Do you believe in God and why

[Odysseus123]

13 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

If you think that the Theosophists are "bereft of any historical knowledge", it's useless for me to suggest you some good reading.

As for your 2nd point, yes, total defeat is the best of teachers.

They were people of their times...leaving to one side Madame Blavatsky's infatuation for Krishnamurti-and his rejection of the same.

 

Which brings me back to my main point that we are ALL creatures of our times and Western atheism,presentism and parochialism is just a part of that..

 

However it is a great big world out there with many devotees of a substantial number of religions who are,no doubt,doing their thing as usual.

 

Give the Chinese half a chance and you would gain about half a billion Buddhist/animists overnight.Just as the Russian Orthodox Church did in the 1990's..

 

However one might think of it there is absolutely no chance of religion dying out (or even seriously dented) soon..

 

 

[mauGR1]

1 minute ago, Odysseus123 said:

However one might think of it there is absolutely no chance of religion dying out (or even seriously dented) soon..

Plenty of money-worshippers out there, about 99%, so, in a way you're perfectly right.

[Odysseus123]

2 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Plenty of money-worshippers out there, about 99%, so, in a way you're perfectly right.

You don't worship money?

I sure as hell do!

I was bought up to be a good little capitalist...????

[mauGR1]

1 minute ago, Odysseus123 said:

You don't worship money?

I sure as hell do!

I was bought up to be a good little capitalist...????

Nope, of course i use money, i am not a monk yet, but i am convinced that money is "shit of the devil" so to speak.

[the guest]

I tend to call religions as "cult" mindsets, as all are sinister to our species in many ways.

[Odysseus123]

6 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Nope, of course i use money, i am not a monk yet, but i am convinced that money is "shit of the devil" so to speak.

So how did you get to Thailand-swim or stroll in a mendicant manner thru' the Balkans and Asia?

 

Naw, just joking..have a pleasant evening.See you tomorrow.

Edited May 13, 2019 by Odysseus123

[mauGR1]

1 minute ago, Odysseus123 said:

So how did you get to Thailand swim or strolled in a mendicant manner thru' the Balkans and Asia?

 

Naw, just joking..have a pleasant evening.See you tomorrow.

As i said, i use money, but i am not a worshipper.

Have a good time too.

[Skeptic7]

34 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Nope, of course i use money, i am not a monk yet, but i am convinced that money is "shit of the devil" so to speak.

Huh? Why does everything need such a Magical Mystical woo-woo explanation and/or excuse??? Money is a tool. It has no evil attributes. It's a simple necessity to function in society. Money is something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment that is widely used and accepted in transactions involving the transfer of goods and services from one source to another. There is no "devil", thus no evil metaphor necessary. If people use money to do questionable, harmful, suspect or "bad" things...money isn't to blame, nor is some external evil force. The blame lies on the individual. NO "devil shit" needed.  

 

[mauGR1]

40 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said:

Huh? Why does everything need such a Magical Mystical woo-woo explanation and/or excuse??? Money is a tool. It has no evil attributes. It's a simple necessity to function in society. Money is something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment that is widely used and accepted in transactions involving the transfer of goods and services from one source to another. There is no "devil", thus no evil metaphor necessary. If people use money to do questionable, harmful, suspect or "bad" things...money isn't to blame, nor is some external evil force. The blame lies on the individual. NO "devil shit" needed.  

 

My thoughts are different from yours, have you got any problems with that ?

Or do you think that everyone should adapt to your shallow thinking ?

[VincentRJ]

10 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

My thoughts are different from yours, have you got any problems with that ?

Or do you think that everyone should adapt to your shallow thinking ?

I agree with Skeptic7 on this issue. The quote, 'Money is the root of all evil' , is a misquote. The true quote is 'Love of money is the root of all evil'. It's the selfish hoarding of wealth which is the problem.

[mauGR1]

10 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

I agree with Skeptic7 on this issue. The quote, 'Money is the root of all evil' , is a misquote. The true quote is 'Love of money is the root of all evil'. It's the selfish hoarding of wealth which is the problem.

I agree too, i just used the word "worshipping" instead of "love" , but thanks for clarifying .

[Sunmaster]

Skeptic got triggered by the word "devil" even if it was meant as a figure of speech. Quite funny actually ????

[Skeptic7]

4 hours ago, Sunmaster said:

Skeptic got triggered by the word "devil" even if it was meant as a figure of speech. Quite funny actually ????

Skeptic gets triggered by BS. Adults playing "make believe". Acting like children. Denying simple reality and living in some fantasy land. Quite pathetic actually. 

[Sunmaster]

"Simple reality"....who's living in some fantasy land here? ????
Must be nice though to have all the answers.....to the few questions you're asking.

[VincentRJ]

The attached video is an interview of James Lovelock expressing his religious views; well worth listening to. Unfortunately, it's sound only. Perhaps he didn't want to be photographed because he's almost a 100. His hundredth birthday will be in July this year.

 

The youtube video is dated 13th may 2019, but I'm not sure if that is the date of the actual interview. His speech is remarkably clear and lucid for a 100 year old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD5_eqk8v2E

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎5‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 6:57 PM, soalbundy said:

There is no me or you, no seeker, no enlightenment, no disciple and no guru. There is no better or worse, no path and nothing that has to be achieved. All appearance is source. All that apparently manifests - the world, the life story, the hypnotic dream of separation, the search for home, is the one appearing as two, the nothing appearing as everything, the absolute appearing as the particular.

There is no separate intelligence weaving a destiny, and no choice functioning at any level. Nothing is happening, but this, as it is, invites the apparent seeker to rediscover that which already is.....the abiding, uncaused, unchanging, impersonal silence from which unconditional love overflows and celebrates, it is the wonderful mystery....   

Maybe so, yet most of us are firmly anchored in the here and now. That is why we hurt when a lover leaves us ( or visa versa ), or someone we care for dies.

To achieve that state, we have to give up everything that makes us, us and become as nothing. Frankly, I don't think that is even possible nowadays.

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎5‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 10:17 PM, mauGR1 said:

That is one point where i completely disagree with you.

Apparently you have faith in your 5 senses, that's fine, but there are also other ways to perceive reality.

..But, if you are happy with yourself and your knowledge, that's fair enough.

There is more to life than what our senses reveal to us, and to disregard them is to cut ourselves off from many wonders.

Monty Python said it quite well.

 

Lyrics

Whenever life gets you down, Mrs. Brown,
And things seem hard or tough,
And people are stupid, obnoxious or daft,

And you feel that you've had quite eno-o-o-o-o-ough,

Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving
And revolving at 900 miles an hour.
It's orbiting at 19 miles a second, so it's reckoned,
The sun that is the source of all our power.
Now the sun, and you and me, and all the stars that we can see,
Are moving at a million miles a day,
In the outer spiral arm, at 40, 000 miles an hour,
Of a galaxy we call the Milky Way.

Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars;
It's a hundred thousand light-years side to side;
It bulges in the middle sixteen thousand light-years thick,
But out by us it's just three thousand light-years wide.
We're thirty thousand light-years from Galactic Central Point,
We go 'round every two hundred million years;
And our galaxy itself is one of millions of billions
In this amazing and expanding universe.

Our universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding,
In all of the directions it can whiz;
As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know,
Twelve million miles a minute and that's the fastest speed there is.
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure,
How amazingly unlikely is your birth;
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere out in space,
'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth!

Songwriters: John Du Prez / Eric Idle

[mauGR1]

Recently i got acquainted with what is called "Huna", here are the 7 principles:

 

1. IKE – The world is what you think it is
2. KALA – There are no limits, everything is possible
3. MAKIA – Energy flows where attention goes
4. MANAWA – Now is the moment of power
5. ALOHA – To love is to be happy with
6. MANA – All power comes from within
7. PONO – Effectiveness is the measure of truth

 

It's very simple, and food for thought, although the n.6 is debatable imho.

[notmyself]

On 5/14/2019 at 3:57 AM, VincentRJ said:

I agree with Skeptic7 on this issue. The quote, 'Money is the root of all evil' , is a misquote. The true quote is 'Love of money is the root of all evil'. It's the selfish hoarding of wealth which is the problem.

 

Greed

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

7 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Recently i got acquainted with what is called "Huna", here are the 7 principles:

 

1. IKE – The world is what you think it is
2. KALA – There are no limits, everything is possible
3. MAKIA – Energy flows where attention goes
4. MANAWA – Now is the moment of power
5. ALOHA – To love is to be happy with
6. MANA – All power comes from within
7. PONO – Effectiveness is the measure of truth

 

It's very simple, and food for thought, although the n.6 is debatable imho.

To be negative, sorry, I knew someone that believed in all that to the point she wouldn't get her diabetes treated because she thought the "universe" would heal her. The "universe" didn't heal her, she lost her leg and then her life.

[mauGR1]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

To be negative, sorry, I knew someone that believed in all that to the point she wouldn't get her diabetes treated because she thought the "universe" would heal her. The "universe" didn't heal her, she lost her leg and then her life.

That's the same argument atheists use against believers, just because some fanatics kill people, or some priests abuse the children, it doesn't mean that religion is wrong.

...Or just because some scientists develop weapons of mass destruction, it doesn't mean that science is wrong.

[Sunmaster]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

To be negative, sorry, I knew someone that believed in all that to the point she wouldn't get her diabetes treated because she thought the "universe" would heal her. The "universe" didn't heal her, she lost her leg and then her life.

Reminds me of a story:

There was a big flood and a man had to climb on the roof of his house to escape the waters. 
A boat comes buy and tells him to hop in. He refuses, saying that God will surely save him.
A helicopter hoovers overhead, inviting him to hold on to the ladder. Again, he refuses, saying that God will save him. 
Meanwhile, the water rises until he eventually drowns. In heaven, he meets God and asks "Why have you let me die? I prayed and prayed for you to save me, but you let me down!"
"Hey, what do you expect from me? I've sent you the guy in the boat and even a helicopter, what else do you want?"

So yes, believe in the power of your mind, but if you break a bone, use the methods and remedies that work best.

[notmyself]

On 5/13/2019 at 4:04 PM, Odysseus123 said:

So how did you get to Thailand-swim or stroll in a mendicant manner thru' the Balkans and Asia?

 

 lol Money is similar to stored energy, like a battery or cell and is part and parcel of how civilization engages and a facet of who we as a species are. We have many traits and one of them is to believe all manner of things for little or no reason at all. There is no doubt we are pattern seekers and that may have had an evolutionary benefit but along with it comes seeing patterns where none exist and an insatiable desire to understand patterns of both kind. It's all very interesting I think. 

[VincentRJ]

Religion is belief in someone else's experience. Spirituality is having your own experience.

[Skeptic7]

15 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

That's the same argument atheists use against believers, just because some fanatics kill people, or some priests abuse the children, it doesn't mean that religion is wrong.

...Or just because some scientists develop weapons of mass destruction, it doesn't mean that science is wrong.

Another absolutely ridiculous, inaccurate blanket statement. The list is LONG why the Abrahamic religions are not only wrong, but "bad" as well...and anyone honest enough to do some honest research could see that, not only atheists.

 

Priests buggering children, while abhorrent, isn't really part of the doctrine...though certainly appears to be a side effect. That is a human animal psychology thing and little to do with the religion itself. (though requiring celibacy from a species that thinks about, desires and needs sex regularly...is highly abnormal and unnatural)

 

 

[Sunmaster]

8 hours ago, notmyself said:

 

 lol Money is similar to stored energy, like a battery or cell and is part and parcel of how civilization engages and a facet of who we as a species are. We have many traits and one of them is to believe all manner of things for little or no reason at all. There is no doubt we are pattern seekers and that may have had an evolutionary benefit but along with it comes seeing patterns where none exist and an insatiable desire to understand patterns of both kind. It's all very interesting I think. 

What do you mean by "seeing patterns where none exist"? Can you give an example?

[CMNightRider]

YouTube has a site called "DTBM OnlineVideo Training."  The classes are taught by John Barnett.  Dr. Barnett has been teaching the Word of God for over 30 years.  Dr. Barnett must have over 200 videos ranging from 10 minutes to 50 minutes in length.  I have never heard anyone explain the Bible as well as he does in these videos.  

 

Instead of trying to see who can post the most vile or idiotic comments about Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and God who created the universe, your time could be better spent on educating yourselves about where we came from and where we are going.  You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by viewing these free videos.  May God Bless you.

[Small Joke]

Most believers will give you some mumbo jumbo about 'faith' (I'm an ex-religious person myself, I've heard it all, no religion passes basic logic tests, not one! That's why they have to get you programmed when you're still thinking Santa is a real guy.)

 

The harsh truth is their parents and schools brainwashed 'faith' into them, as effectively as any young North Korean, or Thai, is brainwashed about their own nationalities myths from when they're knee high to a communion wafer.

Edited May 16, 2019 by Small Joke

[KhunFred]

You must be joking. Everything around you suggests that God is an impossible concept.

[CMNightRider]

14 minutes ago, KhunFred said:

You must be joking. Everything around you suggests that God is an impossible concept.

Joking???  I think not Freddie.  The complexity of our planet points to a deliberate Designer (God) who not only created our universe, but sustains it today.  There are some who believe we evolved from a single cell organism in some mud puddle billions of years ago.  Don't be blinded by Satan.  Go to YouTube and type in "DTBM OnlineVideo Training."  That goes for the rest of you feather merchants as well ????