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callista - there is no avoiding saying what has been said before
All we can do is remain cognizant of the fact that it has all been said before. The likelyhood of any of us adding a profound insight to timeworn subjects of discussion pertaining to religion are not great odds. Still, even when the same topics are rehashed over and over again we can find ourselves fine tuning our perspectives. Occassionaly a new kernal of information is gleaned, sometimes we further organize our own thoughts on various issues.
Matters of faith may well be based on an individual's feelings as opposed to their conclusions but those feelings are the result of social conditioning. They have been instilled or propagated by indoctrination from birth and we certainly can ask people to feel differently. There is nothing sacred or untouchable about a contagious group think that continues to ruin the society I live in . . . (this last part I will explain in further detail in a post) but let us just say for now that when someone tells me that I just need to have "faith" . . I find that answer insufficient.
Don't ever worry about attempts at humor going awry. Inflection, sentiments and intended emotions are tough things to convey in print sometimes. And it is not always the fault of the writer, sometimes the reception on the part of the reader isn't crystal clear.
posted by
gomedome
on July 7, 2007 at 6:26 PM
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Re: callista - first off - welcome to Blogit
first of all thank you for your welcome, i am new to blogit. and again thank you for your comment on my comment. i do realize that alot of what i said are avenues that have been examined a million times. as to opinions that are poorly thought out, that may exactly be the case. people feel very strongly about religion, the word feel being the most important. so many people i talk to (some in my family, i might add, that are worried about my eternal soul, not being so eternal) religion is more of a feeling to them. and in the case of human feelings, sometimes we cant account for them. and we cannot ask people to not feel. so sometimes what we think are poorly thought out opinions are exactly that, or worse not thought out at all but are feelings and faith. god , i dont know how many times i have asked my sister questions and got the answer you just have to have faith. so exchanging religious opinions with some people is like talking to a wall. they are coming from a different place, not reason, not study, not reading or bloging, ?????
as for my closing lines, i apologize for a poor attempt at humor. i love to exchange ideas, i also like to laugh at myself sometimes.
posted by
jeansaw
on July 7, 2007 at 5:42 PM
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callista - first off - welcome to Blogit
I can agree that to not accept the reality that others may disagree with our opinions, or to subsequently not accept that they may have valid opinions of their own would make a person arrogant. However, quite often the opinions expressed to counter our own are inane, poorly thought out, or represent avenues we have already examined. This too is another reality of opinions, to not agree with something that is shallow in scope is not arrogance, it is only perceived as such by those incapable of coming up to speed. Again I agree that we are all wired differently and are products of differing environments and life influences. Within these realities we must accept that conformity of belief is impossible, especially when the mix is further exacerbated by human nature.
As for your closing lines, I'm not quite catching your drift. There is no fear of becoming too smart from exchanging religious opinions with other bloggers.
posted by
gomedome
on July 7, 2007 at 9:59 AM
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money
there are as many religions as people in the world. no two people will have exactly the same religion. my example is living in the bible belt and even though almost everyone is baptist, you have new churches springing off old ones all the time because of the members having different opinions on everything from how to interpet the bible to how the church is maintained.
when i read a blog, i can agree or disagree in various degrees. for me to think that anyone that disagreed with my opinion has less intelligent because they disagree would make me arrogant (ignorant), no two people have exactly the same life experiences or in the same order. they do not have the same opportunities. and because they are individuals, which evolution or god intented, they react differently to differ situations. people also have different gifts, some for expressing their ideas, it doesnt mean the well expressed idea is better than a poorly expressed idea.
the theme of this blog is when you expand your mind to much (or you get smarter than everyone else) be careful your head doesnt swell, eventually it(meaning your head) will explode. my example is a balloon being blown up.
posted by
jeansaw
on July 7, 2007 at 8:11 AM
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Talion - Exactly - religious opinions are like hemorrhoids as they say
If anyone thinks that they are accomplishing anything beyond possibly planting a few seeds of food for thought by expressing their religious opinions in a public forum such as this, they are simply kidding themselves. To automatically vilify someone who is expressing a religious opinion contrary to our own, is infantile in scope. Anyone who comes to the conclusion, without any other qualifiers, that a person expressing a differing religious opinion is a "dastardly villain" . . . is simply an idiot. To become proactive in attempts to vanquish someone from this forum that they have concluded is a dastardly villain without any other qualifiers, makes them less credible than an idiot.
posted by
gomedome
on July 6, 2007 at 12:39 PM
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gomedome
I've never understood how your often harsh criticism of organized religion and some of its proponents is translated into condemnation of all believers. Furthermore, I've never understood how that translates into retaliatory "attacks"/"counterstrikes" against non-believers. So what if you don't believe the same as others? No offense, man, but you're just some guy in Canada. Who the hell cares what you think? Evidently some do an awful lot. Too much, actually. For the most part, any religious opinions anyone gives, whether pro or con are nothing more than "preaching to the choir," for lack of a better phrase. The idea that you could somehow destroy another's faith grants you a degree of power you simply don't possess. The idea that anyone's religious viewpoint can be drastically altered by blog postings is rather ridiculous. The idea that you are some dastardly villain that must be vanquished for the good of mankind is completely obsurd.
posted by
Talion
on July 6, 2007 at 10:16 AM
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Bhaskar.ing - that's why your stuff is such a pleasure to read
I like to think that my life has been " . . .
a journey of a sincere inquiry . . .". If someone wants to insist that they too are being thoroughly critical but honest, then belief versus non belief does not matter anymore. This journey takes different people to different places with the "higher plane of existence" being different for everyone as well.
posted by
gomedome
on July 6, 2007 at 9:23 AM
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Chyrlann - wow, that is some comment
And deserving of a reply but you will have to forgive me for not going to the lengths of dialogue that you have (I have an appointment next Thursday that I cannot miss). I do fully appreciate the importance of belief for some people, that is not something I would ever want to diminish in anyone. All I really want is to be able to say that I attempted to influence a change from the perpetual social conditioning that organized religion has traditionally perpetrated against our species.
The inner energy or life force that you refer to is undeniably present in all of us and with it being universally inexplicable, there are a number of incomplete explanations as to why it exists. Where I see it as the culmination of the eons of electro-chemical interaction cohesively structured by the natural selective process of evolution, others see it as an intentional design influence of a conscious entity. Where I cannot agree that this conscious entity exists, I have to concede that when both the believer and myself are offering incomplete explanations for this type of inexplicable phenomena, I could be as wrong as I think that they are.
This same concession never seems to reciprocally offered. I gotta go now . . . maybe more later.
posted by
gomedome
on July 6, 2007 at 9:15 AM
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gomedome
I have never been the the typical conformist types. Beliefs do not take you anywhere, unless you are ready to embark on a journey of a sincere inquiry, matching things said to be true/untrue with your own experiences - rejecting the chaff and accepting the grain, and that the inquiry be thoroughly critical but honest. I quite often instigate and even provoke my readers to think differently, logically and analytically. The ultimate goal is to set out on a search to a higher plane of existence from a state of thraldom towards freedom.
posted by
Bhaskar.ing
on July 6, 2007 at 5:51 AM
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Dear Mr. Gomedome,
You are quite the interesting groundhog. I am enjoying reading you. I was wandering around aimlessly here for quite sometime throwing my thoughts in the air and reading the ideals & lives of others, but somehow never stumbled into your neck of the woods, or excuse me..terrain of prairie. I truly would have liked to though. It would have behooved' me to do so.
If you be a groundhog, that would make me comparatively, a wild Mustang I believe. I have been snorting, kicking my heals & running from bondage for over twenty years now. A wild animal does not protest or challenge any system other than captivity, but observes anxiously, seeks impatiently and either upon receipt of, or not receiving what's needed, curiosity curtailed, intrigue fails, whatever....moves on to higher ground, greener pastures or more challenging terrain.
If I can employ you to please forgive my lack of literal intellect; of somewhat a higher evolved being than a wild or otherwise domesticated animal, I, being human, have been given free thought, reasoning beyond instinct & survival, etc. (those things that do differentiate us from animals).
If I can quote an old cliché; 'the Lord giveth & the Lord taketh away.' I believe this to mean we are each given gifts, talents or lack thereof upon birth. I genetically inherited several gifts; somewhat good genetic symmetry, an above level of curiosity, maybe an above average ability to absorb knowledge, some musical ability & an insatiable love for reading & writing, etc. I appear to be rather blessed, from all outward appearances. Please bare with me; I'm not known for brevity, but learning and attempting my best.
That being said; outward appearances are a little above average. I've had a fairly normal, outwardly appearing life...some crisis, divorces, several significant relationships, good friends & family, nothing too out of the ordinary, probably also a tad above average on this end of the globe, obviously above the norm globally.
My heart is overwhelmed by those who are outwardly challenged with disfigurement, loss of limbs, dependent upon machines or devices to survive, impoverished, oppressed, etc., so please don't misconstrue my degree of empathy; I am overwhelmed with empathy for those outwardly challenged.
I won't bore you or gore & horror you with my personal challenges, but they are internal. I have some internal birth defects, some internal nerve damage & disorders. These internal malfunctions are quite significant and require a lot of commitment and dedication on my part just in living day to day; although I don't hide my challenges from the world...because I am a writer after all....these challenges have made me the wild Mustang I refer to in the above analogy. These challenges have been significant as causative factors leading me to seek, study & practice mind, body & spirit (tri-part, internal medicine), the phamacueticals within, if you will, specifically the power of the spirit/mind to override the malfunctions of the body.
I was forced to make a choice over twenty years ago as to whether I would fight for normalcy to live or commit suicide, literally. I had inflammation of the spinal chord & all nerve & connective tissue & fiber. The pain was chronic, unbearable and no methodology or phamacological of orthodox medicine could edge the pain to tolerance. I remained in this state for over two years when I contacted the Hemlock Society and with my order on hold, I reached with every desperate fiber of my being for an inner voice. This is where my truth originated.
I refer to this as my truth because it is only that. It is the truth I cling to and the entity, the God if you will, I cling to and depend on daily in order to maintain normalcy, and even find hope & joy, promise & potential in being alive.
I don't write my truth to convince anyone of it. I share my truth as an offering to anyone who may need it, as I do. If only one individual can find hope or a hint of normalcy in the torment of chronic pain, my challenges in living will have served a purpose.
And why would a wild Mustang be sharing this truth with a total, groundhog stranger? Well, I am enjoying your sense of humor first off, and you, Talion & several other writers here have enlightened me to the plight of 'non believers' being judged by orthodox religion, but mostly because the entity of energy that breathed life into me and is guiding me through life, and in turn the same entity of energy that breathed life into every other living 'thing' on this living planet we are connected to, asked me to do so.
Oh, peesha.....now look at the time you've just wasted reading the ramblings of another wack-job! lol....your truth will remain your truth unless you seek to find understanding otherwise, which is precisely as it should be in your world and your world is just as perfect as you choose it to be at this time. The power to move beyond anything you could dream your world to be is held within this entity of energy residing within your truth! I am not simply living proof, but rather proof living.
My deepest & best wishes for a life fulfilled for you. Word has it.....you are precisely perfect just as you are at this time, but always accepted, whole-heartedly & unconditionally (as are all wild Mustangs & groundhogs and all other living creatures (including Bible thumpers, mind you) and also, as amazing as it may be....ALL 'non-believers' as well)! Enjoy! 
posted by
roadscross
on July 5, 2007 at 10:17 PM
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Thought inducing post ! Some soul searching is needed .
posted by
afzal50
on July 5, 2007 at 7:13 PM
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