spiritual gap

Context, please . . . such questions are pointless if you don't provide us context.

I suspect the term "spiritual gap" is only a phrase within a certain religious context.

A spiritual gap is the lack of knowledge of your heritage. If you are lets say jewish for example.. Not to pick on them but it was the first that entered my head. Your children might not know much about the culture. This is a spiritual gap.

Wouldn't this be a cultural gap? Heritage has very little to do with Spirits.

((..,unless you happen to be Irish)).

Racist pig . . .

Well to be very honest. The religion is the thing that control a large chunk in a person's cultures. That is why is said it. The jewish believe strongly in their religion and let it practically run their lives. But this is ok. As it works and they don't harm any one by doing it. I don't like rascism. If the jewish and/or irish believe this then let them. They're not doing any harm with their religion.

Incredible. So, as far as you're concerned, Irish Catholics shooting down Irish Protestants, who were shooting down Irish Catholics, were not doing anyone any harm? (And by the way, i was calling Brown a racist for his scurrilous stereotyped insult of Irish Americans--he's a puling hypocrite for that.)

Lol. You are way too easy Set.

No, you are . . . it's so easy to throw your own stupidity back into your face . . .

You are confusing culture and religion.

There are plenty of people of Jewish heritage who live very non-religious live. My heritage is mostly Protestant and part Catholic (of course the Protestants were once Catholics and most of them were polytheists at some time before that).

The term "spiritual gap" implies the involvement of one or more supernatural beings (i.e. spirits). It is doubtful that any supernatural has to do with your heritage since the great majority of people get their religion from their parents.

I happen to be a secular Christian. I don't believe in God, but my heritage is definitely Christian (mostly protestant) in that I grew up with Christian stories, celebrate Christian holidays and am fairly in tune with Christian metaphors from the civil rights movement to saying "God Bless" when people sneeze).

It is fact that I don't follow the religion with the same "piety" of my Grandparents... but cultures are always changing. I don't think this is a "gap" of any sort... and it certainly isn't a gap in any spiritual sense.

The best sense I can make out of "spiritual gap" is that it is referring to an absence of spiritual belief and/or attention to spiritual matters in a person's life.

Thus, anyone using that term is implying that there is a gap where one's spiritual life "should" be.

I think I have heard the term being used quite often to refer to this.

Well of course it depends on the context it is put into. However, i'm afraid that i may have a spiritual gap in the context you have put it into. But also to answer your quote
"It is doubtful that any supernatural has to do with your heritage since the great majority of people get their religion from their parents."
Very many people are victim to family secrets. These are inherited through the family. Also some spirits will not rest until the whole family is dead. As a result. This supernatural problem is then inherited in this context.

It totally depends on the individual. Some think it is a gap to have little knowledge of their heritage and culture. This is one subject that not very many people agree on.

I don't understand why you use the word "gap". What you are describing is part of being human.

The world changes generation to generation and every person has different views, ideas and lives then their parents or grandparents had. This has been true since the time of the ancient Greeks who lamented how their kids weren't living the ideas of Zeus and Athene.

Each of us has to decide how we are going to live our lives. Part of this process is considering things like how we are brought up, our parents religion, our race or ethnicity-- there are a whole lot of things that go into our identity. From all of these things, we have the ability to choose our own beliefs and practices. Modern society makes this more confusing because of the number of things we are exposed to and the number of choices we have-- but in my mind this is a good thing.

I think this thread is really about identity.

Look as you said. We all have our opinions. We will just have to disagree on this one. I don't come on here to argue with people. I come on here to help people with their questions. If you don't disagree that's fine. But as i said i'm not going to argue this point any longer.

Why shut off the discussion?

I don't feel we are arguing... in fact I don't even understand what your disagreement is; (I get that you feel the term "gap" is valid, but you haven't at all explained why you feel it is "valid". I don't ever really understand what you mean by it).

If we do disagree, we might have an interesting discussion... which is really the point of being here, isn't it? Disagreement and discussion is not he same as argument. In my experience people who agree with me are far less interesting or even helpful.

But before we can have an interesting discussion, you have to explain what it is that you disagree with me about.

Well for starters. I can't seem to find the words to explain what is in my head. It rather frustrates me. The "gap" Is valid because some people belive that part of them is missing. This is a form of a gap. I tend not to like to "disagree" with people. It upsets me. I like to get along with people and find it uncomfortable to dissagree with people.

Do you object to my use of the word "identity"? I think it is appropriate.

Each person has to decide what to believe and what to stand for. Who you decide to be as a person is your "identity"-- this includes your religion, your purpose in life, your goals, your values, your profession and even the friendships you chose to have. Deciding on an identity is an important (and sometimes difficult) process that often happens in our late teens and early twenties (I have no idea how old you are).

I think the feeling that "some part of me is missing" is a pretty common feeling, I certainly have felt it, especially in the times when we are making decisions about our identity.

Note that I am being careful not to make anything in this post about a specific religion. Religion is really not relevant to this idea. Rededicating your life to Jesus is an example of choosing an identity. So is deciding to be an atheist (or Budhist or a good Russian or a Mason or even just a good person). The point is that each of us has to choose for ourselves who we want to be as people; a process that is both necessary and challenging.

On the contrary. I don't object to the word "Identity" I think we could both be right. Not knowing your true identity can leave a gap in some one spirit. Thus, proving us both right.

Well, i'm pagan. But my parents have no religion. I think it was my choice because i felt that it filled the spiritual gap i felt. I feel like i belong in some sense. But there are alot of different ways to feel a gap. Like loneliness, I feel like i have a black hole inside when i have no one to love. This is my biggest down fall. As it leaves me once again with a gap that needs to be filled.