Are you religious?

[Rev]

with an explanation please

sorry I didn't read it properly and failed to elucidate. Not all religions believe in divinity nor do they all make superstitious or in fact supernatural claims. Both religions and religious experiences are not exclusively dependent on the supernatural or divine.

 

[Rev]

Greg Collins my point exactly!
Sorry I posted the last one and hadn't seen what you had posted back

 

[Primal Scream]

Well that one came as a suprise, I thought the essence of religion was a belief in a "supreme being or force".

So please explain what religion without a god entails

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I am not sure how else to ask it......errmmmm why would being religious necessitate a belief in god, gods, goddesses the grand poo bar snake demon or divinity in general?

You are correct - I guess you mean as in religious devotion to duty etc?

It would appear that the most respondents had assumed that the OP was asking in the context of a religious belief in a God.

Maybe the OP could clarify for the sake of the future progress of the thread?

***

Rev - isn't Buddha some sort of earthly holographic projection of a being that lives forever?

 

[Primal Scream]

Although I have heard of a crisis of faith how can a CofE vicar who does not believe in god give sermons about god and imo it would be dishonest to continue as a vicar.

Or am I missing something which is not unusual

 

[Rev]

Rev - isn't Buddha some sort of earthly holographic projection of a being that lives forever?

Not for many Buddhists No!

 

[Rev]

Although I have heard of a crisis of faith how can a CofE vicar who does not believe in god give sermons about god and imo it would be dishonest to continue as a vicar.

Why would a Vicar be wrong to consider the idea of god as a metaphor or archetype as opposed to a concrete divine phenomena?
People have as many personal truths and forms of religion and religious expression/experience as they do earlobes or world views no two are entirely alike although many meet at many junctures. If one can sit well with an individual who continues in their religion in good conscience and without compromising their interpretation or doing harm who can nay say them? Are they being dishonest just because it is a different less popular religious belief?

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Not for many Buddhists No!

Ah I see - a Buddha may be a Earthly manifestation of some higher 'being' or someone who has attained what Buddhists consider enlightenment.

 

[Primal Scream]

Why would a Vicar be wrong to consider the idea of god as a metaphor or archetype as opposed to a concrete divine phenomena?
People have as many personal truths and forms of religion and religious expression/experience as they do earlobes or world views no two are entirely alike although many meet at many junctures. If one can sit well with an individual who continues in their religion in good conscience and without compromising their interpretation or doing harm who can nay say them? Are they being dishonest just because it is a different less popular religious belief?

It is if they preach one thing and believe something else.

To be "religious" without a belief in divinity is just a case of trying to do the right thing.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Why would a Vicar be wrong to consider the idea of god as a metaphor or archetype as opposed to a concrete divine phenomena?
People have as many personal truths and forms of religion and religious expression/experience as they do earlobes or world views no two are entirely alike although many meet at many junctures. If one can sit well with an individual who continues in their religion in good conscience and without compromising their interpretation or doing harm who can nay say them? Are they being dishonest just because it is a different less popular religious belief?

But that's generally not really how they see it is it? I would wager that most Vicars believe in their creation stories and the afterlife - how many Vicars do you, or anyone else know, who has clambered into the pulpit and said to their congregation "look guys, the teachings I give you are just metaphors. Our creation story, our prayers to someone up above, our afterlife story - they're all just fairy tales that make you feel better about why you are here and better about your eventual demise".

Not many I would say. But if they do truly believe that God is a metaphor and they are not admitting that to their congregation then they are disingenuous in the extreme.

The whole metaphor response is often given when someone has the nous to realise that what they believe in is really a crock of crap but for whatever reason they can't shake off their indoctrinated teachings.

 

[Rev]

I think I may have not been clear enough for you, please bear with me. What most vicars, priests, Buddhists etc. see is? What most vicars believe is probably as far from what you propose as it is from what I propose. Metaphor was one example as was archetype there are many more the point is not that! the point is unless you ask each individual exactly what he believes why he believes it and explore that mythos, mythic structure, belief system etc with real experiential knowledge of it's disciplines you will be making huge assumptions about the what's whys and hows.
You will be making a comment on swimming having never swam! Now what a crock of crap that would be?
we can all make wild conjecture on what another thinks, believes feels etc. There are many many Christians who would deny the definition you would give to God. Many Buddhists who would deny the existence of the divine or even the self. You have people of many denominations and faiths who though deeply religious would question the existence of anything so dualistic as god and self. Yet you presume to know both their views and their rational for holding them.
Your definition of religious is way too simplistic!

The whole metaphor response

when is often given? where?
and yet again you seek to impose your definition why? Why is it so important for you (and others to tell people that they are wrong or right or disingenuous? You have very little information , hardly any relevant experience and yet you are the expert on whether THEY are being true to THEIR faith and THEIR belief.

what they believe in is really a crock of crap but for whatever reason they can't shake off their indoctrinated teachings.

How did you suddenly leap to indoctrination from belief?
Again you make a sweeping generalisation about people all over the world with different belief systems, different experiences and from different backgrounds. What qualifies you to do this?
Just more judgemental bigoted generalisations without one iota of evidence or experience to qualify them.

For the record I do not believe in god, heeby jeebies, devils demons, gods supernatural, heavens hells. I am a rational, educated fairly balanced man who gets no solace from an afterlife or reincarnation or any eternalistic crutch to hide from my mortality.
Yet I am religious!

I have worked internationally in war zones and famine districts etc I have seen terrible things done in the name of religion. I have also seen lots more terrible things done in the name of 'I AM RIGHT AND WHAT I mis-ASSUME ABOUT YOU MAKES YOU WRONG PHILOSOPHY' I consider the latter to be much more pernicious, nefarious and ultimately damaging!

 

[Rev]

a Buddha may be a Earthly manifestation of some higher 'being' or someone who has attained what Buddhists consider enlightenment.

Again No.

 

[Rev]

For the record I do not believe in god, heeby jeebies, devils demons, gods supernatural, heavens hells. I am a rational, educated fairly balanced man who gets no solace from an afterlife or reincarnation or any eternalistic crutch to hide from my mortality.
Yet I am religious!

For the record I also do not consider belief in any of these to be negative. Nor do I infer that eternalism, afterlives or reincarnation etc are crutches,pursued for solace or a means to hide from mortality.

 

[Rev]

Because God being a concrete divine reality is a basic tenet of the Christian faith.

Wrong! absolute hogwash! There are any number of 'christian' churches , traditions and fellowships who do not consider god as a concrete phenomena. Yet again we have a spokesperson for all of the plethora of divergent beliefs placed under a umbrella like religious or Christian.

 

[Fnaar]

...justify it to yourself with cod theology.