Do You Believe That God Has Many Different Forms, Or Do You Only Believe In One Religion?

[Meriweather]

Religions are nothing but a societal control that people are duped into accepting through the fear of damnation and the promise of eternal life.

Those who see religion as "societal control" and people being duped are ignorant of the actual nature of religion and spirituality. It's interesting they see others, but never themselves, as the ones being duped and controlled.

 

[Blues Man]

Those who see religion as "societal control" and people being duped are ignorant of the actual nature of religion and spirituality. It's interesting they see others, but never themselves, as the ones being duped and controlled.

I am very well aware of the nature of religion.

And all of us are controlled by societal institutions to one degree or another.

But affiliation with religion religion is steadily lessening in the populations of just about every developed country on the planet because religion is no longer the best way to control a population.

Spirituality is an individual pursuit and an affiliation with religion or even a belief in gods isn't required.

 

[Meriweather]

Spirituality is an individual pursuit

Religion and spirituality go hand-in-hand. Always have.

 

[Blues Man]

Religion and spirituality go hand-in-hand. Always have.

No gods are necessary for the latter.

Religion requires a belief in the god of that religion.

 

[WinterBorn]

Those who see religion as "societal control" and people being duped are ignorant of the actual nature of religion and spirituality. It's interesting they see others, but never themselves, as the ones being duped and controlled.

Oh I have no problem with the nature of religion and spirituality. It is organized religion that I take issue with. It has been a method of controlling the masses for centuries, often with disastrous results.

 

[Meriweather]

No gods are necessary for the latter.

Kind of like the ability to read being unnecessary to graduate from high school.

Spirituality without acknowledgement of a higher power is merely ego.

 

[Meriweather]

Oh I have no problem with the nature of religion and spirituality. It is organized religion that I take issue with. It has been a method of controlling the masses for centuries, often with disastrous results.

That's the definition of government, not religion. Western civilization has separated the two...which seems to have the most control over the masses today?

 

[hobelim]

Kind of like the ability to read being unnecessary to graduate from high school.

Spirituality without acknowledgement of a higher power is merely ego.

You should talk. Forget about highschool. You don't even know your A, B, C's.

Whether God exists or not seeking spiritual life from that which is made by human hands and does not have life is insanity.

 

[ding]

I was responding to the previous post. If you can't see how my answer applies, I can't help you. And yes, everything which is born will die. But parent will do all they can to prevent childish ways and mistakes from being fatal. I had someone (who had no children) tell me that I should let my children learn the natural consequences of their actions. They said this when I had just given a harsh scolding to my 4 year old after she ran out into the road. I laughed and reminded this "great" parent that the natural consequence of running into the road is death.

And yes, given the proclivity of the "God healed me" stuff, to hear of a single mother dying of something that was such a long shot does make me wonder.

To hear Xtian athletes credit God for a victory in a game, while people of faith are dying or starving, makes me wonder.

To see pastors, preachers and priest blatantly take advantage of their flock, to scam money, to promote hate, and to sexually molest children, deciding not to listen to them is, imho, a smart move.

Again... you are trying to define the rule through exception. Apparently you believe God cannot be caring unless he controls every action and outcome of yours.

 

[WinterBorn]

That's the definition of government, not religion. Western civilization has separated the two...which seems to have the most control over the masses today?

Oh the gov't has far more control. But I do have a say in who runs the gov't.

 

[WinterBorn]

Again... you are trying to define the rule through exception. Apparently you believe God cannot be caring unless he controls every action and outcome of yours.

Again, not what I said. But then, with so many giving all the credit to God for the good things, shouldn't they do the same with the bad?

 

[Meriweather]

But I do have a say in who runs the gov't.

Ever consider the fact that it is the people in the SF Bay area who keeps sending us the most powerful woman in the House of Representatives? Wonder how the rest of the country truly feels about that.

 

[BreezeWood]

Kind of like the ability to read being unnecessary to graduate from high school.

Spirituality without acknowledgement of a higher power is merely ego.

the use of higher is the centuries old clarion call for servitude, the opposite meaning 1st century liberation theology represented before its untimely disruption.

 

[ding]

Again, not what I said. But then, with so many giving all the credit to God for the good things, shouldn't they do the same with the bad?

You didn’t say it. You are doing it.

what bad things do you think I should attribute to God?

 

[Ivan88]

The word God comes from a Babylonian idol for good luck.
The Creator's name is Yahveh, and when He came to Earth as a Man via Marry, He became known as YahvehShua, meaning Yahveh Saves.
There is only One Elohim, He as 3 aspects to His Being.
He is Creator, Spirit (His Word) and He came and proved His True Intent by living as a Man on Earth, a Perfect Man.

The word Jesus was invented by the Vatican about 500 years ago, first by inventing the letter 'J' and then creating the gee sound for the letter J.
And, since the Vatican is an Edomite institution, they tricked the Christians into cursing He who would Save them.
How? By the word Jesus, Christians began calling the Messiah-YahShua by a Greek word gesus, meaning seducing un-faithful pig, which is essentially how the Pharisees viewed the Messiah yahShua.

 

[WinterBorn]

You didn’t say it. You are doing it.

what bad things do you think I should attribute to God?

What good things should you attribute to God?

 

[Blues Man]

Kind of like the ability to read being unnecessary to graduate from high school.

Spirituality without acknowledgement of a higher power is merely ego.

It seems you don't understand spirituality.

Tell me do you think Buddhist are egoists or that enlightenment has nothing to do with spirituality because their philosophy is nontheistic?

 

[Blues Man]

That's the definition of government, not religion. Western civilization has separated the two...which seems to have the most control over the masses today?

Religion was the best way to control the masses when people were uneducated and illiterate.

Why else do you think governments of the past aligned themselves so closely with religions?

As people became more educated religious affiliation dropped and it continues to drop. In fact the number of people who are unaffiliated is rising faster in every developed country around the world.

 

[ding]

What good things should you attribute to God?

Existence

 

[WinterBorn]

Existence

We will simply have to agree to disagree on that one.