Source:The Daily Review
When I hear someone tell me that they’re spiritual, but not religious, my first reaction if I’m not smirking is something generally like, “really?”
Someone who is religious believes in a God who is a superhuman controlling power and a belief in something greater than them self.
Someone who is self-described as spiritual, but not religious is someone who believes in the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul, as opposed to material or physical things. Sort of sounds like the definition of a Socialist, but that might be for a different discussion. According to Wikipedia the term spirituality originally developed within early Christianity.
Someone who is religious is also spiritual. I mean, what do you think houses of worship are for. You could be someone who practices a certain religion but doesn’t believe in God or is simply neutral when it comes to God like an Agnostic and be spiritual in that way. There’s this growing movement with young people (meaning Millennial’s) who don’t want to be religious or at least seen as religious with people they hangout with or respect, because they believe those people will think they’re not cool or something, but they also don’t want to be identified as Atheists either. So they try to thread the needle (so to speak) and self-identify as spiritual.
Spirituality is very common and popular with hipsters especially in Hollywood who believe religion is not cool, or at least their followers believe religion is not cool, but they’re not comfortable identifying themselves as Atheists, because they come from religious families or perhaps just don’t want to be known as an Atheist. In case it isn’t obvious, Hollywood is about perception and not reality. Style over substance, which is something that they have in common with politicians.
If someone tells me they’re an Atheist, I can respect that. I mean really, who can honestly actually say they’ve seen God before, let alone met the man. I mean, we don’t see any sightings of Jesus Christ, or Moses, or Allah, except maybe around Halloween.
Its the fundamentalist Atheists who I have a problem with who look down upon people who are religious simply because they’re religious. Or the faux Atheists who claim to be Atheists, but only critique Christianity especially fundamentalist Protestant Christianity because of hard-core stances that Evangelicals take on social issues and bigotry that they show against gays and other religions, women’s place in the world, but never critique other religions that have similar, if not identical stances on the same issues.
Or so-called Atheists who label people as bigots even when they accurately critique Muslims for their regressive views on the same social issues that Evangelicals are known for having. And of course I’m talking about how the so-called politically correct Far-Left went after Bill Maher a few years ago for his stances against Islam. Bill Maher is a real Atheist and doesn’t just call himself to sound cool with hipsters.
I’m an Agnostic myself simply because I don’t know if there is a God or not. As a Liberal I base all my political beliefs as well as non-political beliefs on reason, evidence, and facts. Instead of having faith in some so-called higher being who supposedly always has my best interest at heart. Even though I never met this supposed person. And I’m someone who tends to not have faith in things or people, unless there’s good reason and evidence to have faith. But just because you don’t know that there is a God, doesn’t mean you know there isn’t a God. Which is where I separate from Atheists.
A big problem with America especially with young people (I know I sound like a grandfather now) is faddism. This need to be seen following whatever the current trend is especially with whatever fad young cool people are following. If walking down the street or showing up to work wearing nothing but a t-shirt, underwear, and cowboy boots, became a regular thing with whoever the current hot celebrities are supposed to be, you would see thousands if not millions of young Americans doing the same thing. And we would probably see a spike in the unemployment rate as a result, at least with young adults, because those people would get fired right on the spot for completely breaking the company dress code. Spirituality along with Scientology, is a Hollywood hipster fad and when its no longer seen as cool is when it will disappear. But not a movement that I respect or even take seriously.
The Daily Review 
If I were sarcastic, I would say: Pfffftt! “Spirituality” is just a term that total Wimps use to describe themselves because they have no clue what they believe! All in the name of “open-mindedness”, of course. And there you have it. Too often spiritual people can’t (or won’t) define anything. They seek the “light” but fall apart when you ask them to describe just exactly what “light” is.
Or they get dreamy-eyed about “Oneness”. Really? Ever take a logic course? If there is no seperation and everything is united and all is one, then aren’t we also one with the outhouse and the garbage dump? But that’s terrible. So they change the subject, or perhaps accuse you of simply not being “evolved” enough. People can believe what they want. But I have more respect for anyone who will define what they believe, and why they believe it.
But all that was sort’ve an “aside” from the point I want to make now. You said: “I’m an Agnostic myself simply because I don’t know if there is a God or not.” That was specific. Thank you. I myself an not an atheist, but yet you could say I am “spiritually uncommitted”. I am not member of anything. So I hope that is less biased when I share this, in response to Agnosticism—
Some atheist and also agnostics say: There is no God and the Universe always was.
But one question keeps nagging at me, and its one you almost never see any agnostic or atheist ever address online:
HOW??–does our human consciousness, intelligence and self-awareness arise or come out of an IM-personal UN-conscious Universe? This is never addressed.
Is the planet Jupiter alive? Does it think? Is our Sun a conscious being? Most everyone believes “No.” Is the Milky Way galaxy a conscious, living and thinking being? I haven’t heard anyone say so. So how does and unthinking Universe create thinking beings? That’s one for all Agmostics and atheists to ponder.
Since we are self-aware and thinking beings, it would make more sense that we came from something else that also is self-aware and thinks. ie. God. But before the atheist freak out, even if we granted that, it does not automatically mean Christianity is true. We are simply establishing that there is some type of “intelligent, conscious creator”.
At this point, thee atheist will say what they always say: Who made God?
The response is: God was always there. And who made the universe?
They will counter: The Universe was always there.
The response to that is: Then you have a problem, because if the Universe was always here, people very commonly don’t think of the Universe as being alive or a thinking being. But if there was always some sort of Creative-Intelligence..i.e. a God who thinks, then it wouldn’t be such an impossible thing to create other “chips off the old block” who also think, like us.
So either blind, non-living matter was always here and how on earth did it ever create anything consciously aware, when it itself isn’t?….or…there was always some intelligent, creative power. Since we humans have intelligence, it seems more sensible that we came from something, or someone, that also has it.
#Agnosticism #Atheism #Spirituality #Skepticism #20-Somethings ##Christianity #Philosophy
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Thanks for the input. That was a great statement.
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