Antlerman Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 I love the way you think Antlerman. I think that spirituality is the wrong word for the process, but I'm at a loss to come up with another one. I think spirituality is an internal excercise of "know thy self" and understanding how you relate to your own truth. It's a human experience and does not require the belief in a god. It requires belief in yourself. Taph Thanks for the compliment I know what you're saying, and what other's say about that word "spiritual". Surprisingly, that word doesn't bother me and I can, and do use it without feeling it's spoiled by religion. The word "God" however for me, is extremely charged and I will use the word cautiously and always with careful qualification, using with quotes around it suggesting "so to speak". I have conversations with other atheists and we all use the term spiritual without feeling like we're talking about Christianity. It's human spirituality. An existentialist friend and I a few summers ago were enjoying a couple of drinks at a restaurant along this river, and we're speaking about human spirituality: Art, Poetry, Music, Philosophy, etc. This one woman sitting nearby took advantage of this conversation to try to join us with her friend saying, "It's so unusual to hear two men speaking of spirituality. I'm really into spirituality too." She then pulled her chair up by us and proceeded to share of her beliefs in pyramid power, crystals, and cosmic energies. Ok that didn't help much, did it? The point is, it is a word that most people don't necessarily equate with a religious idea. From Wikipedia: Spirituality, according to most adherants, is an essential part of an individual's holistic health and well-being. Due to its broad scope and personal nature, however, spirituality can perhaps be better understood by highlighting key concepts that arise when people are asked to describe what spirituality means to them. Research by Martsolf and Mickley (1998) highlighted the following areas as worthy of consideration: Meaning – significance of life; making sense of situations; deriving purpose. Values – beliefs, standards and ethics that are cherished. Transcendence – experience, awareness, and appreciation of a "transcendent dimension" to life beyond self. Connecting – increased awareness of a connection with self, others, God/Spirit/Divine, and nature. Becoming – an unfolding of life that demands reflection and experience; includes a sense of who one is and how one knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insomniac Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 my old church had "focus groups" based around the purpose driven life program, it was so artificial and disgusting that I never even attended those (and that was when i WAS xian ) so I probably wouldnt waste my time with a church-sponsored "forum" like that, although its an interesting idea in itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueGiant Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 If there was a group of people willing to discuss such things, I would probably propose a better and more comfortable place than a church. For me, it is ideally a coffee house, perferably a really good one with some nice comfy seats, and paper to illustrate points on... As for "going back to church." No. While other things may have gotten me to leave initially, people are pretty good at keeping me away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sas Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Is going to Church a) about reminding yourself that you are a sinner and that everyone around you are sinners, therefore you must donate your money to the Preacher to stop all the sinning in the world and to be forgiven for your sins? Be forgiven and save the world, give More Money to the Church! for sad lonely losers who cannot make friends easily that they agree to be 'like minded' as the churchgoers to be part of their exclusive club? Buy your friends, Give more money to the Church! c) for people devoid of fun, love & laughter to have someone to love them i.e. the godman, Jesus? Feel Loved by someone, Give More Money to the Church! d) for people who cannot think for themselves, therefore have the responsiblity removed just so they can blame it on God or thank God for their good fortune? Have a frontal lobotomy, Give more money to the Church! e) for people who want to be saved and go to Heaven? Be Saved and Go to Heaven, Give more money to the Church! f) to be able to measure your self greater than the people who do not believe what you do? Boost your ego, Give more Money to the Church! g) looking for someone else's truth but your own? It is the absolute truth, Give more money to the Church! h) making all the religious institutes richer? A good investment, Give more money to the Church! i) to have faith other than your own experiences and yourself, Have Faith, Give more money to the Church! j) fulfil one's spiritual needs, because being alive is not spiritual enough? Unite with the Holy Spirit, Give More Money to the Church! k) because you are not well-read therefore, you can have someone read fairy stories, produce morals and suggest good behaviour, therefore being able to hold a conversation on at least one topic. Be Happy - ignorant is bliss, Give more money to the Church! TOUGH CHOICE. PERHAPS I SHOULD ASK A PREACHER AND GIVE MORE MONEY TO THE CHURCH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taphophilia Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Sas, Have you gone to protestant chruches beside RC? I never thought of RC as begging for money the way that fundy churches and preachers do, although, I could be wrong. Taph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 If a Church was liberal enough run meetings or discussion groups aimed at people who were honestly searching for and wanting to discuss human spirituality without attributing it to a specific religion. Would you go back to Church? I ask because the last 6 months have been a whirlwind of change for me. I find I really want to discuss these things in a postive manner without having to accept the literalist / fundamantal view. And I want to be with people who also want to discuss these things in a positive way And I am finding more and more that there are people who want this also. Mostly people who have left the Church for the obvious reasons but who feel they have thrown the baby out with the bath water. I am not encouraging anyone to go back to Church! Just wondering if anyone would take this step if the right sort of meeting was there .... OM - I know your stance on this but contribute as you wish I will admit that I miss church but not for *spiritual* reasons. I miss the friendship and the contact with some really nice people. I don't think christians really can discuss things of a spiritual nature, because for them it's god, or nothing. I find I have little in common with our church friends now. The guys who do want to get together appear to have a hidden agenda of getting me to read the bible again! Apparently everything is revealed if I only bother to read it.......again. I think this is like a JW thing, where the softly softly approach is the best way to get them questioning their beliefs without being too pushy. Kevin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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