This is where the lines can get a little fuzzy- which is my reason for trying to start a great exchange of our philosophies. I would define myself as an agnostic, which for me means that I doubt any kind of spontaneous creations, but yet here we are.
In the interest of getting some imaginative/original responses, I am going to wait before expressing my full opinion except for saying that I am a big-time positive thinker.
Before anybody’s dogma runs over my karma, let’s see how fully our minds and our hearts are cooperating.
Tarl, something I have thought a lot about since joining this message boards is how I would define my faith. I realize now that I have been neurolgicaly wired to relate to a spiritual force or power. Each and everytime I make that connection throughout the day I feel a noticable lift that I would greatly miss if I had to live without.
Even though I have no concept of what God might be I still have my walk around go to
image that is from what I was taught as a young Catholic. If a child never experienced this connection they would not miss it. I use my connection to bounce things off of. I feel like I am talking to someone with perfect motives and I feel like it elevates my own motives when I am relating to something I consider perfect.
Personal opinion: faith is only meaningful as an extension of experience and evidence.
I have faith my sister won’t betray me, because I have evidence of her affection. She’s earned my trust.
I don’t have faith in a complete stranger, because I have no experience with him and no evidence of his character. He might be trustworthy…or he might not. I have no way to know, and thus having faith in him would be folly.
Faith is an extrapolation of knowledge. Anything else is “blind faith” which is largely condemned in these here parts.
Czarcasm, not sure where this train of thought might end up at, but for myself the debate is w/ME. Iseriously question the existence of GOD, mainly because just as I believe that mankind could not just poof into being, logically the same holds true for any “GOD”. My reason tells me that somehow, there must have been a beginning, while logic seems to be telling me that I am missing s vitsl piece of the puzzle.
Have no fear, Czarcasm… by the very nature of the concepts involved, I think we’ll be knee-deep in debate soup fairly soon.
On the other hand, in the unlikely event that peace suddenly breaks out… we will have to deal with it.
Hmmm… barely a nibble. I was expecting our religious contingent to jump on this opportunity to save face if nothing else.
Alrighty then - hear (read) me now, believe me later: if the faithful want to declare peace, that would seem to Indicate that they realize that GOD IS A DEAD ARGUMENT. I will play the Devil’s advocate.
I call myself a “shrugnostic.” This means that the entire question of a god’s existence has absolutely no relevance to my life. I spent several decades with the label “atheist,” and I’m tired of debating the subject. Suffice it to say that I see no reason to believe in a supreme being.
And as far as “faith” is concerned, in general: One of the most cruel side effects of most religions is considering “faith” as something positive and beneficial.
It could also mean that they don’t wish to discuss this topic given how strident some atheists are on the subject.
Anyway, what argument are you going to make if someone says, “I believe what I believe because I believe it, and my faith in god is internally consistent.”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again here: Belief and faith are two very different things, and it is possible to have either one without the other.
I’m trying to stay away from the ‘religious’ aspect of the question in view of concentrating on the subject of faith itself. As I said, I’m big on positive thinking. “If you believe, you can achieve”, seriously. You don’t step into an mma ring expecting to LOSE- you either are prepared to win, or you have no business being in the ring in the first place.
"There are only two ways to live your life. One way is to live as though nothing is a miracle. The other way is to live as though everything is. " - Albert Einstein
Each of those words is from the English language. But taken together, I can’t figure out what they mean. You start out by asserting “this is where the lines get a little fuzzy” What lines? What fussiness?
You’re new here, so just be advised that it’s not accepted as good practice to “wait before expressing my full opinion”. Express away or this will rapidly turn into a joke thread.
A positive mental attitude, while very helpful, only goes so far. The world is, for a very great many people, just plain a shitten place to be. “If you believe, you can achieve” is somewhat workable in the first world, where you have a fairly steady supply of water and food. In other places? Not so much.
I would, instead, recommend a more humanist approach. Face life with the goal of making things better, to some degree, for yourself and for others. Put faith aside, and concentrate on real work. Make the world a better place, using the tools you’re fortunate enough to have inherited. Don’t view life as miraculous; view it as pretty good, but in need of some adjustment. Then make the adjustment happen.
