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The question of human mortality is growing with years on me, though I am in the middle of 30s. I am very fascinated with many aspects of religions: from the be

The question of human mortality is growing with years on me, though I am in the middle of 30s. I am very fascinated with many aspects of religions: from the beauty of idea of devotion to a divine omnipresent entity, serving God as a meaning of life to the evolution of Christian doctrine, religious thoughts, and influence of religion on art and architecture. But I do not believe in God. I cannot take the concept of afterlife, for example, in Christianity seriously: either praising the Lord for eternity on Heavens or suffer in searing flames in Hell. In addition, such important decision is made based on how dedicated you were in following one of the many ancient moral codes, that is far from being universal and timeless. And then the very grand and picturesque Judgement Day, that belongs more to the realm of fantasy literature... I may imaging myself ending up with a belief that my soul will be dissolved in or unite with the universe in some way - like people feel under psychodelics or in deep meditation. If you cannot find answers and comfort on the topic of mortality in religion, I would suggest to check Stoicism, Hackagure the way of the Samurai, or even Objectivism. I want to explore the latter after listening to Lex Fridman's podcast: youtube.com/watch?v=SOr1YYRljV8

jelliclesfarm 6y ago
‘A God’ is certainly fiction. But I wonder if there is a hidden God behind Faith? There are so many religions. With many philosophies and gods and rules and prayers. What unites them all is faith in something invisible and obviously omnipotent. Perhaps faith in ‘something greater than ourselves’ = surrender of the ego self? It could be that simple if it can come down to just that.
- playing_colours 6y ago
  The omnipotence of God is true in Abrahamic religions, but it's not the case in many other religions, for example, Olympic Gods in Ancient Greece. You are not alone in wondering about a hidden God! Check Gnosticism. There is a great book (3 volumes in fact) to learn about religions of past and present: https://www.amazon.com/History-Religious-Ideas-Eleusinian-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00IGQI7OQ https://www.amazon.com/History-Religious-Ideas-Eleusinian-My...
- caeril 6y ago
  > ‘A God’ is certainly fiction. Maybe. I struggle with this myself, after having been somewhat convinced by the Simulationist arguments, specifically, those around quantized reality. If our universe is a simulation, that implies the existence of a simulator. Certainly not a bearded guy in the heavens, but a simulator nonetheless.
- Rury 6y ago
  Your comment here seems familiar to me. I was raised Catholic, turned atheist in my teens, and then slowly fell into agnosticism in young adulthood. Now I don't consider any of those labels accurate of my beliefs. Have you considered "exploring faith" in a practical/historical/contextual sense? Such as: why did religion ever become a thing/how did it come about? What ever was its purpose? Why are there (and what are the) recurring themes amongst all religions? Where did the ideas behind Christianity/Judaism/Islam/Hinduism/Buddhism/etc originate - what do they have to say about X? Are what various religions preach/practice today - what they preached/practiced thousands of years ago? What about ancient religious texts not mainstay of any particular modern religion? What about language, meaning, human nature, and time? What of these things change and what of these things don't change? Where do they fit together? What about historical non-religious philosophical secular ideas? And on, and on... I’ve done this for myself and found some satisfaction in it, and would think most anyone would too. That said, do I no longer have any qualms? No. Do I now believe in God(s)? That would all depend on what concept you behold to "God(s)". But mortality seems less bothersome now...
  - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
    I find that I have a longing for what we know as ‘devotion’. I guess it’s much like ‘being in love’. It is a place of trust. Where the moral trusts the invisible unreachable and more powerful immortal. It’s almost like a submissive dynamics wherein our ego..the core of us beneath all the layers..gives up. It’s like sweet relief. Does that make sense? To be a rationalist was the most desirable, easy and obvious position for me. Or so I thought. But what is the value of rationalism? Why should we value it over all else?
    - playing_colours 6y ago
      I understand you on the longing for devotion, and introspected on it and the need in God. I believe they are continuations of our deeply ingrained feelings from early childhood towards our parents as omnipresent, powerful, right, protective, and loving figures. The child grows, and God replaces the parents as an entity emanating those characteristics. I think we can accept and embrace our complex nature of rationality, emotions, deep subconscious spaces, and find the ways to experience them and find peace: meditation, Voice Dialogue therapy, psychodelics, etc. Once I found the levels of Ego Development by Susanne Cook-Greuter as a useful perspective, a path to push towards. Questioning rationality is, I guess, maps to level 5 there.

jelliclesfarm 6y ago

‘A God’ is certainly fiction. But I wonder if there is a hidden God behind Faith? There are so many religions. With many philosophies and gods and rules and prayers. What unites them all is faith in something invisible and obviously omnipotent. Perhaps faith in ‘something greater than ourselves’ = surrender of the ego self? It could be that simple if it can come down to just that.

playing_colours 6y ago
The omnipotence of God is true in Abrahamic religions, but it's not the case in many other religions, for example, Olympic Gods in Ancient Greece. You are not alone in wondering about a hidden God! Check Gnosticism. There is a great book (3 volumes in fact) to learn about religions of past and present: https://www.amazon.com/History-Religious-Ideas-Eleusinian-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00IGQI7OQ https://www.amazon.com/History-Religious-Ideas-Eleusinian-My...
caeril 6y ago
> ‘A God’ is certainly fiction. Maybe. I struggle with this myself, after having been somewhat convinced by the Simulationist arguments, specifically, those around quantized reality. If our universe is a simulation, that implies the existence of a simulator. Certainly not a bearded guy in the heavens, but a simulator nonetheless.
Rury 6y ago
Your comment here seems familiar to me. I was raised Catholic, turned atheist in my teens, and then slowly fell into agnosticism in young adulthood. Now I don't consider any of those labels accurate of my beliefs. Have you considered "exploring faith" in a practical/historical/contextual sense? Such as: why did religion ever become a thing/how did it come about? What ever was its purpose? Why are there (and what are the) recurring themes amongst all religions? Where did the ideas behind Christianity/Judaism/Islam/Hinduism/Buddhism/etc originate - what do they have to say about X? Are what various religions preach/practice today - what they preached/practiced thousands of years ago? What about ancient religious texts not mainstay of any particular modern religion? What about language, meaning, human nature, and time? What of these things change and what of these things don't change? Where do they fit together? What about historical non-religious philosophical secular ideas? And on, and on... I’ve done this for myself and found some satisfaction in it, and would think most anyone would too. That said, do I no longer have any qualms? No. Do I now believe in God(s)? That would all depend on what concept you behold to "God(s)". But mortality seems less bothersome now...
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  I find that I have a longing for what we know as ‘devotion’. I guess it’s much like ‘being in love’. It is a place of trust. Where the moral trusts the invisible unreachable and more powerful immortal. It’s almost like a submissive dynamics wherein our ego..the core of us beneath all the layers..gives up. It’s like sweet relief. Does that make sense? To be a rationalist was the most desirable, easy and obvious position for me. Or so I thought. But what is the value of rationalism? Why should we value it over all else?
  - playing_colours 6y ago
    I understand you on the longing for devotion, and introspected on it and the need in God. I believe they are continuations of our deeply ingrained feelings from early childhood towards our parents as omnipresent, powerful, right, protective, and loving figures. The child grows, and God replaces the parents as an entity emanating those characteristics. I think we can accept and embrace our complex nature of rationality, emotions, deep subconscious spaces, and find the ways to experience them and find peace: meditation, Voice Dialogue therapy, psychodelics, etc. Once I found the levels of Ego Development by Susanne Cook-Greuter as a useful perspective, a path to push towards. Questioning rationality is, I guess, maps to level 5 there.