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Finding Religion

That's actually superstition! :bish:
That would be an ecumenical matter!
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That would be an ecumenical matter!
CvYB8DhXgAAjNF6.jpg

I'm right on this. Animals and birds can perform pointless actions, like the pigeons who were observed by Skinner to turn round three times anti-clockwise when they were hungry. Animals and birds don't believe in God. They can't pray. The pigeons' actions were superstitious.
 
Yep, so best to stay clear.

Why not go for buddhism lite instead?
 
Fridewide,

..Not all of us are literal. ..

It's not a matter of being literal. It is that a huge part of the population is expected to take the writings in the holy books as 'The Truth'. It is promoted as 'The Truth'. And people are always using sentences like,'but it says in the Bible (Koran, etc).....'
If they are a collections of allegorical guides, then it should say so at the beginning.
But there are folks, even in the West, who insist that every line is actual fact. And they get very upset if you try to point out why certain things can't possibly be factual.

If you want a modern day example, just look at isis.

If anything shows that it is all a power game, that is it.

INT21.
 
Ringo.

..Surely there must be more of a reason for living rather than being just an accident."

I'm in a right existential quandary
...

Hang in there.

There might, just might, be 'something else' when we move on (I mean die).
And Death itself doesn't seem too bad. Been there. But only briefly. It didn't hurt.

Anyway, I'm going to hang around for as long as things are interesting before I go have another look.

INT21.
 
Perhaps, at some point in the thread, we could tally up who is trying to persuade people to their view?

Actually, posting this has probably skewed it irretrievably lolol
 
This seems to have wandered a long way from Ringo's original feeling of missing out on a 'togetherness' as is found in religious belief.

INT21
 
This seems to have wandered a long way from Ringo's original feeling of missing out on a 'togetherness' as is found in religious belief.

INT21

I'm happy for the thread to wander wherever it wants. But you have very succinctly summarised all my waffle - I fell personally that I am missing the "togetherness" as felt by people of faith. My only problem is that faith in a higher power/deity/creator goes against everything I think I am.
 
Ringo,

You are not alone.

I feel an inability to 'connect' with people on a deep level.

I have no problem superficially. And it doesn't effect my ability to function at all.

But there is always that nagging feeling in the background that something is 'missing'.

Thus it was, and always will be (probably).

INT21.
 
What I learned was that Satanism is not based on worshipping Satan or any other deity or spiritual being.
[...]
LaVey called it 'Satanism' to deter hippies and New Agers.

Quite so. I think he also called it 'Satanism' to (a) create publicity, (b) create middle class outrage in 1960s America (see also publicity), and (c) act as a useful mental symbol of the Earthly, flesh and blood, self.

To put it simply, it's actually about putting oneself first and not being taken advantage of by needy people.[...]

So Satanism might be an ideal religion for our times as you needn't believe in anything other than your own needs and ego and certainly don't have to bow down and worship anyone.

To be fair, LaVeyan Satanism is (as I understand it) about putting oneself first but doesn't have to be about callously ignoring other people. I think it instead encourages its members to make a choice about what they do and whom they respond to. As such, it rejects the presumed guilt that the Judao-Christian tradition seems to seek to impose.
 
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I fell personally that I am missing the "togetherness" as felt by people of faith. My only problem is that faith in a higher power/deity/creator goes against everything I think I am.

It seems to me that you probably shouldn't worry. Were you to try and find this togetherness, I think it likely that you would not find it as satisfying as you might have hoped. ;)

Be yourself and find satisfaction in that. You are not excluded from togetherness on subjects that interest you. Like here, for example! :)
 
Wombat,

..I never really understood that. If life was eternal, it wouldn't be precious, would it? ..

That is making an assumption. That an 'afterlife' would be based on the current one.

And that you (whatever you are) will even be able to reference your Earthly existence.

I once asked a Muslim woman who I worked with. 'How do you envision Heaven ?'.

She replied that you sit around on large sofas.

'And do what ?' I queried.

'I don't know' she said.'I have not thought past the sofas'.

I suppose many Christians have not thought beyond passing through the Pearly Gates.

Except for the exhortation 'Don't step on a duck'.

INT21.
 
Ringo,

You are not alone.

I feel an inability to 'connect' with people on a deep level.

I have no problem superficially. And it doesn't effect my ability to function at all.

But there is always that nagging feeling in the background that something is 'missing'.

Thus it was, and always will be (probably).

INT21.

Sounds familiar. I might just join a cult or something and be done with it. Anybody wanna start a cult? I'm not sure what we stand for yet but as long as there is tea and the chance of a nice sit down then I'm in.
 
The Cult of Cthulhu is currently recruiting for members, I've heard.
:fhtagn::fhtagn::fhtagn:
 
Kuh-tool-oo. Or Kuh-loo-loo, if you believe Lovecraft's own dodgy pronunciation.
 
Sounds familiar. I might just join a cult or something and be done with it. Anybody wanna start a cult? I'm not sure what we stand for yet but as long as there is tea and the chance of a nice sit down then I'm in.

Start here: http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/ and if you join us I guess I'll be seeing you sometime soon....
 
To be fair, LaVeyan Satanism is (as I understand it) about putting oneself first but doesn't have to be about callously ignoring other people.

I didn't say it was about that. It can happen though, if these other people are trying to take advantage one way or another. LaVey was clear about not letting oneself be used. That's a normal life lesson, of course; we all have to learn to sack off the spongers.
 
I didn't say it was about that.

Ah yes, quite true. I did not intend to imply that you did say that. I apologise for making it seem as if I thought so. It's just that many people might think that putting oneself first and not being taken advantage of by needy people could sound callous and I was just thinking ahead and addressing that possibility.
 
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