Atheists and Agnostics - you're missing all the fun!!

[Alceste]

Who says I'm not in tune with the spiritual side of life? You can be spiritual just fine without believing in fairy tales. I saw / heard loons today in the ocean and it made my day.

 

[Cordoba]

There are many spiritual paths in life

Choosing the right path for peace in this life and the Hereafter is what we should be looking for ...

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Some believers said many centuries ago:

If other people knew what we have (i.e. the level of our happiness and inner peace), they would have fought against us to know our secret

Inner peace is indeed Paradise on earth, and that is what many people miss in life ...

If more people focused on their own inner peace, rather than attempting to force others to comply with their own personal ideas of peace, then all of earth may be more of a paradise for all than just a few.

 

[Cordoba]

True

And you can't force belief on others because God gave us free will to believe or disbelieve, and belief comes from within

Belief in God and following His Guidance leads to inner peace in this life and to be admitted to the Abode of Peace (Heaven) in the Hereafter

Why miss all this peace?

 

[jonman122]

True

And you can't force belief on others because God gave us free will to believe or disbelieve, and belief comes from within

Belief in God and following His Guidance leads to inner peace in this life and to be admitted to the Abode of Peace (Heaven) in the Hereafter

Why miss all this peace?

But what is inner peace to you in this instance? Is it just having a belief in God, or actually being at peace with what you believe and understand?

Having inner peace may come easier with a belief in God, but I wouldn't say that only the religious will attain it for themselves. Anyone who truly tries to become at peace with themselves will succeed, but being at peace doesn't mean we must suddenly stop looking for answers to the questions of the universe, to me it just means you're not at odds with your own perception of our existence.

To bring up one of the scariest moments of my childhood, Total Recall style:

"Quade, Open your mind..."

 

[Cordoba]

Non-religious people searching for the truth can experience inner peace, but does it always last?

And if it lasts in this life, what will happen in the next?

But what is inner peace to you in this instance? Is it just having a belief in God, or actually being at peace with what you believe and understand?

Belief in God and following His Guidance leads to real inner peace in my personal experience, and it has many components, including the following:

1- Being in peace with others

2- Being in peace with one's life, i.e. being content with what we have

3- Having the peace of mind, being convinced of the Truth God has revealed

4- Being in peace with the whole world, and the whole universe

 

[jonman122]

Non-religious people searching for the truth can experience inner peace, but does it always last?

And if it lasts in this life, what will happen in the next?



Belief in God and following His Guidance leads to real inner peace in my personal experience, and it has many components, including the following:

1- Being in peace with others

2- Being in peace with one's life, i.e. being content with what we have

3- Having the peace of mind, being convinced of the Truth God has revealed

4- Being in peace with the whole world, and the whole universe

This is pretty much exactly what I would have said, but I'd take one tiny piece of that away, because it just seems like it's extra and unnecessary when I see it:


1- Being in peace with others

2- Being in peace with one's life, i.e. being content with what we have

3- Having peace of mind

4- Being in peace with the whole world, and the whole universe

I don't see why God has to be a barrier to inner peace or self-enlightenment, it's about trying to be at peace with oneself and if you just throw yourself at the mercy of God because other people tell you it will bring you inner peace when you don't really believe, it will bring nothing but turmoil to your mind. Taking God out of the requirement for peace makes it achievable for all people, rather than just a select few and with my experience it is indeed achievable without a belief in God.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Non-religious people searching for the truth can experience inner peace, but does it always last?

I would hope nobody nitpicks and argues your statements, as your statements seem to show a very good understanding of the Qur'an based on my understanding of it, Islamic culture and history, and so on, but then again many people are not content with simply agreeing with what should be agreed with.
Overall, I would have to say that, especially historically, Islam has seemed to do a wonderful job at being tolerant of those of other religions and faiths. Of course collectively speaking there is no one perfect group as every group has it's monsters, but then again most people only know of the "dark ages" of the Christian Medieval Europe and are oblivious to the flourishing Islamic empire that was going on about during the same time. It's kinda hard to blame religion for all the worlds hardship when one religion was discovering bacterial infections and developing our modern concept of hospitals and universities while another was burning people at the stake for being left-handed.

 

[Alceste]

This is pretty much exactly what I would have said, but I'd take one tiny piece of that away, because it just seems like it's extra and unnecessary when I see it:


1- Being in peace with others

2- Being in peace with one's life, i.e. being content with what we have

3- Having peace of mind

4- Being in peace with the whole world, and the whole universe

I don't see why God has to be a barrier to inner peace or self-enlightenment, it's about trying to be at peace with oneself and if you just throw yourself at the mercy of God because other people tell you it will bring you inner peace when you don't really believe, it will bring nothing but turmoil to your mind. Taking God out of the requirement for peace makes it achievable for all people, rather than just a select few and with my experience it is indeed achievable without a belief in God.

Mine too. I've got too much inner peace, to be honest. I'd be making more money if I worried about money, for example. I'd get more done in a day if I was not so content just to lie around in bed until noon with a good book. I'd get sucked into fewer community projects and committees if I was not as easy to get along with. I would also be in better physical shape if I cared what I look like, and would probably find a way to arrange to live longer by healthier habits if I feared death.

This inner peace business is a mixed bag.

 

[Cordoba]

This is pretty much exactly what I would have said, but I'd take one tiny piece of that away, because it just seems like it's extra and unnecessary when I see it:


1- Being in peace with others

2- Being in peace with one's life, i.e. being content with what we have

3- Having peace of mind

4- Being in peace with the whole world, and the whole universe

I don't see why God has to be a barrier to inner peace or self-enlightenment, it's about trying to be at peace with oneself and if you just throw yourself at the mercy of God because other people tell you it will bring you inner peace when you don't really believe, it will bring nothing but turmoil to your mind. Taking God out of the requirement for peace makes it achievable for all people, rather than just a select few and with my experience it is indeed achievable without a belief in God.

If you consider that all what there is for us as human beings are the 70 or 90 years we live in this world, you may be right

But if this life is only one of the phases we go through (like the 9 months of the phase of pregnancy a child goes through before coming out to the world), then the matter is different.

Having the peace of mind by (being convinced of the Truth God has revealed) is the ultimate stage of the peace of mind for a believer in God, because one knows what will happen after this life ends, which is moving to the next life, and one is ready for it, or at least doing one's best to be admitted to Heaven, by God's Mercy.

In the opposite case, could one really find the true peace of mind knowing that what will follow this life will not be a life of peace?

 

[Alceste]

If you consider that all what there is for us as human beings are the 70 or 90 years we live in this world, you may be right

But if this life is only one of the phases we go through (like the 9 months of the phase of pregnancy a child goes through before coming out to the world), then the matter is different.

Having the peace of mind by (being convinced of the Truth God has revealed) is the ultimate stage of the peace of mind for a believer in God, because one knows what will happen after this life ends, which is moving to the next life, and one is ready for it, or at least doing one's best to be admitted to Heaven, by God's Mercy.

In the opposite case, could one really find the true peace of mind knowing that what will follow this life will not be a life of peace?

IMO, one can never find genuine peace of mind if they're bent on trying to figure out what happens to you after you're dead. False comfort, maybe. Peace of mind, no.

 

[Cordoba]

No one knows for sure what will happen after death, that's true

But a believer is convinced (heart and mind) that God exists, and convinced that what God informed us is true, that Heaven which follows this life exists for those who follow His Guidance. And this is indeed a source of inner peace.

One doesn't worry too much about old age and its problems, because it is a short transition followed by a better eternal life, God willing

 

[jonman122]

No one knows for sure what will happen after death, that's true

But a believer is convinced (heart and mind) that God exists, and convinced that what God informed us is true, that Heaven which follows this life exists for those who follow His Guidance. And this is indeed a source of inner peace.

One doesn't worry too much about old age and its problems, because it is a short transition followed by a better eternal life, God willing

I don't know what will happen when I die, but I'm also not going to worry about it because it's inevitable. I will die and no matter what occurs, I will make sure that I'm content with what I've done. Not knowing what will happen and not having faith that I will be brought to heaven doesn't make it less peaceful, it just makes it that much more of an adventure if there is some kind of experience after death. If not, then I've done all I need to in the one life I'm given.

 

[Cordoba]

Lets hope it's a happy adventure

And one of lasting peace

 

[Alceste]

No one knows for sure what will happen after death, that's true

But a believer is convinced (heart and mind) that God exists, and convinced that what God informed us is true, that Heaven which follows this life exists for those who follow His Guidance. And this is indeed a source of inner peace.

One doesn't worry too much about old age and its problems, because it is a short transition followed by a better eternal life, God willing

Seems to me that is only going to be a source of peace if you were worried about aging and death to begin with. I never was. My peace with death, having never been disturbed to begin with, could not be improved by pretending I'm going to live forever if I believe in fairy tales.

 

[Cordoba]

But it's not "fairy tales"

For a believer it is the Truth



Peace and all the best

 

[Sunstone]

I agree that many atheists and agnostics live meaningful pleasant lives, I just think there is more out there, and that anyone who closes their eyes to the spiritual is missing out on quite a chunk of what life is all about.

According to Jerry Falwell, "spiritual" is a word religious and other people often enough use to describe the movement of their intestinal gas after a heavy meal. So, I'm wondering what is your own understanding of what that word means? And how would you demonstrate to a fair minded audience that what you describe as "spiritual" exists?

 

[chinu]

Pig to another pig; you are missing all the fun which is in my garden ?

Another asked; is there a lot of dirt there to enjoy ? said yes.

 

[HonestJoe]

For some reason, I felt impressed to get online to ruffle up some non-believers. Don't worry, I'm not going to condemn you to hell or anything, but I will say that you're beliefs are causing you to miss out on a lot of fun in life... to me, not seeing the spiritual side of life is like playing in the mud when you could be a few feet over enjoying a beautiful beach, or like living outside in a garden shed, when you could be living inside/enjoying your very own mansion. Just so you know (and I've been on both sides of it) life is better over here on the theist side of the fence. (and I am not telling anyone which spiritual group to join, so this should not be breaking any rules here).

What makes you think someone can't be spiritual without believing in a god?

What makes you think someone can't see and enjoy all aspects of existence without believing in a god?

What makes you think your failure to make non-belief work reflects on any other non-believers?

 

[AmbiguousGuy]

Theistic beliefs give rise to grander goals, and higher Meaning and Purposes - ie - the salvation of all mankind, present and past - the promise of eternal life, everyone becoming perfected etc. etc. nothing else compares to that.

If you want to take your Truth from a Book, believing that there was some man once who actually channeled the words of God, that's your decisions. I can see how it might be satisfying.

But others can't be happy with the sort of confusion which the embrace of Absolute Truth causes in one's thinking. Believers fear questions. It's why I'm not a believer. I couldn't go through life afraid to think uncomfortable thoughts.