Let Me Into Your Beliefs...

[alice in chains]

uhhhmmm...most of my reply is inside the quote lol...donno how that happened

 

[MjaneGibson]

I think soul is existant in the simple fact that life share something sacred together. The essence of just being perhaps. The strive to survive, what is better than that? That is soul.

very interesting....

 

[Tim]

For me personally... I do not believe in a soul. It just doesn't make any sense. Where did all these souls come from? 10,000 years ago there were only 1 million people on the earth (1 million souls) in 1810 there were 1 billion people (1 billion souls) and today there are over 6.5 billion people. So where do all these souls come from and where do they go?
For those that believe in reincarnation, how does the math work out?

I believe we are born into this world sharing living cells from our mother and father that are nurtured into what we are today. One day we may reproduce, but we will all die at some point. and that's it

 

[karen]

I believe that everything in existence was created by God Jehovah / Jahweh ( to include both acceptable personal names ) . Before you tune out please dont pigeon hole my faith . I am not a member of a church and my beliefs have a foundation in Gods word not doctrines of men !

I believe God created mankind to inhabit the earth, to enjoy the beauty of it and eachother ...to take care of it and to live for ever. I believe that Gods purpose has not changed and He will once again through Jesus Christ bring peace to the earth but we can judge for ourselves how well we have taken care of it .

I believe that there is a spiritual world that we are unable to fully understand but we sense the existence of it. I believe the truth about life, where we have been, where we are now and where we are going is written in the Holy scriptures Gods inspired word.... the Bible. I believe that God gives life and recieves it back ....He is good, kind, patient, loving, fair and forgiving toward all but is the eternal judge of what is and isnt righteous for the good of all mankind. He disciplines and punishes and he forgives and rewards. He is unquestionably the highest form of intelligence.

 

[alice in chains]

For me personally... I do not believe in a soul. It just doesn't make any sense. Where did all these souls come from? 10,000 years ago there were only 1 million people on the earth (1 million souls) in 1810 there were 1 billion people (1 billion souls) and today there are over 6.5 billion people. So where do all these souls come from and where do they go?
For those that believe in reincarnation, how does the math work out?

I believe we are born into this world sharing living cells from our mother and father that are nurtured into what we are today. One day we may reproduce, but we will all die at some point. and that's it

People have rightful doubts until science proves other wise. Do you personally gain some kind of faith that science will prove all questions that definately have answers?

I think the time is irrelevant. Perhaps the conception is the important part. If you donnot believe in soul do you believe in the act of goodness or evil?

 

[alice in chains]

I believe that everything in existence was created by God Jehovah / Jahweh ( to include both acceptable personal names ) . Before you tune out please dont pigeon hole my faith . I am not a member of a church and my beliefs have a foundation in Gods word not doctrines of men !

I believe God created mankind to inhabit the earth, to enjoy the beauty of it and eachother ...to take care of it and to live for ever. I believe that Gods purpose has not changed and He will once again through Jesus Christ bring peace to the earth but we can judge for ourselves how well we have taken care of it .

I believe that there is a spiritual world that we are unable to fully understand but we sense the existence of it. I believe the truth about life, where we have been, where we are now and where we are going is written in the Holy scriptures Gods inspired word.... the Bible. I believe that God gives life and recieves it back ....He is good, kind, patient, loving, fair and forgiving toward all but is the eternal judge of what is and isnt righteous for the good of all mankind. He disciplines and punishes and he forgives and rewards. He is unquestionably the highest form of intelligence.

What drives these beliefs? Is there a relevant difference from yours compared to any other faith that is not premised on a personal bias?

Why should we worship God just because he's the creator and the most intelligent being? To many keeping their personal freedoms would mean more than submitting to something they disagree with...even if the price is going to 'hell'.

 

[Tim]

People have rightful doubts until science proves other wise. Do you personally gain some kind of faith that science will prove all questions that definately have answers?

I think the time is irrelevant. Perhaps the conception is the important part. If you donnot believe in soul do you believe in the act of goodness or evil?

I don't believe in science since it isn't a belief system. Our knowledge is always expanding and improving through science, but science isn't something to believe in. Faith and science should not go together, ever.
You need to be careful and not compare belief systems with science, the two aren't comparable.

You completely missed my point when I was giving dates. You need to ask yourself, if you believe in souls and or reincarnation, you need to ask yourself where did these eternal souls come from? Only a few were needed in the beginning and billions are needed now, trillions if you think animals have souls.
So where did they come from?

 

[alice in chains]

I don't believe in science since it isn't a belief system. Our knowledge is always expanding and improving through science, but science isn't something to believe in. Faith and science should not go together, ever.
You need to be careful and not compare belief systems with science, the two aren't comparable.

You completely missed my point when I was giving dates. You need to ask yourself, if you believe in souls and or reincarnation, you need to ask yourself where did these eternal souls come from? Only a few were needed in the beginning and billions are needed now, trillions if you think animals have souls.
So where did they come from?

I understand the importance of not mixing the two, believe me, I do. More so I donnot mix religion with science because I donnot automatically correlate faith with religion. Scientists get excited when they come up with new theories. Why? There's no scientific evidence other than the theory...which in human relevance is a motivation (faith) to dig deeper into a topic. So that's why I can see faith and even the soul and intangible concepts of reality. I know science proves itself so I believe that it will continue to do so for the things we donnot yet know. Why the hell not believe that?

 

[alice in chains]

I never implied souls are eternal. Who ever said they were eternal? Who ever implied they had a beginning or an end? I donnot think I know everything, but I do think there's an answer out there.

 

[Minor Axis]

Okay...so, here goes:

I have been debating putting this post up for various reasons, but I have sucked it up and am too curious to not ask.

If you had to describe how the world works (where we come from, what we're doing, and where we go), what would you say. Without naming any religion, can you explain to me this?

I'll start:

I believe in soul age. I believe that we are created as infant souls and over earth bound lifetimes, our souls grow. Some grow faster than others, some must repeat ages over and over until they manifest into something else. I believe that our bodies here are earth are simply space holders for our souls and used to carry out different lessons with each life that passes. Eventually, after all tasks are completed and after your soul reaches maturity (or understanding) you are then joined with the collective once again and begin a new journey in a new world.

Of course, it's much more detailed than that...but I shall leave you with that for now

What you describe is possible, but based on evidence so is the theology pushed by mainstream religions. They even have a book! We just don't know. Having said that, I am very sympathetic to the notion of spirituality and souls. However I freely admit, this might just be my desire to live happily ever after (this life).

For me personally... I do not believe in a soul. It just doesn't make any sense. Where did all these souls come from? 10,000 years ago there were only 1 million people on the earth (1 million souls) in 1810 there were 1 billion people (1 billion souls) and today there are over 6.5 billion people. So where do all these souls come from and where do they go?
For those that believe in reincarnation, how does the math work out?

I believe we are born into this world sharing living cells from our mother and father that are nurtured into what we are today. One day we may reproduce, but we will all die at some point. and that's it

There is nothing wrong to limiting yourself to what can be logically deduced, but by it's nature, spirituality takes us beyond the realm of what can be proven. My favorite analogy is living within a soundproof room without doors and windows and declaring there is nothing outside. I choose to say, I don't know because I do feel something I can't really put my finger on and I like the idea of my consciousness/essence continuing beyond this life.

 

[Niamh]

I believe that life is short. I believe that we are composed of energy from the world around us and when we die that energy goes back to nature, where it originally came from. Babies are created by converting energy from foods to help them grow, etc etc.

I believe it's possible that there is something here on earth like a form of fate or 'meant to be', but I also believe it has very little to do with prayer or sacrifice - I think it's closer to karma.

yeah, this is very similar to what I believe

 

[Tim]

There is nothing wrong to limiting yourself to what can be logically deduced, but by it's nature, spirituality takes us beyond the realm of what can be proven. My favorite analogy is living within a soundproof room without doors and windows and declaring there is nothing outside. I choose to say, I don't know because I do feel something I can't really put my finger on and I like the idea of my consciousness/essence continuing beyond this life.

Here's the problem...

You can look at it like we are in a sound proof room, but you need to understand that NO ONE has ever seen outside this room. So ANY descriptions or ideas we have about what's outside that room are nothing more than our imagination that has been shaped by thousands of years of superstition and folklore.

If you were to take a group of people from birth and never subject them to stories about spirituality, god, souls or an afterlife and they wouldn't believe that or feel that anymore than stories about mythical kingdoms floating in the clouds.
We have grown up in a society where religion and the spiritual plane have been repeated to us millions of times. It's no wonder people take what they want from the stories and claim to feel something or claim to be "spiritual"
If our world was one where everyone believed in mythical kingdoms like Narnia, you might not come right out and say that you believe in Narnia, but I'd bet you would be the one saying that you aren't sure and "feel" like there is a magical kingdom out there somewhere.

I guess what I am saying is that our beliefs are not really ours. They are nothing more than pieces of stories, folklore and myths we have heard repeated throughout our lives. Then we pick and chose what sounds good to us and apply that.
If any of these things held any truth at all, it would even be self evident to those who were isolated and never heard them...

 

[alice in chains]

i'm sure sometime in history people came up with the concept of God. how can this be possible if it's a completely irrational idea? thinking of something infathomable.

 

[Tim]

i'm sure sometime in history people came up with the concept of God. how can this be possible if it's a completely irrational idea? thinking of something infathomable.

I never said it was "irrational"

The concept of "God" took millennium of different concepts coming together.

You really need to understand how religion and the belief in god came about. I mean you need to go all the way back before language, back to a time when man would marvel at lightning and worship the sun for rising each day...

 

[Minor Axis]

Here's the problem...

You can look at it like we are in a sound proof room, but you need to understand that NO ONE has ever seen outside this room. So ANY descriptions or ideas we have about what's outside that room are nothing more than our imagination that has been shaped by thousands of years of superstition and folklore.

If you were to take a group of people from birth and never subject them to stories about spirituality, god, souls or an afterlife and they wouldn't believe that or feel that anymore than stories about mythical kingdoms floating in the clouds.
We have grown up in a society where religion and the spiritual plane have been repeated to us millions of times. It's no wonder people take what they want from the stories and claim to feel something or claim to be "spiritual"
If our world was one where everyone believed in mythical kingdoms like Narnia, you might not come right out and say that you believe in Narnia, but I'd bet you would be the one saying that you aren't sure and "feel" like there is a magical kingdom out there somewhere.

I guess what I am saying is that our beliefs are not really ours. They are nothing more than pieces of stories, folklore and myths we have heard repeated throughout our lives. Then we pick and chose what sounds good to us and apply that.
If any of these things held any truth at all, it would even be self evident to those who were isolated and never heard them...

Unfortunately no one we are able to communicate with in a meaningful way has been outside the room. Tim, you can't reasonably conclude, if not exposed to the concept, no one would have any spiritual feelings. Somewhere in the our human history someone first felt/imagined it. Giant imagination or subtle subconscious sensations? Who is to say? I frequently feel connected to something, but I don't really know what it is and I'm not about to declare anything specific, other than I feel good about it.

 

[alice in chains]

I never said it was "irrational"

The concept of "God" took millennium of different concepts coming together.

You really need to understand how religion and the belief in god came about. I mean you need to go all the way back before language, back to a time when man would marvel at lightning and worship the sun for rising each day...

Hmm...guess you didn't know the ice ages are my favorite times to compare modern humanity to...


i guess the multiple ideas that led man to finding god is so much more relevant than just finding it on your own with the SAME PREMISE. observation

 

[BornReady]

I believe the material world exists. I don't speculate beyond that. There is plenty of mystery still to uncover about the material world. I don't feel the need to invent worlds outside my ability to perceive. Speculation in this realm seems pointless to me because even if something supernatural exists, I have no way to learn anything about it.

 

[alice in chains]

supernatural is an impossibility. if it exists, it has an explanation, even if it is a working of God.

 

[BornReady]

supernatural is an impossibility. if it exists, it has an explanation, even if it is a working of God.

There is no such thing as the paranormal and the supernatural; there is only the normal and the natural and mysteries we have yet to explain. -Michael Shermer

(here is more than 5 characters to satisfy the post nazi )

 

[Minor Axis]

supernatural is an impossibility. if it exists, it has an explanation, even if it is a working of God.

So don't say it's an impossibility, say if it exists it is yet to be explained.