Friday, April 27, 2012
What Does Religion Know About Truth?
Thanks to Tawan for recommending this great clip from comedian Marcus Brigstocke. There are thousands of religions in the world but by definition there can be, at most, only one omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. That means out of the thousands of religions that humans have created, only one, at most, could be the truth. If you're a betting man, which I'm not, those are some terrible odds. So if you're looking for ultimate truth in religion, it's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack of needles. You'd be better off and closer to the truth if you just stopped searching and meditated on the haystack. Religion is to spirituality what indoctrination is to education. Religion is someone else's pre-packaged box of beliefs for you to memorize and follow. Truth, however, is a bit more slippery, a bit more elusive. Truth is too rebellious to be boxed into a set of beliefs. Even God can't encapsulate the truth into a holy book or a set of commandments. In fact the truth doesn't exist anywhere out here in the external material world. Truth is only accessible from within - your own feelings, your own intuition, your own discernment. Discover who you are (or more specifically who is "I am") and you'll be beyond religion.
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"Religion is to spirituality what indoctrination is to education" - Yep, religion destroys 'true' spirituality alright.
I'm so tried of the people who protest against something and use God as the main reason the support they protest! Frist off God DOES NOT HATE!!! People do! God loves his child even if we sin, that was the whole point of sending his only son here to be sacrifice for our sins because he loves us and wants us all to be with Him. God does not hate people but he hates the sin that causes us to sin and if and one that claims to be a "good christian" but still goes out and tolds anyone that God hates you for whatever reason is not doing God's work. Finally don't listen to these people, they are not doing the Lord's work and are not real Chrisitans for they are turning people away from the true meaning of the Word. With all that said God Bless and help us all.
Poignant as hell! What a comedically refreshing perspective on truths so simple yet so silenced. I honestly believe the majority of people, if theyd stop rushing along in the ant colony of cattled society for one moment, could see how obvious it is that organized religion and hypocrisy go hand-in-hand. I was raised in a Catholic environment that would preach understanding and compassion while indoctrinating children to condemn gays without question, not question authority in any way, and instill in us at the age of puberty's peak that masturbation will send you to Hell.
Also, dont forget to confess your dirtiest secrets and possible homosexually-themed fap material to that celibate priest you've never met, in the privacy of that dark small closet. Because...you know, only he can ensure that 'god' will hear your confession and consequently forgive you.
And guns! Everyone should have guns! Because thats the way my white, hot-blooded, pussy-loving, genetically male God wants His cuntry [sic] to be ran. With violence-loving egomaniacal selfish anti-saints at the top, feeding off the blood/sweat/tears of the rest of the population trying to make the best out of the situation and doomed storyline we were born into. That way we can keep the pro-abortion sluts in line, along with the Eco-friendly fags and pot smoking lesbians or anyone else who thinks peace can come from something other than war.. See you at church.
Love your website, apologies for the rant.
Peace and Love.
Tierney
Hey Tierney, you've got a great writing style and a cutting perspective, no apologies necessary, looking forward to hearing more rants. Peace
"That means out of the thousands of religions that humans have created, only one, at most, could be the truth. If you're a betting man, which I'm not, those are some terrible odds. So if you're looking for ultimate truth in religion, it's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack of needles.".
Now if God has an enemy with great power, say the DEVIL, with his own agenda, what better way to turn people away from truth than be creating the proverbial haystack you mentioned? Although I appreciate some of the truth you bring on your blog related to what is happening in the world, there is profound truth in the scriptures that when studied objectively cannot be intelligently denied.
www.theweepingeagle.com
Now if God has an enemy with great power, say the DEVIL
If God is defined as the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent creator of all that is, then God cannot have an enemy. Period.
How can "God have an enemy with great power" if God is omnipotent/all-powerful?
Judging by the fact that you like putting a "D" before the word "evil" to mythologize and confuse what would otherwise be straight-forward, I'm guessing you're a Christian. I do agree with you that, "there is profound truth in the scriptures that when studied objectively cannot be intelligently denied." But the Bible also contains a contradictory, confusing, plaguerized, abridged, mistranslated, mish-mash of ancient mythologies, astrotheology, paganism, numerology, and hermeticism, which has been used for millennia to pervert people's understanding of God into thinking that there could exist "an enemy of God with great power called the Devil" who has a special burning eternity of hellfire awaiting anyone who refuses to replace their understanding of the word "God" with a Jew named Jebus.
The "original Terrorist of the planet" -- the "Zealots" are responsible for the loss of knowledge that completes our bond with the divine.
As long as their dark hold remains, the real picture will never come out, and it brings us back to the original problem.
Eliminate the "Dark demon of ignorance", and the power of knowledge will return.
Is it possible for absolute nothing to create something? Not logically. Therefore, as something exists, there must have always been something. If we traced history back, could we ever reach the moment that absolute nothing became something? How could it happen?
Is it possible for something that is not alive to live? Can a non-living something suddenly, or slowly, transform into a living something? How could it happen?
I think there must always have been something, something living. But how is that possible?
Life is a great mystery. It's good to search for answers, to try to understand. Do our lives have a purpose? What is it? Search, in mathematics, the sciences, philosophy, theology and art. Many of these mysteries can be answered, but the answers are hidden, covered up, so that we are ignorant and easily misled.
The scripture based religions, for example, pull an interesting trick. They replace God with a book.
Christians can understand that God isn't the Bible, but try telling them that the Bible isn't God. The same is true Muslims and the Koran.
I don't like these religious verses science arguments, both sides have their fundamentalists, and both science and religion are servants of oppressive power. But I welcome the search to understand life, it's origins, purpose, and goals. I believe that many routes can help you glimpse the answers. I recommend mathematics, but there are many other ways, architecture is a good one, biology too. Mystery is important, it has value. The searching is important, and our glimpses of truth are encouragements on the journey. Search for God, search for the meaning of life, it will help you grow and transform the world.
Nimbsky
Is it possible for absolute nothing to produce something? Can 0 x 0 equal more than 0? Therefore, as something exists, there must have always been something. If we traced back through history could we ever reach the moment that absolute nothing became something; that 0 x 0 equaled 1? How could it happen?
Is it possible for something that is not alive to burst into life? Can a non-living something suddenly, or slowly, transform into a living something? How could it happen? If life came from mud, surely the mud must have been alive.
I think there must always have been something, something living. But how is that possible? If there is absolute nothing, still there is one thing that exists—the great emptiness of space. I believe space itself must be alive. Space is the omnipresent God.
Whatever you think, I hope you agree, life is a great mystery. It's good to search for answers, to try to understand. Does life have a purpose? What is it? Search in mathematics, the sciences, philosophy, theology and nature. The searching can help you grow, and it could transform the world.
Nimbsky
No matter your religion if you break your beliefs down to their core truths. One must almost always come to the conclusion that if indeed there is that one omnipotent being somewhere out there, and that he created each and everyone of us. Well then were all gods. Or at least little fragments of him/her/it. Organized religion does some good in the world. But over the course of history organized religion has proven the MOST EVIL invention of man.
Almost exclusively used for oppression and to make willing slaves of the ignorant.
I personally have a terrible issue with any religion that causes people around the world to hate themselves and others and fear imaginary hell fires.
original sin?
give me a break!
If god is all powerful, and he created each and every piece of each and every one of us from himself.
then what the heck is sin?
Can god sin?
what is it made of if not him?
if god is perfect and we are his creations
are we not perfect as well?
he made us after all. as images of himself if scriptures are to be believed.
If I were to give advice to anyone in the world it would be this.
Do your best to forget everything you ever heard in a church or temple, or school. Forget anything and everything your parents taught you about what was right and wrong.
when you have done this.
Go find a quiet spot amongst nature and sit.
Try not to think about anything, just look for a minute. breathe relax a little.
OBSERVE THE TRUE GOD AROUND YOU.
THE FEELINGS AND INTUITIONS THAT COME TO YOU FROM NATURE ARE A TRUER GOD THEN WILL COME FROM ANY SPOKEN OR WRITTEN WORD.
when you look around you remember even for just an instant that you are intimately tied to every living creature on this planet.
by the shear fact that you live on earth if nothing else. There is truth I can live with. I hope you will agree
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