Tomp_pgh, I think you have some good ideas. However until you clear the withered sentimentality away from your language you will not think clearly.Tom_Pgh wrote: ↑November 26th, 2020, 3:22 pmYou presume an awful lot . There is an idea of God without religion. I have my own idea of God and I belong to no religion.I personally and by hearsay know others who have ideas of God and have no religion whatsoever.Belindi wrote: ↑November 24th, 2020, 7:09 amThere is no version of God outside of religion. There can only be one source of all, which I refer to as God. We need to separate God from all religions. I am not making a condemnation of religion, I believe that in general, religion has a place in the evolution of man but unfortunately, can do more to restrict man's spiritual freedom and in the examples you state, physical freedom due to the political power it wields with governments. I don't think that one needs a religion to have an inward revelation that something outside of themselves exists, that is higher than themselves.
I disagree that consciousness only exists as a moral value that is taught to one. I think the origin is the very first breath you take at birth, the moment you realize your separation from your mother's womb in that first breath, you become conscious that you are. It is the inner you made external. Yes a baby is completely dependent on others for it's upbringing but once maturity, spiritually not necessarily physically, is reached one must, to quote a bible verse, "sale all they own" to know God. That is to strip away all the opinions and prejudices, even the morality that has been taught to you. Only then can one begin to know their self and thus, as I believe, God. Consciousness evolves or degrades throughout one's life through the choices we make, the people we meet, the books we choose to read, the education we receive through are own accord and not through others forcing their opinions or ideals upon us.
To me the human collective conscience is surely not one in the same but like a good soup, will have a variety of spices & ingredients, to make the soup whole and hopefully good for all of mankind.
Yes I believe in a higher moral standard though I am truly aware of, what that may constitute, may not be universal. That is because I also believe in the freedom we are all born with. I do believe in God, thus I believe that humans are inherently of a higher moral standard in line with God's will but can only be achieved through the journey of self-knowledge.
What in your opinion is "an inward revelation" ? "An inward revelation" is typical of talk full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
People do not need "an inward revelation" to know there is stuff that is me and stuff that is not-me. Developmental psychologists tell us the newborn does not differentiate itself from its mother until its brain is a little more developed.
There is no thing that is "the human collective conscience". What a load of flowery rubbish !Your analogy with soup I will accept, but beef broth is not the only soup. Moreover, no cook makes soup for the good of all mankind. JC perhaps , but he is unique.
"I do believe in God" you write. Does this vague claim mean you believe God exists or that you believe God is trustworthy? Or both?
We are all born with freedom, you think. How much freedom has a baby born to a ISIS mother! I could continue citing how babies frequently have been doomed from birth throughout human history.
The God Question
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Re: The God Question
2023/2024 Philosophy Books of the Month
Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Mitzi Perdue
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Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness
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March 2023