Religious Devotion?

[Polymirize]

Why is it I so rarely see a christian devoted to God as often as I do an atheist equally (or even more feverently) devoted to the non-existence of God?

Any one else notice this? Thoughts?

[mont974x4]

A couple of possibilities I guess.

One being that the Christians that seem less devoted may in fact be less devoted. They believe enough to be saved from hell but still want to live like the rest of the world. This is discussed in Romans.

The flipside may be that those non-believers have been burned by the church, usually the Catholic church, and are ticked off and more vocal.


Just a thought. I'm sure there's more possibilities but I'm only on my first cup of coffee. lol

[HMD]

Hiya, Iam catholic, lol, I don't go to church every week but I used to. For me, as I have matured I have been seeking a more spiritual side to my faith. I think the sacred herbs have allowed me to access a part of my mind that otherwise would have been left unexplored. When I am high, I can meditate for hours and get lost in time. Does anyone else think that cannabis helps them to be more spiritual? lol and why is it that music always sounds better when you're stoned. I don't have to listen to music when Iam straight but If Iam getting stoned, I can't seem to live without music. One of my drug-free friends replied to me that he thought it was *dire* when I told him I was wrecked. WTF..If only he knew how heavenly I felt. More vocal you say mont NAAAAAAA....lol not me....anyway on the spiritual side of things again to really appreciate the high you get from weed, the spiritual sensations you can feel, I think it's a good idea to have a break from smoking it, say a week or two, then when you go back to it, you really get a full on dreamy session...speak soon..Lilee x

[mrdevious]

Hiya, Iam catholic, lol, I don't go to church every week but I used to. For me, as I have matured I have been seeking a more spiritual side to my faith. I think the sacred herbs have allowed me to access a part of my mind that otherwise would have been left unexplored. When I am high, I can meditate for hours and get lost in time. Does anyone else think that cannabis helps them to be more spiritual? lol and why is it that music always sounds better when you're stoned. I don't have to listen to music when Iam straight but If Iam getting stoned, I can't seem to live without music. One of my drug-free friends replied to me that he thought it was *dire* when I told him I was wrecked. WTF..If only he knew how heavenly I felt. More vocal you say mont NAAAAAAA....lol not me....anyway on the spiritual side of things again to really appreciate the high you get from weed, the spiritual sensations you can feel, I think it's a good idea to have a break from smoking it, say a week or two, then when you go back to it, you really get a full on dreamy session...speak soon..Lilee x

I think this is excelleant that you're exploring your spiritual side. I don't believe anybody can truely reach their spiritual potential if they merely stick to the dogmatic rules of their faith, and never actaully work at exploring and developing their mind.

[HMD]

Hiya mrdevious, I just read on your profile that you like meditation and yoga. Me too. I used to go to yoga classes years ago, I am thinking of taking up kick boxing now. How do you meditate? I've been meditating for about 10 years. I usually lay down with my headphones on listen to shamanic tunes or trance house. I focus on relaxing every part of my body, control my breathing and either blank my mind or follow trains of thoughts. I do need weed to meditate though, I can't seem to relax enough without it. I have learnt to orgasm just by thinking..lol...honest...but now I have experienced that I want to do it more and more. :)

[mont974x4]

We want proof. lol :dance:

Sorry I couldn't help myself

[Trichocereus Panza]

I have learnt to orgasm just by thinking..lol...honest...but now I have experienced that I want to do it more and more. :)
I know a couple of people who can do that. I know a girl who had an orgasm the first time she tried ganja, without any touching or anything. Also somebody who I go to college with who can "meditate herself to orgasm", she's a tantric buddhist and that is one of the tantric sexual practices. I don't know a lot about it except that I'm pretty sure it's only women who can do it :( :( :( unfortunately for us guys... I think it's WONDERFUL that you can do it, though.

I love to meditate when stoned, I think it's one of the best uses for it :rasta: Especially with music, as you said, I like live jam music where you can feel the energy of creation happening at each moment. If you are into spiritual uses for pot, I recommend going for a walk in a beautiful place if you live near one, listening to the birds, sitting down by a waterfall to watch the flow of life happening. A christian would probably say you are seeing the glory of God in everything that exists in nature. I am not a christian but I definitely experience that as the mystery of life appearing at each moment when you're open to it. I think that all religions point to the same thing, and that we're experiencing the same thing through spiritual practice whether we call it God or not....

To answer the original question of the thread, I think most believers these days don't think very long and hard about their faith (yes I would make that statement). They CAN'T think too hard about it because it doesn't fit in with the rest of the impulses coming at them from everywhere else in modern life, and because they would realize that (rationally, at least) faith is a paradox and God is an impossibility that we can't give any good justification for believing in----thus they only believe half-heartedly and with less devotion in order to keep going through life with that unquestioning status. I think most of them are only half-hearted christians because of
1) The problems of institutionalized Christianity, which are many, and
2) Deep down they are confused and don't know what to believe
...Although they may not want to admit it.

Atheists on the other hand are more "passionate" about what they (dis)believe because they are having a REACTION to the absurdity of institutional fundamentalism (as someone else here suggested, they got burned by it) and to the absurdity of everyone blindly believing something they have no reason to believe. So they are angry and frustrated with religion because they just see it as a mass delusion.

This is how I used to feel, but now I have softened my attitude a little bit (although I am still an atheist, of sorts). It's just that now I've realized that everything you say is only good/"true" as far as it goes to get somebody out of a habitual belief pattern. People get "stuck" in their beliefs, which I think makes them miss out on a lot of possibilities in experiencing life from different perspectives. So having a strong reaction AGAINST faith is just as bad as following a religion really blindly and unquestioningly, if you're an atheist who thinks he really "knows" the truth. Honestly I think we have to admit that no one knows. Right now I am leaning more towards a Hindu conception of God as EVERYTHING, as being the great mystery of everything that exists and everything we all think about it, all wrapped up into one great "thing" that isn't Creator or Judger or Consciousness but just IS...

I think it's better to have "devotion" towards an attitude of experiencing life as an incomprehnsible mystery.:stoned:

[Polymirize]

maybe I phrased the question badly. Let me try again. Why is do you think that atheists have more religious convictions than anyone else?

speaking broadly of course.

[alchemiser]

I think it's cos atheists always feel threatened when 'God' is mention Polymirize, they have no chioce but to shout out loudly 'there is no such thing as God'.
Believers have 'turn the other cheek' , they can just walk away unphased while the atheists rant. :smokin:


Meditation & weed :thumbsup: the easy way to explore the heavens!
oh wow :stoned:

[HMD]

Polymirize, Hmm!....I suppose it might have something to do with the circles you might mix in. I'm a regular poster on a spirituality/pagan board on AOL. I agree that I come across some very strong viewpoints from those who don't believe in God. I happen to believe in a God, it's just the way I was brought up and the faith I was conditioned to. At times those who oppose my faith are eager to call me deluded, basing my beliefs upon a myth that offers no evidence for it's existence. I think atheists should vent their opinions about the nature of the world without having to resort to picking holes in anothers belief system. They say that an atheist is more likely to turn to god than a fence sitter. It must have something to do with the fact that both sides do have strong convictions. I dunno, just my thoughts...:)

[Breukelen advocaat]

As an Atheist, I think that you have to have been hurt by religion to understand why it is so bad.

Being an Atheist is far more than just denying the existence of a god, or gods. It is a lifestyle.