what i'm saying is that there is a certain level of respect that should be automatic. i like to use a ladder for an analogy. when we meet, you're on the middle rung of the ladder and whether you move up or down the ladder from there is dependent on what you say or do after we introduce ourselves.Damian said:TommyTooter said:beowulf said:DrLeftover said:
respect s something that is earned, not just freely given.............and how can you respect something which no only refuses to show itself but allows untold evil to happen in a world it created when it supposedly 'loves all its creations'
obey.....you saying i should blindly follow something that will not even show itself to me?
honour has a 'u' in it
only for you limeys
i would also contend that respect in terms of common courtesy is something that should be automatic. for myself, a person is always respected until they earn my disrespect.
there is a sensation that is called the 'ruach hakodesh' or holy wind by the jews and 'indwelling of the holy spirit' by the christians that is unmistakeable when somebody has said something profoundly true or you find yourself in a holy place, which for me is usually in the cathedral of nature where i can feel the unity of my spirit with the rest of creation.
einstein didn't buy that bearded guy in the sky schtick either, but he did recognize that there was something that consciously made what is and holds it all together. my personal opinion, after many years of studying ancient scriptures of many people, is that there is a single entity that is all that is, was or ever will be, but humans are not the last step between us and that. there are more highly advanced races and the cosmos is heavily populated with sentient species, but we've been quarantined due to harmful behaviors of these advanced beings, possibly also because of warfare between them that threatened to wreck the planet.
Respect can be earned instantly, quickly or it may take huge periods of time. Whatever works for you. And I'm fine with that but respecting something that was created only for explaining what could not be explained and controlling the masses...is insulting to say the least. Insulting it was THEN. Now... it's just plain stupid. Why? Because we have science and the theory of evolution and do not need a magic man in the sky to explain how various scientific phenomena work.
And as for the common argument 'I'm a good person thanks to god'... The reality is that the majority of heinous crimes committed against people on this planet across all of recorded history had their roots on religious beliefs, but the ability to distinguish right from wrong does not require any religious beliefs. In addition, animals who are incapable of understanding our human concept of religion show clear evidence of understanding moral behavior and distinguishing between right and wrong.
my contention is that it's not the actual tenets of the faith that cause the problems, but they arise as a result of the institutions built up around the faith and the scurrilous scamsters who run them inciting people to commit violent acts all the way to the point of joining armies to participate in mass murder.
in my sect, our rabbis pretty much took all the slaughter in the scripture with a grain of salt and hammered on the prime directive to love god and all of creation with every fiber of our being, every waking moment of our lives. they made sure we understood what was righteous and what was sinful, as well as know the wise words of david, solomon and the prophets.
we were taught that we were made imperfect intentionally, so that our eternal spirits could grow by learning from the mistakes we make in the flesh. we're not threatened with eternal damnation for messing up beyond having to wait a long time for our next body or getting born immediately into a situation more difficult than the one we just left. i don't know if the person who coined it was being serious or funny, but somebody once said that the pinpoint of light that you see when you die is light shining into the vagina of your next mother as you're being reborn.
