Yep. It's the blood and soil theory. Jews, Roma, Slavs, etc couldn't ever be good citizens of the nation because their blood wasn't connected to the soil.
Glis! That is horrific...in my own life, there have been some experiences with great sense of joy as I return to the Pacific raincoast where I was born...once or twice sobbing with delight...
...so with delight, I have been playing with the idea there may be some currently undetectable homeland-human body connection that we don't even know about...but to take it in THAT direction? I had no idea... Scary...if I Google blood-&-soil theory, will information come up?
It's questionable. He was raised Catholic and followed the Catholic rites but how much of that was part of his personal religious beliefs is grey. Back to the old Prussian ideals he began to honor and hold dear, he was part of the camp that the German nation and union of Germanic peoples was the modern continuation of the Roman Empire. He felt he was going to regain the Western Roman Empire and reinstate it. So whether his soft spot for the Catholic Church was part of divine faith or due to it being the last vestige of the Western Roman Empire is hard to determine.
For myself the answer is no, I do not need a religion for me to be the best that I can be. I have been involved in many different religions and have come to the conclusion that they are all about mind control and money. More wars have been started because of religion. More hate crimes have been done in the name of religion.
It is a con artists dream come true, and many are very good at it. I do have a sense of spiritualty and I don't need someone to tell me how to worship God. That is between him and I. If people think they need religion to make them a better person, more power to them. Live and let live.
I agree with you that religion is all about control and money. And I also agree that there is no need for religion to be a good person. I used to be a strong practitioner of Christianity. I have now lost all my faith. I don't practice any religion. My heart yearns and aches for some sort of spiritual guidance. I rather miss the notion that God is always there for me and will protect me. But I find it hard to pray it believe in a god without a religion too. Can you explain which god/ who your God is If you don't have a religion?
"My heart yearns and aches for some sort of spiritual guidance. I rather miss the notion that God is always there for me and will protect me." Must it be a Christian religion though?
If yes, then why not try another of the thousands of Christians sects. Most of them believe in the trinity of the Father [Jehovah] the Son [Jesus] and the Holy Spirit. However, there are Unitarian churches which claim not to believe in the trinity. Jehovah's Witnesses can show you from the Bible itself that Jesus is not God but the archangel Michael while the LDS [Latter Day Saints], more commonly known as the Mormons, believe Jesus was Jehovah Himself.
If no, then why not look into other religions. If you want to stay within the Abrahamic fold there are two more major religions, both very strictly monotheistic - Judaism and Islam. The former doesn't believe Jesus was the Messiah and are still awaiting the first coming of the Messiah while Islam teaches that Jesus was the Messiah and that there will be a second coming.
I need a god, But I cant go back to my christian God or abrahamic Gods It has to be a different , kind, loving endlessly merciful god who doesnt put people in hell or punish them for mistakes , My God Sounds and feels like a very Petty , Vengeful GOD.
I need a god, But I cant go back to my christian God or abrahamic Gods It has to be a different , kind, loving endlessly merciful god who doesnt put people in hell or punish them for mistakes , My God Sounds and feels like a very Petty , Vengeful GOD.
There are Christians sects who don't believe in hell. They have their own interpretation of Bible verses that refer to hell. So maybe you can try those sects.
Avoid Islam because not only does it have hell for those who insist on going there but it has multiple punishments for repeat murderers and rapists, for example. The HQ says that every time their skins burn out they will be given fresh skins so that they can feel the pain all over again. Thus, the likes of Hitler have a punishment awaiting that no earthly court can pronounce. The HQ specifies the skin because, as confirmed by modern science, pain receptors are located in the skin. The most frequently mentioned characteristic of God in the HQ is mercy and compassion, but justice HAS to be done.
Not to presume to speak for Walt, but is this not "The Golden Rule", To treat others as you would have them treat you? Surely no one here would be so daft as to presume that mutual respect and human dignity are solely the province of religion.
Oh no no, im not saying that, by any means. But why, where does that exaltation for the golden rule come from, besides you know, it feels nice? Why can't I just be a jerk? Why even if im a jerk I would still feel like im doing wrong? Where does this feeling of doing wrong, of the golden rule being a universal rule come from? Is it something from outside of us? Do you know what im saying?
Yes. The answer lies in the anthropological progression of man into group societies. It becomes understood as a 'rule of thumb' that treating one another with respect fosters cooperation within the group and benefits all. Just as we discovered that murder and cruelty are detrimental to the group dynamic, mutual support and the recognition of dignity strengthens this dynamic.These lessons become ingrained in our culture many thousands of years before man codified his religion(s). Had they not, there would be no cohesive groups to join in worship. The fact is religious faith is a response to ethics and morality, not the inverse.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at February 22, 2017 11:02 PM MST
That is certainly the argument. Said like an expert. Very nice answer. And although I am inclined myself towards that as the right explanation, sometimes I feel that with forces like selfishness and greed, as strong and as old as those we mention here, that we have chosen to "act good" just because we reckoned that it would work better, is kind of a stretch. I know im grossly oversimplifying, btw. But you know what I mean. I think that it has nothing to do with us. That if it was up to humans to come up and abide by a set of rules, we would have burnt out a long time ago. It either comes from some alternate consciousness, maybe. Or from deep inside our genes, back when we were not even close to being humans yet. Thanks for indulging me Z, great arguments.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at February 22, 2017 9:12 PM MST
My pleasure. We as a species learned that immoral behavior and attitudes can cause us to be outcast, shunned by the larger group. These outcasts then face a lesser prospect of survival and lesser prospect of reproducing their line. Look at modern prisons as an example. "Being good" casts us into a more advantageous position among our peers, respect breeds respect, and so on.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at February 22, 2017 9:35 PM MST
There's also the fact that while humans are the only species with religions ... many animals operate in cooperative packs. Thus the "Golden Rule" isn't just a human reaction to belief in a Higher Power - it is the natural order for pack animals.
I think it beneficial to recognize the difference between spirituality (which I for one, advocate) and religion, (which I do not). Religion is the hijack of spirituality, in its essence, religion is the codified exercise of spirituality. Basically, someone (most commonly a long-dead, little educated ancient) dictating chapter and verse of what you have to believe, having been filtered through the interpretation of many anonymous others. Need it? As a species, NO, its not among the things one can count as required for life to endure.
Roman philosopher Seneca the Younger once said, "Religion to the poor man (traditionally least educated) is true; to the rich man (typically better educated) is false; to the rulers, is useful." Similarly, Napoleon observed, "Religion is excellent stuff for keeping the common people quiet", and, "Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich". As Seneca asserted, its useful. Useful as a method of control, one that has had no equal. So now judge the need.
As Glis ably mentioned, and is reinforced daily on any typical "World News" broadcast, the evils perpetrated in the name of religion exceed any other enterprise of man, exponentially. I invoke Sam Harris here: "Religion permits people to believe by the billions what only a lunatic would believe on their own".
So no, I don't "believe" to be our best we need religion, with its perpetuation of ignorance and division, of misogyny, of false virtues and acceptance of the utterly implausible. I would see it duly relegated to the quiet confines of one's home for private indulgence, if not cast from the public realm entirely.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at February 22, 2017 5:33 PM MST
Benedict Arnold 