At one point I thought it was disingenuous, but realized that I took it more seriously than half the people sitting in the pews, who not only didn't believe but were just attending out of family duty. Just be honest about your agnosticism, when you have the opportunity to be of course.
I too...
Thanks for the welcomes, everybody!
Welcome (back) aboard :D
So um, male or female?
Lol, good first question I guess. Male.
"Child of stardust" probably sounded more poetic than "son of stardust" at the time. (Sounds like the name of a character from a bad comic book movie.)
Love doesn't make you weak. For one, to not be able to authentically experience love will make you hated and feared (but not in a good way) by people who can pick up on the lack of it in you. The level of mistrust might not pay off, or even be deserved. But it will still happen.
That is the...
Hard to believe I didn't post at all here during all of 2014!
Anyway, this was and is a great forum and the discussions here were always thought provoking. My views have been changing but if anything that's only strengthened my desire to come back and dig into some of my favourite topics...
I agree in part; they are definitely not the same (hence the solid/liquid/gas analogy). But in my view they are both, nevertheless, real. Actually in my worldview "unreal things" are an absurdity since we cannot really conceive of a void. Even imagining a field of black is seeing something. Our...
Neither do I; not as strict a dichotomy as other people see anyway. Obviously no one disputes that the imagination exists, that we have certain thoughts as human beings that are created by the electrical signals in our brains, but people often underestimate the significance of this fact. A...
The Reformation, from what I can see, seemed to be about getting back to "sola scriptura". But what stands out like a sore thumb is the doctrine of the Trinity. It's not in the Bible (I could be wrong on this, and please correct me if I am but I've never seen any explicit mention of it) and...
Paganism is so diverse I'm sure there are some who don't. But there is less of a need for such a movement in Paganism. Most Pagans (in my experience...if I'm wrong please correct me) I know tend to take a more metaphorical approach to deities (but of course, some Pagans do literally believe in...
It's not at all surprising, since water is the giver of life. Springs and fountains have always held sacred significance for me personally. The symbolism of renewal, eternity (the spring is always giving birth), and Origin speaks to me.
Yes, that's exactly right. Most men are not like this, because this is not an innate part of masculinity. I'm just talking about the "alpha males" who pressure men into taking stupid risks, not most men. But they sure like to feel they speak for most men. Universal generalizations (all men are...
Though I am not Left Hand Path, I understand this dichotomy; it epitomizes my own spiritual jounrney. I'm drawn to rituals, mythologies, spirtual experiences, etc., but am also a pretty rational person. I'm too rational to believe in the literal existenec of god(s) deep down, though on the...
Quite possibly. Though it would seem as if it would still punish them less than those who still did wrong, but had enough goodness in them to hate the fact they did it.
It's an interesting thought nonetheless - we see microcosms of this playing out in everyday life. The greatest punishments...
I really like that quote, and think there is great wisdom in it (though I don't believe in a literal hell). But doesn't that mean that only those who have goodness and sensitivity in their souls, deep down, can experience hell? The worst of people might harm others all day long and not feel a...
Hi, I tried searching for this topic, assuming it had been asked before on this forum, but the only threads I could find of this kind were from other Muslim forums. Please forgive me if it has come up before! :)
I know this may seem odd for a non-Muslim to be asking this question, but although...
I think you can do things that help encourage them (like turning the sails in the direction where the wind is blowing, though the wind still needs to be blowing for the boat to move), but I've never tried to have a mystical experience consciously, personally. I can't make one come. When they've...
Good point. I agree this is probably not a very good idea. I know Steven Pinker is part of *that* group of people, which includes Sam Harris (I see them as a bit of a circle jerk, to be honest, and I think they let their presuppositions get in the way a little too much... like they are starting...
I'm sorry that it needed to be you who unleashed this rant, but this is a bit of a peeve of mine. I really don't understand. Why does a man need to "feel like a man" at all? Isn't a man something someone just is? There is nothing wrong with being feminine if you're a woman. What shame is it...
Exactly. Evolution is only concerned with one thing: pragmatism. Whether that pragmatism is "moral" or not is of no concern to it. That means horrible things happen in nature, and very positive and uplifting things are a part of it too. Indeed, the "moral urge" itself evolved because it was an...