Well, all joking aside, YES. Religious experiences are invariably emotional, no? And science and reason are considered “cold and unfeeling,” because there’s no touchy-feely element involved. You can be awe struck by the cosmos, amazed by the beauty and complexity of a DNA helix, inspired by the amazing pics the hubble sends back… but the cosmos ain’t gonna love you back! And let’s face it, we’re addicted to the emotional response. It’s much more comforting to “know” there’s a force out there bringing it all together with love than to think we’re hurtling through space without anyone at the switch, at the whim of gravity and the other objects hurtling through space with equal speed and force. Put that way, it’s difficult to fault those who put their faith in religion and spirituality for wanting something to believe in. Until they try to force feed it to others.
sigh…it’s just too Friday…
I was assured you would not find it plausible. Mainly because it was not the answer you were looking for, the answer you were looking for is validation of your beliefs. Most people feel they have the truth and are really not looking for any other opinions, but they will listen with a mind full of their own thoughts out of courtesy. It is OK. No bad feelings.
What the fuck is that supposed to mean? That makes absoutely zero sense.
I too would like a straight answer, not some new-age bulkshit. It’s not “what I want to hear”. It’s what the HELL do YOU mean?
One of my grandmother’s brothers died of whooping cough as an infant. What does that have to do about “leaving the same way” and “being a perfect spirit?”
She had another brother, who was older than her, who stepped on a nail and died of tetanus. I’d say that constitutes harm.
We could give a million more examples.
ETA: Maureen, that is beautiful-like some giant cosmic version of “goatsec” that’s not obscene. 
[sub]And for what it’s worth, I’m not an atheist, but a vague theist. That being said, I don’t think that should influence lekatt’s answer one damned bit[/sub]
Yes.
Yes WHAT?
Oh, and I don’t appreciate you modifying my quote, unless it was an error.
I’m far more moved by the stars and the universe than I ever was by religion or religious experiences back when I believed.
But as for me, I find no god far more comforting. If something bad happens, like a natural disaster, I know that it is just random chance, and that we are riders on the earth, subject to natural processes far bigger than we are. A believer has to wonder what they’ve done, or why god doesn’t like them, or try to explain the disaster away as being for the best while not really believing that a lost child is for the best. If good things happen, I’d rather either think it was luck, so I stay humble, or feel good about myself. How can you feel good about winning when the game was rigged?
As for the universe, if God created it, he made a big cosmos with a tiny earth, so he can’t care that much about us. With no God, we have managed, in a hostile universe, to become intelligent - intelligent enough to begin to understand what’s out there. I feel a lot better about human in the second case. If there is a god, we’re just his constructs. If there is no god, we’ve made it from just a strand of RNA to the moon. Now that’s worthy of tears of elation.
Of course you don’t, if you want to know, seek.
Lekatt believes that the suffering in this life Does. Not. Matter. Not one bit. Not to him, not to his god. The presumption is that once you croak, you will automatically shed all damage that was done to you, even if that means shedding most of your memory and your entire identity. The spirit matters and nothing else. I don’t know if he’s presented an explanation for why there’s a mortal world in the first place, but a good hefty chunk of what happens here has no relevence in the spiritual world he posits is real.
So the basic answer that he’s been avoiding giving you is that his “God of Love” doesn’t care about you or your family’s suffering, or at least, not enough to do anything about it.
(He is cordially invited to correct and/or clarify anything in this post.)
Think I will decline, take all week-end.
Could your post be any more smug and condescending? I have never once seen you concede anything to anyone in any forum, which is the difference between you and me. So who is interested in the truth, and who is interested purely in validating their own beliefs?
I happen to believe that if I flay the flesh from your bones and make you die in agony, that I would be an evil son of a bitch, and that what I did constituted a harm to you. But apparently, you think it is perfectly okay for people to do this, because it doesn’t harm them at all. You certainly think it is okay for God to do this.
lekatt, I’m gonna sound like a six-year-old, but the last time I checked, changing someone’s quotes was against the rules. I don’t appreciate having words put into my mouth, and that has nothing to do with “seeking” or whatever.
Ah, thanks for putting it into English. Isn’t that basically a Deist belief-that God just makes everything, then just puts his feet up and eats Cheetos and watches us like a soap opera?
I’ll take that as validation and agreement with my assessment of your position.
Of course, the idea the mortal suffering doesn’t matter isn’t exclusive to lekatt; it’s sort of implicit in every proposed answer to the problem of evil I’ve heard. He’s just not bothering to pretty it up with claims that it’ll make you stronger, or test you, or earn you something, or serve any other potentially positive purpose. In its own way it’s as valid a justification as any that proposes a benevolent or at least benign God.
Hmm, actually, as far as I can tell, he doesn’t posit a god that is watching us for his own amusement. It’s more like a dude behind a curtain that’s patiently waiting for us all to die so he can interact with us directly again. Or, if you ‘seek’ hard enough and in the right places, he may manage to breach the curtain for just you and bathe you in love and angels and auras and, well, various other trippy things that I’ve never been able to tabluate properly (not that I’ve devoted too much time to it).
Again, God doesn’t do anything to people save love them unconditionally. Sorry, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Is that satisfactory?
Hey, lekatt, I have a question I would like you to answer.
[lekatt-style condescension]Dude, your mind just isn’t open to the truth. Why do you resist? I guess you aren’t ready for the truth, and only accept things that fit in with your other beliefs. That’s okay. I forgive you.[/l-sc]
Sorry, never touch the stuff.
Thank you.
Man in water is drowning. “Throw me a life preserver!” he calls.
God on shore. “I love you unconditionally, dude” says he, standing and watching while the guy goes under.
Got it.