tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post906371467858072405..comments2023-04-26T23:19:46.504-04:00Comments on Notes from the T side: ReligionElizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931270965200576249noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-26074826404970543642010-10-29T18:31:58.446-04:002010-10-29T18:31:58.446-04:00@Veronica
Love your new blog by the way. I am so...@Veronica<br /><br />Love your new blog by the way. I am so jealous you have musical talent. I have NONE. The Runaways rule!!<br /><br />I can respect your view. As a species we know so little about ourselves and the Universe. We think we do but opinions, views, theories, and the physical facts change on a daily basis as scientists make new discoveries based on Hubble, Kepler, Spitzer, etc.<br /><br />Just yesterday NASA announced they believe one in four suns like ours has planets similar in size to earth in the Milky Way which means the possibility of intelligent life is quite high.<br /><br />The Universe appears to be so ordered it cannot be an accident as Einstein once said yet man is so random even on earth and life is so random anywhere it seems like a dichotomy.<br /><br />My faith is based on a single event experienced by my brothers and me which my mom overheard. It happened and that is undeniable. What it was that happened I have no explanation for so I guess that is where faith comes in.<br /><br />I do not expect others to have my faith because in general organized religion does not engender much faith from me because of the all too common denominator of hate. These religions have prophets that preach love and acceptance like Jesus and somehow manage to turn that into hate and intolerance based on words written by man on a piece of parchment.<br /><br />My faith is personal as your lack of faith is. It is part of what makes life interesting.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17931270965200576249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-49891224172005614192010-10-29T18:01:23.902-04:002010-10-29T18:01:23.902-04:00No faith here, Elizabeth. Maybe one or more deitie...No faith here, Elizabeth. Maybe one or more deities exist. I have no idea. But I've never seen evidence for any, so I go with the "working assumption" that there are none. For me, gods and goddesses are part of literature and mythology, and although I love those things, I don't think of them the same way as I do the physical universe around me. I mean, you don't think unicorns exist, right?<br /><br />The physical universe is the default, the starting point. And I don't go beyond that, except in my imagination, because I see no reason to.Véro Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02895169022031921712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-85337161999036634142010-10-29T16:54:31.063-04:002010-10-29T16:54:31.063-04:00@Veronica
Good point. Searching for an answer I g...@Veronica<br /><br />Good point. Searching for an answer I guess but atheists do have "faith" there is no deity.<br /><br />Religion or lack thereof is a complicated subject. There just isn't any way to prove it either way in my opinion.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17931270965200576249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-74136799360517176502010-10-29T11:55:17.223-04:002010-10-29T11:55:17.223-04:00I think you are mischaracterizing atheism. For me,...I think you are mischaracterizing atheism. For me, at least, it's simply a lack of belief in deities or anything supernatural. I don't transfer my belief elsewhere. I don't have any belief to transfer!<br /><br />I'm not sure what you mean by "self belief." We all have some amount of confidence in ourselves. If we didn't, we probably wouldn't be alive. But I don't know what that has to do with faith.Véro Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02895169022031921712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-17622052601060063622010-10-29T02:47:55.618-04:002010-10-29T02:47:55.618-04:00@Veronica
In my life I have had friends of every ...@Veronica<br /><br />In my life I have had friends of every religion one can think of and we have had good discussions about it and I classify atheism as a religion of self belief. I reserve the right to make fun of them all including my beliefs because faith is an ethereal thing and there is no way to prove what one believes exists.<br /><br />I think a comment in the movie "Contact" sums it up best when her character was asked if she loved her father and she said yes and he said prove it. A lot of things come down to believing something is factual on faith even in science. <br /><br />There is no current scientific theory that describes with any certainty what was there before the big bang. A singularity, inflation theory, or a spacial collision between a known universe and another dimension but there is no science that fits "yet". So my fellow scientists take it on "faith" that the explanation is there and it is reasonable but they have yet to discover it because our science fits what happened afterward.<br /><br /><br />I am a scientist and astrophysics is one of my areas and I agree but I have fun with several dear friends by chastising them that they have faith but don't want to admit it. They have faith a theory will evolve that fits.<br /><br />Organized religion is dogma and except in rare cases it scares the crap out of me because I do not like to be told how to think. I can do a decent of thinking for myself.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17931270965200576249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-29559752244335017532010-10-28T17:32:03.550-04:002010-10-28T17:32:03.550-04:00I have no problem with people adhering to a belief...I have no problem with people adhering to a belief system that promotes helping and understanding others. I just cannot see the point of having a deity. Unfortunately I too have had some proselytising emails as a result. I generally forward them to each other and let them fight out whose god is best, while I get on with life.Claire L Hallamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01535569086150530774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-88200326261434156552010-10-28T16:56:29.100-04:002010-10-28T16:56:29.100-04:00Not to sound synchophanic, but I agree with all th...Not to sound synchophanic, but I agree with all that you have said here.Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02696670919817140802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-51362917301637681452010-10-28T16:23:03.931-04:002010-10-28T16:23:03.931-04:00Elizabeth, I realize there are atheists are are an...Elizabeth, I realize there are atheists are are anti-religious in an almost religious way. But the only thing atheists have in common is the lack of belief in any deities. That's me -- I simply have no belief in things unseen.<br /><br />As for metaphor, I do think art and religion have a lot of similarities. Characters of the imagination can often seem as real as people we actually know.<br /><br />My experiment is uncontrolled and completely anecdotal. What I did was to imagine the Goddess (I'm Wiccan) and focus on her while I give thanks for my day -- the good parts and the bad parts. You might call it praying. And even though the Lady is only someone I imagine, the effect on me is powerful. I weep frequently. I feel strengthened. Sometimes, I want to stay longer within the circle that I have cast. I think this nightly exercise has been very beneficial to me.<br /><br />And this from an atheist with no faith. I think of it as an artistic/psychological exercise. I surmise that it's the same as or similar to the experiences of those who pray to a deity they think actually exists.Véro Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02895169022031921712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-88527978938188950392010-10-28T15:08:08.478-04:002010-10-28T15:08:08.478-04:00@Michelle Marie
That has always been my pet peeve...@Michelle Marie<br /><br />That has always been my pet peeve with all religions. Mine is better than yours. <br /><br />Sort of like some people saying my transsexualism is better than your transsexualism or worse I am and you are not because I can tell with my magic mirror.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17931270965200576249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-57444657619777098862010-10-28T15:04:50.557-04:002010-10-28T15:04:50.557-04:00@Veronica
My belief is based on an event in my li...@Veronica<br /><br />My belief is based on an event in my life with my two brothers and probably partial indoctrination as a child in religion and it is no better nor is it any worse than any other form of faith. It is my basis for my faith along with my brothers.<br /><br />I have always looked at atheists as the pragmatic religion or anti-religion and love the fact they ask tough questions of religion about the dogma or mumbo jumbo many preach about including why I have faith.<br /><br />Just do not come on my blog and start bragging about your life being more meaningful than somebody else because you are a High Priestess. I reserve the right to make fun of any fool, including myself, that does that.<br /><br />It is an interesting argument though that you bring up. Is religion metaphorical?Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17931270965200576249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-26725010876192858302010-10-28T12:26:41.532-04:002010-10-28T12:26:41.532-04:00Politics and religion are the 2 areas I avoid like...Politics and religion are the 2 areas I avoid like the plague. I was raised Catholic and my family never seemed very "christian" to me. Do unto others was always such a load of crap. They did whatever they could in the name of religion to degrade others and lift themselves up above the others.<br />Like you said, I think hell is going to be awfully crowded.Michelle Leannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03974476216062970448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-944795231126319421.post-72175854988476139992010-10-28T10:22:15.408-04:002010-10-28T10:22:15.408-04:00This witch does not ride a broom! And my religion ...This witch does not ride a broom! And my religion is quite disorganized. :)<br /><br />And despite my religion, I am an atheist. My goddess is metaphorical.<br /><br />Now, you say you think there is an actual deity and that there is an afterlife. To an atheist, at least a militant (or rude) one, that would qualify as mumbo-jumbo. How is your belief different?Véro Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02895169022031921712noreply@blogger.com