"So it really is easier to reject any kind of label even though you might really sympathise with the ideas of christianity (or any other religion) because you will never agree with an ideology 100%, it just isn’t possible."
Can you please explain this? How does one sympathising with ideas of a religion make them not believe in religion 100%? Do you mean even though they believe in the religion, there'd always be an inner fight to reject some of the ideas. As you gave an example earlier, "I am christian, but don't believe in this."?
Your interpretation of the (for example) bible will be different from my interpretation from the bible, it’s just inevitable. Of course unless you didn’t read the bible and I just tell you my understanding of the bible and you dogmatically try to absorb it. And yes, you’ll never agree with an idea 100%, unless of course is your own idea (and of you and just you). It seems to me that when you say “I’m Christian” (or like even “I’m republican” but it doesn’t seem so extreme in politics as it is in religion) you enter in a defending mindset and you “turn of” your critical thinking, it stops being about trying to understand the ideas and see if we agree and more about defend any idea that it’s in the book, even if we never really thought about if we agree with that idea.
When they ask, do you believe in god?, they simply mean, do you believe there's a god?. I don't see a reason to dig more deeply. That'd be i think just be playing with words.
So I’m sure that if it’s not that hard to understand the question, at least you can give me a definition of god? After all you must know what you’re believing in
I think when you are talking about god and people's belief about it, it shouldn't really matter what the truth of God is, but what the person debating you believes about god. So, when they ask do you believe in god? They simply mean, do you believe there is a being out there who controls our lives, and who has created this universe or others if there are. So, I think questions like, "what type of God do you believe in, or do your actions really support what you say?" are distracting.
What you mean “questions like what type of god you believe in…are distracting”?!?! The god in the bible is not the same got in the Koran so it definitely matters what god do you believe was the “creator of it all”
You are right. But I was assuming that your question was in response of the question, do you believe in god? Now, do you think it is important for you to know what God one believes in to answer their question of your belief in God? Think about it. If yes, would it change accordingly? Would you give a different answer to a christian than a Muslim, or an atheist? Am I making sense?
I enjoyed this - thank you. From what I can gather from reading exactly one post of yours, I'm in some similar places of thinking at this point in my life. Not identical (as you pointed out, no two people are identical), but similar.
Just the other night, I was wrestling with the tension between individuality and the need for unifying mythos. Culture can only be built around mythos, I think - even if that mythos is one of pure, non-spiritual reason. Paul Kingsnorth says it this way: "When the CULT departs from the heart of the CULTure, the thing starts to fall apart." And yet at this point in my life, I find myself utterly reluctant to accept any imposed mythos uncritically. As someone with autism and OCD who has spent most of my adult life as a Christian, I've been (mostly unintentionally) wounded in significant ways by groupthink, as well as highly dogmatic views of the Bible, and find myself reluctant to subscribe to any externally-imposed truth claims, while at the same time recognizing that this likely costs me my best chance for deep connection. It feels like an unsolvable dilemma most of the time.
For what it's worth, I actually started my Substack to begin writing a new mythology - one for the modern era, one that incorporates and acknowledges the influential myths that preceded it, while moving forward from them. I don't have much done yet, but I have some things coming.
"(or even academic papers with the thirty people name’s as authors)"
What's wrong with that?😂 Seriously?
Ahahah, is just the overall groupthink, as I wrote groups optimise for cooperation and consensus, not truth
Yeah... Ofc. I knew that. And you also mentioned it in he next paragraph.
Bro.. you explained falsifiablity in a paragraph better than I could in an essay.😭 Well done, bro 👏
Ahah. Thank you!
"So it really is easier to reject any kind of label even though you might really sympathise with the ideas of christianity (or any other religion) because you will never agree with an ideology 100%, it just isn’t possible."
Can you please explain this? How does one sympathising with ideas of a religion make them not believe in religion 100%? Do you mean even though they believe in the religion, there'd always be an inner fight to reject some of the ideas. As you gave an example earlier, "I am christian, but don't believe in this."?
Your interpretation of the (for example) bible will be different from my interpretation from the bible, it’s just inevitable. Of course unless you didn’t read the bible and I just tell you my understanding of the bible and you dogmatically try to absorb it. And yes, you’ll never agree with an idea 100%, unless of course is your own idea (and of you and just you). It seems to me that when you say “I’m Christian” (or like even “I’m republican” but it doesn’t seem so extreme in politics as it is in religion) you enter in a defending mindset and you “turn of” your critical thinking, it stops being about trying to understand the ideas and see if we agree and more about defend any idea that it’s in the book, even if we never really thought about if we agree with that idea.
I see... It becomes about beliefs rather than the idea itself. Hmmm.
That's JP like argument. And tbh I don't like it.
When they ask, do you believe in god?, they simply mean, do you believe there's a god?. I don't see a reason to dig more deeply. That'd be i think just be playing with words.
So I’m sure that if it’s not that hard to understand the question, at least you can give me a definition of god? After all you must know what you’re believing in
I think when you are talking about god and people's belief about it, it shouldn't really matter what the truth of God is, but what the person debating you believes about god. So, when they ask do you believe in god? They simply mean, do you believe there is a being out there who controls our lives, and who has created this universe or others if there are. So, I think questions like, "what type of God do you believe in, or do your actions really support what you say?" are distracting.
What you mean “questions like what type of god you believe in…are distracting”?!?! The god in the bible is not the same got in the Koran so it definitely matters what god do you believe was the “creator of it all”
You are right. But I was assuming that your question was in response of the question, do you believe in god? Now, do you think it is important for you to know what God one believes in to answer their question of your belief in God? Think about it. If yes, would it change accordingly? Would you give a different answer to a christian than a Muslim, or an atheist? Am I making sense?
Hello there my friend, I see your posts regularly, and I just wanted to say I do enjoy reading them, thank you Salvador.
While I’m here, I write about historical books, and ideology’s from the past.
They had a far different worldview than we do, you may enjoy this one:
https://open.substack.com/pub/jordannuttall/p/where-is-god?r=4f55i2&utm_medium=ios
I enjoyed this - thank you. From what I can gather from reading exactly one post of yours, I'm in some similar places of thinking at this point in my life. Not identical (as you pointed out, no two people are identical), but similar.
Just the other night, I was wrestling with the tension between individuality and the need for unifying mythos. Culture can only be built around mythos, I think - even if that mythos is one of pure, non-spiritual reason. Paul Kingsnorth says it this way: "When the CULT departs from the heart of the CULTure, the thing starts to fall apart." And yet at this point in my life, I find myself utterly reluctant to accept any imposed mythos uncritically. As someone with autism and OCD who has spent most of my adult life as a Christian, I've been (mostly unintentionally) wounded in significant ways by groupthink, as well as highly dogmatic views of the Bible, and find myself reluctant to subscribe to any externally-imposed truth claims, while at the same time recognizing that this likely costs me my best chance for deep connection. It feels like an unsolvable dilemma most of the time.
For what it's worth, I actually started my Substack to begin writing a new mythology - one for the modern era, one that incorporates and acknowledges the influential myths that preceded it, while moving forward from them. I don't have much done yet, but I have some things coming.