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Shadowself
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01/16/2004
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(Date Posted:06/20/2005 23:25:42)
Hi Instinx! Welcome to Walk Away!
It can be difficult when you suddenly realize that there may not be a Big Daddy in the sky to take care of you. It churns up memories of childhood, when you may have had insecure moments that were eased by the comfort of your caretakers. This was all well and good during childhood, but as you grew into an adult you needed to learn self-reliance and decision making skills. Some things that were taught to you were good, others didn't work and had to be set aside. You needed to take ownership of your own life.
Thoughts about God and spirituality are like that. You often start with simple ideas and relax in the belief that all is taken care of. Yet, hopefully, one day you begin to walk toward maturity, examining yourself, the world, and the universe, coming to question what you have been taught and whether it all adds up or not. If not, you have to recognize your inner ability and strength to search out the facts and gain confidence that you can figure out for yourself what to believe and how to live. Trust in your ability to make decisions and handle problems. Build up a trustworthy circle of friends for support in the "bad" times. It's scary at first, but soon you begin to see that you are stronger than you think.
It's a long road leading away from fundy thinking, but it's worth the walk! Let's hold hands and take the first step...
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A big revelation in my professional training was that humans can learn skills for living and relating. We don"t have to be desperate for a miracle of God to make us decent.--Marlene Winell
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Voltaire
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Posts:1490
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07/08/2001
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(Date Posted:06/20/2005 23:44:33)
One way I dealt with this was I realized I had always gotten along without his assistence before my realization, so I probably could continue on after the realization. Any help I had gotten from god was in fact my own strength helping me along. I looked back on my life and realized there was only one set of footprints in the sand. The other set were imaginary. My strength was my own, not god's.
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Zombies, Unicorns, Devils, Sea Monsters, Satyrs, Dragons, Six Winged Angels, Gods, Demons, Witches, Astrologers, A walking & talking snake, Magical fruit, Talking donkeys, human headed six-winged beasts, Ghosts. All that stuff is in the Bible and yet they tell me it"s not mythology?
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snakechic
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3# |
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Posts:3507
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11/02/2004
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(Date Posted:06/21/2005 05:44:48)
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In exchange for obedience, Christianity promises salvation in an afterlife; but in order to elicit obedience through this promise, Christianity must convince people that they need salvation, that there is something to be saved from. Christianity has nothing to offer a happy person living in a natural, intelligible universe. If Christianity is to gain a motivational foothold, it must declare war on earthly pleasure and happiness, and this, historically, has been its precise course of action. In the eyes of Christianity, woman(man) is sinful and helpless in the face of God, and is potential fuel for the flames of hell. Just as Christianity must destroy reason before it can introduce faith, so it must destroy happiness before it can introduce salvation.
-- George H Smith, Atheism: The Case Against God
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RadioOne
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07/18/2004
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(Date Posted:06/21/2005 09:02:53)
Well, I hope you find the answers you need. The one thing that I am trying to do is figure out why I believe something, and if it is worth believing in it. It is good to do such things, because if you do so in an honest manner (something I do not always do), your resulting faith (or lack thereof) will probably be stronger for it.
*hug*
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"You must remember yourself--be acutely aware of yourself being present to yourself in this point in time."
--Dr. Quentin Dinardo, professor
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instinx
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5# |
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Posts:9
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06/20/2005
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(Date Posted:06/21/2005 15:45:36)
Thanks to all you guys for those great words of encouragement and making me feel so welcome.
its great to know that i am not alone and not going insane. if there is a reason i have come to this realisation of there not being a great protector it is not because i was brought up that way or filled with nonsense. My "religion" Hindhuism always taught us that God was within in our self and in all the people and living things around us. i just never truly understood what that actually meant until now. Because of all the silly rituals and prayer ceremonies and mythologies that spoils it the message gets mis interpreted.. And now that i have reached this "Revelation" (thats not so scary anymore thanks to you guys) i see that the message was true because i see what the message meant Because with Great people like yourselves. That which i have always searched for in a friendly accomodating "God" i find in you guys.
You guys are great and i look forward to a long, refreshing, knowledgable journey of awakening with you.
Mwah!
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Man is as he makes himself
Man will be as he makes himself
..Brahma Sri Siva Soobramoniar Guruswamigal.
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RadioOne
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6# |
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07/18/2004
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(Date Posted:06/22/2005 01:43:34)
Well, I think that God abhors the religiosity that humans nourish in their communities. In reality, if you know God, I think the deal is that you will be an ambassitor to the world and show people what God is like through kindness and the way you live you live your life. I think I will post something here from another forum (if this person is okay with me posting it). It that may be helpful to you and the rest of you. Hang tight!
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"You must remember yourself--be acutely aware of yourself being present to yourself in this point in time."
--Dr. Quentin Dinardo, professor
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Shadowself
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7# |
Status:
From:
Registered:
01/16/2004
Time spent:
1773 hours
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(Date Posted:06/23/2005 00:14:03)
Reply to : instinx
My "religion" Hindhuism always taught us that God was within in our selfand in all the people and living things around us. i just never truly understood what that actually meant until now.
Wow, I think you are the first non-Christian ex-fundamentalist to join the forum. (Long time members correct me if I'm wrong!) It will be interesting reading about your experiences, comparing them to ours and seeing how fundamentalism either differs and/or parallels among various religions.
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A big revelation in my professional training was that humans can learn skills for living and relating. We don"t have to be desperate for a miracle of God to make us decent.--Marlene Winell
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RadioOne
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8# |
Status:
From:
Registered:
07/18/2004
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(Date Posted:06/23/2005 05:57:44)
Okay! I have the quote I said I would get if I had the poster's permission. This is in regard to what you were saying, instinx.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ This is what someone who calls himself Odin wrote on another forum.////////////////
This is a quote from a book where a character has a conversation with God. Prior to this quote, the character asked God, "What would you have people do in order to know you better?" God said, "Abandon Organized Religion, embrace Spiritualism."
The character asked "Why?" and God--in this book--responded with this:
[quote]Understand that in order for organized religion to succeed, it has to make people believe they need it. In order for people to put faith in something else, they must first lose faith in themselves. So the first task of organized religion is to make you lose faith in yourself. The second task is to make you see that it has the answers you do not. And the third and most important task is to make you accept its answers without question.
If you question, you start to think! If you think, you start to go back to that Source Within. Religion can't have you do that, because you're liable to come up with an answer different from what it has contrived. So religion must make you doubt your Self; must make you doubt your own ability to think straight.
The problem for religion is that every so often this backfires -- for if you cannot accept without doubt your own thoughts, how can you not doubt the new ideas about God which religion has given you?
Pretty soon you even doubt My existence -- which, ironically, you never doubted before. When you were living by your intuitive knowing, you may not have had Me all figured out, but you definitely knew I was there!
It is religion which has created agnostics.
Any clear thinker who looks at what religion has done must assume that religion has no God! For it is religion which has filled the hearts of men with fear of God, where once man loved That which is in all its splendor.
It is religion which has ordered men to bow down before God, where once man rose up in joyful outreach.
It is religion which has burdened man with worries about God's wrath, where once man sought God to lighten his burden.
It is religion which told man to be ashamed of his body and its most natural functions, where once man celebrated those functions as the greatest gift of life!
It is religion which taught you that you must have an intermediary in order to reach God, where once you thought yourself to be reaching God by the simple living of your life in goodness and in truth.
And it is religion which commanded humans to adore God, where once humans adored God because it was impossible not to.
Everywhere religion has gone it has created disunity -- which is the opposite of God.[/quote]
Thoughts?[/quote]
Well?
The book is called Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch.
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"You must remember yourself--be acutely aware of yourself being present to yourself in this point in time."
--Dr. Quentin Dinardo, professor
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instinx
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9# |
Rank:none
Status:
Score:0
Posts:9
From:
Registered:
06/20/2005
Time spent:
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(Date Posted:06/23/2005 16:43:21)
Reply to : Shadowself
Reply to : instinxMy "religion" Hindhuism always taught us that God was within in our selfand in all the people and living things around us. i just never truly understood what that actually meant until now.Wow, I think you are the first non-Christian ex-fundamentalist to join the forum. (Long time members correct me if I'm wrong!) It will be interesting reading about your experiences, comparing them to ours and seeing how fundamentalism either differs and/or parallels among various religions.
As I said in the above quote. Hinduism always taught us that the power that we call God is within our self. So I can't blame my religion for making me believe otherwise. I may have not understood it until now. I don't claim to fully understand it now either but I am still searching and so I haven't given up the concept of their being a almighty power altogether (I guess you guys may say I am still in the "denial" phase) I am not really on stable solid ground to prove that there is or isn't a ?God' so I wont ague the point that I may possibly be in ?denial'. ffice ffice" / onload='javascript:showImageWidth(this,600,600)' class='AutoImageWidthTopic' style='cursor:poionter'>
What I am walking away from is all the rituals and religious ceremonies attached to my religion. I feel guilty even doing this right now because part of me still wants to defend my religion.
So in its defence Hindhuism is a really beautiful religion. It is over 5000 years old. And holds a lot of inner truths. It doesn't condemn like Christianity does (Oops I just condemned - My bad - but you guys know what I mean I see from most of your posts I don't stand alone in this fact - But no offence.) It doesn't keep you from searching - like most religions do. It actually gives you that freedom to do so. But like Mr Jonah says "In the end, even the Liberal point of view, while far more free, offered me nothing of value for where i was/still am at."
But the whole purpose of allowing us to explore in Hinduism is to prove that we don't need a religion to find the power within,(that we refer to as ?God'). But alas some Hindu explorers don't understand this freedom and convert into other religions, (mostly Christianity) I think because these weak minds need pastors and preachers to dictate to them and Christianity does this. Hinduism is a free religion, theres no rules and regulations and these weak minds aren't comfortable enough with themselves to trust themselves so they prefer to be led.
The law of Hinduism if I may call it that is - The Law of Karma - that which you sow, you shall reap/ Every Action has a reaction. And even this law makes sense. It basically says what we all know, to be common sense - You will have to pay for the consequences of your actions not because "God" will punish you but because you are doing something that will ultimately lead to you suffering or alternatively will be fulfilled by it if it is a positive action.
It is not Hinduism that is at fault - All its teachings are beautiful and intelligent. It is the ignorant people that make it into a farce. With all the silly rituals - Like going around a temples 7 times to ask God to forgive us and take away our sins or taking vows at temple that if you fast for a certain period of time he must heal your child or help with your business. That's like bargaining or bribing God.
Or assuming that God actually looks like the pictures you see.(FYI : Hinduism doesn't teach that God looks like and elephant with a trunk for a nose/ or a god with a monkey face or a God with many hands or a fierce looking face or a blue God - )
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