The title to this thread makes a huge claim, and I fully realize & accept that many of you that looked at it were immediately curious, and doubtful of the claim. Please realize that everything I am about to write is "just my opinion". Granted there are millions of others who agree with me, and also share this train of thought, it is still "just an opinion". Also please realize that in no way am I attempting to talk anybody out of believing in their God or their faith. I just wanted to share with all of you my personal feelings on these issues as I believe they will help to clarify why I have some of the positions I have regarding both politics & people of various faiths. Lastly I have to be honest here & say that I absolute no longer believe in God the way I did as a child or teen. I have not believed in God for many years, and nothing could ever shake this believe I have that is rooted in a life's work of studying this subject, and seeing the brutality, suffering, and human to human cruelty up close & personal for myself that has never been stopped or curbed............by any God. Please allow me to begin............... I firmly believe that as early man set out on his nomadic travels throughout the world many of the wonders that we all now take for granted or can explain through seasonal changes & science must have absolutely blown the minds of these early beings that knew nothing, and had no concept of anything. Can you all imagine what it must have been like to see the first sunrise, the first sunset, the fist rainfall, snowfall, leaves turning colors, births, deaths? Can you all imagine what it must have been like to see people enjoy the taste of sweet fruits, and witness others die from even sweeter "looking" berries, and how all of these amazing things constructed their form of reasoning? Can any of you imagine what it must have been like to see lightning streak across the sky, and kill certain members of their tribes, and how their brains processed such amazing feats, or if they asked themselves why the lighting hit this man and not that woman, and what conclusions they must have drawn without the benefit of someone being their to explain all of these things to them? It is widely known & accepted that almost all of the plains people of this country developed their faith & religion through animals, objects & elements because they believed these things to have & hold power. I submit to all of you that early man in a similar way attributed great power to things he could not other wise explain, and I would also submit to all of you that others who were higher up the food chain thought of a way to exploit these fears & superstitions. They became the leaders of these nomadic tribes, and at some point in our history as we slogged around from continent to continent certain groups of people developed a hierarchy of governance while instilling "fear" in people in order to "control" them. What better way to do these two important things than to make them all believe that a higher power is watching & judging, and in control of everything, and if the subjects do not obey, these higher powers or spiritual beings shall punish them. (Heaven / Hell) Also as a final insult to injury they must "pay" some type of tithe or tariff or give some type of "sacrifice" like money, food, gold or a daughter to please the god/s in order for the rains to continue to fall to grow the crops. (for example) Sometimes these religious payments were made to keep people safe along their passages from this land to the next. Fear, ignorance, control, power, subjugation, intimidation, surrender, submission = Religion's Creation Love, benevolence, kindness, charity, humility, sacrifice, = some of the attributes it spawn. Unfortunately: jealousy, greed, lust for power, lust for control, and an obsession from all religious leaders wanting to dominate over all people, and convert them set up a dynamic where religion has been responsible for more deaths to occur than any other phenomena this planet has ever seen, and for this one reason alone I cannot partake in it. I argue to all that in-deed there is no God, there has never been a great being anywhere whether above us or below us that created everything on this planet including this planet. These two events personally destroyed me emotionally, and each one took something from me that I'll never get back. To this day I still shake my fists to the so-called heavens for allowing them to happen, but truly I am being ridiculous because I know that there isn't anyone there, and that there is no heaven. Because "if" this all being, all present, all powerful being "was there"....these two things (along with millions of other tragedies through the ages) would have "never" happened. View attachment 42138 I argue that all Gods were devices, objects & tools created by men with obsessed dreams to rule everything, and/or delusional men who knew no better that thought they were creating something good. I argue that all religions regardless of their origin/s are all rooted in conjecture & assumptions of the unknown. Our minds are the most powerful things in the universe, and our minds can create whatever "realities" we like - which would easily explain why certain individuals "thought" they were seeing or creating miracles. There was no ark that floated in an ocean filled with every animal known to man for months on end. There was no man that parted an entire ocean with his hands. There was no man that walked on water. There was no angel named Gabriel that spoke to Muhammad, who was actually a really cool cat before he became "infected" with the idea/lust of creating a religion, a cat who was married to a woman much older than him for over 20 years, and who was loved by everyone in Mecca. I fault none of these people for the things they did, said or created, as I fault no religion for being created as I understand the "why's" behind their creation/s. I love all people, and I love all of you. I love Jews, Christians, Catholics, Protestants, Presbyterians, Buddhist's, Mormon's,........................and Muslims. I am comprised of many nationalities, and I have more, different strains of bloods running through my veins than a bottle of Heinz 57 has ingredients. I fight for & defend Muslims because people are extremely down on them more so than anybody else "these days" for all the reasons that all of us talk about all the time in here. If Italians were the group being beat up right now the way Muslims were, I'd be in here everyday fighting for & defending them. The Prophet Muhammad made many proclamations in the Quran, and told his followers to do a great many things. (not just the things many of you in here constantly post & repeat that are meant to elicit a negative response from all of us) Some of the things he instructed them to do were during times of war, and yes....as time marched on the writing & instruction became more violent. (no denying that) But the entire book is not all evil, and there are more instructions in the Quran telling Muslims to treat each other (and others including Jews & Christians) well - than there is anything else. (you wouldn't know that if your not looking for it or in denial that those passages exist) The Quran contradicts itself through & over time as it is written, and 1.7 billion Muslims in the world today only listen to, and adhere to all of the beautiful things in the Quran. It's is a complicated book to be sure..............yes, and unfortunately many have taken it upon themselves to twist the words & the meanings within this book to justify the evil things (that they want to do, wanted to do, and would have done regardless of Islam or Muhammad or the Quran) Those last words in that sentence above that I have written are the most important words any of you will ever read as they pretty much explain everything that's going on in the Muslim world today. A fight, a fight for the hearts, minds & souls of almost 2 billion people.......and the terrorists are "losing that fight". The peaceful Muslims that pray five times a day, and eat too much pita bread are winning. None of these people really care or recognize the more harsh commandments from the Quran nor do they really care about Muhammad's sexual proclivities "THAT WERE NORMAL, STANDARD PROCLIVITES PRATICED BY ALL PEOPLE OF ALL NATIONALITIES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD IN THOSE TIMES" Yes, they call him the perfect role model, but it's because of how Arabs lived in the world before his rise to power. The entire Muslim world changed forever after Muhammad & Islam for mostly the betterment of almost all Arabs. So to rob these people of their belief in him, and the many traditions that followed just because you want to keep banging away at how old one of his wives (may have been) that none of you have proof positive evidence of is preposterous. Muhammad brought Arabs out of the darkness the way Jesus brought Christians out of a darkness, and introduced all of these people & followers to God, their God, a God they all love & worship. Good, bad or indifferent there it is. Neither one of these men were perfect, and its beyond childish to get into a conversation now......2000 years later about which cat was better or more well behaved, or more moral. The point is NONE of the followers today of these religions really give a damn, because they're focused more on "God" than they are the dude that brought them to the movie. (if you get my drift) If you believe in God, continue, and may God bless you & keep you. If you do not believe in God, please don't persecute those that do. If there is a religious leader from days of old that bothers you.................let it the hell go. I am done, and I realize (for some of you still reading) you may be very upset. (please don't be) I am just one person with one tiny voice who doesn't have the power to change the world. But I do have the power to continue to take steps towards all people and I will continue to do so with whatever time I have left on this rock, and I don't need a set of moral codes from a book to tell me how to treat my fellow human beings. Be well..................
Damn...that is long and drawn out . Here is a shorter version: All Religions Explained~ Humans made it up to explain stuff.
I have my own theory. I think gods were invented to bind tribes together and to give meaning. Not explanation, meaning . I don't think people have ever cared much about explanation except for practical purposes (tool making, ways to avoid danger and promote survival and so on). God myths were passed down from generation to generation creating a heritage. Meaning was needed because humans are aware of their own mortality. As far as exploitation goes I am sure it existed in more forms than we can account for. Did some use religion to exploit others? Sure, but fear, and a huge number of other social tools could easily be used just as or more effectively. This is all entirely my opinion, based on idle speculation.
Here is Religion in one word: LIES All parents owe it to their kids to tell them that religion is BS. There is no afterlife. No heaven. No hell. There is no man in the sky reading your mind and judging you. There is no Santa Claus (this one is really tough).
It sounds like you still believe in creationism without God...Or do you think that as man evolved and became self aware that he just realized that there was a sunset and sunrise, lightning, and which fruits were good to eat and which poisonous...that's considered tribal knowledge, and as a Lakota Sioux, we do not believe everything has power, we believe every creature and living thing has a spirit which is why we thank the deer for surrendering its life to sustain ours. We believe in Mother Earth and Father Sky, the gift of life is water...It may be very simple...But also true...These entities are not personified.
I was so heartbroken the day I found out that Santa Clause wasn't real that I actually went around my school asking all the other kids my age what they thought, and they were all just as heartbroken, and they confirmed my fears. The flipside to all of that was......now knowing that it was really mom & dad all along - knowing how much money came into the house from their salaries.............my Christmas list grew like crazy after that....
First let me say how much I respect & love all people including your tribe, my great, great grandmother on my mother's side was 50% Black Foot from Montana. I am a firm believer in the evolution theory, and I absolutely, 100% do not believe that we were made by some spiritual being whether here on earth or anywhere else. I started studying all religions out of curiosity when I was in my early 20's, and I devoted years to it. I travel for a living and have been to many Pow Wow's all over the country as I was lucky enough to be in a certain state when one was happening. I will admit that anytime I am at one of those events or the times in my life when I was much younger attending church services that I am "moved" by all the love in the room or the atmosphere. I can feel all the energy that is being created by all the people who are on the same wavelength and truly I thinks it's a beautiful thing, but I do not attribute any of it to "a God" per say that is creating that emotion or fueling that positive energy..........it's the people. When I hear the drums at Pow Wow's, and hear the singing in the native tongue I am so overcome with emotion that at times I've had to walk away because I got overwhelmed. Then I got angry at the thought of how anybody could hurt such a beautiful people, and then my lunatic mind goes off into all these other places around the subject of the whole Indian / early settler conflicts, and I've completely ruined my afternoon from getting so emotional. (yes I'm one of those) I wear my heart on my sleeve, most people with Italian, African, Indian, Moroccan, Irish ancestry do, I'm cursed in that way. Peace unto you brother, be well...................
Don't be in a cynical mood because it clouds your judgment, and it makes you question things that you shouldn't be questioning. When I say that I love everybody I mean exactly that, I don't have a black heart or walk around angry at the world the way a lot of people do finding fault in everything, being super critical of everything, always looking for the other shoe to drop, or looking for disappointment. Of course I don't love murderers or child molesters, etc. etc. but my attitude in life is that when I approach people I approach everybody with a clean sheet of white paper with no ink what-so-ever, nothing in the ledger good or bad. I allow the person I just approached to do all the writing, if they fill it up with negativity, evil-ness or malice thought or intent - I walk away. If they fill it up with positivity, love & kindness I stick around for a while. Don't get it twisted, I'm not a pushover, and I'm nobody's fool. I give as well as I get, and when I'm approached in the wrong way or done wrong I usually hit back much harder than what was done to me. I'm sort of an extremist in that way, I either give you all of my best or all of my worst, there's no in-between with me - it's up to you......
Dear Sane Centrist Namaskar. To this reader it appears that you are not suitable to a dualistic relationship with the Absolute. With dualistic relationship is meant seeing yourself, the world and God as 3 seperate things. All you have written refers to the awake-world, i.e., what you see when you are not sleeping. While you are awake you believe it strongly to be true. Yet when you go to sleep and dream, those dreams are just as real to you then as the awake-world is to you right now. And then when you stop dreaming and go into deep sleep you forget all about both worlds, experiencing only peace and rest. This reader mentions this in an effort to show that the awake-world is not as all-in-all as we normally think. You have studied deeply into this awake-world but yet haven't found the peace and bliss which you experience every night in sleep. The latter is only when you have left all that you know and distanced yourself from this awake-world you currently study so thoroughly. Perhaps it is time to start to look into yourself and start a non-dualistic (advaitin) relationship with the God that you can't accept as dualistic. Perhaps when you see the tragedies you have mentioned and instead of asking, "Where is God?", ask "Who is it that feel this way about them?" you will get the answers you have not found on the outside. Peace - Love - Mercy
Sorry, but you are completely delusional. You don't "love everyone." Gimme a break. Nobody does. Every human being makes snap judgements about people. It's how our brains are wired. The only way that you can claim that you don't make snap judgements, is if you can tell me that you're not a human being. Any maybe you are an alien or something. But I doubt it. What you describe is not someone who "loves everybody." Based on your description, you seem a bit bipolar, actually. You either love or hate. That's not really good tho.
Most people do, they just don't realize it, and I'll explain that better a little further down. And how exactly would I be delusional about my own frame of mind or my world view & how I look at things, including people. I can accept & respect you not agreeing with me, but I cannot accept you telling me that I'm delusional or bi-polar just because you say so. That's just a negative reaction because somewhere inside of you my words touched a nerve that resonates strongly enough that caused you to reply with an insult - not mad at you, but I do understand the psychology behind it. Point taken, and point well made, except it's a bit more "nuanced" than that for most (including me). Yes, their have been occasions where & when upon looking at someone or hearing them speak to me for the first time - I instinctively knew right away that we were not going to click very well, and thus far after walking around on this rock for 51 years I haven't been wrong yet, nor has my Spidey-Sense ever let me down. So to your point "yes" we all make "assessments" - but what your failing to realize is my policy (like I stated in the previous post) is to approach "all" with a clean sheet of paper with "no judgments" (unless I get that sense I just wrote about). And "yes", whether you want to believe it or not. I have love in my heart standing by at the ready, and the only way it doesn't come forth is if the person I'm dealing with shows me or gives me the sense that I need to keep it buried. (which is rare) Well over 97% of all my encounters with people are good.........because I'm never cynical, negative, or necessarily looking for the bad in people. I'm not naïve to the fact that there is no shortage of nasty people in the world, but I always choose anyway to approach every encounter ready to give my best. You misread me, and that's probably my fault due to not making my words more clear. When I say that "I love all people", what I simply mean is that: I recognize that we are all in this together, that we are all connected, and that the ridiculous walls of skin color & race are exactly that........ridiculous. I look upon all people as being related to each other, I look upon all people affectionately, I look upon all of us as one huge family, and yes...........I have inside me the "potential" to give all, my best at first blush........unless that person ruins it by being cruel, indifferent, mean spirited, evil, nasty, violent, and/or treacherous towards me first. (this can't be that hard of a concept to grasp) You're right, I am to the extreme in that - I either love you & give you my all, or I completely ignore you, and leave you for dead based on our initial encounter or our encounters over time, but these two emotions of mine aren't bipolar emotions as much as they are "outcomes" from the actions of those I'm dealing with. In other words: You come at me correct - I give you everything including the shirt off my back. (and have done so my whole life) You come at me wrong - you've just made an enemy for life unless you redeem yourself by genuinely being sorry for it, and prove to me that I can trust you. (trust that you ruined by being an @$$-wipe) Actually most people fall into this category, and have this same attitude that I have. Most people that I meet (once they open up & go deep) express to me that their pretty much built the same way. (I'm willing to bet you're built the same way) I'll leave you with this......... I'm galaxies away from perfect, and I have made more mistakes in my life than there are grains of sand on any beach......but I do love my fellow man, and I treat everybody that I meet with the utmost respect & I always give 110% in all of my dealings. I can't explain myself any better than that friend, you'll have to draw your own conclusions from there.
