Does Religion Alter or Destroy the Human Spirit?

[ranjana]

Interesting. That explains why the pasta you made could best be described as "oil on canvas."

ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!:clap

 

[Heneni]

How could they not be?
Every thing that is created comes into reality as it is severed or broken away from something or everything else. The fragmentation of the Universe begins with I AM. It is an act of both creation and destruction, much like hacking chips off a block of marble might create an aesthetically pleasing sculpture (and a not-so-aesthetically-pleasing pile of stone chips).

Hmmm...interesting concept. I see the natural creation (the universe) as an expression of god (I AM), and not as fragments of the I AM. And so god fills everything everywhere with himself, in the sense that he experesses himself through it. But the creation is not god. Its not even a fragment of god. Its an expression of god. He said let there be light. Light being a natural expression of his own being of light. But lightwaves is not god. God created man in his image. We are not THE god creator, but he has expressed himself in our form.

God seperates himself from the creation by warning us not to worship the creation but rather the creator. The creation is an expression of the creator, but it is not the creator.

The wrath and judgement of god are both aspects of god which he expresses by the events ushered in by the bowls, the trumpets and the seals. The sea and the winds and waves are all at his command. If they were I am, in other words if the creation was I am, then god would be commanding himself.

And if i was I AM, then i the creation can command the creation. But i cannot command creation. Therefore i am the creation, not the creator.

The natural man can rule and dominate over creation, but i cannot create.



heneni

 

[doppelganger]

I see the natural creation (the universe) as an expression of god (I AM), and not as fragments of the I AM.

I AM is also but a fragment. The tao that is spoken is not the Eternal Tao. "God" is ineffable, especially to itself.

God seperates himself from the creation by warning us not to worship the creation but rather the creator.

"God" separates "himself" from creation by assuming a form or identity.

And if i was I AM, then i the creation can command the creation. But i cannot command creation.

You've traded your inheritance for bowl of gruel, perhaps.

 

[Heneni]

I AM is also but a fragment. The tao that is spoken is not the Eternal Tao. "God" is ineffable, especially to itself.

"God" separates "himself" from creation by assuming a form or identity.

You've traded your inheritance for bowl of gruel, perhaps.

My spirit is capable of doing what my natural person cannot do. So i would not be so sure about that trade.....


Heneni

 

[doppelganger]

My spirit is capable of doing what my natural person cannot do. So i would not be so sure about that trade.....

It's all a "pocketful of mumbles." Such are promises.

 

[Heneni]

It's all a "pocketful of mumbles." Such are promises.

Yes, philosophy, religion, science, all mumbles and promises us a way to a pocketful of promises.

But can it destroy the spirit?

 

[doppelganger]

Yes, philosophy, religion, science, all mumbles and promises us a way to a pocketful of promises.

But can it destroy the spirit?

Yes - as it creates the spirit. Every coming is a going.

 

[Prominence]

Isnt what you say about the I AM a perception too? How do you know that its not a destructive perception or thought?

Because it is the foundation of consciousness and Perception. It is the pure state of mind and The Open Door that No Man can shut. Anyone who Meditates on the I AM within will prove its Transcendent value to themselves. Those who choose not to Meditate on the I AM will fail to realize its Truths. Until one does this their view of it will remain completely subjective.


Until one has entered the Godhead they do not know how to command from the Godhead. And the ONLY way into the Godhead is through LOVE-the Great Initiator. Meditating on the I AM helps.
There is no beginning nor is there an end, there is only now and a constant exchange of energy. The Details you seek are not in the Fabric, but are the entirety of the Blanket.
And if there is life beyond the physical body, surely you become appart of everything. God is more like a sun and we are it's rays.

 

[gnomon]

It's all a "pocketful of mumbles." Such are promises.

Li la li.........

edit: sorry, couldn't help myself

 

[stacey bo bacey]

Do religions alter or destroy the human spirit? If people were free of religion would they excel more, accomplish more, achieve more, and be happier? Why or why not?

Not always but they can. Speaking only from my experience when I was Catholic, I would get very down on myself when I committed a "sin." Sometimes I would even feel awful about myself and worry about my soul. There were many times when I would be consumed with the thought of whether I was going to heaven or hell. Looking back I can see how that was detrimental to my physical, spiritual and emotional health.

That is just how I was, though. However, I know there must be others out there who react the same way when they sin. They feel guilty and worry (unnecessarily so, in my current opinion) about their afterlife.

And I'm sorry, I wish I could be diplomatic here but...religion solves nothing in my very humble opinion. I don't necessarily think those who are religious excel less, achieve less or are less happy, though.

 

[Heneni]

Because it is the foundation of consciousness and Perception. It is the pure state of mind and The Open Door that No Man can shut.

Where is this door? Is it the mind?

Anyone who Meditates on the I AM within will prove its Transcendent value to themselves. Those who choose not to Meditate on the I AM will fail to realize its Truths. Until one does this their view of it will remain completely subjective.

Anyone looking for a mystical experience even depending on it and eventually becomes reliant on it, is not free. A door that no man can shut is sounding more like a prison that no one can get out of.

Until one has entered the Godhead they do not know how to command from the Godhead. And the ONLY way into the Godhead is through LOVE-the Great Initiator. Meditating on the I AM helps.

Why would anybody want power. Any man with power has the ability to corrupt whatever it commands, even corrupt itself.

There is no beginning nor is there an end, there is only now and a constant exchange of energy.

By the time you read this message this moment, this now moment im using to write this message, would be in the past. So this moment (for me) will be in the past by the time you read this. This message is in your now, while its in my past.

The Details you seek are not in the Fabric, but are the entirety of the Blanket.

The details i seek does not lie within the here and now. It is rooted in the everlasting.

And if there is life beyond the physical body, surely you become appart of everything. God is more like a sun and we are it's rays.

There is a spiritual being in this physical body. Not beyond it. They both exist simultaneously. If god is the sun and we are its rays...then we are 8 minutes late, and not living in the now of the sun. We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience. We have existed from the moment we were created.



Heneni

 

[Prominence]

Where is this door? Is it the mind?


Anyone looking for a mystical experience even depending on it and eventually becomes reliant on it, is not free. A door that no man can shut is sounding more like a prison that no one can get out of.


Why would anybody want power. Any man with power has the ability to corrupt whatever it commands, even corrupt itself.



By the time you read this message this moment, this now moment im using to write this message, would be in the past. So this moment (for me) will be in the past by the time you read this. This message is in your now, while its in my past.


The details i seek does not lie within the here and now. It is rooted in the everlasting.


There is a spiritual being in this physical body. Not beyond it. They both exist simultaneously. If god is the sun and we are its rays...then we are 8 minutes late, and not living in the now of the sun. We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience. We have existed from the moment we were created.



Heneni

Do you respond to everything out of sense of ridiculousness?

 

[Heneni]

Do you respond to everything out of sense of ridiculousness?

Your just like the fanatics and the fundamentalists. Your no better than a bully. Ive seen your type come and go. Usually it takes a while to go.

Your idea of god being in all of us...is rooted in falsehood. You can just as well tell a little girl raped by her uncle or a boy sodomised by his father that god is in their abuser.

You need help. And it aint going to come from a tree.

I AM...is not you. And you are not I AM. You are on the wrong side of the fence my dear ..... i think you are bordering on the rediculous. In fact i think you are rediculous.

So while you are trenscending and having your spiritual experiences and cutting god out of this story...dont expect everybody to fall over and play dead.

Have a nice day. :seesaw:

 

[Alla Prima]

Your idea of god being in all of us...is rooted in falsehood. You can just as well tell a little girl raped by her uncle or a boy sodomised by his father that god is in their abuser.

Even the most vile among us is redeemable. How could this be if there wasn't something within all of us that is good.

 

[Scott C.]

Do religions alter or destroy the human spirit? If people were free of religion would they excel more, accomplish more, achieve more, and be happier? Why or why not?

The more truth a person has, the better off he is. It's really no more complicated than that.

 

[lilithu]

(1) Religion is divisive; the Abrahamic religions are especially divisive and prone to violence.

Not confined to religion.

(2) Organized religion tends to be obsessed with and -- when successful -- corrupted by power and privilege.

Not confined to religion.

(3) Thinking you already know the truth closes you off to evidence and the potential for learning and growth

Not confined to religion

(4) If there is a god, there's a good chance that the divine mystery is too great to be described by religious teaching, and if that's the case, then religious teaching is almost necessarily false.

That's like saying that since science can't explain everything, it is almost necessarily false.

(5) Religion undermines morality. As Russell said, clergymen condemn acts which cause no harm, and condone acts which cause great harm.

Yeah, when you only pay attention to the times when they do that and completely ignore the times when they do the opposite, it will seem that way.

 

[lilithu]

"Do religions alter or destroy the human spirit?"

I am surprised by your question here. I could point out many posts within RF that demonstrate how religion has twisted a person's common sense and warped sensible morality. I have seen religion confuse and bewilder the reasonable minded and make a madman out of the weaker minds.

And you wonder why I think you're hostile to faith.

I'm not surprised by the OP's question. People tend to phrase questions in the positive. That is, they phrase the question with the expectation or desire that the answer is "yes."

 

[Alla Prima]

The more truth a person has, the better off he is. It's really no more complicated than that.

The problem with that is there are so many truths. People seem to get upset about that.

 

[Sunstone]

Not confined to religion.


Not confined to religion.


Not confined to religion

I'm not sure what your point is here, but the notion that, because religion is not the only cause of an evil, it is somehow excused from being responsible for the evil it does cause, makes about as much sense as the notion that because Smith isn't the only man to have ever shot someone to death, he is somehow to be excused from having shot someone to death.

 

[Alla Prima]

I'm not sure what your point is here, but the notion that, because religion is not the only cause of an evil, it is somehow excused from being responsible for the evil it does cause, makes about as much sense as the notion that because Smith isn't the only man to have ever shot someone to death, he is somehow to be excused from having shot someone to death.

Good answer. I get that kind of thinking all the time whenever I talk about the ills of Islam. Christianity is pointed to as being just as bad as if that excuses Islam of all it's unpleasantness.