rhonjon wrote:
We won’t find out. We can’t even remember the early days of this life. Being slapped by a doctor while we hung upside down. Letting go of the coffee table and taking out first step. Once we cross the river Stix in another existence the most we’ll have is the same choice between unfalsifiable spiritual hopes and cold reaso…

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rhonjon wrote:
General anesthesia is a perfect analogy. The brain is part of the physical body and once it’s dead, it’s dead. Because I cannot undo my experiences, I can’t know if my feelings of something beyond my physical body may just be a result of decades of Christian indoctrination. If I’d grown up in a Buddhist society, I might interpr…

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rhonjon wrote:
I often wonder what it will be like when I die. I can’t shake the feeling that it’s going to “be like” something.

The problem with wondering what something is like is that you need something else to compare it to. “Langostinos taste a lot like lobsters,” for example.

At the heart of trying to comprehend death is to accept the fac…[Read more]

Do you ever get goosebumps from music? Sometimes I do, and it proves to me that something deep within me is stirred. Although I’ve rarely ever…[Read more]

It will feel the same to you as the year before you were born does now.

How many songs have you heard that never had the sensation of being  coincidental to what you were currently doing? I think we overestimate the amount of times something like that happens to us.

An atheist is a person who doesn’t believe in God. Anything else a person may or may not believe in is ancillary to the term atheist.  So, yes, an atheist can still be spiritual. We have unanswered questions but are not satisfied with religions unquestioned answers.

I have had experiences in my life that I cannot honestly dismiss as co…[Read more]

For as long as I can remember I always felt that spirituality refers to…[Read more]

Simon Paynton wrote:
I think you raise a good point: this “Great Spirit” is amoral…

And as such, is unworthy of much respect or regard.

I’m not meaning to imply that at all…but I think you know that. I’m standing by my word…perhaps I’ll just avoid bringing it up around a group of atheists next time unless I’m ready to defend. 😆😎

“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space…[Read more]

The first part – Our vibrating mass of molecules that we call our bodies….that’s spiritual…

If you were to say that when you came to u…[Read more]

Simon Paynton wrote:
I’ve learned (thanks to @JodyLee‘s discussion) that what spirituality means to people is very personal; or rather, the way it is expressed is very personal.  This reflects the fact that everyone lives their lives in their own way.

I agree, and endeavor to keep learning the depth of this very uniquely-human evol…[Read more]

Ivy wrote:
I do think that we ALL know deep down that we are connected to “God”/”The Great Sprit” whatever you want to call “it/him/her.” (insert gender pronoun here lol)….but….I think people who call themselves atheists do not like to admit this because they cannot see/touch/feel/put under a microscope…it.

Pardon me if you haven’t retracted…[Read more]

Jody Lee wrote:
I’m not the majority and over time maybe you guys will get used to the way I use it. 😁😁

I’m perfectly fine with that, and also tend not to be in the majority. Sometimes I’m thinking ok, fine, so what if this tennis ball hits a hornet’s nest!

My usage does not refer to an ethereal party or link to dualism. Thar feeling of connectedness IS what I seek. An addiction? Perhaps. But not to point where I have irrational or unfounded concepts of reality.

I’m not the majority and over time maybe you guys will get used to the way I use it. 😁😁

Jody Lee wrote:
Are you really THIS hung up about a word?

Here’s my opinion on why this word is a big deal, and then I’ll explain what I wish it to mean if/when I use the word.

The most obvious reason why it’s important, at least in a forum of atheists, is because the majority of people (at least in USA) mean it to refer to an ethereal third…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
how do you explain … mass extinctions due to meteor strikes

Simon Paynton wrote:
even in the midst of unfavourable physical circumstances, it leads in the direction of making things better for living things.

I think you raise a good point: this “Great Spirit” is amoral, except in the case of human beings, where it generates two…[Read more]

Simon Paynton wrote:
In this case, then 1) cars / earthquakes / fires etc. are not a part of the living world, they are alien and external to it because they are not alive, and living things only possess limited control over physical phenomena and circumstances; 2) good and evil, or at least, pro- and anti-social behaviour, are themselves…

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Same Harris may be the type of person that needs to be reminded to live in the now, but I know a lot of people whose lives would likely benefit if they did at least some planning for the future.

Exactly. Now I am all for the idea that we shouldn’t worry ourselves to death about things that haven’t happened yet….But at the exact same tim…[Read more]

I think they’re all linked up by…the essence of living

Sigh. I give up.

But, the present is 1) where we actually live, so it’s important to be in it; 2) where we prepare for the future.  Our actions now make our future.

I’ll use spiritual to describe the process in which we live and breath and transform…and I’ll defend it as best as I can.

Nay, we can do it offline if you want.

Want a Bible face-off??? 🙂

“There is Only now.”

Sam Harris’s video is moving….but you can arrive at that same place by reading Matthew 6:25-34…so who is right? Both? Or maybe the question is which one is wrong? It is…..yes that’s right…..subjective……

Wow. Sam Harris speaking a subjective truth? He couldn’t be!!!

On a serious note, I do think that our brain’s a…[Read more]

I only exist in the present moment (of my reality). I do not see my existence as something spiritual. I see it as natural and at this present moment I feel connected to the natural world. There is no other place I can exist in.

the essence of living

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
connection to something bigger… What is this “bigger than ourselves” thing that you can connect to?

Simon Paynton wrote:
the present moment of reality

Jody Lee wrote:
Our vibrating mass of molecules that we call our bodies, our subconscious and conscious minds, the variety of frequencies we experience….that’s spiritual, the essence of living to me. One a small scale.

There was a TV show today called “Mystic Britain” or something like that and this new age type guy was standing in a circle of…[Read more]

I could easily say “I do think that ALL religious people know deep down that their preposterous childish beliefs are totally whacko”. But that’s simply not true.

You never know. The truth is not found in the extremes on either side, it’s always somewhere in the middle.

It’s like they say, There’s three sides to every story. Your side,…[Read more]

Jody Lee wrote:
@everyone (because I’m not sure anymore who is debating what) So because I’m atheist, I can’t use the word ‘spiritual’ to describe something that doesn’t relate to a God?

You can use it, but the only way to avoid having to defend is not to use it here. This is what we do here. We discuss and challenge people’s notions and the lan…[Read more]

I do think that we ALL know deep down that we are connected to “God”/”The Great Sprit” whatever you want to call “it/him/her.”

I mean really…you have totally lost all intellectual dignity when you resort to bullshit like this. I could easily say “I do think that ALL religious people know deep down that their preposterous childish beliefs are…[Read more]

We’re adults. And as atheists I’d say, in a sense, we are also more adult-like in some intellectual ways. And adults get to make up their own rules. So no, there is nothing stopping you from using spiritual if you like. I simply recommend…[Read more]

What is this “bigger than ourselves” thing that you can connect to?

My ego-bound consciousness?? I think I should build a bridge and get over myself as I am much too Yung to be a Freud.

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
Can you give an example of the descriptive value of “spiritual” in a sentence that some other word would not more precisely convey what you mean?

“Spiritual practice” such as meditation.  This refers to at least two meanings of the word spiritual: relating to well-being, and connection to something bigger (the pres…[Read more]

Jody Lee wrote:
I can’t use the word ‘spiritual’ to describe something that doesn’t relate to a God?

I do it all the time.

Firstly our conversations do tend to digress but usually we get back on track again. It is all down to the meaning of words. Any philosophical conversation that does not have precise meanings attached to the main words used tends to wander.

Can you give an example of the descriptive value of “spiritual” in a sentence that some other wor…[Read more]

No, theists don’t. Deists do. Theists believe the driving power behind the Universe is an all knowing creator god and that they have a personal relationship with that god.

I understand (rather than believe on faith) that the Universe…[Read more]

So because I’m atheist, I can’t use the word ‘spiritual’ to describe something that doesn’t relate to a God?