If you prefer, we can refer to God as She. The gender pronouns really have no importance to him or me.
Does anything have inherent meaning that isn't implied by the mind? Perhaps its only real purpose is just being. There is beauty in the clouds above, but do they have meaning?
Because the natural world exists. And it's full of life. What's negative about that? If there is no God, then there is no meaning, but you seem fine with things just being, so why do you need to invent God? Why gild the lily?
It does not have to be the negative. There is simply no evidence that it is the positive. I am neither more or less happy in a godless universe. If god existed and he was beneficient, I would likely be happier. If god existed and were more the Old Testament type, I would more likely be less happy. So it evens out. However (and this is important) - only a fool decides on what's true and what's not based on what makes him feel happier.
YES It limits personal opinions and puts the idea (which religious nut cases push all the time) of free will over the cliff Go forth Minions you all have free will. BUT if you don't do as I command you will burn in hell Really? Free will with a choice like that? Words of a despot Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Why not recognize unicorns? Why not recognize fairies? Because there's no consensus that they exist or if they do, what they are like.
Foolish? Depends upon your belief, of course. You could believe in a definition of god that is the combined potential of every human on the planet; that's not that foolish IMO. You could believe in a vengeful, anthropomorphic god who wants you to go forth and kill homosexuals/infidels/heretics - that, IMO, is a foolish belief. There are all sorts of beliefs in between those two extremes. Some foolish, some not. Is there a pitfall? If you believe in god (believe in anything, actually) that determines your morality without thinking about it, that's a huge pitfall. If it makes you feel better about doing other people wrong, then that's another pitfall. If it gives you justification to treat others (gays/immigrants/blacks/Christians/whatever) poorly then that's a pitfall. Again, the details matter. For some people a belief in god means that you go to church and become part of that community; that's a good thing. For some it means dedicating their life to charity; that's another good thing. So it's what you do with that belief which determines its ultimate pluses and minuses.
Hang on. Perception? Are you seeing things? Or believing things? I see a pile of inventions by a clever and curious primate. It fills me with joy to know that our lives are our own, and that every success we have, we earned.
I haven't read all of this thread (cruel and unusual punishment), so maybe somebody has already said this... But the question that you ask came up in ancient Indian philosophy. The traditional answer from that source is that many different planes of existence exist, ranging from various form and formless heavens up "above", down to a variety of hells "below". (Our Earth falls somewhere in the middle.) They also imagined a plurality of world-systems, each with its heavens and hells. All of this is teeming with beings that presumably have souls. Their view was that all sentient beings have selves/souls which correspond to the subject side of the subject/object distinction. (The mysterious thing that looks out through your eyes and experiences everything while never being experienced itself.) The sentient beings here on Earth needn't be human either, it was assumed that animals have souls, even insects. Since they believed in reincarnation, karma and an infinite chain of births and rebirths, they believed that hell beings can rise up out of hell if they reform, and that gods can tumble down out of heaven if they get too caught up in their own egos as gods are prone to do (just think 'Yahweh'). Everything is constantly moving up and down, according to their karmic actions. We can be reborn as animals and animals can be reborn as us. Souls are eternal but weren't always on this Earth and if they were here, they weren't always human. (So unlike some religions, they would have no trouble with space-aliens.) The Jains are probably the ones who preserve these ancient theories in closest to original form, but we see indications of it in many of the early Hindu and Buddhist writings too. That's why Jain monastics take such care to avoid killing little beings in the air they breathe or on the ground they step on. Some of them wear masks to avoid the former and brooms to sweep unfortunate little six-legged souls from their path. Since they believe that they have already had an endless chain of rebirths, they believe that they have already experienced living like that, so developing compassion for all sentient beings (ahimsa). Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I wouldn't say that Jains are the one's who preserve it in original form. They simply advocate a particular means. Others advocate different means because it is technically impossible to refrain from killing other living entities in the course of activity, no matter how careful you are. Material life is built on the principle of himsa, so as long as the material body exists, the clock of engagement in new karmas continues to tick over. Actually Jainism's development arose out of more reactionary circumstances against orthodoxy as opposed to a perceived need to preserve orthodoxy.
Spide already beat me to it. "Recognizing" things without good reason to leads to madness. What if the next guy that comes along wants you to "recognize" The Flying Spaghetti Monster? Will you just do so because someone else is convinced?
Guys...it's after midnight and I just got home from work. I want to reply to each of you, but if I tried, they would not be very thoughtful replies. I suppose if I try to explain myself that might help. I've always been on a spiritual journey, a spiritual person. It wasn't until recently that I hit the mark and found what it was that I had been searching for. The funny thing is, it's always been right there with me the whole time, never lost. It doesn't require acts of kindness or sacrifice on your part. There's no need to become the Pope. Everyone has it, and it's free for all who are searching. It's very natural to live a normal life (no need to shave your head or grow a beard and join an ashram). The one thing to keep in mind is that we do not control life.
