I really want to get far away from Christianity. It's one of the few religions I think is truthfully toxic and evil. Sorry for the polemical tone, but being Christian was the most stressful thing I've ever lived through.
Full disclosure (and to once again address a lot of the question here), I am looking for a group. I was raised Unitarian Universalist, but the only problem I have with them nowadays is just that I believe in God whereas most of my UU friends do not. Nothing wrong with that, but I'm looking for a...
I guess I'll respond a bit more now! Gonna try to knock out a lot in one response.
I'm looking for a religion, not spirituality. My reasoning is that I want to join a religion that will help me get close to God, while also not betraying my own beliefs about God, as outlined in the original...
I'm a former fundamentalist Christian who deconverted because of issues that relate specifically to Christianity: an eternal Hell, lack of evidence for the resurrection, the trinity not making sense, rigidness and conspiracies, and so on. I believe in one God, who is completely perfect in every...
I do, but I personally don't care a huge amount. In my opinion, Right View is less important than the other seven steps of the Eight-Fold Path together. It's more important to live well in this life than place your bets on future ones.
My personal view:
Buddhist: One who intellectually agrees with the Four Noble Truths, Eight-Fold Path, Three Marks of Existence, etc.
Devout Buddhist: One who actively follows the Dharma.
Morals are subjectively objective and objectively subjective.
However, it can objectively be said that some actions cause more suffering than others. Murdering a man, for example, is far more harmful than masturbating.
Many Buddhists will disagree since Buddhism entails a sleuth of different beliefs, but I don't think the dead can be contacted. If they could, that would imply an enduring self, which would totally contradict anatman (no-self) and anitya (impermanence), two concepts fundamental to the Dharma.
Many theists would use Aquinas' argument that the universe needs a contingent being, an Unmoved Mover, their God. Hence, their logical progression would end at God.
I'm not saying God is possible, I'm just saying I can see why someone would think so.
Being all-powerful, God looked into the future and saw his son getting nailed by a bunch of guys. That's why he's uncomfortable with homosexuality. Come on, have a bit of sympathy for the guy. Making the universe is a lot of work.
(Sorry if the joke offends anyone)
If I'm not mistaken, atheistic Satanists don't profess a belief in Satan as a spiritual being, but make use of the morals his rebellious nature proposes.
Well, the concept of God makes sense in theory. Sandwiches exist. We make sandwiches. The universe exists, so someone must have made that too. I know that's not how it works in reality (I'm an atheist myself), but I can see why one would think the universe needs a designer.
It is simply that atheism is not a faith, but a lack thereof. Disbelieving implies that someone knows a concept to be true, but still rejects it. Your non-belief in Christianity, for example, is just that; non-belief. If you had proof that Christianity was true and didn't believe it, it'd be...
No, I don't look forward to death. Dying will be pretty painful, and I like life. But, someday, death will come. I've accepted it and moved on.
You're an interesting guy, Nietzsche. What are your hobbies? I'm curious.