Did you guys hear that the "Duck Dynasty" Patriarch said you should marry women by 14 or 15, and that they should be married carrying their Bible? Seriously, blech!
New question. There was an article/opinion piece on whether the Catholic Church has any say in abortions, what with their crmes against children and women. Specifically, Pope Francis' speaking about the clergy reating sex slaves of nuns, and the fact that with such actions, and Timothy Dolan's speaking out about New York defending the right for women to get abortions, calling it New York has made abortion "dangerous, imposed and frequent". How allowing the women to make decision about their own bodies and not letting the church do so makes abortion "Imposed", I have no idea. But remember that Dolan took money out of the church so it couldn't be touched by former abused kids suing the church by sticking it in the cemeteries fund.
It does point out that people who recite the passage in Jeremiah against abortion often cite Jeremiah 1:5, which states “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you.” They don’t always include the final part of that statement which states “I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” That seems to imply that this is more of a prophecy specific to Jeremiah than it is something that generally applies to everyone.
I'd appreciate hearing from people of all religions, even those of no religion.
Nothing new, really. There's a reason Monthy Python did their Every Sperm Is Sacred parody sketch of the Roman Catholic church. My personal view is that abortions and assisted dying should be legally possible. Within reason of course.
On a similar note, I remember that once a female gynecologist lost her whole office in a lawsuit over here in Germany simply because she adverticed the possibility of getting abortions openly on her website. Abortions by law are not legal over here. Instead it is done case by case behind closed doors between both parents, the doctor and a psychologist.
Assisted suicide for terminal patients should be legal everywhere. We don't force an animal to suffer when it's dying why should a person be forced to suffer an enormous amount of pain and agony before death?
I think it's absurd that someone, based on their views, should have the mandate to dictate what others not sharing their views choose to do with their own bodies, whether it's abortion, clinical suicide or sex change. The whole "sanctity of life" trope is a left-over from a point in time when church wanted to increase the number of christians by propagating pro-life etc. It has no place in a modern, secular society and I find it appalling that even in a progressive, secular country as my own, these views still persist.
Assisted suicide for terminal patients should be legal everywhere. We don't force an animal to suffer when it's dying why should a person be forced to suffer an enormous amount of pain and agony before death?
Money in the coffers of the healthcare system is the only reason I can think of...
Assisted suicide for terminal patients should be legal everywhere. We don't force an animal to suffer when it's dying why should a person be forced to suffer an enormous amount of pain and agony before death?
Money in the coffers of the healthcare system is the only reason I can think of...
The most common reason is that many religions consider taking your own life a sin, Spiritualists, for instance, consider suffering a necessity for the development of your soul. No sane politician wishes to lose those votes as long as they are the majority of the population.
Portland, Oregon is considering passing non-discrimination Protection Legislation Bill for Atheists.
On Wednesday, the Portland City Council will discuss a proposed ordinance that would add “non-religious” to the list of protected classes under city law. While “religion” is already a protected class, that word doesn’t make it clear that non-religious people are included in the mix. The ordinance would make that protection explicit. Madison, Wisconsin has already passed such a bill in 2015, and the sky hasn't fallen in or some form of God struck them down.
I'd like to see this be a thing everywhere, because I'm an atheist, and atheists do sometimes get blowback from all sorts of religious people (for example, George H. W. Bush didn't think theists could be American, because they didn't believe in God.)
From an Interview by Robert J. Sherman...
Sherman: Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are Atheists?
Bush (Senr): No, I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.
I'm not sure. It certainly was his opinion, I don't think he did anything to declare Atheists non-citizens. And he appears not to know about a certain Atheist who bailed America out during the Revolutionary War. It's been so long, I don't remember the name, though.
So, the Houston Chronicle has had a story about sex crimes by the Southern Bapist Church in three parts, with the last one being on over 100 youth pastors from the Southern Baptist Convention convicted or Charged in Sex Crimes. Do you think this will become as widespread in knowledge as the Catholic Sex Crimes by Priests? Especially since SBC seems to have done the same thing with their Pastors that the Chuch did with priests? The name of the series is called "Abuse of Faith".
I think it more likely that a numbing effect will occur. How many of our institutions are crumbling? This is just another blip.
Btw, it's hard for me to imagine a more sad, cynical person than a priest who doesn't believe. Perhaps people might stop outsourcing their soul work? I highly doubt it. Jung writes, "one of the main functions of organized religion is to protect people against a direct experience of God."
People are afraid of their inner space and project it onto God. There is nothing to fear, but they cannot discover that until they look.
Of course, first there needs to be a god in order to have a direct experience... how do you know an actual experience of god from what you think is an experience of god but isn't?
If I had to speculate on this matter (because it's interesting and fun), I view god as the concept to end all concepts. The less specific you are about it, the more accurate you are. To really get there, I think it best to have no words or concepts of any kind, just a generally aware emptiness.
As it exists as a word in our language, I view god as a conditioned projection. What Jung was referring to, as far as I understand it, is the upheaval that may come as a result of experiencing the transcendent, enlightenment or whatever you want to call it. The letting go of ego and order can be liberating or terrifying depending on how you interpret it. I think most people find that experience a little unsettling. Therefore we broker it to priests to have a more controllable experience. That's my take anyway.
Well that's interesting but god is a horrible term to use, because it's SO loaded. Some people think god is a bearded man sitting on a cloud judging who you have sex with...
So, Oxford University has a study up on their website about who is most afraid of death... religious people or atheists.And the answer is, People who intrinsically believe in religion (Believe due to faith) show less fear of death than people who extrinsically religious (believe for reasons other than faith). But Atheists also don't fear death.
A new study examines all robust, available data on how fearful we are of what happens once we shuffle off this mortal coil. They find that atheists are among those least afraid of dying...and, perhaps not surprisingly, the very religious.
Some studies also distinguished between intrinsic religiosity and extrinsic religiosity. Extrinsic religiosity is when religious behaviour is motivated by pragmatic considerations such as the social or emotional benefits of following a religion, whereas intrinsic religiosity refers to religious behaviour driven by 'true belief'. The meta-analysis showed that while people who were intrinsically religious enjoyed lower levels of death anxiety, those who were extrinsically religious revealed higher levels of death anxiety.
So, Oxford University has a study up on their website about who is most afraid of death... religious people or atheists.And the answer is, People who intrinsically believe in religion (Believe due to faith) show less fear of death than people who extrinsically religious (believe for reasons other than faith). But Atheists also don't fear death.
A new study examines all robust, available data on how fearful we are of what happens once we shuffle off this mortal coil. They find that atheists are among those least afraid of dying...and, perhaps not surprisingly, the very religious.
Some studies also distinguished between intrinsic religiosity and extrinsic religiosity. Extrinsic religiosity is when religious behaviour is motivated by pragmatic considerations such as the social or emotional benefits of following a religion, whereas intrinsic religiosity refers to religious behaviour driven by 'true belief'. The meta-analysis showed that while people who were intrinsically religious enjoyed lower levels of death anxiety, those who were extrinsically religious revealed higher levels of death anxiety.
I can't imagine why following a religion that believes in eternal torment in a lake of fire for unbelievers, purely for "social or emotional benefits", would make you anxious about dying...
Why? It's not like it hurts. Everyone does it sooner or later. I view it like going to sleep. You just close your eyes and the world goes away. What I'm more afraid of is dying in pain. But even then, when you pass, the pain stops. It can even be a blessing- if you are living in pain (from disease, old age, etc., it all goes away when you die. Surcease of pain can be a blessing or feel like one. No punishment, no reward, just an end to it all.
@LadyRhian That is the aspect that I look forward to, complete and utter relaxation in a way that would be impossible if I was still alive.
We put our old German Shepherd to sleep a few years ago. She had been in pain for some time. I'll never forget the quality and depth of her last exhalation and the absolute relaxation that followed. Even in such a sad moment it was beautiful and encouraging.
I used to be quite afraid of dying for one simple reason. I have had nightmares, waking dreams, and insomnia most of my life. I feared that as I began to lose consciousness, my mind might start taking me through all kinds of hellscapes. It was my prime motivation to begin meditating and I am thankful I have not had an episode in years.
The Tibetan Buddhists call this liminal state Bardo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they rank rather higher on fear of death than other Buddhists. After having read some of their stories I can see why!
Yeah. Taoist Hells are not exactly friendly, either. Perhaps when extrinsically religious people think about dying, they are afraid they will go to Hell rather than Heaven because of a lack of "real" belief. Just my supposition.
Yeah. Taoist Hells are not exactly friendly, either. Perhaps when extrinsically religious people think about dying, they are afraid they will go to Hell rather than Heaven because of a lack of "real" belief. Just my supposition.
As for me neither has any supporting evidence hence I am ignoring both...
Comments
This is the article I urge you to read it. I'd really enjoy reading your opinions about this: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a26236433/nuns-sex-slaves-abused-catholic-church-abortion/?fbclid=IwAR1_3uKPHpS5Gp7hKfPTme-poss1j6lYmwuflbiyyggMycpCT8psqHNA-Yk
It does point out that people who recite the passage in Jeremiah against abortion often cite Jeremiah 1:5, which states “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you.” They don’t always include the final part of that statement which states “I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” That seems to imply that this is more of a prophecy specific to Jeremiah than it is something that generally applies to everyone.
I'd appreciate hearing from people of all religions, even those of no religion.
On a similar note, I remember that once a female gynecologist lost her whole office in a lawsuit over here in Germany simply because she adverticed the possibility of getting abortions openly on her website. Abortions by law are not legal over here. Instead it is done case by case behind closed doors between both parents, the doctor and a psychologist.
Money in the coffers of the healthcare system is the only reason I can think of...
The most common reason is that many religions consider taking your own life a sin, Spiritualists, for instance, consider suffering a necessity for the development of your soul. No sane politician wishes to lose those votes as long as they are the majority of the population.
On Wednesday, the Portland City Council will discuss a proposed ordinance that would add “non-religious” to the list of protected classes under city law. While “religion” is already a protected class, that word doesn’t make it clear that non-religious people are included in the mix. The ordinance would make that protection explicit. Madison, Wisconsin has already passed such a bill in 2015, and the sky hasn't fallen in or some form of God struck them down.
I'd like to see this be a thing everywhere, because I'm an atheist, and atheists do sometimes get blowback from all sorts of religious people (for example, George H. W. Bush didn't think theists could be American, because they didn't believe in God.)
From an Interview by Robert J. Sherman...
Sherman: Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are Atheists?
Bush (Senr): No, I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.
Btw, it's hard for me to imagine a more sad, cynical person than a priest who doesn't believe. Perhaps people might stop outsourcing their soul work? I highly doubt it. Jung writes, "one of the main functions of organized religion is to protect people against a direct experience of God."
People are afraid of their inner space and project it onto God. There is nothing to fear, but they cannot discover that until they look.
Source: The Global Catholic Population
As it exists as a word in our language, I view god as a conditioned projection. What Jung was referring to, as far as I understand it, is the upheaval that may come as a result of experiencing the transcendent, enlightenment or whatever you want to call it. The letting go of ego and order can be liberating or terrifying depending on how you interpret it. I think most people find that experience a little unsettling. Therefore we broker it to priests to have a more controllable experience. That's my take anyway.
Edit: changed mind to ego
A new study examines all robust, available data on how fearful we are of what happens once we shuffle off this mortal coil. They find that atheists are among those least afraid of dying...and, perhaps not surprisingly, the very religious.
Some studies also distinguished between intrinsic religiosity and extrinsic religiosity. Extrinsic religiosity is when religious behaviour is motivated by pragmatic considerations such as the social or emotional benefits of following a religion, whereas intrinsic religiosity refers to religious behaviour driven by 'true belief'. The meta-analysis showed that while people who were intrinsically religious enjoyed lower levels of death anxiety, those who were extrinsically religious revealed higher levels of death anxiety.
I can't imagine why following a religion that believes in eternal torment in a lake of fire for unbelievers, purely for "social or emotional benefits", would make you anxious about dying...
To me, it sounds... relaxing.
Well maybe I was but just can't remember it. I only have so many brain cells you know (and less and less of them every year...).
We put our old German Shepherd to sleep a few years ago. She had been in pain for some time. I'll never forget the quality and depth of her last exhalation and the absolute relaxation that followed. Even in such a sad moment it was beautiful and encouraging.
I used to be quite afraid of dying for one simple reason. I have had nightmares, waking dreams, and insomnia most of my life. I feared that as I began to lose consciousness, my mind might start taking me through all kinds of hellscapes. It was my prime motivation to begin meditating and I am thankful I have not had an episode in years.
The Tibetan Buddhists call this liminal state Bardo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they rank rather higher on fear of death than other Buddhists. After having read some of their stories I can see why!
As for me neither has any supporting evidence hence I am ignoring both...