I beleive in a god, but not religion.

[JeKo]

Religion, in my opinion was made up, the fact that every different culture has a different religion is enough evidence of this. Humans need to sense a feel of belonging, that we are part of great purpose, that our lives actually mean something! We don't want to be in control of our lives and we all want someone to look after us. I respect many religions, Buddhism in particular for their values, and I agree with many of their beliefs, but I don't want to be limited by a religion to tell me what god is. I am in the just starting to uncover what god is.

But I gotta say I really disagree with Christianity, no animals go to heaven? Humans need to learn that we are an animal just like everyone else, we are equal.

[LegalizeTheGreen]

all religions are flawed, they were created by people, after all, and everyone knows how flawed we are :)

[burnable]

seriously, confining oneself to a traditional religious school of thought really puts a barrier up against personal, undiluted revelation. How can you concentrate on being open to ethereal influences when you're focused on praying the specific way your clergyman taught you?

You're right on when you say that people simply don't want to face the stewardship of their own lives, so they look to who they consider 'holy men' so that they can wallow in temporal pettiness, feeling satisfied that their salvation is guaranteed cuz they are right with an earthly institution. It's embarrassing.

I definitely consider humans as part of the earth, not as detached intellectuals that can look at the earth as just a middle point until jesus comes or whatever. If you want to consider us equal to animals, you have to concede that animals eat other animals, there is nothing more natural and more necessary to the food chain, therefore veganism is spiritually unnecessary, speaking from a naturalist perspective.

I'm all for ethical treatment of individual animals, but I only get disturbed when species get threatened, cause that effects everything. I'm also disturbed when people take it more harshly when animals are being abused than when people are being abused. Afflicting other animal life is natural (as long as it's not widespread), afflicting your own species is wholly unnatural.

[RamblerGambler]

As the film Dogma states, and I chose to adopt myself: "I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. Life should malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that. Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas can't generate. Life becomes stagnant."

[Pass That Shit]

But I gotta say I really disagree with Christianity, no animals go to heaven? Humans need to learn that we are an animal just like everyone else, we are equal.

Why do you think Noah took the animals with him?

[delusionsofNORMALity]

Why do you think Noah took the animals with him?

um....in case he got the munchies?:rolleyes:

[Pass That Shit]

Are you saying Noah was a hippy? :hippy:

[delusionsofNORMALity]

Are you saying Noah was a hippy? :hippy:

nah, just your basic all around stoner. i'm pretty sure he was a speed freak though. who else would stay up for days on end building a big boat and filling it with a bunch of smelly critters?

[LegalizeTheGreen]

You think he brought his grow op on the boat with him?