Values and religion

[VoidCat]

I wasnt sure how to word this question. It popped im my mind reading another thread. Took me a minute to figure out how to word it. But what values and questions lead you to the belief system you have? And what values/questions being answered in your religion are cornerstone for you? Like if someone were to argue against your religion or lack of what would they have to keep in mind

 

[JustGeorge]

Why?

(I mean, that's the question and value.)

 

[The Hammer]

But what values and questions lead you to the belief system you have?

The view that humanity and the natural world are One.

And what values/questions being answered in your religion are cornerstone for you?

Plurality , tolerance

 

[syo]

if someone were to argue against your religion

Everyone I know argues against my religion. I got used to it, so...

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I wasnt sure how to word this question. It popped im my mind reading another thread. Took me a minute to figure out how to word it. But what values and questions lead you to the belief system you have?

How do I make the most of this one and only life that I get?

And what values/questions being answered in your religion are cornerstone for you?

The best way to win at life, I find, is to realize that everything's good as it is.

Like if someone were to argue against your religion or lack of what would they have to keep in mind

I rarely debate the inconsequential stuff like God or determinism or pantheism anymore, those debates never get anywhere.

 

[Aupmanyav]

In one word "Dharma" (One's duty).

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

How to deal with the existential absurdity of being a human.

 

[Nakosis]

I wasnt sure how to word this question. It popped im my mind reading another thread. Took me a minute to figure out how to word it. But what values and questions lead you to the belief system you have? And what values/questions being answered in your religion are cornerstone for you? Like if someone were to argue against your religion or lack of what would they have to keep in mind

I suspect my values may be difficult to logically/rationally justify.
I like what I like and dislike what I don't. A lot of subconscious factors goes into this.
However I attribute my lack of a God belief to these values.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Values: Dharma (duties, morals, ethics, conduct, virtues)

Questions: Are my experiences unique? Is my understanding of them valid?

 

[Guitar's Cry]

A love of nature and an intense curiosity for peering beyond the veil.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Values: Dharma (duties, morals, ethics, conduct, virtues)
Questions: Are my experiences unique? Is my understanding of them valid?

Will depend on the person to whom you put the question. It is OK for me, but do you subscribe to a God?

 

[SalixIncendium]

Will depend on the person to whom you put the question. It is OK for me, but do you subscribe to a God?

I have no personal gods. From my perspective, gods are irrelevant.

 

[Aupmanyav]

I have no personal gods. From my perspective, gods are irrelevant.

Ah, you believe in an impersonal God. My Brahman is not a God at all.
Are you yourself the impersonal God? I am certainly not God, just flesh, blood and bones.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Ah, you believe in an impersonal God. My Brahman is not a God at all.
Are you yourself the impersonal God? I am certainly not God, just flesh, blood and bones.

Why do you make the assumption I believe in an impersonal God?

Aham Brahmasmi. I am Brahman. I am no deity.

Deities are an appearance in vyavaharika and are relevant only to that. They are irrelevant from the the perspective of Paramartika.

Deities are quite relevant and quite practical to those devotees that worship them. Bhakti yoga is a perfectly valid path to moksha, however, bhakti is transcended by moksha.

That said, I do not wish to derail this thread. I'd be more than happy to continue this discussion in another thread if you wish to start one.

 

[vijeno]

But what values and questions lead you to the belief system you have? And what values/questions being answered in your religion are cornerstone for you? Like if someone were to argue against your religion or lack of what would they have to keep in mind

I don't really have a belief system, so this is a particularly interesting challenge to me.

I am an agnostic atheist with strong stoic and weaker buddhist leanings. I guess you could call me "center left" politically, but that probably adds to the confusion because I'm European and political terms work differently here than in the US.

My main values are compassion and rationality.

I believe in balance between factors. I think of life as a highly complex optimization exercise. For many questions there are no clear, simple answers.

I think extremes are almost always destructive. Neither complete individualism nor utter socialism really work out, for example.

I also try and be as pragmatic as possible about "hot topics". Let's find ways to live together, rather than insist on our own rights down to the last tee.

It's about guidelines for me, not absolute limits or dogmas. Almost no rule is ever completely absolute. E.g. I try to be careful about expressing certainty, but there are times when I think it's a good thing, for several reasons. There are situations when I favour the irrational.

I guess you could derive some kind of label from all that, and then call me a Whatever-it-is-ist. But my main takeaway from (zen) buddhism is to try and avoid all those labels, because they tend to limit consciousness and lead to attachment. My worldview is not static.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I wasnt sure how to word this question. It popped im my mind reading another thread. Took me a minute to figure out how to word it. But what values and questions lead you to the belief system you have? And what values/questions being answered in your religion are cornerstone for you? Like if someone were to argue against your religion or lack of what would they have to keep in mind

Actually, I find it to be a thought-provoking question. Thanks.

Central to my (perhaps atypical) Reform Judaism is the belief that:

if God, the foundational tenet is to be found in Leviticus 19:1 and mandates empathy and a commitment to social justice, i.e., repairing the world.​

 

[Aupmanyav]

Deities are quite relevant and quite practical to devotees those that worship them. Bhakti yoga is a perfectly valid path to moksha, however, bhakti is transcended by moksha.
That said, I do not wish to derail this thread. I'd be more than happy to continue this discussion in another thread if you wish to start one.

As an Advaitist, you know that there is no Moksha, being Brahman oneself, one is never bounded. As an Advaitist and an atheist, Bhakti for me is not a valid path, it is maya. Whom to worship? But I do tolerate it.
We will get chances to discuss this in other topics that will come up.

 

[Koldo]

I wasnt sure how to word this question. It popped im my mind reading another thread. Took me a minute to figure out how to word it. But what values and questions lead you to the belief system you have? And what values/questions being answered in your religion are cornerstone for you? Like if someone were to argue against your religion or lack of what would they have to keep in mind

Truth. The act of seeking it is central to my beliefs.

 

[Rachel Rugelach]

Community is important to me. I don't see how one can easily be a Jew without the presence of a community of Jews in one's life. My community is like an extended family, which is certainly not to say that we all agree with each other on everything. In fact, sometimes we may encounter within our community some very strong differences of opinion on various matters. But we are still "family."

My experience has led to this personal belief that I hold: If we can get along with the varied personalities of those who are closest to us in our community, then we can learn how to get along with the rest of the world. Despite our own community having much less in common with the rest of the world, we all at least have our shared humanity in common.

 

[Quintessence]

What values lead you to the belief system you have?

Three things in prime:

• Valuing the Otherworlds - story, art, song, and taking imagination seriously
• Valuing the Apparent Worlds - land, sea, sky, and all things that dwell there
• Valuing Learning - awareness, exploring, attentiveness, feeling, sensing, being

What questions lead you to the belief system you have?

Three things in prime:

• As a child - why aren't there any new religions that are actually relevant to the present day? (or "Why do adults keep relying on this stupid two-thousand year old book when science and fantasy/sci-fi is way cooler?")
• As a college student - wait a minute, gods and nature can be the same thing? (or "Why didn't anybody bother telling me that theology and religion are actually really diverse and look nothing like what I was taught about either as a kid?")
• As an adult - what cool new aspect of realities do I want to explore next? (or "What new things can I learn and build into my ever-changing and ever-evolving way of life?")

Like if someone were to argue against your religion what would they have to keep in mind

Don't. I have no interest in the drivel of naysayers. Mind your own business. I have no problem sharing with those who are interested in exploring and learning about cultural diversity and different ways of life, but if all your game is to "argue against" who and what I am, you can kindly naff off.