ufred7

Organized religion gets into trouble when it believes and teaches "scripture" literally. It seems that the less religious groups really understand spirituality, the more literal they are regarding their sacred writings. Then you end up with people who teach that the world has only been around 6000 years or so, among other things. At a certain point, all rationality is thrown out the door in order to force scripture to be kept to the letter. The more I reflect on the bible study I did in college (theology major) and after I got out, the more apparent it becomes that the "scriptural" works w

Yeah, that's kind of where I end up.

I'm interested in what you mean when you talk about spirituality. I tried to pin that down for myself for a long time, but I never could come up with anything that seemed plausible and comprehensive. What, for you, is the definition of "spirituality?"

When I was religious I believed that scripture was sacred and somehow transcendent. After much study and consideration, I have come to believe that people whom religions were formed around simply found ways to live life in an exceptional way. Most teachings that eventually came to be regarded as sacred, holy scripture began as advice to help people physically or psychologically.These people's words and lives were often put into mythical language and people began to believe that these people were gods. The doctrine of not eating certain types of foods originally had more to do with avoidin

I have had to rethink so many things since leaving religion behind. I remember when I used to make fun of the "left-wing wackos" when they talked about how harmful corporal punishment could be. Now I'm pointing fingers in the opposite direction. Now I'm thinking, "you know, this might not really be the most effective form of punishment." Something that I've found out is that many of those I used to be concerned about, that they might not make it to heaven, are actually the smart ones who have thought things through rationally.

Same here. I kinda stopped drinking around the time of deconversion. Maybe there was no retribution to make it fun anymore. I do remember thinking, "I can do just about anything, now."

meant to attribute that first part to Lao Tzu -- oops

When beauty is recognized, there is ugliness When good is recognized, there is evil All good...makes Jack a dull boy

The first part of Zeitgeist (movie) discusses the imagery that christianity borrowed from earlier mythologies. The reasons for death and resurrection of a savior are included as well as the reasons for the dates they are celebrated.