Religion

AHA! We can end this thread right here.

 

Unless you have proof the rest of the world hasn't seen yet that Jesus of Nazareth isn't who He said He was, you can't really say that, can you? Or at least not with that much certainty...

Agreed. An anthropomorphic God would be much more personal and relatable. More intimate and approachable. Probably one of the reasons why Jesus is so widely accepted to one degree or another. He's the best of both perceptions -- all God and all man.

That might be a bit of a chicken-and-the-egg argument. Did we attribute those characteristics to a made up god, or did we inherit and recognize those similarities from an eternal one?

True. If God was no better than one of us, but with all that power, we'd all be screwed. But that wasn't my point, really. Every major belief system describes God as being more than us -- better than us, superior in every way imaginable. I've taken a hard look at my life and know undoubtedly I have not measured up to the various standards of Judaism, Islam, or even Christianity over the full span of my years. Not even close. And again, I'm not the only person with that problem. As a matter of fact, it's a core principle of Christianity that no one measures up.

 

People of faith live a life of discipline generally because they believe there is a greater reward for it, either in the afterlife, or in this life, or both. An agnostic I could see 'playing it safe', just in case, but an atheist doing that makes no sense to me at all. The perception of life is totally different. Here and now is all there is, so it makes no sense to me not to experience all the pleasure possible, no matter what the cost. Coincidentally, that's getting close to the basic premise of Satanism and some forms of paganism.

 

It's totally empty, and even hypocritical. That is, IMO, one of the biggest misunderstood principles of Christianity. Helping other people to build up 'brownie points' with God or to try to earn or pay back God for salvation is missing the point completely. It's to be done first out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, not out of a sense of debt; and second it's done because God told us to love each other as He loves us -- unconditionally.

That is not to say those who serve their fellow man will not be rewarded by God in heaven. That promise is made in the Bible, quoted from Jesus Himself. But the reward is incidental, not the primary motivation.

 

Many, I would agree with. All, I might take issue with. Just out of curiosity, would you include me amongst that group?

 

That's one of the problems I may have with Islam, if it is indeed true (I haven't seen it in context in the Qur'an for myself yet). The problem is, that no matter what a religion teaches, it doesn't absolve the individual from his or her free will. To believe otherwise would be to exhonorate the Nazis because they were following orders. The reverse is also true. One's atrocities are not automatically discounted because of an affiliation to a religion. You're absolutely right -- far too many people have died 'in the name of God', when really most have died because someone in a position of power wanted more power.

 

Some day I would dearly love to hear how this happened, and how you came to your conclusions, if you're willing.

 

Quite right. I looked up 'paganism' in the dictionary, and the term is not as restricted as I once thought. I misspoke there, and I apologize.

I mean no disrespect, but it sounds to me like modern paganism largely consists of finding one's own personal deity/spiritual guide. Would that be a fair assessment?

 

Would it surprise you to learn I agree with you in many respects on this idea?

A question -- how do you discern the character or motives of these energies you harness? Or do they not have such properties?