth of. These metaphors are written down. People hold on to it to explain reality. It is taken as truth. I do make full range in the use with metaphor in much of what I write. It is in order of helping to shed light and try make some manner to clarity. I don't know is the beginning of wisdom as Socrates stated. How so we do that exactly. Because we are so different, there are many approaches. It is finding something that will work. It isn't easy. There are course corrections. Over a metaphorical rainbow and we shall discover truth. What actually does this mean?

It is up to us to walk a path that follows the teachings, without losing his or her mind. We need to critically think and use the teachings in the spirit they were intended. A path of love and as well crucial reason needs to be in the mix, for without it we truly do not understand what is taught. We can corrupt it for our own use. The critical teachings of ancient days used fables to teach lessons.

They are not in fact truth but only a lesson to think upon. We can’t use or corrupt what is taught in fables. Nor are they to be used, nay corrupted in what is a discriminatory sense when we are teaching people.” I've spoken at times I am on a path of reason and love. These to me are the representation as twins to lead toward wisdom and finally achieve what? Nothing but the journey in and of its own being and sake.”

bless (10) It is of a main reason I am not in an atheist view. They say with definitive standing that there is no such thing as God. I can't in some conscience ascertain such as their position. Who am I to know? Ultimately there in life we must place but one step, by step and live out our lives. I always am of open to new wise or scientific or some new angle to view this world.

(11) Our perception will change in the course of a full living and to that equals are very reality will shift and reorganize.

(12) As for Soul. If I was definitively put as well made to give assessment. No. No I don't have that belief.

(13) If there may be this type of spirit, I do not have belief we will take our identity into the next plane. It could be an erasure. The erasure of Me. I do say in honest fashion- I do not know. That's as honest as can be. I totally reject some or any notion of our soul in an existence of us for eternity.That's as honest as can be. You know I hope I'm wrong. I wish to be able to reunite again with my wife.

(14) I do believe a spiritual nature can be manifest. I do exemplify with the original standing-We happen existing like chemical, matter and an ultimate energy. The using of such any term ,Soul-Group" may in scientific term be as 'Energy Group.' You and I do share this 'Soul to 'Soul' connection. I in fundamental faith am of a orientation because there lays this energy matrix, when 2 + any numerous bunch will resonate their is what amounts a synergism.

(15) We must take responsibility for our own destinies/ that is why I happen to be existentialist. Each man or woman must discover his or her own fate. We must determine our own meaning. I can say I am for healing, growing & actualizing into one's potential. Existentialism does say that during our course in our lives reached are pivotal points. Crossroads if you can say, it is during times in stress, decisions can be meant to change, even sway the correctional direction of our lifetimes; we define our being.

Existentialism is to me pure freedom, freedom to find one's own path to the top of the mountain in life, whether it be atheism, Shangri-La, nirvana, path to heaven, enlightenment, self -actualization, or any other mode of thought or perception of reality.” LightSun

There is an excellent novel by a man that did survive concentration camps in Nazi hands while another simply did lose will; nature-nurture. Book is by the name 'Man's Search For meaning.' by Viktor Frankl. It is of an existentialist worldview."

 

[Mole]

Not so long ago we literally heard the voice of God through our bicameral mind, and as life become more complex our bicameral mind broke down and we became conscious. But still we miss the voice of God just as we would miss a parent. So naturally we wondered why our God had left us, and we came to the conclusion it was our fault: we had offended God and he has left, leaving us as homeless children.

We imagine God has gone to heaven, watches over us, and will one day return with righteousness.

For The Origin of Consciousness click on http://www.rational.org/pdf_files/originsjj.pdf

 

[SurrealisticSlumbers]

You can grasp most metaphysical concepts very easily and organically, when you put aside looking at things through the narrow lens of dogma. Sure, it's fine to study the "holy texts," but one needs to examine them objectively and realize that, most of the time, these works were written by individuals who had ulterior motives, i.e. manipulating minds for their own personal benefit, or, were simply on a massive ego trip or experiencing a psychotic break. One has only to realize that we are all part of the Earth and are thus subject to the laws of Nature. Once understood, this is humbling and hopefully causes most people to reach an awareness of the ripple effect their actions have on the rest of their community and indeed, on the larger world. This is our habitat, and we have got to adapt and all get along with each other, and recognize the rights of every single human being on this planet, or go extinct/destroy our only home. Anything beyond some variation on this simple and universal message is most likely some superfluous pretension intended to divide people and lead to more strife/holy wars/global conflicts. The second you deviate from the basics and get into this "us vs. them" thinking (most established, esp. Abrahamic religions), an artificial and possibly harmful ideology has taken root that could take hundreds or even thousands of years to remedy and causes some real damage.

What gets me is that every time a female has tried to transmit spiritual teachings (yes I am bringing gender into it), even while invoking established (supposedly male) deities or saints, she has systematically been silenced (Hildegard von Bingen threatened with excommunication; Joan of Arc burned at the stake). If you need some sort of alarm bell to signal that a certain religious establishment is phony-baloney, or at the very least tainted and corrupt, look at how it treats those who are vulnerable and voiceless -- mostly, I'm talking women, the poor, or those of a different skin color/ ethnic background from the "flock."

Many of these new age gurus and "new thought" leaders (usually based in SoCal) who tout themselves as enlightened, manifesting all these material things are a prime example of how little these things really change through the ages. Let's face it, they are cherrypicking the parts of Buddhism/Taoism that they like (but would never advocate making REAL sacrifices like selling off their possessions and living an ascetic lifestyle) and denying that there are real forces of evil in the world. Many are just common crooks who rely on aging ex-hippies to attend their pricy retreats and conferences, buy their books and such, all while touting that "money is an energy" and insisting that one can attract anything one wants. Ignoring the very real fact that people are going without, every day, and would hardly agree that they can manifest $$$ out of the clear blue sky to pay for a roof over their heads or food for their kids...ridiculous.

I am a humanist, though that doesn't mean I exclude a sense of wonder and profound awe of hidden realities from my very human experience here on this planet. There are scientific discoveries we have just not yet made, some of which we are on the cusp of discovering, but others that will simply never be understood. Nature, the only concrete deity, unleashes forces that have a very real impact on our lives. The human mind tries to equate this with a personified being, i.e. Thor. Cellular energy is constantly being replenished... nothing ever really "dies" so to speak, just changes composition... and of course, there are auric fields that scientists still haven't gotten around to figuring out, which could have the potential to be mind blowing in our comprehension of after-death consciousness...

(7) I love a Hindu view, "There are many paths to the top of the mountain and that no one can tell another how to travel their path." Independent thought should be encouraged, nay cherished and nurtured in society. Along with this comes tolerance and respect for other people's world views. There are many points. And the points can constantly change. They are also unique to the individual.

And I completely agree, to an extent. In most Western societies, religious freedom is absolutely a great and positive thing for us. It enriches our cultural landscape and lends differing perspectives. I'm an American, and you'll never hear me say we shouldn't let others practice "x" religion. However -- as soon as your religion is found to oppress the aforementioned voiceless and vulnerable adherents, and actively seeks to control every aspect of its followers' lives, your "freedom" ends and the government must intervene. And what's going on out in Utah is just such a glaring example. I might not like seeing women walking down the street in a headscarf or hijab; it might not appeal to me and might even insult my feminist sensibilities, but it's a free country at the end of the day. She chose to wear that, and I must respect that decision if it was made consciously and independently... You need to draw the line somewhere, of course. The government has got to crack down on these cults out there (I don't hesitate to use that term) who treat women and children (especially female children) as second-class citizens.

Regarding God/Goddess/source energy... I don't know. Regarding what happens after death... once again, I don't know. It's enough to say that I have this life, and choose to spend this time doing things that have an actual effect - hopefully, a good one.

Tori Amos - Pancake

 

[Typh0n]

You can grasp most metaphysical concepts very easily and organically, when you put aside looking at things through the narrow lens of dogma.

I am not trying to be mean, but this statement is also looking at things through the narrow lens of dogma:

One has only to realize that we are all part of the Earth and are thus subject to the laws of Nature.

Nature, the only concrete deity,

I mean, it's fine, that you believe nature is a deity, and that we are all subject to the laws of said deity, but as a man of the Left-Hand Path, I don't agree. I wonder if you aware of this as a form of dogma from the standpoint of your beliefs. If you are, I have no problem with you believeing this, but personally, I see "the laws of nature" as just another limitation, albeit oone that appeals to people because it gives them more freedom from stifling morality than the Abrahamic faiths do (I'll give you that: it does) because it recongizes bodily needs as "natural" and not "sinful".

But the problem I have with nature-worship is that it views humans as defined by biology, which from a metaphysical standpoint encourages stasis rather than Self-transformation.

 

[Lark]

I believe in negative theology, like Maimonides (spelling), you can know what God is not, not what God is and that's about the height of it.

 

[entropie]

If the op wraps his ideas into roman and arabic numbers like the bible would, does he think he will become an apostel in 1000 years? if yes, I will do it too !

[II] beer !

 

[Mole]

I believe in negative theology, like Maimonides (spelling), you can know what God is not, not what God is and that's about the height of it.

God spoke to us through the bicameral mind before we were conscious. So we do know what God is, God is the hallucinated voice of the bicameral mind.

Today we see the remnants of God's voice in schizophrenia, hypnosis, poetry, and music.

Naturally we miss the voice of God guiding us and so we created theology to explain why God left us.

 

[entropie]

God spoke to us through the bicameral mind before we were conscious. So we do know what God is, God is the hallucinated voice of the bicameral mind.

Today we see the remnants of God's voice in schizophrenia, hypnosis, poetry, and music.

Naturally we miss the voice of God guiding us and so we created theology to explain why God left us.

Bi-caramel mind, does that have to do with dirty sex during my Mums pregnancy with me?

 

[Lark]

God spoke to us through the bicameral mind before we were conscious. So we do know what God is, God is the hallucinated voice of the bicameral mind.

Today we see the remnants of God's voice in schizophrenia, hypnosis, poetry, and music.

Naturally we miss the voice of God guiding us and so we created theology to explain why God left us.

We? God never spoke to me, what do you mean before I was conscious? I've never hallucinated voices and I dont possess one of these bicameral minds, Mole I think you're just regurgitating something you read once again and its a bad source.

 

[Mole]

We? God never spoke to me, what do you mean before I was conscious? I've never hallucinated voices and I dont possess one of these bicameral minds, Mole I think you're just regurgitating something you read once again and its a bad source.

Of course you have never had an unconscious bicameral mind and you are fully conscious. However this was not the case more than 3,000 years ago.

 

[LightSun]

We have not been able to measure God. We have not been able to identify God. To see all of creation and then in correlation way say it must be God is not cause and effect or proof. It will in no way dissuade any believer and I am fine with that. I have a saying, "What we feel, think and believe does not necessitate truth. It is our unconscious and belief systems that predominate.

Basing our truths on what we feel to be true is emotional reasoning, a cognitive distortion. I do not seek to dissuade but rather live in harmony with those of open mind. There is no proof of God or non-proof. Though others feel differently, it has to be proven for me to believe in a personal sense. I am agnostic and open mind with another belief system. I look for communication over differences.

In other words more walking the talk than merely what anybody does believes in or not. Those that believe will not convince those that don't as well vice versa. That's why I say live and let live and interact with people not based on what they profess to believe rather the actions they live by.

 

[Mole]

We have not been able to measure God. We have not been able to identify God. To see all of creation and then in correlation way say it must be God is not cause and effect or proof. It will in no way dissuade any believer and I am fine with that. I have a saying, "What we feel, think and believe does not necessitate truth. It is our unconscious and belief systems that predominate.

Basing our truths on what we feel to be true is emotional reasoning, a cognitive distortion. I do not seek to dissuade but rather live in harmony with those of open mind. There is no proof of God or non-proof. Though others feel differently, it has to be proven for me to believe in a personal sense. I am agnostic and open mind with another belief system. I look for communication over differences.

In other words more walking the talk than merely what anybody does believes in or not. Those that believe will not convince those that don't as well vice versa. That's why I say live and let live and interact with people not based on what they profess to believe rather the actions they live by.

We can't prove God doesn't exist but we can apply our reason and look at the evidence and reasonably come to the conclusion that that the chances of God existing are close to zero.

So saying that we can't prove God exists and we can't prove God doesn't exist is deliberately misleading. And indeed it is simply rhetoric. The truth is that we reasonably know God doesn't exist.

So we are left with an interesting problem: how do we persuade people, particularly children, that a non existent God exists. We do this with a trance induced by ideology, jargon, and ritual, that puts our critical mind to sleep so we will accept uncritically whatever we are told. And we have whole institutions that are devoted to this, and it works.

 

[wool]

A soul is a living being. It is a combination of two things: body and spirit.

When you die those two components are separated, and the soul (what you are) ceases to be.

 

[Typh0n]

A soul is a living being. It is a combination of two things: body and spirit.

When you die those two components are separated, and the soul (what you are) ceases to be.

"I am the wellspring from which you flow. When I am gone, you would have never been." 1:16-1:28

 

[wool]

"I am the wellspring from which you flow. When I am gone, you would have never been." 1:16-1:28

There is a spring that never ceases to flow.

Revelation 21:6
And He told me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.

 

[LightSun]

I became saved in a Baptist church. I felt a higher connection. I now equate it to myself as a leap of faith but it's origin is entirely my conscious and personal brain chemicals fired. When some correlate realities mysteries and then fill in the blank, "It must be God", there is no causal link. God has not been identified nor is he measured. I do have knowledge by science documentaries that humans are genetically hard wired believing in superstition.

If it doesn't make sense our miraculous brain then edits and fills in the blank. To me it is opinion and hypothesis. I also with reliable background of our science, a human brain filters in and out information, daily for every human being. One can't trust the perceptions for they aren't reality but mere filtering from our belief system of Real reality plus Truth.

We learned many theories get disqualified as new developments and learning increase. My very personal viewpoint is that religious belief is a hypothesis and hasn't yet caught up to modern day. We believe for we are told, yet no proof exists which will support that some human being was inspired via God. How can any mere human being encompass and write God's word, a being immeasurable.

As I said in a footnote I don't seek conversion to my belief. A person who believes this believes and I am fine with that. It is their personal inner universe. I can no more change them than they can change me. I've said to alter someone's own belief is like rewriting an individuals personal software and life experienced and too even their genetic makeup.

 

[Gunboat Diplomat]

bless (10) It is of a main reason I am not in an atheist view. They say with definitive standing that there is no such thing as God. I can't in some conscience ascertain such as their position. Who am I to know?

This might be nitpicking, but it seems that you are fighting a straw-man here. Very few atheists say with "definitive standing" that there is no such thing as God. Even Dawkins does not make such a claim. Most atheists are in fact agnostic, like you.

 

[Gunboat Diplomat]

(12) As for Soul. If I was definitively put as well made to give assessment. No. No I don't have that belief.

(13) If there may be this type of spirit, I do not have belief we will take our identity into the next plane. It could be an erasure. The erasure of Me. I do say in honest fashion- I do not know. That's as honest as can be. I totally reject some or any notion of our soul in an existence of us for eternity.That's as honest as can be. You know I hope I'm wrong. I wish to be able to reunite again with my wife.

Thinking about the above, one should consider the following:

We know that our consciousness is controlled by the physical world. Drugs, brain damage, sensory stimuli, lack of oxygen, etc., alter the way we think, perceive, remember, make decisions. Ergo, spirit/soul is either:
- a property (emergent or not) of the physical world or
- has no effect on our behaviour/decisions etc. It is something akin to a passenger/witness without free will or agency. A silent observer of the real (conscious or subconscious) physical actor.

Well, there might be some other option, but I can't think of any that wouldn't violate reason, logic and everything we know about interacting with reality.

 

[Mole]

There is a spring that never ceases to flow.

Revelation 21:6
And He told me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.

It will probably offend your Protestant Evangelism but I have followed the Christian mystical tradition, from the medieval Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous to the modern From Magic To Technology by Dennis Wier, and found an inner spring of delight that never ceases to flow within me.

And the challenge facing religion, including Christianity today, is to reconcile belief and mystical experience with reason and evidence of the 17th century Western Enlightenment. Christianity has been grappling with this for a couple of centuries. Islam has failed even to try to reconcile reason and religion, and it seems your evangelism fails to address the Age of Reason of the 17th century. Why is this?

I don't know the answer to this but your evangelism seems to me to be based on hysteria. So the interesting psychological question would be, what are you hysterical about? The first place I would look is your childhood, and he second place would be an unresolved traumatic experience.

 

[Cellmold]

[MENTION=22178]magpie[/MENTION]

Flasks all the way down.