Religion

[Old Man Jingles]

Much like grace is not an invitation to sin, so to is failure to achieve the perfect is not an excuse to forego the effort.

A very helpful thought as is this saying by Goethe:
“Cease endlessly striving for what you would like to do and learn to love what must be done.”

 

[rickyb]

I liked this article because it presented beliefs that were consistent with my beliefs.
People who are spiritual are much better prepared to deal with the outside world and hold less resentments and don't fear what the future holds.
A higher power that one has spiritual relations with is the best friend you'll ever have.
I feel for atheists who only believe in themselves ... they have the weight of the world on their shoulders.

It turned out that those who attended religious services at least once a week as children or teens were about 18% more likely to report being happier in their 20s than those who never attended services. They were also almost 30% more likely to do volunteer work and 33% less likely to use drugs in their 20s as well.

But what was interesting was that it wasn’t just about how much a person went to services, but it was at least as much about how much they prayed or meditated in their own time. Those who prayed or meditated every day also had more life satisfaction, were better able to process emotions, and were more forgiving compared to those who never prayed/meditated. They were also less likely to have sex at an earlier age and to have a sexually transmitted infection.

Previous studies have suggested similar connections—for instance, that people who are more religious are often happier, and that people who believe in something greater than themselves are more resilient to stress. Other work has shown that in meditation and in prayer, the “me” centers of the brain—those that are active when you’re thinking self-referential worry-based thoughts—quiet down, and areas involved in perceiving the external world as “other” also deactivate. This might suggest that at least one way in which religion/spirituality benefits mental health is to reduce our tendency to think about ourselves and at the same time dissolve our sense of separateness.

i dont literally believe in god and i dont only believe in myself.

 

[Old Man Jingles]

Your on the money.
The difference is a video game won't kill you like drugs or alcohol .

Or chasing Pokemon:

 

[rickyb]

I liked this article because it presented beliefs that were consistent with my beliefs.
People who are spiritual are much better prepared to deal with the outside world and hold less resentments and don't fear what the future holds.
A higher power that one has spiritual relations with is the best friend you'll ever have.
I feel for atheists who only believe in themselves ... they have the weight of the world on their shoulders.

It turned out that those who attended religious services at least once a week as children or teens were about 18% more likely to report being happier in their 20s than those who never attended services. They were also almost 30% more likely to do volunteer work and 33% less likely to use drugs in their 20s as well.

But what was interesting was that it wasn’t just about how much a person went to services, but it was at least as much about how much they prayed or meditated in their own time. Those who prayed or meditated every day also had more life satisfaction, were better able to process emotions, and were more forgiving compared to those who never prayed/meditated. They were also less likely to have sex at an earlier age and to have a sexually transmitted infection.

Previous studies have suggested similar connections—for instance, that people who are more religious are often happier, and that people who believe in something greater than themselves are more resilient to stress. Other work has shown that in meditation and in prayer, the “me” centers of the brain—those that are active when you’re thinking self-referential worry-based thoughts—quiet down, and areas involved in perceiving the external world as “other” also deactivate. This might suggest that at least one way in which religion/spirituality benefits mental health is to reduce our tendency to think about ourselves and at the same time dissolve our sense of separateness.

most religious people are too stupid to actually make the world a better place through political / economic struggle.

when i walk the dog, the asians are always doing tai chi or whatever at the library. you cant really have internal peace when the world is falling apart around you. theyre also probably better off going for a run than tai chi.

 

[Old Man Jingles]

What then of the Beatitudes?

The Beatitudes are best understood by adding "before God" to the end of each one.
They then become more consistent with the inferred belief in the Middle East of 2 millenniums ago.

• 
  
  • Blessed are the poor in spirit before God, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  • Blessed are they who mourn before God, for they will be comforted.
  • Blessed are the meek before God, for they will inherit the land.
  • Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness before God, for they will be satisfied.
  • Blessed are the merciful before God, for they will be shown mercy.
  • Blessed are the clean of heart before God, for they will see God.
  • Blessed are the peacemakers before God, for they will be called children of God.
  • Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness before God, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

[It will be fine]

I liked this article because it presented beliefs that were consistent with my beliefs.
People who are spiritual are much better prepared to deal with the outside world and hold less resentments and don't fear what the future holds.
A higher power that one has spiritual relations with is the best friend you'll ever have.
I feel for atheists who only believe in themselves ... they have the weight of the world on their shoulders.

It turned out that those who attended religious services at least once a week as children or teens were about 18% more likely to report being happier in their 20s than those who never attended services. They were also almost 30% more likely to do volunteer work and 33% less likely to use drugs in their 20s as well.

But what was interesting was that it wasn’t just about how much a person went to services, but it was at least as much about how much they prayed or meditated in their own time. Those who prayed or meditated every day also had more life satisfaction, were better able to process emotions, and were more forgiving compared to those who never prayed/meditated. They were also less likely to have sex at an earlier age and to have a sexually transmitted infection.

Previous studies have suggested similar connections—for instance, that people who are more religious are often happier, and that people who believe in something greater than themselves are more resilient to stress. Other work has shown that in meditation and in prayer, the “me” centers of the brain—those that are active when you’re thinking self-referential worry-based thoughts—quiet down, and areas involved in perceiving the external world as “other” also deactivate. This might suggest that at least one way in which religion/spirituality benefits mental health is to reduce our tendency to think about ourselves and at the same time dissolve our sense of separateness.

I meditate most days and don’t believe in a higher power. I don’t see how those 2 things are linked at all.

 

[Old Man Jingles]

I meditate most days and don’t believe in a higher power. I don’t see how those 2 things are linked at all.

I perceive in your posts that you have a belief that we must try to 'do and change things' that are beyond our power and will.

 

[rickyb]

I perceive in your posts that you have a belief that we must try to 'do and change things' that are beyond our power and will.

its about having the faith to try anyways, and not give into doubt.

if everyone tried, things would change quickly. but most people dont have that kind of faith.

 

[Old Man Jingles]

I meditate most days and don’t believe in a higher power. I don’t see how those 2 things are linked at all.

Meditation in and of itself has a spiritual content.
I don't believe in the Religions with their churches and exclusive beliefs myself.

 

[bbsam]

The Beatitudes are best understood by adding "before God" to the end of each one.
They then become more consistent with the inferred belief in the Middle East of 2 millenniums ago.

• 
  
  • Blessed are the poor in spirit before God, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  • Blessed are they who mourn before God, for they will be comforted.
  • Blessed are the meek before God, for they will inherit the land.
  • Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness before God, for they will be satisfied.
  • Blessed are the merciful before God, for they will be shown mercy.
  • Blessed are the clean of heart before God, for they will see God.
  • Blessed are the peacemakers before God, for they will be called children of God.
  • Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness before God, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

That is a good OT view. But I think in the Christian narrative, perhaps the Sermon on the Mount being a major pivot point, one cannot show such qualities “before God” and not live them among man. This would hold consistent with the Two Great Commanndments.

 

[Old Man Jingles]

That is a good OT view. But I think in the Christian narrative, perhaps the Sermon on the Mount being a major pivot point, one cannot show such qualities “before God” and not live them among man. This would hold consistent with the Two Great Commandments.

Jesus was an OT guy.

 

[newfie]

the more I study the complexity of the sciences the less I am inclined to believe it occurred randomly.

 

[Old Man Jingles]

the more I study the complexity of the sciences the less I am inclined to believe it occurred randomly.

"Random" is an illusion.
Nothing occurs randomly.
Random means we do not understand the causality.

 

[Old Man Jingles]

Crossan is an atheist ex Catholic priest. Interesting choice.

He is not an atheist (not even remotely) ... he simply does not believe or accept all the mythological aspects described in the Bible such as the Gospel accounts of the miraculous and the supernatural as factual or historical.
The mythologies in the Bible were used to appeal to the people in those times when science was unknown.

 

[bbsam]

Jesus was an OT guy.

Until he wasn’t.

 

[rickyb]

"Random" is an illusion.
Nothing occurs randomly.
Random means we do not understand the causality.

random is chaos. which i think is real.

 

[rickyb]

my neighbour whos "religious" is always buying things...

 

[trickpony1]

Random" is an illusion.
Nothing occurs randomly.
Random means we do not understand the causality.

How do you explain the normal distribution "bell curve"?

normal distribution curve - Bing images

 

[trickpony1]

read the first paragraph...

Normal distribution - Wikipedia

 

[DriveInDriveOut]

random is chaos. which i think is real.

Don't expect to convince someone brainwashed from birth to believe in god. The idea of randomness pretty much undermines every religion there is.