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here it is...
So. The rant of interesting philosophy appears. Don't feel compelled to read it or agree with anything I say, I just want to air it coz it'll make me feel slightly more confident that I haven't reasoned myself into a corner.
So. Okay. Time for Freya’s Neoplatonist-rant-of-strangeness brought on by reading too much Sophie’s World, having odd dreams and depressive anxiety attacks and just being influenced by the world in general.
My current theory on human spirituality runs thusly: basically everyone feels some sort of need to seek answers in either philosophical or spiritual ways, and so having a religion or calling of some sort is almost an essential part of being human. People should go with what THEY believe and what gives THEM the greatest happiness and fulfilment, and no-one has the right to criticise or be intolerant of what others believe or to try and force their beliefs on anyone else.
A couple of questions were raised during my research for this: Freewill / destiny. Okay. Some religions believe it exists, others that everything that you will choose has already been decreed by God or equivalent since he/she/it is all-knowing. If freewill is real, then I have every right to choose exactly what I want to believe. It’s ridiculous to say “Yes you can do whatever you want. But if you don’t choose THIS option then you’ll burn in hell.” Fine then. If that’s the truth then the whole system is screwed and I’m going to hell with everyone else who doesn’t believe in that PARTICULAR system. But I doubt it’s true that one set of beliefs is the only answer. But if freewill ISN’T real then God-or-whoever KNOWS that I’m going to choose whatever I do. So I can still do whatever I please. If I’m going to hell, it’s been preordained.
Set apart from both these theories is the one that states that it doesn’t really matter what your belief is. As long as you have a basic human code of ethics, don’t harm others and live what for simplicity’s sake I’ll call “a good life” then surely the afterlife, if there is one, isn’t going to be that bad? Because if there IS one God that MUST be worshipped to obtain eternal life then you’d think THEIR religion would be the only one. They wouldn’t exactly LET people turn away and run down the merry path to hell just by having a slightly different religion with the SAME BASIC PHILOSOPHY, unless the deity is sadistic and cruel. In which case, again, the system is screwed.
I’m not, at this stage, denying the existence of some kind of higher power. I’m pretty sure I’m at LEAST a deist, all the evidence points towards it and people would hardly HAVE these spiritual urgings if there was nothing driving them, right? I just think that all the different religions are people worshipping different sides of the same coin...prism…thing. It’s a much simpler view, makes allowances for ANYONE’S beliefs, and negates the need for religious conflict which is to me the most idiotic thing on earth.
Another question, a teensy bit random but I got stuck on it. Jehovah’s Witnesses, those people who think that there are limited places in heaven and to get a spot you have to convert others. Okay. With you so far. But surely, the more people they convert the more people vying for places? And if they convert people who will NOT gain a place, aren’t they damning others to a life in hell? Does this make sense to ANYONE else?
So, at this point in my reasoning I was fairly pleased. It explained a lot, I wasn’t knocking anyone else, and didn’t have any guilt over finally deciding that I’m not really a Christian. I like the basic ideas behind it a lot and support them firmly in the quest for peace and loving all other people etc but a lot of stuff to do with the organised church annoys me and it’s difficult to reconcile things such as “virgin births” which were actually a mistranslation of a word for “young woman”, in all probability. I don’t think rigid, set beliefs are for me. Exploring philosophy, science and whatever spiritual stuff I please suits me better. Prayers are still a completely valid form of communication with the deity, HOWEVER you see them to be – EVERY religion uses prayer basically, and if we’re all praying to the same being then what’s the difference? And Amen means “so let it be”. Who cares if it’s Christian, it’s a perfectly valid ending.
So there I was, all set with my belief that everyone can go with whatever works for them… and then I found out that I don’t know what works for me! Hahaha. That was me laughing at the irony of it. So here I am, adrift in the world of modern spirituality, certain I’m not an atheist and too confident to be an agnostic. Open to suggestions that do not look like Orthodox Catholicism in any way shape or form. Oops. No intolerance. Damn.
As I said, started flicking through Teegs’ Wicca book and am liking what I see so far, obviously as yet I have no idea if it’s a path I’d be happy with but a lot of the basic principles tie in I with the stuff I worked out for myself anyway, which is promising. And I think that a lot of magic and “positive energy” is basically people helping themselves by positive thinking and quite a bit of psychology but if it works then who cares where the energy comes from? Within or without, both are just as practical and Wicca seems to be so open that it’s got about as good a chance of anything of tapping into the divine spirit, whatever it is. It’s a legitimate belief system with huge amounts of tolerance and I like it a lot. Have I got the wrong end of the stick here?? Tell me if I do, please. I’ve only read tiny bits of the book, so I’m not pretending to judge it on the basis of very little knowledge.
How does Neoplatonism tie in? Basically it’s a belief in the distinction between the body and the soul – the soul being the yearning for something beyond the material world. Everything that exists has a spark of the divine in it, and so that spark in us pulls us towards the greater fire that it came from. It’s good imagery, I like it. And it makes no religious distinctions. – just that there is a deity and that just as darkness is merely an absence of light, so that “fire” fades until only the spark is left. Okay it made sense in my head.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Calderon de la Barca, a Spanish dramatist who wrote a play in which he said: “What is life? A madness. What is life? An illusion, a shadow, a story, and the greatest good is little enough, for all life is a dream…”
Can you tell I’ve been reading too much philosophy? It’s incredibly fascinating. I’m about to reread Theo’s Odyssey, a study of world religions which I love also.
So. There you have it. I’m interested in other people’s views here, and I want to talk to people as well. Tegan write that damn email or I shall attack you with my maths books. They’re heavy. And I have more of the damn things than you.
Thanks for putting up with my ranting, ask me if you didn’t understand any of it.
Good luck with your own paths.
Now I just have to find mine.
Amen.
So let it be.
FINALLY, Fox and Collin have arrived. Briefly. Collin quite gorgeous. Fox's hair annoying. What the hell is wrong with the name Kailen?? It's cool!
Ms Vance told my mum at P/T that I got at least an A- on my poerty inclass essay!!! Very happy, considering the C+ I got for my practice one. And Mr Kent asked if I was "bored" in chemistry. I don't think he's marked my prac yet.
Hmm, really should go practice my oral at least once if I wish to continue this trail of good marks.
So. Okay. Time for Freya’s Neoplatonist-rant-of-strangeness brought on by reading too much Sophie’s World, having odd dreams and depressive anxiety attacks and just being influenced by the world in general.
My current theory on human spirituality runs thusly: basically everyone feels some sort of need to seek answers in either philosophical or spiritual ways, and so having a religion or calling of some sort is almost an essential part of being human. People should go with what THEY believe and what gives THEM the greatest happiness and fulfilment, and no-one has the right to criticise or be intolerant of what others believe or to try and force their beliefs on anyone else.
A couple of questions were raised during my research for this: Freewill / destiny. Okay. Some religions believe it exists, others that everything that you will choose has already been decreed by God or equivalent since he/she/it is all-knowing. If freewill is real, then I have every right to choose exactly what I want to believe. It’s ridiculous to say “Yes you can do whatever you want. But if you don’t choose THIS option then you’ll burn in hell.” Fine then. If that’s the truth then the whole system is screwed and I’m going to hell with everyone else who doesn’t believe in that PARTICULAR system. But I doubt it’s true that one set of beliefs is the only answer. But if freewill ISN’T real then God-or-whoever KNOWS that I’m going to choose whatever I do. So I can still do whatever I please. If I’m going to hell, it’s been preordained.
Set apart from both these theories is the one that states that it doesn’t really matter what your belief is. As long as you have a basic human code of ethics, don’t harm others and live what for simplicity’s sake I’ll call “a good life” then surely the afterlife, if there is one, isn’t going to be that bad? Because if there IS one God that MUST be worshipped to obtain eternal life then you’d think THEIR religion would be the only one. They wouldn’t exactly LET people turn away and run down the merry path to hell just by having a slightly different religion with the SAME BASIC PHILOSOPHY, unless the deity is sadistic and cruel. In which case, again, the system is screwed.
I’m not, at this stage, denying the existence of some kind of higher power. I’m pretty sure I’m at LEAST a deist, all the evidence points towards it and people would hardly HAVE these spiritual urgings if there was nothing driving them, right? I just think that all the different religions are people worshipping different sides of the same coin...prism…thing. It’s a much simpler view, makes allowances for ANYONE’S beliefs, and negates the need for religious conflict which is to me the most idiotic thing on earth.
Another question, a teensy bit random but I got stuck on it. Jehovah’s Witnesses, those people who think that there are limited places in heaven and to get a spot you have to convert others. Okay. With you so far. But surely, the more people they convert the more people vying for places? And if they convert people who will NOT gain a place, aren’t they damning others to a life in hell? Does this make sense to ANYONE else?
So, at this point in my reasoning I was fairly pleased. It explained a lot, I wasn’t knocking anyone else, and didn’t have any guilt over finally deciding that I’m not really a Christian. I like the basic ideas behind it a lot and support them firmly in the quest for peace and loving all other people etc but a lot of stuff to do with the organised church annoys me and it’s difficult to reconcile things such as “virgin births” which were actually a mistranslation of a word for “young woman”, in all probability. I don’t think rigid, set beliefs are for me. Exploring philosophy, science and whatever spiritual stuff I please suits me better. Prayers are still a completely valid form of communication with the deity, HOWEVER you see them to be – EVERY religion uses prayer basically, and if we’re all praying to the same being then what’s the difference? And Amen means “so let it be”. Who cares if it’s Christian, it’s a perfectly valid ending.
So there I was, all set with my belief that everyone can go with whatever works for them… and then I found out that I don’t know what works for me! Hahaha. That was me laughing at the irony of it. So here I am, adrift in the world of modern spirituality, certain I’m not an atheist and too confident to be an agnostic. Open to suggestions that do not look like Orthodox Catholicism in any way shape or form. Oops. No intolerance. Damn.
As I said, started flicking through Teegs’ Wicca book and am liking what I see so far, obviously as yet I have no idea if it’s a path I’d be happy with but a lot of the basic principles tie in I with the stuff I worked out for myself anyway, which is promising. And I think that a lot of magic and “positive energy” is basically people helping themselves by positive thinking and quite a bit of psychology but if it works then who cares where the energy comes from? Within or without, both are just as practical and Wicca seems to be so open that it’s got about as good a chance of anything of tapping into the divine spirit, whatever it is. It’s a legitimate belief system with huge amounts of tolerance and I like it a lot. Have I got the wrong end of the stick here?? Tell me if I do, please. I’ve only read tiny bits of the book, so I’m not pretending to judge it on the basis of very little knowledge.
How does Neoplatonism tie in? Basically it’s a belief in the distinction between the body and the soul – the soul being the yearning for something beyond the material world. Everything that exists has a spark of the divine in it, and so that spark in us pulls us towards the greater fire that it came from. It’s good imagery, I like it. And it makes no religious distinctions. – just that there is a deity and that just as darkness is merely an absence of light, so that “fire” fades until only the spark is left. Okay it made sense in my head.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Calderon de la Barca, a Spanish dramatist who wrote a play in which he said: “What is life? A madness. What is life? An illusion, a shadow, a story, and the greatest good is little enough, for all life is a dream…”
Can you tell I’ve been reading too much philosophy? It’s incredibly fascinating. I’m about to reread Theo’s Odyssey, a study of world religions which I love also.
So. There you have it. I’m interested in other people’s views here, and I want to talk to people as well. Tegan write that damn email or I shall attack you with my maths books. They’re heavy. And I have more of the damn things than you.
Thanks for putting up with my ranting, ask me if you didn’t understand any of it.
Good luck with your own paths.
Now I just have to find mine.
Amen.
So let it be.
FINALLY, Fox and Collin have arrived. Briefly. Collin quite gorgeous. Fox's hair annoying. What the hell is wrong with the name Kailen?? It's cool!
Ms Vance told my mum at P/T that I got at least an A- on my poerty inclass essay!!! Very happy, considering the C+ I got for my practice one. And Mr Kent asked if I was "bored" in chemistry. I don't think he's marked my prac yet.
Hmm, really should go practice my oral at least once if I wish to continue this trail of good marks.
laura's comment (i'm tegan lil cous)
(Anonymous) 2003-04-01 10:51 pm (UTC)(link)Re: laura's comment (i'm tegan lil cous)