llap Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 This web link provides some definitions of "spirituality", as it's one of those words that means many things to different people. When I say spirituality, I'm talking about what they've listed. http://nccc.georgetown.edu/body_mind_spirit/definitions_spirituality_religion.html You don't have to believe in God, religion or supernaturalism to be be "spiritual". An Atheist can be spiritual while a Theist religious nutter could be the least spiritual person if they're just blindly following dogmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 This web link provides some definitions of "spirituality", as it's one of those words that means many things to different people. When I say spirituality, I'm talking about what they've listed. http://nccc.georgetown.edu/body_mind_spirit/definitions_spirituality_religion.html You don't have to believe in God, religion or supernaturalism to be be "spiritual". An Atheist can be spiritual while a Theist religious nutter could be the least spiritual person if they're just blindly following dogmas. I have to say I find the religion v. spirituality distinction very nebulous and that link doesn't help clarify it at all, When it says things like "value judgments should play no role in the distinction between spirituality and religion" I just go "huh, of course value judgements SHOULD play a vital role in distinguishing the clarity used to understand these oh so slippery terms." The definitions used for spirituality are really mush. How could someone write something like this if they have any understanding of the reality of ecological webs involving predation, parasitism, resource competition, defensive behaviours etc etc: "Spirituality means being in the right relationship with all that is. It is a stance of harmlessness toward all living beings and an understanding of their mutual interdependence. " A stance of harmlessness towards ALL living beings!! Sorry, but I am not going to adopt a stance of harmlessness towards carrots, potatoes, botulism, malaria, well bred pigs, or an uncaged lion which is between me and my children. If it is spiritual to wonder what is for the best and how to achieve it, then ok I can relate to something like that, but so much religious/spiritual language actively obscures or fails to admit to the reality of what life is - it isn't in harmony, it is out of equilibria and often more dog eat dog - or lion eat zebra, or Onchocerca volvulus eat your eye - than harmony and mutualism. Life contains both predation and cooperation and to ignore either of those facts is to miss too much. Maybe I'm just insensitive, but when I try to analyse these sorts of discourses I am left feeling they are profoundly misconstrued and based on assumptions which just don't seem to hold. Most misguidedly I think they seem to put the "I hope the world is a certain way" horse n front of the "what the world is like" cart. It is great to aspire and hope there is meaning, but we shouldn't beg that particular question: it is what we should be trying to answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fliugh Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 I agree with. Chinahand. That link (and many conversations about "spirituality") contain a series of deepities. Deepity definition (from Urban Dictionary): Something that sounds profound but is intellectually hollow. Usually has the following characteristics. 1. True but trivial 2. False but logically ill informed. 3. Usually a use-mention error or (UME) Made famous by Daniel Dennett. "Love is just a word" is a deepity. "God is the God beyond Gods." is a deepity. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llap Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 So you'll continue to put completely different people with different views and outlooks into the category of "religion" because you don't understand the difference. This is not a good argument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDruid-3X3 Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 For this subject, I feel my 2008 Imbolc 3X3 Triad of Wisdom Composition on 'What Are The True Religions' best sums up my Opinion on this. It Goes: What Are the True Religions - - The Ones that Provide Good Guidance in Life. - The Ones which Reveals the Power of Nature. - And the Ones which allows Freedom of Will. What is the Purposes of Religion - - To Understand the World around us. - To Appreciate the Cycles of Life. - And to be able to have Peace. What False Religions Do - - They keep People in Ignorance! - They Cause Harm unto Others! - And they Endeavour to Enslave! ------------------------------------------------------ With Good Guidance in Life - - The Fruits of Plenty are Enjoyed. - Many Happy Relations are Founded. - And the Needs of Others is Satisfied. Where is the Power of Nature - - In the Cleansing Forces of Storms. - In the Sprout of a New Seedling. - And in the Solar Rays of the Sun. With Freedom of Will - - Negative Emotions are Cleansed Away. - One Enjoys a Happy Life. - And One gets Closer to Mother Nature. ----------------------------------------------------- New Beliefs are like New Seedlings because - - They need Care and Cultivation to Grow. - They get Stronger with Age. - And they eventually Spread Seeds of New Knowledge. To Prevent Ingnorance - - One needs the Knowledge of the Ages. - Better Wisdoms must be Exercised. - And the Free Exchanging of New Ideas. When Satisfaction is Achieved - - Feelings of Bad Karma are Dispelled. - The Need for Greed is Abated. - And Nothing More is taken from the Earth. 3X3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quilp Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Be careful your karma doesn't run over your dogma. Religion and spirituality are on completely different levels and are both subjective states of consciousness which do not necessarily go in tandem. Religion is not a necessary component in attaining spiritual fulfilment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llap Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 And "spiritual" and "spirituality" should be given the benefit of their traditional definition. Too often I think people associate the words with either organised religion or wishy washy new age drivel. I think it was Dawkins, or it could have been Sagan, who said he as an atheist feels spiritual, in an entirely unsupernatural sense, like a feeling of profound connection with the universe. I'll buy that. You'll never be able to accurately describe or understand the world if you lump everyone into your own pre-defined boxes. People like to define themselves....... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 Define "God". I don't need to. People say they believe in a God. I don't have belief in anything called a God. But I am aware of the claims made that all sorts of theists that almost always refer to some being with an intelligence that has an interest in people and what they do and how they act, such as the Christian God. I definitely don't have belief in that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 The same. Not much. Atheistic dogma doesn't tell us anything either. Truth be told, human beings don't know shit. We may be smart compared to other animals on this planet but when it comes to perception or ability to comprehend the universe around us, we're still little better than single called life forms. Ok. So we say we don't know. But we don't make stuff up and nor even hold our the possibility of all-powerful beings as likely when we don't have good reason to think it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 This web link provides some definitions of "spirituality", as it's one of those words that means many things to different people. When I say spirituality, I'm talking about what they've listed. http://nccc.georgetown.edu/body_mind_spirit/definitions_spirituality_religion.html You don't have to believe in God, religion or supernaturalism to be be "spiritual". An Atheist can be spiritual while a Theist religious nutter could be the least spiritual person if they're just blindly following dogmas. That's the problem. When people talk of spirituality nobody really knows what they mean. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wasps4Sale Posted August 10, 2016 Share Posted August 10, 2016 Religion according to Rust Cohle. Sums it all up quite nicely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RfUj09pWfM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llap Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 This web link provides some definitions of "spirituality", as it's one of those words that means many things to different people. When I say spirituality, I'm talking about what they've listed. http://nccc.georgetown.edu/body_mind_spirit/definitions_spirituality_religion.html You don't have to believe in God, religion or supernaturalism to be be "spiritual". An Atheist can be spiritual while a Theist religious nutter could be the least spiritual person if they're just blindly following dogmas. That's the problem. When people talk of spirituality nobody really knows what they mean. I usually understand people perfectly well when they talk of spirituality. Maybe you're just thick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrighty Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 This web link provides some definitions of "spirituality", as it's one of those words that means many things to different people. When I say spirituality, I'm talking about what they've listed. http://nccc.georgetown.edu/body_mind_spirit/definitions_spirituality_religion.html You don't have to believe in God, religion or supernaturalism to be be "spiritual". An Atheist can be spiritual while a Theist religious nutter could be the least spiritual person if they're just blindly following dogmas.That's the problem. When people talk of spirituality nobody really knows what they mean. I usually understand people perfectly well when they talk of spirituality. Maybe you're just thick? Perhaps I'm thick too then, since I have absolutely no idea what it's meant to be about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llap Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 (edited) This web link provides some definitions of "spirituality", as it's one of those words that means many things to different people. When I say spirituality, I'm talking about what they've listed. http://nccc.georgetown.edu/body_mind_spirit/definitions_spirituality_religion.html You don't have to believe in God, religion or supernaturalism to be be "spiritual". An Atheist can be spiritual while a Theist religious nutter could be the least spiritual person if they're just blindly following dogmas. That's the problem. When people talk of spirituality nobody really knows what they mean.I usually understand people perfectly well when they talk of spirituality. Maybe you're just thick? Perhaps I'm thick too then, since I have absolutely no idea what it's meant to be about.Yes, I'd guess you're thick too then. It all makes perfect sense to me. Then again, I'd probably be described as thick if I was trying to make sense of the precise medical and biological details involved in the human back and was then posting on an online forum dismissing if all out of hand despite never having gone to medical school. Edited August 11, 2016 by llap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrighty Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 But there's the difference. I can explain medical details to a layperson, and refine the level of that explanation according to understanding/educational level etc. In addition, these medical details are tangible, and can be understood by using analogies from everyday life. Ask me something and I'll demonstrate. When it comes to spirituality, I've looked at those 7 definitions in the link that you provided, and they're all meaningless. For example, "the search for meaning in life events and a yearning for connectedness to the universe" - what does 'connectedness to the universe' mean? I'm clearly too thick to understand, so need an explanation from a spiritual person such as you. For me the universe is the entire region of space and its contents in which our galaxy, amongst millions of others, exists. We're all in it, so how can we yearn for a connectedness to it? This is the sort of nonsense that idiots share on Facebook. Or perhaps I should go to spiritualist school before dismissing it as such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.