Carpe Serpentis
Hybrid Snake Lover
My apologies Rich for the misunderstanding.
The questions you ask in your next post however have been studied and I have a few books on the subject itself written by anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists, etc. as the origin of religion, differences between religions, etc... have long fascinated me. All of your questions are very valid and they require much more detailed answers than I have the time for, but even given the time I think there is much more to be analyzed as with most studies... there is never a end all truth to be found where nothing new can ever be gained or learned.
For me, I was deeply religious at one point in time in my life. I stood for 4 days in prayer without food, water, or sleep in the traditional lakota way vision questing multiple times, sundancing, attending yuwipi ceremonies, sweat lodges, etc. I think we are all born atheists. Some never become religious, but most become the religion of their culture. Those that study religions in depth and are deeply religious may even find that they don't believe other religions, but they believe their religion is right. They have found the right path. Then, when they apply the same logic as to why they don't believe those other religions to their own... if they are able to do that then the walls start tumbling down if they are able to do that in earnest. Alternative possibilities exist of course and one may simply say that all religions are just roads leading to the same end goal so to speak and the little bits we don't agree with are mans influence on that religion and its our best attempt at grasping the incomprehensible.
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
- Epicurus [341–270 B.C.]
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish.
An atheist doesn’t have to be someone who thinks he has a proof that there can’t be a god. He only has to be someone who believes that the evidence on the God question is at a similar level to the evidence on the werewolf question. McCarthy
Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions. Pascal
The questions you ask in your next post however have been studied and I have a few books on the subject itself written by anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists, etc. as the origin of religion, differences between religions, etc... have long fascinated me. All of your questions are very valid and they require much more detailed answers than I have the time for, but even given the time I think there is much more to be analyzed as with most studies... there is never a end all truth to be found where nothing new can ever be gained or learned.
For me, I was deeply religious at one point in time in my life. I stood for 4 days in prayer without food, water, or sleep in the traditional lakota way vision questing multiple times, sundancing, attending yuwipi ceremonies, sweat lodges, etc. I think we are all born atheists. Some never become religious, but most become the religion of their culture. Those that study religions in depth and are deeply religious may even find that they don't believe other religions, but they believe their religion is right. They have found the right path. Then, when they apply the same logic as to why they don't believe those other religions to their own... if they are able to do that then the walls start tumbling down if they are able to do that in earnest. Alternative possibilities exist of course and one may simply say that all religions are just roads leading to the same end goal so to speak and the little bits we don't agree with are mans influence on that religion and its our best attempt at grasping the incomprehensible.
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
- Epicurus [341–270 B.C.]
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish.
An atheist doesn’t have to be someone who thinks he has a proof that there can’t be a god. He only has to be someone who believes that the evidence on the God question is at a similar level to the evidence on the werewolf question. McCarthy
Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions. Pascal
