You have missrepresented what i'm saying
It feels like you are trying to shoe horn me into a box i don't belong in
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Atheists and depression
- Thread starter Lark
- Start date
You have missrepresented what i'm saying
It feels like you are trying to shoe horn me into a box i don't belong in
Worry less about what I'm trying to do because I'm trying to do no such thing.
Don't try to read my motives. That'll backfire for you.
I'm not reading your motives, i'm reading your responses to my posts
It's like i told you already....i am not in the christian v's atheist paradigm
What i'm saying is that both those groups have asserted a perception of reality. if you look at what they are each asserting it is clear that they are each rejecting something and i can see how that might be problematic
I know you said that. I'm not arguing with you. You are the one misinterpreting me because I know exactly what your point is.
You're not the only one reading my posts and I'm not even really talking to you, I'm spring boarding off you.
Ok maybe that's the crossed wire
Because you spring boarded my post i felt you were responding directly to it
And i felt like 'woah...that's not what i'm saying!'
Christians have grasped something and are holding on tight...i guess you could call it attachment and in grasping one thing they reject another
Atheists too have grasped something and rejected another and this has put these two groups on a collision course
There is even a political dimension to these viewpoints because marxism is materialist just like atheism
Both groups seem to want to limit the possibilities
I want to be fair though and make the point that i appreciate that not all christians believe the same thing and no doubt the same is true of atheists
My own perception of the whole jesus story was that he was saying to people that we are all divine (interprete 'divinity' however you want) which in a monarchical country is an extremely political thing to say because he was subverting the claim of the established political/economic/social order who were all worshipping god-kings or kings as symbolic of a father figure god...so for a mystic to say that the order of the cosmos is not a monarchy but rather that we are all God (the kingdom of heaven is within) and therefore we are all equal was not a viewpoint that the powers that be could tolerate!
As Alan Watts says the bible was mistranslated. jesus said 'i am A son of God' not 'I am THE son of God' meaning we are all of God
Now that's some serious deconstruction right there! that's a message i can get on board with!
But along the way the authorities appropriated the movement...they hijaked it as they do with any potent political and social movement and they corrupted it back to the monarchical system and the caste of hierophants became the priests of the 'christian' religion which was state sanctioned by Constantine
The subversive message of christianity became turned into just another pillar of the hierarchical monarchical order of things
Even now when kings and queens are crowned the church plays a part in the proceedings when really their beliefs are a transmission from 'ancient' babylon and egypt dressed in newer christian clothes
My own perception of the whole jesus story was that he was saying to people that we are all divine (interprete 'divinity' however you want) which in a monarchical country is an extremely political thing to say because he was subverting the claim of the established political/economic/social order who were all worshipping god-kings or kings as symbolic of a father figure god...so for a mystic to say that the order of the cosmos is not a monarchy but rather that we are all God (the kingdom of heaven is within) and therefore we are all equal was not a viewpoint that the powers that be could tolerate!
As Alan Watts says the bible was mistranslated. jesus said 'i am A son of God' not 'I am THE son of God' meaning we are all of God
Now that's some serious deconstruction right there! that's a message i can get on board with!
But along the way the authorities appropriated the movement...they hijaked it as they do with any potent political and social movement and they corrupted it back to the monarchical system and the caste of hierophants became the priests of the 'christian' religion which was state sanctioned by Constantine
The subversive message of christianity became turned into just another pillar of the hierarchical monarchical order of things
Even now when kings and queens are crowned the church plays a part in the proceedings when really their beliefs are a transmission from 'ancient' babylon and egypt dressed in newer christian clothes
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Well, define atheism. Do I believe in a God? No. Do I believe in Jesus? Sure, he existed. So I believe in Heaven or Hell? Nope. Do I believe in the Earth and present? Yes.
I fall under the atheist label since I don't believe in any specific God or heaven type of story. I don't ft under it perfectly though since I do believe in humans, animals, the planet and universe - IE Buddhism.
Do I get depressed? No more than anyone I suppose. So I meditate, clear my mind and start fresh again. When you believe that nothing lasts forever and everything's always going to be changing, it's easier to not get easily depressed over every little thing. I also don't get upset over atheist debates because whether or not God exists to me is irrelevant, so I don't lose any sleep or get depressed over someone "challenging" my beliefs as easily as theists do.
I fall under the atheist label since I don't believe in any specific God or heaven type of story. I don't ft under it perfectly though since I do believe in humans, animals, the planet and universe - IE Buddhism.
Do I get depressed? No more than anyone I suppose. So I meditate, clear my mind and start fresh again. When you believe that nothing lasts forever and everything's always going to be changing, it's easier to not get easily depressed over every little thing. I also don't get upset over atheist debates because whether or not God exists to me is irrelevant, so I don't lose any sleep or get depressed over someone "challenging" my beliefs as easily as theists do.
For all intents Buddha is a god. If you are indicating you follow Buddhism, I dont think you can call yourself atheist. Not that I care either way but its something to consider.
I think that living with a god is easier than living without one. I sometimes think I should not have started on the path of truth. Had I not, I might be less inclined to worry.
The concept Buddha founded his practice on was that he is in no way, shape, or form a god or affiliated with any god. Remember, he came from the Hindu culture/religion which has many gods. He has since always been held in high regard as a Guru, a teacher... an enlightened human being, but never a God.
Fair enough. Here again though I think there is lack in definition of what a god is.
What does it take to be a god or called a god?
Reality is just more depressing than fantasy. My imagination makes me much happier than the reality of my life. Like going to work and doing boring meaningless stuff. I would rather live in my imagination.
Wait... This is starting to sound like a strong argument for religion. That wasn't my intention
Wait... This is starting to sound like a strong argument for religion. That wasn't my intention