God a crutch for the weak? (ritual, experience, theist, spiritual)

[uss_bigd]

Originally Posted by ThePhoenixSisters

Oh come now Charity, WHO isn't persecuted by SOMEBODY? Plus if you view life as "this battle", you most certainly incline yourself towards seeing "the enemy" all around you. no? REAL "religious" persecution is christians in lion dens, and witches at the stake. Don't take it all so personally. LIFE is not for the weak or faint hearted. Know what I mean?

Nyx

There are two types of persecution:

One happens because you do what is righteous.

One happens because if your own doing.

[ThePhoenixSisters]

Originally Posted by Guitar's Cry

God is a challenge. Seeking a relationship with It can be a complex puzzle with some interesting patterns.

Very insightful answer Guitar's Cry! God IS a wonderful puzzle, a great mystery, a clue giver...... and our relationship with It is "interestsing" to say the very least. My relationship with "God" is infinite possibility under (changing &) finite conditions. Patterns and symbols rule the day. We put them together, together. I don't know if "God" is for the weak, but I can say with certainty, that God is NOT for the uncreative or the lazy.

Now religion is a whole other story.

Nyx

[ThePhoenixSisters]

Originally Posted by uss_bigd

There are two types of persecution:

One happens because you do what is righteous.

One happens because if your own doing.

I'm sorry, but that is so blatantly (shall I say) "narrow", that I'm trying to decide if I should even bother with a response. First I'll give you a chance uss_bigd, to rethink that answer and come up with a few (or even a couple?) other "types" of persecution. Take five minutes and contemplate persecution in the world. Really think about people, and how, and why they are persecuted. Hopefully you were just posting in a hurry, or were tired, or were distracted by someone persecuting you .

Nyx

[uss_bigd]

Originally Posted by ThePhoenixSisters

I'm sorry, but that is so blatantly (shall I say) "narrow", that I'm trying to decide if I should even bother with a response. First I'll give you a chance uss_bigd, to rethink that answer and come up with a few (or even a couple?) other "types" of persecution. Take five minutes and contemplate persecution in the world. Really think about people, and how, and why they are persecuted. Hopefully you were just posting in a hurry, or were tired, or were distracted by someone persecuting you .

Nyx

Doing things out of righteousness is broad ... if you are thinking of things like being persucted for being different, for being gay, for being a nerd, for being of a certain race...

If these peole don't fight back, evil vs evil. they fall under those who are persecuted for doing right.

But if they do fight back evil vs evil, then they got even already...hence, no longer persecuted.

What is it that you think i missed?

[ThePhoenixSisters]

Originally Posted by uss_bigd

Doing things out of righteousness is broad ... if you are thinking of things like being persucted for being different, for being gay, for being a nerd, for being of a certain race...

If these peole don't fight back, evil vs evil. they fall under those who are persecuted for doing right.

But if they do fight back evil vs evil, then they got even already...hence, no longer persecuted.

What is it that you think i missed?

Well bigd, as I did not understand the meaning of this reply at all, I'm beginning to think that I did not understand your meaning in your first post either. Just to clarify, I took your first post...

Originally Posted by uss_bigd
There are two types of persecution:

One happens because you do what is righteous.

One happens because if your own doing.

to mean that
--One segment of the people of the world are persecuted because what they do is right.
--And the other segment is persecuted because they have somehow brought it on themselves. (in their "unrighteousness" I would guess?)

In stark contrast I would say that most people are persecuted because OTHER PEOPLE ARE PRICKS (to one degree or another), and persecute them (to one degree or another).

Some other reasons people are persecuted would be because OTHER PEOPLE are ignorant/mind controled/unthinking/insensitive/superstitious/indoctrinated etc etc... to one degree or another, and thus persecute others (to one degree or another).

If I completely misunderstood you, please accept my humblest appology.

Nyx

[Tau]

Originally Posted by Phasmid

I've heard it said that only the weak believe in a God. That may be true for some, but in my personal experience God is a challenge. Anyone who's ever tried living the Christian life knows that it's far from easy... in fact I can safely say it's the most difficult thing I've ever tried to do... come to think of it, I've never managed it.

So to anyone who considers the faithful to be weak, I say you should walk a mile in their shoes before comming to such a conclusion.

The faithful are not weak minded, frequently they are the opposite in my experience, stubborn, thick skinned creatures..hehe

Atheists have their crutches too, hypocritical to say the faithful use God as a crutch while popping some anxiety pills or something.

A belief in God is a perception, not a weakness.

[angellous_evangellous]

***MOD ADVISORY***

Please stay on topic and be civil.

Thanks,
A_E

[michel]

Originally Posted by Phasmid

I've heard it said that only the weak believe in a God. That may be true for some, but in my personal experience God is a challenge. Anyone who's ever tried living the Christian life knows that it's far from easy... in fact I can safely say it's the most difficult thing I've ever tried to do... come to think of it, I've never managed it.

So to anyone who considers the faithful to be weak, I say you should walk a mile in their shoes before comming to such a conclusion.

I know what you mean, and I have felt the way that you have, often; though - maybe I am different from others here - but I tend to be hard on myself.

Even if I was to be a non-theist (which I cannot imagine), my own rules are pretty hard; I think "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" describes me pretty accurately.....