They are all spirits. It is a question of what I believe to exists and not what or how I define the existence of each one.Belinda wrote:I wish that TimLear had taken this to heart before adding his list of several gods which presumably he takes to be an exhaustive list of gods. He doesn't even define 'gods' or differentiate them from spirits of place, revered ancestors, Roman Catholic saints, angels, or idols.LuckyR wrote:This strikes me as a thread that would benefit from parsing the difference between God and religion.
Which gods don't you believe in, and why don't you?
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Re: Which gods don't you believe in, and why don't you?
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Re: Which gods don't you believe in, and why don't you?
TimLear wrote:They are all spirits. It is a question of what I believe to exists and not what or how I define the existence of each one.Belinda wrote: (Nested quote removed.)
I wish that TimLear had taken this to heart before adding his list of several gods which presumably he takes to be an exhaustive list of gods. He doesn't even define 'gods' or differentiate them from spirits of place, revered ancestors, Roman Catholic saints, angels, or idols.
But revered ancestors are not spirits like God is a spirit. Revered ancestors live after they die, they didn't create the world.
Roman Catholic saints live after they die but they didn't create the world, and they indicate God but are not God.
Spirits of place are for the so-called animists who believe in those spirits' existence and their powers to animate trees, rivers etc. but the spirits of place did not create the holy places, and the spirits of place have no ethical systems attached to them.
All of those spirity things are interesting as pointers to how people view the world. The ways in which they may or may not be held to exist is what ontology deals with. As far as I know the notion of ontic substances is the best model for sorting theories of existence.
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Re: Which gods don't you believe in, and why don't you?
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Re: Which gods don't you believe in, and why don't you?
OP asked if I believed in deities. The question should be "do I believe spirits exist?"Belinda wrote:TimLear wrote: (Nested quote removed.)
They are all spirits. It is a question of what I believe to exists and not what or how I define the existence of each one.
But revered ancestors are not spirits like God is a spirit. Revered ancestors live after they die, they didn't create the world.
Roman Catholic saints live after they die but they didn't create the world, and they indicate God but are not God.
Spirits of place are for the so-called animists who believe in those spirits' existence and their powers to animate trees, rivers etc. but the spirits of place did not create the holy places, and the spirits of place have no ethical systems attached to them.
All of those spirity things are interesting as pointers to how people view the world. The ways in which they may or may not be held to exist is what ontology deals with. As far as I know the notion of ontic substances is the best model for sorting theories of existence.
Yes, I do. I said why. Defining what each spirit is I do not think is the goal of thread.
I made a fantastic claim which cannot be proven. Only way for it to those skeptical is do similar things I did and see for themselves or experience similar things.
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Re: Which gods don't you believe in, and why don't you?
So-called paranormal experiences are very normal among large groups of people who participate in the same culture of belief and practice which includes spirits.
The question I put to you about the spirits which you eventually controlled is about what those spirits were made of. Did those spirits have lives of their own apart from you , or were those spirits products of your perceptions at the time when you were vulnerable?
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Re: Which gods don't you believe in, and why don't you?
These things cannot be defined.Belinda wrote:You did indeed say why you believe in what you call spirits, Tim. I am sure that you did actually have paranormal experiences.
So-called paranormal experiences are very normal among large groups of people who participate in the same culture of belief and practice which includes spirits.
The question I put to you about the spirits which you eventually controlled is about what those spirits were made of. Did those spirits have lives of their own apart from you , or were those spirits products of your perceptions at the time when you were vulnerable?
The thing I ve noticed is the conditions which determine what comes and goes. Unclean spirits, (or parasites)
As soon I changed my behavior, addressed the issues (childhood emotional baggage due to dysfunctional home) the dark spirits went away.
So I assume that spirits are nothing more than a phantasm, a manifestation of a pattern, condition present within the observer or around the observer.
-- Updated January 13th, 2016, 8:47 pm to add the following --
What I am saying I suspect spirits are patterns trying to assert themselves and nothing more. Take St Raphael.
He represents good health. Well if you do what it takes to be more healthy, the easier it is to see him, The worse your health is, the more likely parasites occurs.
I was not raised in a culture where the belief in spirits is common.
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Re: Which gods don't you believe in, and why don't you?
2023/2024 Philosophy Books of the Month
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