A brief theological question.......

[Combwork]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

Now that we've got a good amount of postings, the follow-up question to this, is....do you believe that your faith, past, present, or lack thereof, has created any of your political views, and if so how? And how is it different from others?

No to both questions. I was brought up in a religeous family, went to Sunday school. I even went through a couple of weeks as a trainee teacher but truth to tell, I was more interested in the Vicker's daughter than anything else. As an aside, will someone please tell me why spellchecker thinks knickers is a reasonable substitute for Vicker's? Predictive text is one thing, but that's scary.

[d-ray657]

Originally Posted by Combwork

No to both questions. I was brought up in a religeous family, went to Sunday school. I even went through a couple of weeks as a trainee teacher but truth to tell, I was more interested in the Vicker's daughter than anything else. As an aside, will someone please tell me why spellchecker thinks knickers is a reasonable substitute for Vicker's? Predictive text is one thing, but that's scary.

Probably because it wasn't looking for vicar or vicar's. Spell check doesn't work on phonetics but on letter patterns.

Regards,

D-Ray

[merrylander]

Sunday school, odd thing is that my Bible is marked for perfect attendance. Never submiited my son to that, but a better father you won't find.

[tybrad]

I was brought up Presby until I could make my own decisions. Married into a mildly corrosively Christian family (but not my wife) and took it upon myself to incessantly debate them about their beliefs. Took a couple of years to understand that religious belief is not open to rational discussion, at least everywhere except in scholarly circles so I gave it up with her family.

I am now not with institutional religious organizations. I shadow Albert Einstein's quest; he refered to "The Old One", as it refers to a cosmic consciousness, and is what I search now for understanding about universal unity. I had a cosmic experience once in '95. That is its own story, but it was a connection with the universe as a "unit".

Tyler

[BlueStreak]

I had several "cosmic experience(s)" between 1979 and 1982, that might explain a few thi........................WHOA, WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!! Ooooo, it had horns and beady eyes!

Dave

[Combwork]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

Not for the purposes of debate, but rather to understand the background of the people posting. Do you have a faith, and do you practice it?


Born and raised Catholic, now belonging to an Assemblies of God Christian Church. I'm there every Sunday, and usually on Tuesday nights for a men's Bible study .

There's more than an argument, just a basic fact. I cannot remember who proved it, but I've read that matter cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be changed from one form to another (including energy). Sooner or later we're all going to die; probably one at a time but conceivably all at once. We know that physically what we're made of will change from one form to another, but it won't vanish.

What about the spirit, soul, whatever. Is there such a thing? As late as 1946 (try Google "measuring the weight of a soul") people were trying to prove whether or not the soul existed by placing a dieing man on an accurate balance and seeing if there was any change after he had died. If there was, it was so close to the tolerance of the apparatus that the result was not accepted as definitive but lets look at the way we are. The old saying is that no matter what the species, it's sole purpose is self preservation, continuity. "eat fuck and die" but if that's all it is, why bother doing it? It's of no consequence to individuals whether there's a next generation or not.

So if it's all about survival, why do anything not necessary? Some people spend their working lives designing and building beautiful structures that would appear to have no practical purpose; things that they know will not be completed in their lifetime. Others make paintings, others compose music. None of this would seem to have anything to do with survival of the species. If you argue that the existence of these artworks helps us to survive, where and why did need this come from?

If food and drink keep the body alive, I reckon appreciation of beauty is a survival mechanism for the spirit. I know this is clumsily worded but yes, I believe in an afterlife. A long time ago a girl I was in love with told me that if we cannot be together in this life, we will be in the next. Her family had given her a simple choice, him or your family. She had honor so really, it was no choice at all but a final question. If there is a next life and we're in it, would we be aware of the life that came before?

[merrylander]

Some years back Dr. Wilder Penfield in Montreal was operating on a patient. Dr. Penfield is/was one of the world's pre-eminent brain surgeons. The patient's brain was exposed and Dr. Penfield was using a probe to ensure that he had the correct section of the brain. When he activated the probe the patient raised his arm. Now the patient was conscious - the brain having no feeling. Dr. Penfield asked if he felt that. The patient responded "My arm raised but I did not will it to do so."

Make what you will of that.

[BlueStreak]

Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It merely changes form.

Dave

[BlueStreak]

All of the people (And pets) I've lost over the years............I'd really like to see them again.

But, do I believe that there is a book, written by "God" that shows me how to get there? No. I believe those books were written by men. Men who seek to govern me by using my desire to be reunited with loved ones.....and the fear of a contrived infernal nether region to control me. That's not to say that some of these books don't contain some nice tips on how to be a decent human being, because they do.

Dave

[evaluna]

I attended a few different Christian churches as a kid, I even played piano for the offerings. My husband is Catholic, but as he is from Mexico, it's a little different than the Catholicism practiced here in the US. I have taken my kids to different churches to expose them to the idea that there are so many options out there. I, myself, do not/will not identify myself as belonging to any sort of religious group. Nor will I identify myself as belonging to any political party. And for the same reason... which brings us back to the question, does your religious view influence your political views? DEFINITELY. If the popular figureheads in Christianity wanted to spin things in favor of the Democratic Party, they most certainly could. For whatever reason, wink wink, they spin it in favor of the GOP. I believe that belonging to either compromises your ability to reason and think for yourself. As soon as you sign up for one, you have to defend it and will begin to see things the way that your party leaders/religious leaders want you to see them. No, thank you, I think I'll look at all the information (religious and political) and choose for myself.