Brynzie you can not understand because you have not experienced God, it is that simple.
Why do you keep trying to when you do not want to. If you did want to understand God
you would go talk to Him,
not me :?
You think God is religion only, that is not even close.
You do seem to like to put others down though, their beliefs, their feelings.
That is not a good thing, you appear to be incapable of live and let live and love,
probably why you can not understand the concept.
But it explains itself.
This thread was about morality and not needing God to be be good and moral.
This I agree with but morality... doing the right thing and respecting others
comes from caring about them, understanding them,
and understanding their right to their own beliefs
in other words live and let live and love.
This thread was not about whether God exists and to whom until you made it so.
Why is that so important to you?
That appears to be a form insecurity to me.
hostis has stated that he or she is a non-believer
but he or she possess the empathy and compassion, the emotional intelligence
to understand believers.
An example of different beliefs coming together in harmony.
This a wonderful example of a PJ fan... and welcome!
Because Pearl Jam fans are a generic breed? I've been posting on this board and reading fans comments and ideas for the past five years, and my understanding of a 'Pearl Jam fan' is that anyone can be a Pearl Jam fan - anyone.
Being a Pearl Jam fan has nothing whatsoever to do with believers, non-believers, harmony, understanding, or any other quaint little notion you care to mention.
The band strikes me as an intelligent bunch; Vedder especially. But that doesn't mean that every fan of theirs is also intelligent. There are also a bunch of morons out there who like this bands music. So what? It's music, first and foremost, and that's all well and good. And if there's something more to this band than just the music - i.e, ideas, political involvement, social activism, e.t.c, then that's just a bonus. But none of these things sums this band up, or any of it's members. They are five individuals, and collectively they and their music casts a wide a net. That's all.
There's no such thing as a typical Pearl Jam fan, and therefore there's no such thing as a 'wonderful example of a Pearl Jam fan' either.
Anyway, good luck with your messianic quest for world love and walking with God...or something.
hostis has stated that he or she is a non-believer
but he or she possess the empathy and compassion, the emotional intelligence
to understand believers.
An example of different beliefs coming together in harmony.
This a wonderful example of a PJ fan... and welcome!
Because Pearl Jam fans are a generic breed? I've been posting on this board and reading fans comments and ideas for the past five years, and my understanding of a 'Pearl Jam fan' is that anyone can be a Pearl Jam fan - anyone.
Being a Pearl Jam fan has nothing whatsoever to do with believers, non-believers, harmony, understanding, or any other quaint little notion you care to mention.
The band strikes me as an intelligent bunch; Vedder especially. But that doesn't mean that every fan of theirs is also intelligent. There are also a bunch of morons out there who like this bands music. So what? It's music, first and foremost, and that's all well and good. And if there's something more to this band than just the music - i.e, ideas, political involvement, social activism, e.t.c, then that's just a bonus. But none of these things sums this band up, or any of it's members. They are five individuals, and collectively they and their music casts a wide a net. That's all.
There's no such thing as a typical Pearl Jam fan, and therefore there's no such thing as a 'wonderful example of a Pearl Jam fan' either.
Anyway, good luck with your messianic quest for world love and walking with God...or something.
I know Brynzie ... you must be the only smart one in the bunch
never said typical...you did...
I said an example and from the loving, open minded, open hearted, fans I've met I stand by that.
Don't forget about emotional intelligence this a clue when walking ones path
and yes its about the music always and why I am here
byrnzie,
I am a naturalist, if you don't know what that is look it up.
But its people like you who give us atheist a bad name.
Why don't you take the discussion to science/biology instead of regurgitating something you read.
If people really believe that you need god for morality, what about all those people in poor undeveloped countries with no religion or knowledge of jesus/Christianity? are they amoral?
You think God is religion only, that is not even close.
Actually, it is pretty close:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God 'God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions (and other belief systems) who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism.'
This thread was not about whether God exists and to whom until you made it so.
Not quite true. This discussion has had very little to do with whether 'God' exists and everything to do with what you mean by 'God'. The fact that I'm asking you to explain what you mean when you use this word clearly makes you uncomfortable. And your only response so far has been to say that because I 'haven't experienced 'God' then I'm simply a lost soul, or just an ignoramous, or both.
You are a very hostile person Brynzie calling my heartfelt sincere words bullshit
very telling... not only is the door closed it is nailed shut without a window
shame on you...really
no need to attempt to hurt others who do not agree with you.
Things change Brynzie ... there are many believers without religion
this you might want to consider instead of Wiki...
entire new generations have and will give up religion but not God.
If you think of God as crutch so be it ... I prefer a friend
and I would even rather have a crutch than have a bolted closed door
because I will let love and acceptance in.
byrnzie,
I am a naturalist, if you don't know what that is look it up.
But its people like you who give us atheist a bad name.
Why don't you take the discussion to science/biology instead of regurgitating something you read.
Trust me, the day I need to reference something you mention is the day I'll get myself tested for dementia.
Also, I'm not quite sure I fit into the category of 'us Atheists' considering that I'm far from rejecting all forms of spirituality in the name of some materialistic, or scientific perspective.
If people really believe that you need god for morality, what about all those people in poor undeveloped countries with no religion or knowledge of jesus/Christianity? are they amoral?
— n
1. theol the sole Supreme Being, eternal, spiritual, and transcendent, who is the Creator and ruler of all and is infinite in all attributes; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
If you think of God as crutch so be it ... I prefer a friend
and I would even rather have a crutch than have a bolted closed door
because I will let love and acceptance in.
I prefer realistic notions about the World and about humanity than 'Live and love and let live' because I fail to see how such a notion can be applied to the World in any sort of meaningful way. It sounds like a cop-out to me. I'd rather engage with the World and try and confront corruption and suffering than simply say 'Live and love and let live'.
But each to their own.
I can be pretty...abrasive...when discussing serious topics because I take such things seriously. That's all.
Usually I'm the complete opposite of serious.
So it goes.
Yet you have not been able to convey anything that actually makes you look educated on the topic of biology/science...
You sound like a typical athiest that thinks its cool. This thread could have ended at page 1 if you were educated.
I don't think Byrnzie is being hostile here Pandora, he's simply questioning why you believe. You need to step outside the emotional state and try and answer him objectively to get him to understand your "God" position. I think that's fair.
I don't think Byrnzie is being hostile here Pandora, he's simply questioning why you believe. You need to step outside the emotional state and try and answer him objectively to get him to understand your "God" position. I think that's fair.
Jean did you read the posts? Wow.. go back..
he's been very unkind and called my words bullshit
take a bit of time please before you say someone is treating another fairly
when it was clear he was not.
I don't think Byrnzie is being hostile here Pandora, he's simply questioning why you believe. You need to step outside the emotional state and try and answer him objectively to get him to understand your "God" position. I think that's fair.
Jean did you read the posts? Wow.. go back..
he's been very unkind and called my words bullshit
take a bit of time please before you say someone is treating another fairly
when it was clear he was not.
He's challenging your beliefs, and you aren't really answering effectively. I understand your POV too here, but...
I don't think Byrnzie is being hostile here Pandora, he's simply questioning why you believe. You need to step outside the emotional state and try and answer him objectively to get him to understand your "God" position. I think that's fair.
Jean did you read the posts? Wow.. go back..
he's been very unkind and called my words bullshit
take a bit of time please before you say someone is treating another fairly
when it was clear he was not.
He's challenging your beliefs, and you aren't really answering effectively. I understand your POV too here, but...
Jean you just said about people taking for granted what you have learned not to because of what you have experienced ... this in the other thread.
I quoted my beliefs... no one is going to understand God from what I say
or what you say or even what religion says
They must experience God for themselves. You must ask to talk to God and then you will learn.
You must intune to your emotional intelligence and one can not do that with a door bolted shut.
...
The next time you ask someone to explain who or what God is remember you will have to experience Him yourself to understand what and who He is.
....
i asked questions and you didnt answer.
hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
My take...
Man created God in his image. This is why the God referred to in the Bible has human traits and can be kind of a dick at times.
The same goes for all of the ancient gods created by Man. Zeus, Odin and the other kings of the lesser gods are all made of human form and emotion. God, as a term, is used to explain away those things that occur in nature, that Man cannot explain.
Example: God does not take away your friend... if your friend dies in a boating accident. Your friend died because he was in a boating accident. God didn't kill him. When he is gone... he isn't in a better place... he isn't in Hell. We really don't know where he is... if he is except the fact that he is no longer here.
These were the same concepts that drove ancient Man to create God. Neolithic Man didn't know how the Sun worked... therefore, God must be involved. Same with natural occurances such as death, weather, stars and Earth.
...
Does this mean God does not exist?
No. It means that maybe Man just didn't get it right.
What makes men from 5,000 years ago closer to God than us in 2011? Why did God speak so clearly to them and doesn't say anything to us, today? Why do we live our modern lives based upon writings of stories that first appeared by Neolithic man? Why do we kill in God's name?
Answer, because Man created God in his image.
...
Personally... I believe God is nature. Nature is life... with life comes living and dying. We all know we are going to die. I am going to die as well as everyone here on this board and their kids and grandkids. That's just the nature of life.
With that knowledge in hand... we may better serve ourselves by just living life... the way God intended.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
My take...
Man created God in his image. This is why the God referred to in the Bible has human traits and can be kind of a dick at times.
The same goes for all of the ancient gods created by Man. Zeus, Odin and the other kings of the lesser gods are all made of human form and emotion. God, as a term, is used to explain away those things that occur in nature, that Man cannot explain.
Example: God does not take away your friend... if your friend dies in a boating accident. Your friend died because he was in a boating accident. God didn't kill him. When he is gone... he isn't in a better place... he isn't in Hell. We really don't know where he is... if he is except the fact that he is no longer here.
These were the same concepts that drove ancient Man to create God. Neolithic Man didn't know how the Sun worked... therefore, God must be involved. Same with natural occurances such as death, weather, stars and Earth.
...
Does this mean God does not exist?
No. It means that maybe Man just didn't get it right.
What makes men from 5,000 years ago closer to God than us in 2011? Why did God speak so clearly to them and doesn't say anything to us, today? Why do we live our modern lives based upon writings of stories that first appeared by Neolithic man? Why do we kill in God's name?
Answer, because Man created God in his image.
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
by Princeton University psychologist Julian Jaynes
Houghton Mifflin/Mariner Books (1976, 2000)
"When Julian Jaynes...speculates that until late in the second millennium B.C. men had no consciousness but were automatically obeying the voices of gods, we are astounded but compelled to follow this remarkable thesis through all the corroborative evidence..." - John Updike, in The New Yorker
"This book and this man's ideas may be the most influential, not to say controversial, of the second half of the twentieth century. It renders whole shelves of books obsolete." - William Harrington, in Columbus Dispatch
"Having just finished The Origin of Consciousness, I myself feel something like Keats' Cortez staring at the Pacific, or at least like the early reviewers of Darwin or Freud. I'm not quite sure what to make of this new territory; but its expanse lies before me and I am startled by its power." - Edward Profitt, in Commonweal
"He is as startling as Freud was in The Interpretation of Dreams, and Jaynes is equally adept at forcing a new view of known human behavior." - Raymond Headlee, in American Journal of Psychiatry
"The bold hypothesis of the bicameral mind is an intellectual shock to the reader, but whether or not he ultimately accepts it he is forced to entertain it as a possibility. Even if he marshals arguments against it he has to think about matters he has never thought of before, or, if he has thought of them, he must think about them in contexts and relationships that are strikingly new." - Ernest R. Hilgard, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University
"The weight of original thought in it is so great that it makes me uneasy for the author's well-being: the human mind is not built to support such a burden." - D.C. Stove, in Encounter
At the heart of this book is the revolutionary idea that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution but is a learned process brought into being out of an earlier hallucinatory mentality by cataclysm and catastrophe only 3000 years ago and still developing. The implications of this new scientific paradigm extend into virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history and culture, our religion - and indeed, our future. In the words of one reviewer, it is "a humbling text, the kind that reminds most of us who make our livings through thinking, how much thinking there is left to do."
* * *
Presents a theory of the bicameral mind which holds that ancient peoples could not "think" as we do today and were therefore "unconscious," a result of the domination of the right hemisphere; only catastrophe forced mankind to "learn" consciousness, a product of human history and culture and one that issues from the brain's left hemisphere. Three forms of human awareness, the bicameral or god-run man; the modern or problem-solving man; and contemporary forms of throwbacks to bicamerality (e.g., religious frenzy, hypnotism, and schizophrenia) are examined in terms of the physiology of the brain and how it applies to human psychology, culture, and history.
* * *
"O, what a world of unseen visions and heard silences, this insubstantial country of the mind! What ineffable essences, these touchless rememberings and unshowable reveries! And the privacy of it all! A secret theater of speechless monologue and prevenient counsel, an invisible mansion of all moods, musings, and mysteries, an infinite resort of disappointments and discoveries. A whole kingdom where each of us reigns reclusively alone, questioning what we will, commanding what we can. A hidden hermitage where we may study out the troubled book of what we have done and yet may do. An introcosm that is more myself than anything I can find in a mirror. This consciousness that is myself of selves, that is everything, and yet is nothing at all - what is it?
And where did it come from?
And why?" - excerpt from the Introduction to The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
Brynzie...
Thanx, I'll check it out.
I think about my cats. They don't understand, but they are in conscience state in the world that they know of. For all i know, they think of me as something of a miracle worker. I produce food from a tin can... therefore, to them, I must be able to create cat food out of thin air.
...
I'm not saying we are cats... cats are cats. I'm saying that humans tend to revert to the god concepts when those things that are unknown are presented. God didn't bring in Katrina... that was Nature at work using the basic principles of Earth sciences. It becomes a tragedy when humans are brought into the fray. That is when God is dragged in.
In my mind, God is Nature and part of our nature is a quest for knowledge... truth. Maybe, the more we know about how Nature works... the truth on how and why things are... the closer to God we'll become. And maybe we'll find out He is not that sometimes spiteful, petty old Man our 5,000 year old texts made Him out to be.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
Comments
Why do you keep trying to when you do not want to. If you did want to understand God
you would go talk to Him,
not me :?
You think God is religion only, that is not even close.
You do seem to like to put others down though, their beliefs, their feelings.
That is not a good thing, you appear to be incapable of live and let live and love,
probably why you can not understand the concept.
But it explains itself.
This thread was about morality and not needing God to be be good and moral.
This I agree with but morality... doing the right thing and respecting others
comes from caring about them, understanding them,
and understanding their right to their own beliefs
in other words live and let live and love.
This thread was not about whether God exists and to whom until you made it so.
Why is that so important to you?
That appears to be a form insecurity to me.
Because Pearl Jam fans are a generic breed? I've been posting on this board and reading fans comments and ideas for the past five years, and my understanding of a 'Pearl Jam fan' is that anyone can be a Pearl Jam fan - anyone.
Being a Pearl Jam fan has nothing whatsoever to do with believers, non-believers, harmony, understanding, or any other quaint little notion you care to mention.
The band strikes me as an intelligent bunch; Vedder especially. But that doesn't mean that every fan of theirs is also intelligent. There are also a bunch of morons out there who like this bands music. So what? It's music, first and foremost, and that's all well and good. And if there's something more to this band than just the music - i.e, ideas, political involvement, social activism, e.t.c, then that's just a bonus. But none of these things sums this band up, or any of it's members. They are five individuals, and collectively they and their music casts a wide a net. That's all.
There's no such thing as a typical Pearl Jam fan, and therefore there's no such thing as a 'wonderful example of a Pearl Jam fan' either.
Anyway, good luck with your messianic quest for world love and walking with God...or something.
never said typical...you did...
I said an example and from the loving, open minded, open hearted, fans I've met I stand by that.
Don't forget about emotional intelligence this a clue when walking ones path
and yes its about the music always and why I am here
what have you lost when accepting Morality With God ?
Godfather.
I am a naturalist, if you don't know what that is look it up.
But its people like you who give us atheist a bad name.
Why don't you take the discussion to science/biology instead of regurgitating something you read.
If people really believe that you need god for morality, what about all those people in poor undeveloped countries with no religion or knowledge of jesus/Christianity? are they amoral?
Actually, it is pretty close:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God
'God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions (and other belief systems) who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism.'
No, I just like people to be honest. I can smell bullshit from a long way off.
Not quite true. This discussion has had very little to do with whether 'God' exists and everything to do with what you mean by 'God'. The fact that I'm asking you to explain what you mean when you use this word clearly makes you uncomfortable. And your only response so far has been to say that because I 'haven't experienced 'God' then I'm simply a lost soul, or just an ignoramous, or both.
Using an abstract concept such as 'God' as a crutch appears to me to be a form of insecurity.
Because that's what I said, or even implied?
Pandora. love ya! x
Byrnzie. Its been an interesting topic.
very telling... not only is the door closed it is nailed shut without a window
shame on you...really
no need to attempt to hurt others who do not agree with you.
Things change Brynzie ... there are many believers without religion
this you might want to consider instead of Wiki...
entire new generations have and will give up religion but not God.
If you think of God as crutch so be it ... I prefer a friend
and I would even rather have a crutch than have a bolted closed door
because I will let love and acceptance in.
Trust me, the day I need to reference something you mention is the day I'll get myself tested for dementia.
Also, I'm not quite sure I fit into the category of 'us Atheists' considering that I'm far from rejecting all forms of spirituality in the name of some materialistic, or scientific perspective.
According to the Missionaries they are.
That old and worn chestnut.
I could just as easily have quoted the dictionary definition to make my point...unless that's also beneath you?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/god
God (ɡɒd) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
— n
1. theol the sole Supreme Being, eternal, spiritual, and transcendent, who is the Creator and ruler of all and is infinite in all attributes; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
I didn't. I said I can smell bullshit from a long way off.
You have no idea what my ideas about this World are.
I prefer realistic notions about the World and about humanity than 'Live and love and let live' because I fail to see how such a notion can be applied to the World in any sort of meaningful way. It sounds like a cop-out to me. I'd rather engage with the World and try and confront corruption and suffering than simply say 'Live and love and let live'.
But each to their own.
This comment falls far short in summing me up.
I can be pretty...abrasive...when discussing serious topics because I take such things seriously. That's all.
Usually I'm the complete opposite of serious.
So it goes.
we all take things serious
I take things to heart, that is how I am made.
You sound like a typical athiest that thinks its cool. This thread could have ended at page 1 if you were educated.
Maybe that's because I had no intention to convey anything on the topic of biology or science, genius!
Wow! You really got me there. An uneducated 'typical athiest that thinks it's cool'. Yep, that's me in a nutshell.
What's the matter? Did you not manage to convert anyone into supporting the death penalty in the other thread?
he's been very unkind and called my words bullshit
take a bit of time please before you say someone is treating another fairly
when it was clear he was not.
He's challenging your beliefs, and you aren't really answering effectively. I understand your POV too here, but...
I quoted my beliefs... no one is going to understand God from what I say
or what you say or even what religion says
They must experience God for themselves. You must ask to talk to God and then you will learn.
You must intune to your emotional intelligence and one can not do that with a door bolted shut.
Not sure how much clearer I can be.
Open the door not to religion but to God.
Godfather.
you make me laugh
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
but that's why you like us
Godfather.
good times
chadwick.
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
He cares not that I am a believer.
I care not that he is an atheist.
We understood...
and it felt really good
i asked questions and you didnt answer.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Man created God in his image. This is why the God referred to in the Bible has human traits and can be kind of a dick at times.
The same goes for all of the ancient gods created by Man. Zeus, Odin and the other kings of the lesser gods are all made of human form and emotion. God, as a term, is used to explain away those things that occur in nature, that Man cannot explain.
Example: God does not take away your friend... if your friend dies in a boating accident. Your friend died because he was in a boating accident. God didn't kill him. When he is gone... he isn't in a better place... he isn't in Hell. We really don't know where he is... if he is except the fact that he is no longer here.
These were the same concepts that drove ancient Man to create God. Neolithic Man didn't know how the Sun worked... therefore, God must be involved. Same with natural occurances such as death, weather, stars and Earth.
...
Does this mean God does not exist?
No. It means that maybe Man just didn't get it right.
What makes men from 5,000 years ago closer to God than us in 2011? Why did God speak so clearly to them and doesn't say anything to us, today? Why do we live our modern lives based upon writings of stories that first appeared by Neolithic man? Why do we kill in God's name?
Answer, because Man created God in his image.
...
Personally... I believe God is nature. Nature is life... with life comes living and dying. We all know we are going to die. I am going to die as well as everyone here on this board and their kids and grandkids. That's just the nature of life.
With that knowledge in hand... we may better serve ourselves by just living life... the way God intended.
Hail, Hail!!!
Here's a book that may be up your street Cosmo:
http://www.julianjaynes.org/bicameralmind.php
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
by Princeton University psychologist Julian Jaynes
Houghton Mifflin/Mariner Books (1976, 2000)
"When Julian Jaynes...speculates that until late in the second millennium B.C. men had no consciousness but were automatically obeying the voices of gods, we are astounded but compelled to follow this remarkable thesis through all the corroborative evidence..."
- John Updike, in The New Yorker
"This book and this man's ideas may be the most influential, not to say controversial, of the second half of the twentieth century. It renders whole shelves of books obsolete."
- William Harrington, in Columbus Dispatch
"Having just finished The Origin of Consciousness, I myself feel something like Keats' Cortez staring at the Pacific, or at least like the early reviewers of Darwin or Freud. I'm not quite sure what to make of this new territory; but its expanse lies before me and I am startled by its power."
- Edward Profitt, in Commonweal
"He is as startling as Freud was in The Interpretation of Dreams, and Jaynes is equally adept at forcing a new view of known human behavior."
- Raymond Headlee, in American Journal of Psychiatry
"The bold hypothesis of the bicameral mind is an intellectual shock to the reader, but whether or not he ultimately accepts it he is forced to entertain it as a possibility. Even if he marshals arguments against it he has to think about matters he has never thought of before, or, if he has thought of them, he must think about them in contexts and relationships that are strikingly new."
- Ernest R. Hilgard, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University
"The weight of original thought in it is so great that it makes me uneasy for the author's well-being: the human mind is not built to support such a burden."
- D.C. Stove, in Encounter
At the heart of this book is the revolutionary idea that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution but is a learned process brought into being out of an earlier hallucinatory mentality by cataclysm and catastrophe only 3000 years ago and still developing. The implications of this new scientific paradigm extend into virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history and culture, our religion - and indeed, our future. In the words of one reviewer, it is "a humbling text, the kind that reminds most of us who make our livings through thinking, how much thinking there is left to do."
* * *
Presents a theory of the bicameral mind which holds that ancient peoples could not "think" as we do today and were therefore "unconscious," a result of the domination of the right hemisphere; only catastrophe forced mankind to "learn" consciousness, a product of human history and culture and one that issues from the brain's left hemisphere. Three forms of human awareness, the bicameral or god-run man; the modern or problem-solving man; and contemporary forms of throwbacks to bicamerality (e.g., religious frenzy, hypnotism, and schizophrenia) are examined in terms of the physiology of the brain and how it applies to human psychology, culture, and history.
* * *
"O, what a world of unseen visions and heard silences, this insubstantial country of the mind! What ineffable essences, these touchless rememberings and unshowable reveries! And the privacy of it all! A secret theater of speechless monologue and prevenient counsel, an invisible mansion of all moods, musings, and mysteries, an infinite resort of disappointments and discoveries. A whole kingdom where each of us reigns reclusively alone, questioning what we will, commanding what we can. A hidden hermitage where we may study out the troubled book of what we have done and yet may do. An introcosm that is more myself than anything I can find in a mirror. This consciousness that is myself of selves, that is everything, and yet is nothing at all - what is it?
And where did it come from?
And why?"
- excerpt from the Introduction to The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
Thanx, I'll check it out.
I think about my cats. They don't understand, but they are in conscience state in the world that they know of. For all i know, they think of me as something of a miracle worker. I produce food from a tin can... therefore, to them, I must be able to create cat food out of thin air.
...
I'm not saying we are cats... cats are cats. I'm saying that humans tend to revert to the god concepts when those things that are unknown are presented. God didn't bring in Katrina... that was Nature at work using the basic principles of Earth sciences. It becomes a tragedy when humans are brought into the fray. That is when God is dragged in.
In my mind, God is Nature and part of our nature is a quest for knowledge... truth. Maybe, the more we know about how Nature works... the truth on how and why things are... the closer to God we'll become. And maybe we'll find out He is not that sometimes spiteful, petty old Man our 5,000 year old texts made Him out to be.
Hail, Hail!!!