Is your religion's scripture a burden to you?

[icehorse]

I'm a spiritual, but non-religious person. I find inspiration from good people, nature, the arts, and so on. I think the source of morality is somewhat innate and somewhat from culture and society.

I can find some value in Abrahamic scripture.There are some nice messages in there (e.g. "turn the other cheek", "do unto others..."). I can also see how scripture was initially used to help support the societies of the day (e.g. "here are the healthiest ways we know to slaughter animals").

But mostly when I read the Abrahamic scripture, I find it to be more trouble than it's worth. It's easy to attack. It requires mental gymnastics to defend. You have to do extensive cherry picking to get it to fit into modern society. (And, I'll contend that you do that cherry picking by using the morality that's already in you .)

So that's how it seems to me... Do you find your scripture to be a burden?

 

[Sha'irullah]

"turn the other cheek"

Funny that is what I tell people when I am angry so I can hit them on the other side of their faces

"do unto others..."

...all that is evil.

Joking aside I find it worrisome to some degree but another issue is that I have no religious text since my default Deistic mindset finds no value in any scripture when read in an absolutist manner. My favorite scripture would be the Qur'an which I believe has the highest amount of "truthful nuggets" and has given me many theogasms when diving into it's message in an analytical manner. I just find it bothersome when people think that scripture is divinely inspired when in reality it is divinely speculated.

 

[metis]

I'm a spiritual, but non-religious person. I find inspiration from good people, nature, the arts, and so on. I think the source of morality is somewhat innate and somewhat from culture and society.

I can find some value in Abrahamic scripture.There are some nice messages in there (e.g. "turn the other cheek", "do unto others..."). I can also see how scripture was initially used to help support the societies of the day (e.g. "here are the healthiest ways we know to slaughter animals").

But mostly when I read the Abrahamic scripture, I find it to be more trouble than it's worth. It's easy to attack. It requires mental gymnastics to defend. You have to do extensive cherry picking to get it to fit into modern society. (And, I'll contend that you do that cherry picking by using the morality that's already in you .)

So that's how it seems to me... Do you find your scripture to be a burden?

For us, we start with Torah, but there's a saying that we have that says that "the Torah is not in heaven". IOW, it helps to set up the paradigm we work from here on Earth.

And when we look at Judaism in this context, we are actually people of the Talmud than of the Torah, although the former does not contradict the latter. It's the Talmud that helps us with understanding scripture better and helping us with application, and it also has helped to take many of the "sharp edges" off of a literal application of Torah.

 

[Tarheeler]

For us, we start with Torah, but there's a saying that we have that says that "the Torah is not in heaven". IOW, it helps to set up the paradigm we work from here on Earth.

And when we look at Judaism in this context, we are actually people of the Talmud than of the Torah, although the former does not contradict the latter. It's the Talmud that helps us with understanding scripture better and helping us with application, and it also has helped to take many of the "sharp edges" off of a literal application of Torah.

Yeah, what he said.

 

[Vinayaka]

So that's how it seems to me... Do you find your scripture to be a burden?

No, other than if I grabbed it all, it would weigh more than a blue whale. That would be a burden.

 

[Nerthus]

No, I absolutely love my scriptures!
I find they for into daily life easily and everything I do can be related back to them.

I love studying scripture and love how it can take some effort at times to understand, whilst over times it's so clear. Just like life.

 

[Amechania]

Scriptures are just love letters, from people to God and from God to people. If you tried to live your life by what was in a love letter you would start feeling all guilty and become resentful. But if you lived your life on your own terms and read your love letters once in a while when you were feeling down, I imagine they would probably be pretty useful.

 

[Sha'irullah]

Scriptures are just love letters, from people to God and from God to people. If you tried to live your life by what was in a love letter you would start feeling all guilty and become resentful. But if you lived your life on your own terms and read your love letters once in a while when you were feeling down, I imagine they would probably be pretty useful.

Very insightful words although I would have refrained from using certain phrases . Have you ever thought that perhaps you are theosexual?

 

[Sees]

Very insightful words although I would have refrained from using certain phrases . Have you ever thought that perhaps you are theosexual?

I am at times and I consider my wife a demi-Goddess

 

[Sha'irullah]

I am at times and I consider my wife a demi-Goddess

Wow, I should really try to understand sexual people more often because I seriously just look at sexuality and mock it. Main reason I have issues with the whole pagan thing is the amount of sexuality present in it. I am not going to lie and say I have not felt anything erotic between god and man but I think eroticism is a good thing. The issue is that I find computers and religion erotic instead of people

 

[CynthiaCypher]

Sometimes my religion's scriptures can seem burdensome when I struggle to understand them, but when I receive insight they are no longer are burden but become uplifting.

 

[Quintessence]

Well, the closest equivalent my religion has to "scripture" is either a library or my Book of Shadows. My Book of Shadows I write myself, so if sections of them are troublesome, I scrap them and rewrite them. And libraries? Libraries are practically like cathedrals/mosques/temples to me: sacred and holy ground. Especially large academic collections.

 

[CynthiaCypher]

Very insightful words although I would have refrained from using certain phrases . Have you ever thought that perhaps you are theosexual?

A good portion of my religion is theosexual, in fact I doubt it would exist without that element.

 

[Quintessence]

Theo-what-now?

The Quintessence is confused by this term. Someone enlighten me before I hurt my brain somehow.

 

[Sha'irullah]

Theo-what-now?

The Quintessence is confused by this term. Someone enlighten me before I hurt my brain somehow.

Theosexual means sexual love towards god and it sums up my experience to a certain degree along with many others although I prefer the term theoeroticism.
Common traits amongst theosexuals are spiritual intercourse, metaphysical cuddling and supernatural smooching .

I just blew your mind away didn't I?

 

[CynthiaCypher]

Theo-what-now?

The Quintessence is confused by this term. Someone enlighten me before I hurt my brain somehow.

Theoeroticism is a common element in the more mystical strains of religion. Especially in Mystical Christianity where the Savior is depicted as the bridegroom.

 

[Sees]

Wow, I should really try to understand sexual people more often because I seriously just look at sexuality and mock it. Main reason I have issues with the whole pagan thing is the amount of sexuality present in it. I am not going to lie and say I have not felt anything erotic between god and man but I think eroticism is a good thing. The issue is that I find computers and religion erotic instead of people

A lot of the sexing and killing in mythology is allegory concerning transformation and evolution. Same time a common thread in paganisms is our world, life, bodies being blessed and the Divine being fully immanent. Sex is no more sinful than any other natural function, if there is any concept of sin....yet can be much, much greater than most. To accept who we are and beautifully express and share it - is something some religionists are withheld from.

 

[Sha'irullah]

A lot of the sexing and killing in mythology is allegory concerning transformation and evolution. Same time a common thread in paganisms is our world, life, bodies being blessed and the Divine being fully immanent. Sex is no more sinful than any other natural function, if there is any concept of sin....yet can be much, much greater than most. To accept who we are and beautifully express and share it - is something some religionists are withheld from.

I know this perfectly well. One of my biggest amusements is how crop fertility is linked to sexual fertility. Almost all Semitic fertility gods such as Ishtar or Inanna are goddesses of both crops and sex

 

[Aupmanyav]

@ Sterling Archer: Are pagans only theosexual or Christianity and Islam too? Yes, you are very correct. A lot is connected with Mother Earth, crops and fertility. What about hunting?

No, other than if I grabbed it all, it would weigh more than a blue whale. That would be a burden.

I would like to grab them all even if they weigh more than a blue whale. Stupendous, divine (what a strange word for an atheist to use, that is what I am).

 

[Sha'irullah]

Scripture is only a burden if you apply it to matters it is not relevant to. A good example is morality, much like Nietzsche the morality of scripture is nil because it dos not answer everything. Apply scripture to what it is worth at face value. I for example enjoy the Qur'an more than any other scripture but I know it is not divine revelation but instead divine speculation. It answers metaphysical, theological and cosmological questions but it should not be applied elsewhere outside of the realms it has been objectively refuted.

Usage of scripture is more about application than absolutism. Keep it sweet, keep it simple, and keep it reasonable