Posts tagged "Religion"

How do you grow today? What about higher levels of consciousness in relation to non-religious spirituality?

for example, can you become a more enlightened person through following the so called new age movement? or is non-spirituality "period" the only logical path to self-awareness?

I’m not going to give any credence to anything "New Age", but, yes, there *is* a great deal of enlightenment to be obtained through higher levels of consciousness.

That’s why psychotropics are one of my favouritest things in the world.

Why do so many god believers ask that anyone else get off of the Religion And Spirituality catagory?

I’m not saying what my beliefs are here, I’m just wondering why people assume that the very word "religion" implies that believers in gods (especially those believers of 1 god only) some sort of ownership or alliance to the catagory.
It seems a little piggish of those folks.
Is it some sort of exclusive club?
Where’s the spirituality?
That’s the spirit!

If you’re raised in a culture where your idea of "religious diversity" means some neighbors are Catholic instead of Protestant, then you’re going to have a very limited idea of what "religion" constitutes.

If it’s a Christian-only forum these people want, I don’t know why they don’t just go to one. Yahoo Groups ALONE has over 100,000 of them, literally.

Do the religious understand that spirituality is not secular?

I’ve never belonged to a religion, and believe they do more harm than good. I’m also very passionate about my own beliefs and spirituality, but that seems to go unrecognized the second I say I’m not a Christian. Suddenly I’m a godless heathen or at best an ignorant who needs saving.

Well, to be fair to the Christians, their view is that they hold the "one true path" to Heaven. In that sense, it doesn’t really matter whether you believe in a different god than them or none at all (or some other spiritual/religious beliefs), since to them all of those paths are still the "wrong" ones. It should be pointed out, though, that some Christians are much more flexible on this point than others.

Not really condoning it, but the point is that your relative level of "spirituality" doesn’t usually mean squat to the folks who think they’ve got all the answers.

How does the spirituality of human work fit in the benedictine principle?

How does the spirituality of human work fit in the benedictine principle?

i can’t seem to find the answer to it…

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and behold the face of God?

How has religion attempted to force itself on the government and vise versa?

What is a way that religion has attempted to force itself on the government and a way that the government has attempted to force itself upon religion?

Is either one justified or are they unjustified?

Check out Falwell

I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we won’t have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them. What a happy day that will be!
– Rev Jerry Falwell, America Can Be Saved, 1979 pp. 52-53, from Albert J Menendez and Edd Doerr, The Great Quotations on Religious Freedom

Check out scary quotes

http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/qframe.htm

why is every question in the religion and spirituality subject swamped with athiests?

the Definition of an atheist is not believing god or a higher power.

so no religion… no spirituality…

so how come when questions are posted about god atheists everywhere seemed forced to tell them they are wrong.
isn’t that what you get mad at theists for… explicitly detailing their beliefs and telling everyone… when supposedly no one wants to hear?

without stereotyping… from what ive seen, why is it atheists are so arrogant and hypocritical?

Because they are misunderstood as much as they misunderstood people who believe in God. We should treat them the way we treat God’s believers. For they also want us to respect their belief, as much as we respect ours.

Lifelight: a Reflection on Light

The work being done on light in theology, philosophy, physics, medicine, and near death experiences is directing us to a revolutionary breakthrough in terms of a new model, a new approach to reality. Progress in all of these areas of human curiosity is being driven by brilliant and original insights into the very nature of the foundational stuff of the universe—light—an elusive, pervasive, something or someone.

There is a popular saying in the 21st Century that is sometimes used to describe the attitude of many “modern” persons regarding the Divine Being: “God is missing but not missed.” He is an add-on, a self-chosen extra but not essential to our daily lives or thought.

But what if light is indeed the foundational stuff of the universe, as many modern

physicists believe that it is?

What if the entire physical, empirical world of matter, the “without” of things is a basic energy that is light (luminous), which is in constant flux when viewed over a long period of time (duration)? The velocity of atomic movements, their speed, drastically modifies a body’s mass. It is only when movements are sufficiently slowed down that they appear to be solid or immobile. All “speed” is referenced to the speed of light, so every body is not only changed by its speed, but it also radiates, that is, it moves like rays…from a center, it emits rays, as of light or heat. (Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man, pp. 54-55, and The Human Phenomenon, p. 23).

What if undergirding this physical, empirical world of matter both as its source, sustainer, purpose and/or reason for being, is psychic energy, a force that causes things to happen but has no empirically verifiable mass or behavior, so it is not physical but spiritual? The Light that glows can be experienced both within our minds, souls, and hearts. It can be seen in phenomena like near-death experiences.

This ultimate form of energy is “The Light” that has the characteristic of “Supreme Person” and “the personal.”

God is in all things by the very fact that the basic or ultimate stuff of the universe is psychic energy (light) and God is, as previously noted, the source of this energy, and is Himself, psychic energy, “The Light”, centered in one Divine Being who is three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

But although God is in all things as their source, sustainer, and purpose, all things are not God. For God is transcendent, above all creation. Creation is part of God, but God is not part of creation. God is actuality (there is no potential, no change—no evolution in God), autonomous (dependent on no one or no other thing), and irreversible (again indicates no element of change or disintegration). These are the commonly ascribed attributes of God posited by all the monotheistic (one God) faith traditions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam).

If all of this is true, then far from being an “add-on” or non-essential “extra”, God, The

Light, is immanent in all of his creation. We cannot even correctly perceive the physical reality (light) around us without the inner light that God imparts to every human being who is willing to receive it, let alone understand, make sense out of, or give meaning to, what we see.

Bernard J Fleury
http://www.articlesbase.com/spirituality-articles/lifelight-a-reflection-on-light-374376.html

Just Five Minutes Longer – Spirituality Information

The story has been told and retold countless times about the battle of Waterloo. Poems have been written and songs have been composed detailing every conceivable aspect about it. The English tell it one way and the French share it from a slightly different point of view.

History and legend has it that after Napoleon Bonaparte’s army was defeated and the Duke of Wellington prevailed over the French, Napoleon was taken away and imprisoned. One day a group of newspaper reporters came to visit. They had obtained permission to hold an interview with the famous French general, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Even though Napoleon was in prison, he carried himself with dignity and looked with piercing eyes at the group of reporters gathered there before him. Questions were asked and answers given. The reporters wrote every word down. This would, indeed, be good reading. They would boast to their children and grandchildren how they stood before the great general on that long ago day.

Suddenly, from the back of the room, a voice, somewhat more gentle than the others was heard above the din. “Mon general,” the reporter said, “Tell me why the English won at Waterloo. Did they have a superior army?”

“No!” replied Napoleon.

“Well, did they have better weapons?” asked another reporter.

“No!” was the answer again.

Then the first reporter asked again, “Why then, Mr. General, did the English win?”

Napoleon’s eyes slowly swept across the room. The silence was so deep that it was almost deafening. You could have heard the proverbial pin drop. Then he replied, “The English fought five minutes longer.”

From the mouth of the great general himself came the answer, “The English fought five minutes longer”. Many times, five minutes longer is all that it takes. Times have changed from the days of the Emperor Napoleon. But many things still remain the same.

Sometimes victory is just a few minutes away. Yes, I know, we all go through terrible times. In today’s world many of us are faced with crisis after crisis. For most, there is never enough money, no jobs, poor relationships, ill health and the list could go on and on. Of course, there are good times, too, but the hard times usually block our vision of the good times.

When things get really bad, we turn this way and that looking for some help or at least some hope to keep on keeping on. Anything will do–a kind word from a friend, a paragraph from a good book, a stray piece of music from the radio, even a Hollywood movie.

Some people will be there for you, others will turn and run from you, fearing for their own well-being. Still others may throw you a crumb of money, or food and hope you won’t ask for more. Be grateful. They do as they see fit to do at the moment. Your job is to just keep on keeping on.

When you are down in the arena and the dust is in your mouth and you can hear the screaming of the crowd, remember, “The English fought five minutes longer.” Sometimes it’s so bad that one day at a time is too long. So go one hour at a time. And if that’s too long, then how about five minutes at a time?

Success is sometimes just yards or minutes away. There are times when the last few yards may seem like miles and the last few minutes may appear to be hours. But if you keep on keeping on, if you do not let hope die, if you have faith in the goodness of the universe and the Force that created us, you will win in the end.

Why did Napoleon lose to the English at the battle of Waterloo? The English simply fought five minutes longer.

John Harricharan
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/just-five-minutes-longer–spirituality-information-135613.html

what do you think is the difference between spirituality and religion?

there is a HUGE difference in my opinion. mine is too long so im just going to ask you. lol what do you personally think is the difference between spirituality and religion.

(YES); there can be a BIG difference between spirituality and religion !

Can someone explain the difference between an Atheism and Atheist Spirituality?

I have had little contact with Atheist and wondered why soo many Atheist participated in Religion and Spirituality. Well, except for the most part to put down those who believe different. Smile. Please explain. For if that is the case, then are you no different than some of those who believe in a Creator? Or are Religious? I do not say all for I know that many ask sincere questions and would like to avoid unnecessary offense through ignorance. Can read, but personal info is better.
Thank you

Have you ever heard of Atheist Buddhists? I surely think they are spiritual. However I am not. Personally I go on here and answer questions about how to do certain things. True Atheism isn’t a religion but it can be attached to any religion that doesn’t believe in a deity e.g Buddhism, taoism, and universalism