9-11 resulted in a real existential/faith crisis for me, which resulted in my loss of faith in any kind of a loving Father in Heaven type if a personal God.
The first thing I said in response was, "Neitzsche was right, God is dead."
I challenge anybody who believes in a loving Heavenly Father God to explain His complete absence on 9-11. The fact that God's chosen mouthpiece fell completely silent on 9-11 was further proof that the Doomsday faith I inherited was nit run by a Prophet, but a bunch of feeble minded beureaucrats who knew no more about God's intentions than my dog, and were more motivated by profit than truth.
Out of that smoldering God shaped black hole in my psyche rose something far more meaningful to me, as I witnessed what we all witnessed in response to 9-11. First responders, running into the wreakge to save the innocent victims of hate. That was really all i needed to restore my faith in humanity and the strength of the human spirit, in tge face of the worst kind if pure evil, born if religion.
"Be the change you want to see in the world." Became my mantra.
I had no choice but to follow my conscience to the most logical conclusion, that the only way to survive the deadly combination of religious hatred and weapons of mass destruction was to do everything in my power to debunk the kinds of apocalyptic narratives i had inherited and which led to things like 9-11.
That was a costly decision, which cost me my marriage, my family, my home and nearly my life.
Since 9_11, "No Religion" has been the fastest growing religious identity in America. That doesnt necessarily mean Atheist, which seems like the default position if ExMo's, especially in this forum. More often than not, when religious people lose faith in the religion they inherited, they become "Spiritual, but not religious." Which makes up the vast majority of "Nones", the 2nd largest religious identity in America, after Catholicism.
I'd probably fall into that category. I like the word "Spirit" which in Latin was "Genius".
I believe everythig has its own genius, or organizing principle, including every person, place and thing, including our planet, the sun, the galaxy and the universe.
I believe that realizing our connection to the genius behind the organization of the cosmos, is one if the greatest ways to fullfill our need fir transcendence of self, authentic spirituality.
What about you?
What ways have tou found to fullfill your transcendent or "spiritual" needs?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2015 01:27PM by koriwhore.

koriwhore Wrote:
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> What ways have tou found to fullfill your
> transcendent or "spiritual" needs?

I need some way to identify them before I can try fulfilling them.

Right now they are wants. I need a compelling argument that these wants are actually needs for me.

Personally, I'd call them "transcendent wants," not "needs."

I feel neither want nor need for "transcendent" or "spiritual" beliefs.

I do feel a great curiosity, a sense of wonder, and a desire (want) for knowledge. Learning is far more satisfying, to me, than believing or pretending.
To each his own, right? ;-)

I find great satisfaction in endeavoring to suspend the internal dialogue for spaces of time, with the goal of expanding that space for long enough to cross a potential threshold which might lead to a permanent suspension of the internal dialogue, if such a thing is possible.

When I'm able to sit in complete silence without constant noise in my head I feel energized and at peace.

I don't pretend there's necessarily anything going on there that is not brain-related, so couldn't say that it's a "spiritual" quest, but I think it's roughly along the lines of what you may be talking about.

No mantras, no techniques, just sitting in silence.

It took the death of only 3,000 people to show you God is an uncaring ass? What about the millions of innocent people who die every day?

Source please? What do you mean by "Millions of innocent people dying every day?"
That would be news to me.
Was there ever a time when innocent people didn't die?
People act like 9-11 was an everyday experience for them.
It affected me more than most people because I was also Muslim on 9-11, but I was always more of a humanist than a Muslim or a Mormon.
I didnt witness the Holocaust, so it didnt really affect me. It was abstract history by tge time I began taking my religious heritage seriously.

koriwhore Wrote:
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> Was there ever a time when innocent people didn't
> die?

That was Stray Mutt's point. No, there wasn't. Hence no "caring god."

This was a big thing for me when I was shocked out of the belief of mormonism. A need for something greater than me guiding me. I came to the realization that none of what I had ever been a part of was because of a god or a higher power.
Everything that had been accomplished was me and me alone. The confidence that I had placed in something unexplainable was suddenly explainable and could all be attributed to me.
A personal god was a fantasy that was made up for the good feelz.
What you described sounds to me like deism. Just a thought.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2015 03:06PM by scaredhusband.