| Name |
Views and Comments | Date |
| Lisa |
My God is a God of love and forgiveness. We are all childrenof God. I can understand people wanting to shield themselves in athiesm, particularly when abuses and church politics occur. However, if you receive the Holy Spirit into your heart, you would be amazed! It really is about faith, hope and love. God bless. |
10/17/2009 |
| Jairo Mejia |
Atheists and Gnostics are right in most of their thinking
It has been common among religious believers to look with misgiving to atheists and Gnostics, and to think that they are mistaken; however, in many instances the opposite is the truth; some religious beliefs are not just irrelevant, but baseless. The "God" of main line traditions simply does not exist. I accepted the challenge of finding the One who may be recognized even by Gnostics and atheists: the Existence itself, "All-That-Is." If something is there, that is God. Look at the book "Christianity Reformed From ist Roots - A life centered in God." I am confident that some of your friends will be relieved of the illusion, as I did myself.
Jairo Mejia, M. Psych., Santa Clara University
Retired Episcopal Priest
Carmel Valley, California |
8/1/2009 |
| j |
wow, doodles, really? before you say something like that youd have to define "god". the almighty creator? so what im connecting in within MYSELF is that? why does it have to be that? or is "god" a metaphore for you that you use because your mind cant imagine there being not a god because the belief structure is so dense and hard to penitrate? so, lets go around and tag everything as god for a metaphore. i know what youre talking about that youre connecting to. its the same exact thing that im connecting to (myself?), i just dont throw around misleading labels and with that there is no guilt, judgement, "tests", and all of the other things you get with a judeo-christian "offshoot god". |
7/11/2009 |
| j |
i really enjoyed this article, and is also where im at. id say im a "spiritual athiest" as well, in the same way that you are. only i came to it from the other direction- believing in a god, etc.
thanks. |
7/11/2009 |
| joe dobbs |
Dear Janna:
Your phrase "being mentally ill and all," is beneath the dignity of the wise thoughts you express. While it is appropriate to be open about the fact that psychological issues are in every way as real as physical health issues, you do not need to describe yourself in this way. Depression is very often the badge of a complex person, one who sees the tragic realities of the world, and suffers from these realities, as any ethical person should. I would not trade places with a single "can do" person who always chooses optimism over adult comprehension. The silliest single popular expression I know of is, "Don't worry about something you cannot change." In my view, you are a healthy person who doesn't shrink from viewing the world with open eyes. You are a decent human being. Take pride and joy in that. Your presence on earth is worth the contribution of a thousand selfish and shallow people. |
5/31/2009 |
| Charlie |
hm... THis is very interesting and I thank you very much for it :D... Forgive me for being quite long winded in my reply and forgive my spelling (I have dyslexia and lack a checker at the moment)... However, I must ask in what sense the Infinite is meant to play itself out for you? I am fairly well read in Classical atheist Lit and it is exactly the rejection of the Infinite that they seem to view as utterly essentail for their projects. The author who jumps to mind is Montagine (though Voltare seems to maintain about the same thing, as does Hume, Spinoza and ultimently- in an amazingly interesting way that I respect deeply- Nietzsche). Indeed the entire project of classical atheism seems to be the subjecation of nature using rationality (Bacon begins by telling us we need to treat nature like a woman and force her to do as we please- literally; see introducation to the new Organ). The goal of the Enlightenment was to render the mystery of Being absurd (and at the rate of sounding presumptious- forgive me if I have misunderstood- that seems to be what you are discussing, a felt sense of the wonder that I am at all, that I exist to be a part of this insane thing called the world...). I am in complete agreement with you that this felt sense of wonder is the most essentail componate of being human but I am no longer sure what the terms 'atheist' and 'natural' are meant to mean? YOu claim to reject God and I am also in complete agreement with you if the God we are dealing with is that of what atheism of the enlightenment took God to be- God as a watchmaker is a dead end metaphor (G-d is not a transcendent purpose giver. THere is no plan in the sense people want). But to open up a space for mystery seems to require a metaphysically contigent world. In other words, it is not necessary that the world exist at all. But this leads to one of two options in my mind- either the world exists and the best we can hope to do is deal with it which renders mystery a hinderence to life (why should we try to consider mystery? This is Nietzsche at his finest and the truth of Will to Power. THe world is, deal.) or the world should be thought of in terms of a Gift in the truest sense- a purposeless thing given not due to necessity but due to some other drive. And here the only drive that seems to fit the bill is love; for love is not a reason in the necessary sense above. But this seems to lead, in turn, to the afirmation of the idea that Love is the fabric of Being and this seems to be undivorcible from the idea of a Loving (I don't think a noun is really appropreate here... and so I use G-d) G-d. And this in turn would appear to commit you to exactly what classical atheism saught to reject- namely the idea of a Giver-as-such (the idea that there was anything outside the metaphysical framework of the world qua world- in short, the idea of necessity). Not a giver in the sense of religion but precicely a G-d beyond plans and ideals, a G-d who works within contigency as opposed to negation of it. In short, a G-d who would be willing to affirm contingency no matter the coast. And this seems to be exactly what the idea of a G-d on the Cross is (youtube Zizek and materalist theology for a great discussion of this from a Marxist point of view) and, in short, Christainity (or more specifically, the Christainity that existed pre-enlightenment and contiuned to exist in the marginal thinking of Pascal, Hamann, Kierkegaard and which came to full force in later Wittgenstein- though this history is quite contrivortail...), I simpy don't understand how atheism and the Infinite can be reconciled in this way... |
4/4/2009 |
| jennifer |
Bugger of bible basher... everything tis woman said is very true... we are probobly the most understanding people of the lot, would actually like to proove that |
3/14/2009 |
| jennifer |
Yes I think this is what I am ... i dont beleive in god and am very spritiual |
3/14/2009 |
| jg |
I think it doesn't make sense to say your spiritual side is nothing more than synapses, neurons, and neurotransmitters. They're physical, and not understanding how they work doesn't make them spiritual. Anyway, when you are dead, your brain is still there. The nerves are still there. But something is missing which science cannot find because it is not physical. It was something metaphysical, or spiritual, we might say. And if it is spiritual, then it cannot have been created by a natural process like evolution, which would produce only physical things. So there has to be something non-physical to produce that non-physical thing in us that is there when we're living, and not there when we're dead. That's why I'm not an atheist. |
1/22/2009 |
| Lou A. |
This is one of the purely simplest explanations of something that is so difficult for most people to grasp. Thanks. |
11/14/2008 |
| Adrian |
This is really nice article... if only more people would think like you...:D |
10/3/2008 |
| Patrick Ritchie |
Going through a similar problem right now as you had in your past, found this article looking for answers. Makes a lot of sense, saved me form going into Buddhism or something else strange. |
7/31/2008 |
| doodles |
Newsflash: When you connect with your spirit, you are connecting with God whether you call it that or not. God is not just in the church as so many atheists believe and he certainly is not an old white guy wearing a toga. God is all around, He is even in you. Open your eyes, what you've described IS that divine being at work.
You say "to-may-toes", I say "to-ma-toes", it's all the same. |
3/16/2008 |
| Terry |
Nice
I was just attacked in an Atheist chatroom for claiming to be both a UU and a spiritual Atheist, they told me that I am not an Atheist and need to discover what I really am, I said, but I dont believe in God or the supernatural, all I do is meditate, do Yoga, affirmations, nature walks and dance...They said-Lets argue! :( sigh. Glad to see this. |
3/12/2008 | |
