Do You Believe In Anything Spiritual ?

[modeller]

I am an Atheist but I don't have anything that, I know of, in common with other Atheists . I know several non religionists who don't believe in any specific religion but nevertheless believe in the concept of a God.

[idiosyncrasy]

Birdie//It does irritate me when people of faith make the claim that atheists are somehow devoid of or deficient in compassion, contemplation or the appreciation of natural beauty. //

I would never dream of saying that atheists are devoid of deficient in compassion. Everyonee has those qualities as they are inbuilt in us. God is love and the scriptures state that he made man in his image. This does not mean that we look like him as many believe, but that he has created us with his qualifies of:
Love, Power, Wisdom and Justice.
Those qualities are in all of us, how we use them and how much we use them is up to us.
Some show more love, others use/exert their power, I won't comment on the wisdom, but I will note that justice seems to be in short supply in the world.

[naomi24]

//God is love//

Strange kind of love.

[douglas9401]

In matters of the spirit I take comfort in the output of Speyside or Jerez.

[beso]

Indeed, God's "love" is very strange.

In fact it is a lot like the attitude of a violent, controlling spouse who punishes for every perceived indiscretion and convinces the victim that they deserve it.

This page supports the comparison and is one of the best pieces of commentary on Christianity I have ever encountered.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/daylightatheism/essays/is-the-christian-relationship-with-god-healthy/

[modeller]

It seems to me that definition of words is possibly the greatest problem. It has always been a problem and probably most of all in the written word.

I am thinking in particular of : Atheist, Agnostic, Believer and
non-believer. and to what level that is taken. Above all else I place the personal wants and needs of the individual , as the deciding factor.

No matter what "evidence " is provided as "proof ", we only accept what we want too or maybe forced to. Fear is a major reason why we may act in a certain way . Fear of the unknown and fear of being different from others in the community. Muslems and RCs seem to be the most affected in that way.

[HansUrbancka]

modeller....I am with you all the way.

What Shakespeare said is interesting :-

" Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all."

I take the view that words often mean nothing. Especially if they come from Politicians and so called 'men of the cloth'.

Hans.

Hans.

[modeller]

I need to clarify one point . I Don't believe in the concept of a God ! But I know a number of Atheists who do. I don't know how the Universe was created or anything in it. That's the bottom line. Nobody knows ! God ,and the nonsense that goes with it, is fantasy created in our brain because we WANT , and for many , NEED to believe .
I understand that, but Wanting , Wishing , Hoping may bring comfort but it doesn't make it true.

[Old_Geezer]

Even if you consider it a fantasy you have by doing so, accepted that there is such a concept. One that backs up your earlier acceptance of the existence of such a concept by saying that you know others that believe in it. If they believe it, it must, by definition, exist. I don't understand some folks' insistence on claiming not to believe in the concept as if that would somehow taint them.

[Arksided]

As a guardian of our galaxy, I can let you know that I'm scared living on this planet, I follow no religion. deemed dark or otherwise but do trust in Angels for guidance.. not sure whether they're my subconscious or not.

[jomifl]

O_G, You are exactly correct, for the word 'god' to exist then the concept of god must exist. That anyone can discuss the existence of god without conceding the existence of the concept of god defies rational thought.

[modeller]

I

[modeller]

I think this is another example of nit picking with words . You might as well say the universe was created by flying pigs or little green men . Anything can be a concept limited only by our imagination. SOMETHING
caused the universe to come into existence. We don't know what it was .
I don't believe it was anything tangible that we can identify with. No old man with long flowing beards surrounded by beautiful angels.
I know it is difficult to accept a concept of nothing but at the moment that is all we have got.
However logic dictates that some thing , some source of power happened about 14 billion years ago which created our universe .
The trouble is that opens another mystery what happened before that etc etc . More old men with long flowing beards ??