It's actually not oxymoronic, but paradoxical. It's apparently contradictory ideas, yet ironically true nonetheless. And that's the point. That's what Becker was pointing to in that ironic statement that humans are gods with anuses. Human have both our biological selves, and our higher cultural...
Oh but we also resemble the gods. We aren't one or the other. We are both. In the words of Ernest Becker, "Humans are gods with anuses". Or put another way, "we are gods who take a ****".
Personally, I think we have certain defects that make us inferior animals in many ways, such as thinking we are superior to all the other animals, or worse, not acknowledging we are animals at all, which is the height of our human arrogance.
Quite easily. I'll answer with a rhetorical question...
Aren't non-human creatures which clearly demonstrate the capacity to know, to experience, and to demonstrate love also connected with the Divine as well as humans?
I believe all of creation includes that connection. Don't you?
I like the way Paul Tillich termed religion as one's "Ultimate Concern". In this sense what you say is correct. Even the atheist has something that they place as their ultimate concern. I throw into this also and say that "God" is one's view of Ultimate Reality, and everyone has a view of that...
You've intrigued me. You're touching on some depths of insights and wisdom through experience I can hear here. It has a practical reality for you.
All too often we encounter the phenomenon of the "true believer", or what I call believerism, which is nothing more than a rote doctrinal allegiance...
I don't know that most people on RF are atheists. I think it's a good mix. There are plenty that are part of other religions as well. I meant, somewhat tongue in cheek that among the "bible experts" you'll find that a sizeable portion of those are atheists. That's due in no small part to them...
Now that we've identified that there are those who do want a world war to usher in the 2nd coming of Jesus, and they do really exist and exert influence upon policy makers, I'd say that takes a lark of a thread and makes it actually relevant. The end of the world for them, means streets of gold...
Who doesn't stay in that lane is those who elevate science as the answer for everything. That was what and who I was referring to when I said, "And you don't think those who view science as the ultimate arbiter of truth are guilty of trespassing into the domain of religion, and make assertions...
There is a ton to unpack in that statement, "The limits of my language means the limits of my world". We start with the basic understanding that all understandings of reality are a mediated affair. Everything we conceive about reality, and our experience of reality, is filtered through both our...
Name anything I say that I haven't offered support for? Unevidenced, my butt. I provide you supporting links, you don't appear to look at them, in that you never specifically challenge anything from them, or offer evidence that you actually understand my position (that to me is very much...
Well, yes. When you narrowly define a word to mean only what you allow it to mean, then of course your perspective will always be right. However, I don't see your definitions of words like truth, religion, faith, and so forth to match reality in the complex seascape of human realities...
What conspiracy. It's in their own writings from the Heritage Foundation. This isn't making this up. Did you read the article, or just simply knee-jerk?
A coalition of far-right groups, led by the Heritage Foundation, is planning for the next Republican administration. Project 2025 has received...