just stuff from my blog

... some religiousy matters

10-18-23 laterer:  i just poked at a stranger on facey-book, he's connected to a mutual friend, he seems like a pretty hard-core atheist, that's cool, i like hearing other people's perspectives about a bunch of different things, and if the person seems otherwise pretty decent, but doesn't come close to my religious-preference, then so what... if you're a pretty reasonable person, and not an out-right ass-hole, then i'd probably enjoy your company and friendship, and i still like to hear what you have to say about things, and your perspectives... chances are we still live by similar moral conduct/standards, and have good times and bad times, good seasons and other seasons full of shit-storms, and when you are healthy you probably like to help other folks, and be a positive impact on creation... that's like most people whether you are religious or not, people that call themselves 'spiritual' usually are similar, even people with a very rocky/nasty/painful backgrounds with years of self-medicating and destructive behavior and going a little nuts usually have similar stories if they live long enough to live 'em... there are exceptions to every rule, but the majority of people are pretty decent, we eventually learn from our mistakes, we practice some form of 'respect-system/mutual respect', we evolve in body/mind/soul, sometimes we still go a little crazy, and everyone can be infected by stupid no matter how devote/devout you are to your core-principles... i think most folks want a bit of comfort, stability, to love and be loved, to respect and be respected, to be heard, and to exercise their abilities, maybe be rewarded for them sometimes, and not be exploited or abused... honestly, i don't know how much religion, or religious-beliefs are a part of the equation... i'm not sure how much it really factors into some of the core things that are common in most reasonable people... i'm biased, i've been a part of a religious system every since i can remember, so i can't really write the significance of it, i can only say that it's a pretty important factor for me, in fact, i'll say that it might be the only thing that grounds me to reality sometimes, many times, often... my understanding of my preferred religion has evolved a bit over the years, but i'm still too biased to write about the actual level of spiritual benefits, but i think it's Huuuge... hopefully the facebook dude will respond nicely, he seems a bit angry and combatant, but, so am i sometimes, many times, often... so i won't hold that against him, if anything, i'll probably get a kick out of his creativity if he does react in a combatant-manner... and i write all of this to say that i'd be accepting of another person, but it doesn't mean that the other person would want anything to do with me... i'm pretty weird, i complain a lot, and sometimes get too frustrated about things that i can't control, and can get a bit mouthy and opinionated -- so, you know -- there's that... our personalities and the way that we express ourselves are unique, and sometimes when we aren't necessarily like-minded about religion and philosophy, we might have more in common then you think, of course there are exceptions, some folks are just plum-crazy and not very reasonable, considerate, or respectful, maybe they can no longer love or feel love, i dunno... there is a song that i like, the chorus goes 'God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy'... the statement is mostly accurate... some beer just sucks, and some folks get a little crazy, and some folks stay in their crazy a bit too long and might need a hand approaching reality again... but, i'm not a professional anything, so don't take my word for it, i'm mostly just opinionated and biased, although sometimes with very good reason. -- ct

10-18-23 more later:  the guy on facey-book responded pretty kindly, i figured he would, he seems reasonable, just a bit nasty/aggressive, but what-ever, he said that he appreciated Confucianism code of conduct, which seems pretty peaceful and respectful actually, so, like i said, i figured as much... so i have no reason to argue with a person over religion that truly lives their life in accordance to such a code of ethics, they seem like an admirable/reasonable system of ethics... now do you see how easy it is to get along... if you question the need for a Messiah, or whether or not Jesus fit the description of such a concept, that's cool, we could argue 'til the cows come home if we chose, all without changing any facts, reality, or moments in history... if your belief system or code of conduct or ethics/morals are close to Confucianism or Jesus' words/actions/behaviors then the world would probably be a better place if more folks were similar... i don't care if a guy that's angry toward Judea Christian doctrine and principles is going to demand answers to scriptures that i didn't write, which is impossible to validate and explain first-hand, but some folk's idea of doctrine and literal--versus figurative--interpretation is just banter when you lose sight of the big-picture, it's like a spectator-sport, arm-chair quarter-backing... if your life is evolving in such a way as to make positive impact on other people and the environment that we all have to share for our resources then you probably have connected to God, our Creator, maybe it's not through religious dogma, traditions, or rituals.... but, you sort of 'get it', you sort of get the message that smart people have been preaching for millennia, the logical, rational, and sustainable principles of 'loving one another', and not inflating something over God, sometimes we inflate ourselves over God and get all kinds of weird in a hurry, so it's rational to stay grounded and humble... i don't claim to speak on behalf of God, but there are some concepts that i think folks have a difficult time grasping, many folks automatically dismiss any theory which includes 'creation' by a 'Creator', but fvck you for a second, and let me make my opinionated point... thanks... the theory that i hold closest to, is that God created a great, yet difficult environment for us to live in, He gave us intelligence like no other species on earth, He put us in charge of maintaining this wonderful creation... the theory here is that God created earth, and entities (humans, other spirits) that are intelligent, and are capable of being good, bad, or indifferent, God's given us intelligence and free-will and some general instructions on how to use these gifts wisely, for good, but we all choose to do what we do, we choose to be considerate or not, we choose to live by some moral code of conduct or not, we choose to follow the words/teachings/actions/example of someone like Jesus of Nazareth or not... i actually like Chris Langan's theory and example... that God is literally the entire universe, we are encapsulated by God because the earth is actually contained within Him, he has described the Universe as the 'mind of God', some physical type of brain, that's sort of an interesting way to look at things, when you scale-up something like the parts of an atom all the way up to a cell within our brain, and you scale that up while considering our solar-systems like a mere atom, and a galaxy like a tiny cell, and all of those cells scaled-up to equate the literal/brain/mind of God with different parts having different functions perhaps, well, it's interesting, but i don't claim it to be truth, but it's a great word-picture/description/theory... but, the thing that i like about Langan's 'meta-religion' concept is drawing the positive and common aspects of various religions (principles), tries to dismiss the illogical dogmas and superstitions, meta-religion being the filter to interpret reality and positively react to creation... you don't have to like any of that theory, but frankly-speaking, it helps to define and identify similar concepts that are shared by most religions and most normal people... OK, look, it's well past my bed-time, i don't even know how much sense i'm even making, i might have to clean this post up in the morning... anyways, i don't know if the facey-book guy is just wanting to fight about scriptures and doctrines and to troll a buddy, or if he is seriously looking to resolve some open equations/questions, but i pray a peace for his soul that he hasn't experienced in awhile, i pray that God touch him and reveal Himself to him... some folks are decent peaceful people that don't need a lot of direction to be moral, i went through different seasons, but i required a spiritual-epiphany that was only realized when i told God that i believed that i was a sinner in need of a savior, and that i believe that Jesus is that savior, and i wanted to start living my life for good, not the shitty old ways and routines that i had adopted, and then i literally asked God to fill me with His Spirit, something happened, i can tell you that much... i can't claim to 'know', or 'prove' much more than what i heard, experienced, and the heard from others too... however, don't make the mistake of thinking that a person who has turned toward God is supposed to be perfect from here on out, much of our religion has to do with people understanding that we aren't perfect, somehow God already seems to know that, but might want us to figure that out on our own, i dunno, i'm not sure how it really works... seems like God want's some sort of a personal/mutual appreciation/relationship/connection with us... seems like God already knows what's going on... i also like Langan's theory that we are 'sensor-controllers' to some degree, God already experiences the world through us, and our senses, that we actually already communicate the reality of our environment to God by conscious or sub-conscious 'thought', or deliberate 'prayer'... i don't pray very well compared to many religious people, and many Christians, sometimes i'm just looking at something and asking God if this is really what i think it is, is it going to suck as bad as i think it might, or is it a blessing, i dunno, i don't know if i do the praying correctly, sometimes i simply ask God for help, sometimes i tell Him that i appreciate something, or something about Him... i don't know if i do any of that right, probably not, but it's not stopping me from continuing, or deterring my perseverance to understand reality, and what my place is in this world...i don't know who is right about what sometimes, sometimes your bullshit-antenna sounds an alarm and you know someone is spewing nonsense or trying to misguide you... it seems like God wants us to be discerning and smart and independent in our relationship with Him, community/corporate events and gatherings are helpful and nice, but a real relationship with our Creator is as individual as we are... i won't 'cram my beliefs down anyone's throat', but i'd be happy to try to answer questions the best that i can, unless you're just being annoying... i don't claim to be any super-religious guy, in fact, i'm just as much of an under-acheiver at that as i am everything else in life, so please don't take my words or understandings as gold-standard, i trust that you will do your own searching and research on your own, you are more smart and capable than you realize sometimes, most folks are, unless they are inflicted with the dunning-kruger syndrome of course... if anything, i want to encourage you, the reader, to spend the time to validate your belief-system, see how it aligns with other belief-systems, make sure you are being open/honest/transparent about reality and yourself, and pray as you are led... never stop learning, remain humble/teachable, but be bold in supporting truth/reality... but i've got to tell you something, a whole big bunch of creation has chosen to ignore God's humble servants and commands, so, no matter how nice and respectful you are, we live in a world where violence and hate are too common... God did not create violence and hate, He created things that have the capacity for good and bad, with free-will to make the choices and decisions that everything makes and does... i don't think folks have to necessarily be religious to find some inner-peace, whether or not that inner-peace is an aspect of God is subject for another debate/topic/rant... some folks think that chaos and evil have become so prolific/common that God will respond with an epic measure that some scripture has fore-told... i dunno, i can't say as though i'd blame them for thinking that way though... i don't know what to think about all of that... in my own hypocrisy and duality i try to practice and preach peace, but i am completely and fully prepared for war... i hear that under the sun there are seasons for both of them... i don't know how things are going to turn-out, but i like the religion-option, i like the idea of connecting with God over being a battling ass-hole... anyhow... like i said a half hour ago, it's well past my bed-time, i should have been asleep by now, but i'd encourage the reader to consider Christianity no matter what negative opinions you may have heard about it, if it doesn't speak to you then maybe you are reading it with the wrong expectation/perception... wait, one more thing, i just want to remind the reader that pretty much everything that is good get's exploited for evil, so, Christianity is a religion that is not immune to ass-holes exploiting the language and ideas as a business-model, and other bad things too, i think we all pretty much know that it happens in every decent belief system... OK then, good night and God bless. -- ct