Religion and spirituality

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I just can't perceive the truth of it. It just seems to be revealed truth. I'm very suspicious of claims of revelation of things which can't be demonstrated to me. Reincarnation seems to be one of those things you've just got to take at face value without questioning too much.

That being said, many individuals far more enlightened than me profess a belief in reincarnation... So who knows. It just isn't something that I can intuitively incorporate into my spiritual thought. And for me, if I can't intuitively perceive the truth in something, it is an impediment to my spiritual growth... I get lost in my own head trying to convince myself of things I don't believe in.



Similar to reincarnation, I just don't see the basis for it. It's unintuitive, and distracting. Again, I'm not going to claim to be the most spiritually evolved person, and there may be something to these things. Certainly many people I've found myself generally aligned with find them to be of value.. I must remain agnostic on them.

My differences with Buddhism and Taoism aren't intended to be indictments. They're just areas where we agree to disagree....

Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my silly questions.

They're good questions.

Lots of good things are very silly.

How true!

Powerful religious arguments that appeal to my heart and my mind might make me - i guess you can say spiritual - and "move" me emotionally. For example, reading the story of Abraham, and seeing commentary on what a tragic figure he is made me tear up. But it was because of the human element involved, not spirituality.That said... for the most part, I am not really spiritual - most of what moves me in the torah is the human element involved. I don't get or understand spiritually very well, and it doesn't come naturally to me.

My Family is either one of the many sects of Christianity or Mormon.

I rate religion by how intellectually sound I feel it is. I am just a theist who subscribes to Judeo-Christian principles and values with some influences from Buddhism although Judaism is currently my main focus. Goodness is not confined to Judaism or Christianity so I also take a little from all the other faiths, so long as it doesn't stand at ends with my Judeo-Christianity principles and values.


The spiritual types don't scare or concern me(like it's not a human quality that irks me). It is a quality I envy and find them a higher level of being since spirituality is unique to our species, and to those within our species who have it.

Were you raised Mormon?

lol why? And no, but a the majority of my family are.

Reincarnation:

my take on reincarnation has been and remains:

1. If I ever encountered solid evidence supporting some form of reincarnation I would find a niche for it.

2. Emotionally [though I do not let this interfere with the evaluation of evidence] I see reincarnation, or the Big Bang / Crunch cycle, or my sister's repetitive entropy [I do not know if that asumed Bang Crunch] as the ultimate hell. Infinite futile inescapable torture [I have not enjoyed all aspects of life and given the chance would opt out of repeating them]

3. Nirvana [I am always tempted to write Nibbana just to show off] seems to provide [though not to my mind certainly] a way off the wheel, but given the conditions one's chances are less than those of a lab rat finding its way out of the maze, out of the lab, out of the building, across New York to a particular park on Long Island on the first attempt. The purpose [I will continue to use and defend the word against the purposeless] of going through dreary sequences of incarnations, rising or falling by merit, when one does not retain any of the lessons learned in previous existences] is not by me conceivable and beats the worst cruelties Christian based atheists attribute to God. The past life regression is by no means convincing, and to steer a course toward Nirvana by anything but Brownian motion you need access to past life lessons.

4.You COULD devise a form of reincarnation which would fit a linear finite universe and COULD use it to deal with where do new souls come from, but I have not encountered nor conceived of any non-hokey scenario.

I would say about the same. A paid guide can take ticketed patrons on an interesting tour, but everyone must "follow a pre-determined path with stringent rules" in order for things to go well ...

... but then there is the matter of how that guide even came to be one, and I have come to appreciate the ability to navigate the same course in a free-form kind of way.

So then, I would say religion introduced me to religiosity and sanctimony, but then life itself drove me to a point of needing to learn to live by spiritual principles in much the same way survivalists can actually survive in almost any kind of environment or setting.

One of my big Hyuck hyuck lines from days in the classroom:

"There is no such thing as a silly question, there are only people too silly to ask them."

I was just wondering. I was raised Mormon.

I think it depends on what guide you speak of. Someone like Jesus that was the basis for Christianity was spiritual and forged his own paths, but I wouldn't say people like that Pope or a Pastor are spiritual. They are deeply religious.



Life itself is the great catalyst, isn't it?

I understand why someone would need to say that in such a setting, but although I highly value my spirituality I also realize in the end it's meaningless.

I don't know if that makes sense to anyone but me, but there it is.

I get partial point for guessing mormon do I get any for guessing Tongan?

lol why? And no, but a the majority of my family are.[/quote]
I get partial point for guessing mormon do I get any for guessing Tongan?
[/quote]

Why Tongan? Intriguing language - one queries whether Tongan > built up or Hawaiian > worn down.