A brief theological question.......

[JonL]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Did a one year stint in Hebrew school. I slipped past the guards in the third grade and never looked back.

Sorta my experience too. I'm Jewish by heritage, my parents raised us with some of the Jewish cultural traditions but they were basically atheists. They tried to send me to Hebrew school more for the cultural education than the religious, but I wanted none of it and actually left and walked a couple of miles home one day. I must've been about 11.

I'm now an unabashed atheist, even an anti-theist as someone else posted. (Never heard that phrase before.) I believe that religion and the belief in a supreme being is superstition and mythology. I've gone into it more detail in another thread, and I should probably leave it at that because it is very difficult for me to express my views without offending people, perhaps very deeply, and that is not my desire.

"Despite" my lack of belief, I attempt to live by the golden rule and attempt to live my life in a way that has a positive impact on the world. I'm surely not entirely successful, but I imagine I do a little better than average. As a non-believer, it is difficult for me to understand why many people feel that religion has to be at the root of morality. I do not myself see a connection.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by JonL

I'm now an unabashed atheist, even an anti-theist as someone else posted. (Never heard that phrase before.) I believe that religion and the belief in a supreme being is superstition and mythology. I've gone into it more detail in another thread, and I should probably leave it at that because it is very difficult for me to express my views without offending people, perhaps very deeply, and that is not my desire.

"Despite" my lack of belief, I attempt to live by the golden rule and attempt to live my life in a way that has a positive impact on the world. I'm surely not entirely successful, but I imagine I do a little better than average. As a non-believer, it is difficult for me to understand why many people feel that religion has to be at the root of morality. I do not myself see a connection.

I usually use the less provocative description "agnostic" (i.e., don't know, don't care and pretty damn certain I'll never find out). I think I'm probably taking the easier way out than you did in your description (in an effort not to offend). But in truth, you've described my views quite closely (the only difference was that my initial indoctrination attempts were Catholic, not Jewish).

[JJIII]

I was brought up as a Presbyterian and confirmed in the Church at 12. Haven't been to a church of any kind for many years except to see someone married or buried. (Is there much difference?). I do think the early education has a profound effect on how I try to live.

[merrylander]

Broght up in the Union Church only because the village was too small to have seperate protestant churches, basically followed United Church (Methodists and some Presbyterians) orthodoxy. Married an Anglican the first time (like Episcopalians, commonly referred to as God's Frozen People back in Canada). Married a Catholic the second time, both of us so soured on chuches as institutions we no longer attend, do our praying right here at home since "Where two or more are gathered in my name, there shall I be also."

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by merrylander

"Where two or more are gathered in my name, there shall I be also."

As a GROSS generalization, this is a very American Indian thought process: except we believe God is everywhere and counts as "one" in the equation.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Zeke

As a GROSS generalization, this is a very American Indian thought process: except we believe God is everywhere and counts as "one" in the equation.

I figure one God who exists everywhere should be enough for anybody.

But there's no money in that.

Chas

[Brett A]

I was raised without religion or spirituality. I've spent some time in my life having a relation to something, can't call it God in the typical sense. The closest i can come to explaining it is in the words of an old friend; "The universe loves symbolic gestures".

The theistic religious/spiritual view makes no sense to me beyond being the construct of man in an effort to eff the ineffable.

I think the non-theistic religions really are onto something. The concept of god is not necessary to a purposeful, virtuous life of service.

[epifanatic]

Originally Posted by Brett A

I think the non-theistic religions really are onto something. The concept of god is not necessary to a purposeful, virtuous life of service.

x10!!

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by Brett A

I was raised without religion or spirituality. I've spent some time in my life having a relation to something, can't call it God in the typical sense. The closest i can come to explaining it is in the words of an old friend; "The universe loves symbolic gestures".

The theistic religious/spiritual view makes no sense to me beyond being the construct of man in an effort to eff the ineffable.

I think the non-theistic religions really are onto something. The concept of god is not necessary to a purposeful, virtuous life of service.

Excellent post. +1.

Dave

[diamondsoul]

Originally Posted by Brett A

I was raised without religion or spirituality. I've spent some time in my life having a relation to something, can't call it God in the typical sense. The closest i can come to explaining it is in the words of an old friend; "The universe loves symbolic gestures".

The theistic religious/spiritual view makes no sense to me beyond being the construct of man in an effort to eff the ineffable.

I think the non-theistic religions really are onto something. The concept of god is not necessary to a purposeful, virtuous life of service.

The non-theistic religions can be just as silly, and triumphalistic, as the theistic ones.

Reading the story of Hui Neng is an eye opener. He had to flee for his life from a Buddhist monastery and started his own sect, Chan, because he wasn't in the proper social class to be accepted as a head monk.

http://sped2work.tripod.com/huineng.html

Buddhism is as rife with intrigue to do with lineage and power as any other organized religion. I well remember seeing two groups of Zen Buddhist monks in South Korea beating each other over the heads with placards and sticks over who was going to be their new head monk. Silly folks.

Rob Preece, a practising Buddhist, wrote this insightful piece about this tendency in organized religion. The tendency to circle the wagons around an orthodoxy and to exclude all those who are progressive or innovators:

http://www.mudra.co.uk/mudra_individuation.html