What do you consider spiritual?

[Gyakuto]

I believe that mankind was created to worship. Virtually every previously undiscovered people, once discovered have been found to worship. We naturally look for the spiritual, whether it is in organized
religion, new age, the occult, ufo ology or even MAs. It sets us apart from the rest of creation.

Couldn’t that be because humanity was fearful? We feared crop failure, we feared pestilence and disease, we feared not finding food on the hunt, we feared adult/child mortality, we feared the sun permanently disappearing during an eclipse etc etc. Early human life was filled with frightening uncertainty. So we invented objects of worship in an attempt to pacify these potential calamities. We gain comfort from the idea of a ‘benevolent father’ (and male it usually was) watching over us with a kindly eye never once questioning the truly awful things that he let go on around us (poor little Sara Sharif, who is currently in the British news at the moment)

Humanity has lived in continual fear until relatively recently and that current safety seems to parallel the steady and rapid decline in organised religion. God is fading away and Taylor Swift/TikTok/mobile phones are replacing him.

Having said that, the recent rise is non-specific spirituality suggests a growing sophistication in the population’s ideas of spirituality and indeed a throw back to the ‘old gods’ where the ‘higher being’ is far more nuanced than the black and white god of Abrahamic religions.

 

[Buka]

Couldn’t that be because humanity was fearful? We feared crop failure, we feared pestilence and disease, we feared not finding food on the hunt, we feared adult/child mortality, we feared the sun permanently disappearing during an eclipse etc etc. Early human life was filled with frightening uncertainty. So we invented objects of worship in an attempt to pacify these potential calamities. We gain comfort from the idea of a ‘benevolent father’ (and male it usually was) watching over us with a kindly eye never once questioning the truly awful things that he let go on around us (poor little Sara Sharif, who is currently in the British news at the moment)

Humanity has lived in continual fear until relatively recently and that current safety seems to parallel the steady and rapid decline in organised religion. God is fading away and Taylor Swift/TikTok/mobile phones are replacing him.

Having said that, the recent rise is non-specific spirituality suggests a growing sophistication in the population’s ideas of spirituality and indeed a throw back to the ‘old gods’ where the ‘higher being’ is far more nuanced than the black and white god of Abrahamic religions.

We are indoctrinated as children to the great and powerful Oz. To be ruled by its manuscript, rules, its fire and brimstone.

Hallelujah and pass the collection plate.

 

[Gyakuto]

We are indoctrinated as children to the great and powerful Oz. To be ruled by its manuscript, rules, its fire and brimstone.

Hallelujah and pass the collection plate.

The message is generally good, but it’s the implementation that is very, very poor.

The decentralisation of non-organised spiritual practises is a very good thing.

Has anyone seen ‘Conclave’? Very enjoyable, indeed.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Couldn’t that be because humanity was fearful?

The most weakness of the human being is we always miss what we don't have, and we forget what we already have.

For some people, if their eyes can see and their legs can walk, they are happy. For other people, if they can't drive luxury car, they are not happy.

 

[Prince_Alarming]

I think there's a danger of focussing too much on what separates us and not enough on what binds us together. I won't attempt a definition as I suspect I'm as far as anybody else from understanding what spirituality is really about, but what I can tell you is that in Paul's letters, he continually reminds us that if we do not love our fellow men then 'christ is not in us', so to speak. He also tells us that loving each other- not just those who are easy to love who wish to do us good, but also those who are difficult to love, who wish to do us harm- and following christ's word as far as we are able, is the 'sacrifice' that is appreciated by the almighty. For me, it's about commonality, a shared spiritual ethos of striving to do as well as we can by one another and working towards shared ethical values. I sometimes come across people calling themselves Christians who seek to denigrate others, to deny them citizenship in the kingdom of god, and if that's christ's message then I don't want it. My bishop recently said in a sermon that he is sometimes asked why he wants the church to be inclusive and that he always answers, why because Christ is inclusive. I think that's worth bearing in mind.