Chumly wrote:Yeah I promise I won't poke a stick at you or anyone else on this thread, come to think of it, that is what Doc S should have insisted all posters on this thread abide by, else it will simply turn into a cliché pissing match.
Thanks Chum. Don't hurt me none if people poke my beliefs: it's just annoying is all. I been thinking...how many of us in this world are walking around, shooting out to each other...and don't even have a bloody clue what the other guy means or is coming from? I know it sounds naive. Just been blown away at the implications of ignorance lately.
It still shocks me though: regular posters here; and still haven't heard what their core beliefs about the world are. Gah.
Anyways, I hope others contribute too. 'Cause it's fascinating.
<nods>
Theists and atheists...
...folks too in love with themselves to say the simple words...
..."I do not know...and ANYTHING may be!"
Frank,
Solely for the sake of argument or humor (which often amounts to the same thing) if you were forced to choose, by whatever agent you wish to imagine could place you in this pivotal position, without your knowledge that you were being forced to do so, and assuming you only had these two choices, which would you choose and why.
1) There is a supernatural creator
2) There is not a supernatural creator
I'll bet a sixpack that Frank says 1.5.
Nah-
He will say that the question is not logical and thus beneath his contempt.
Re: Outline your beliefs.
Doktor S wrote:This goes out, to everyone, atheists, agnostics, and religionists of all flavors:
Outline your beliefs, what you hold as dogma, what you hold as sacred.
What tenets do you live by?
I am especially interested in hearing from the religious front, who seem to keep their beliefs shrouded in mystery. (Real Life? Snood? Interpid?)
Time to see who has the cahones and who doesn't.
A fairly decent outline of my own beliefs can be found
HERE
What I hold as dogma:
I believe there is a God.
I believe He is not money hungry.
(He does not tell people to do things and then beg for money to support that "thing".)
I believe things happen for a reason. Always. Sometimes we are the reason though... LOL
I believe what the bible says is true.
What I hold as sacred:
People.
Relationships.
Time.
Life.
Opportunities.
Nature.
Oh yeah... can't forget horses!
neologist wrote:I'll bet a sixpack that Frank says 1.5.
spendius wrote:Nah-
He will say that the question is not logical and thus beneath his contempt.
Both you guys crack me up!
I am unable to accept the case for a god unless it is supported by adequate evidence. So far, there has been none.
I regard the existence of any god as highly improbable.
"Holy" books are written by humans.
I am a skeptic.
Some days I am agnostic, some days atheist. I think it depends on what I had for breakfast.
P
"The church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church." --- Ferdinand Magellan
I want to believe that there is something bigger and better and smarter than us somewhere in the universe.
I like to think that goodness will be rewarded and evil punished. I like the idea of divine justice. Sadly, I see no evidence of it.
When I just read religious books I believed in religion. When I started reading books about religion I saw there were a lot of untruths or just silliness in these books. Some were basic like the Bible claiming the world is flat and that unicorns existed. I spent a lot of time studying the life and times of Jesus and came to the unhappy conclusion he was a good person who believed in what he said, but 2000 years later the statement "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" seemed way off the time line. His death changed little and his legacy breed a new evil empire of intolerance that thrives today. I won't even get started on my impressions of the Koran ( as a cold shiver goes down my spine).
As a child I heard relatives tell stories of the Holocaust and how they lost their belief in God because of it. How can such evil be allowed by a loving God?- they would ask. I ask the same thing about the world today.
So I just hope that somewhere, somehow there is a God who just went on a long vacation and maybe one day he/she/it will remember the little planet that was set in motion and he/she/it will return and make good on all the promises people keep hoping for.
Basic Belief System
Hi. Here are some of my basic views. I have to admit that since I have studied Scientology most of my life that to a great degree it reflects what I have learned through that exposure. I am not connect to the Church of Scientology.
I believe that man is basically a composite being, that he is not just a body, or a mind, or a spirit, but a combination of uninspected factors. He is a spirit, wearing a mind (which has many parts) wearing a body (which has many parts). The result is, man is often confused. He doesn't really know who he is.
That much of the problem with man is that he assigns incorrect ownership: i.e. things being caused by the mind, he assigns to his body, as in psychosomatic illnesses, and things that are really body caused, he will often assign to some other source.
That the mind is essentially mental image pictures that have been recorded over time.
That the spirit is the individual, is the awareness of awareness, is the "I am" that the person is. The basic personality is not a body, but the spirit. When the spirit is healthy, the body reflects this.
That unnecessary drugs harm the body and confuse it, for it has its own mental image pictures of things done to the body. That it uses these experiences for learning and reshaping of future bodies, and that drugs may cause it to make inaccurate copies which can show up in future DNA.
That a joyful spirit is fun to be around, and that each should seek to become more free.
The spirit, called a "thetan" (from the Greek word theta meaning thought) has a right to his own sanity.
That he has a right to quit a game.
That he has the right to his own self-determinism.
That the spirit is immortal, and survives death of organisms. What happens to him afterwards has a great deal with what he expects will happen.
hephzibah darling!
I haven't seen you in a long time! I was thinking about you yesterday when looking for something on an older thread.
how you be?
Hi Chai!
Doing good... doing good... How are you doing? I'm in FL now. Still trying to figure out where to go from here. I think I may end up out west. I'm trying for a job in NV on a Dude Ranch... Yeeeee Haaaaaw! LOL If not, I guess I'll just have to settle down here for a while. I needed to break for a bit and work out a few things. I'm feeling much better now and glad to be back. Believe it or not, I thought about you all a lot while I was gone. Wondered how everyone was doing. A2K is definately addicting. LOL Anyway, see ya on the threads...
(dok, sorry about temporarily hijacking your thread for personal business!
)
Heph? HEPH!! Good to see you, dahling! Glad to hear you're doing ok.
Ok, carry on - just stopping by to say heh!
Well howdy JB... Good to see you.
I hope life has been treating you well. Oh yeah, just a warning... if I get the job on the dude ranch... I could suddenly turn "country bumkin" on ya'll... LOL You know how it is... :wink:
Chumly wrote:Frank,
Solely for the sake of argument or humor (which often amounts to the same thing) if you were forced to choose, by whatever agent you wish to imagine could place you in this pivotal position, without your knowledge that you were being forced to do so, and assuming you only had these two choices, which would you choose and why.
1) There is a supernatural creator
2) There is not a supernatural creator
If forced...I would do what I have done many times in the past when presented with this scenario. I would flip Mr. Coin...a coin I have at my desk for just such contingencies.
Lemme do it.
Heads = There is a GOD somehow involved in the REALITY of existence.
Tails = There are no gods involved in the REALITY of existence.
(This was done honestly!)
HEADS!
My choice is: "There is a supernatural creator."
Why: Because of the way the coin fell.
Frank Apisa wrote:Chumly wrote:Frank,
Solely for the sake of argument or humor (which often amounts to the same thing) if you were forced to choose, by whatever agent you wish to imagine could place you in this pivotal position, without your knowledge that you were being forced to do so, and assuming you only had these two choices, which would you choose and why.
1) There is a supernatural creator
2) There is not a supernatural creator
If forced...I would do what I have done many times in the past when presented with this scenario. I would flip Mr. Coin...a coin I have at my desk for just such contingencies.
Lemme do it.
Heads = There is a GOD somehow involved in the REALITY of existence.
Tails = There are no gods involved in the REALITY of existence.
(This was done honestly!)
HEADS!
My choice is: "There is a supernatural creator."
Why: Because of the way the coin fell.
Read what I wrote, that option is not available under the scenario I provided due to the "agent". I'll give you partial credits for humor though
Chumly wrote:Frank,
Solely for the sake of argument or humor (which often amounts to the same thing) if you were forced to choose, by whatever agent you wish to imagine could place you in this pivotal position, without your knowledge that you were being forced to do so, and assuming you only had these two choices, which would you choose and why.
1) There is a supernatural creator
2) There is not a supernatural creator
Edgar, I'm thinking that most people can't actually "discuss" the philosophy of religion or beliefs, unfortunately.
I am restraining myself on this thread, because I agree with Chai Tea that it allows everyone to make their view know.
Understandable, I just wish others would restrain themselves a little, ha ha. You'll never convince anyone of your view on something if you are hostile, but many people just don't get that.
