tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post5200172357179107338..comments2024-02-18T23:38:08.234-06:00Comments on Some Lies: Sisyphus probably had it worsetideliarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12570056632131128856noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-42985631768947675652011-01-13T09:42:09.237-06:002011-01-13T09:42:09.237-06:00@ChiTown:" very often" is a tautology yo...@ChiTown:" very often" is a tautology you silly spammer. Seriously. Spam in proper English, or just get a bot to do it. Tsk tsk<br /><br />@JulieR: I definately identify with Thomas. But Jesus never showed up to shoiw me his wounds. God sends challenges from all isides, guess. For me he chose to use his own flock as the barometer of my faith? Thanks for stopping by and commenting.<br /><br />@Anonymous: Hypocracy is painful isn't it? With regards to mental illness, i was at a conference recently and Glenn Close, the actress, gave the Keynote speech on society and science. She was discussing the stigma of mental illlness and how we need to fight it (it runs deep in her family). Check out her charity:<br /><br />http://www.bringchange2mind.org/tideliarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12570056632131128856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-89431075122046904282011-01-13T09:37:56.776-06:002011-01-13T09:37:56.776-06:00@Karen: Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comme...@Karen: Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment<br /><br />@Heather: Thanks :) I don't expect to be agreed with - I think we all make our own jounrey and the nature of experience is often too subjective for fair comparisons. Thanks for your kind words :)<br /><br />@Cath: That is a hell of a reading list!<br /><br />@Latent Existance: Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for the links. I'll have a read later. I must admit I am drawn to the Agnostic side, but like Cath said, if I had to make a bet, I know which side of the coin I'd actually bet on. Which makes me doubt my Agnosticism...and thus we have the circlular argument again LOLtideliarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12570056632131128856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-79520207206881086922011-01-09T18:23:19.770-06:002011-01-09T18:23:19.770-06:00Raised a Presbyterian, I now "home church.&qu...Raised a Presbyterian, I now "home church." My beliefs are based on the 10 Commandment. There are too many people who spend Sunday in Church and spend the other 6 days living by their own rules. The final straw was at the funeral of a relative who committed suicide after taking an antidepressant known to lead to suicidal thoughts.I was approached by someone who offered me a video on purgatory. This was from someone who has a gay brother in law. If she accepts him (which I do) why can't she accept a death caused by an illness. The priest at the mass made a point that when we are baptised there is no expiration date. The church has done a huge disservise to everyone with a mental illness. Death due to mental illness is hard enough on the family when people don't accept that it is an illness and their loved one will be wih God, just as any other person. I wanted to tell this friend "don"t throw stones" becasuse your Bible won't accept Michael.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-47660388367300616932011-01-09T17:06:26.724-06:002011-01-09T17:06:26.724-06:00Late to the party with my comment because, well, I...Late to the party with my comment because, well, I wasn’t sure how to comment. Like Dr O., I am a long-time Christian (and a scientist), and I hate that people who claim to be Christians have caused you to question your faith. <br /><br />FWIW, I think it is perfectly ok to ask questions. In John (20:24), the disciples tell Thomas they have seen Jesus after he has risen. Doubting, Thomas asks for proof. “I won’t believe it until I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” Later, Jesus appears to Thomas and gives him the proof (empirical evidence) he asked for. You are right, God gave you a questioning mind. Go ahead and ask Him for proof if that is what you need. <br /><br />Other resources you might find helpful:<br /><br />Reason for God, by Tim Keller<br />The American Scientific Affiliation (http://asa3.org/)Julie Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02933092519276567320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-20171530303752182332011-01-04T22:50:02.868-06:002011-01-04T22:50:02.868-06:00I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoye...I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.Chicago cleaning companieshttp://www.1chicagocleaning.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-40862919533486009182010-12-29T22:33:39.353-06:002010-12-29T22:33:39.353-06:00I forgot to say that I also arrived at being an ag...I forgot to say that I also arrived at being an agnostic rather than atheist. I think agnostic is the natural sceptics position, and choosing atheist without evidence is not wise.Latentexistencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02117818225124379975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-16311996481172514292010-12-29T22:29:03.703-06:002010-12-29T22:29:03.703-06:00I just stumbled across this article. By strange co...I just stumbled across this article. By strange coincidence I have just written something quite similar, and would site the same people as influential in my new attitude.<br /><br />My article is at <a href="http://www.sumpter.org.uk/why-i-am-no-longer-a-christian/" rel="nofollow">www.sumpter.org.uk/why-i-am-no-longer-a-christian/</a>Latentexistencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02117818225124379975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-42637456468232246192010-12-29T19:07:59.453-06:002010-12-29T19:07:59.453-06:00Great post - a very interesting journey, bravely t...Great post - a very interesting journey, bravely told.<br /><br />I call myself an agnostic atheist; I believe that agnosticism (i.e. absence of knowledge) is the only intellectually defensible position, BUT if I had to bet every single thing I own, I'd bet that there's no God.<br /><br />BTW I wrote <a href="http://vwxynot.blogspot.com/2009/03/agnostic-about-humanism.html" rel="nofollow">a post last year</a> about labels in general, and Humanism in particular (with a link to an "Are you a Humanist?" quiz!). The <a href="http://vwxynot.blogspot.com/2009/03/agnostic-about-humanism.html?showComment=1238434920000#c5457882074119892452" rel="nofollow">penultimate reader comment</a> on that thread was very illuminating, and convinced me that I'm actually NOT a humanist!Cath@VWXYNot?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-66378684844234980262010-12-29T19:06:44.867-06:002010-12-29T19:06:44.867-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Cath@VWXYNot?https://www.blogger.com/profile/01164268321173313605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-60703402202413949372010-12-29T03:07:33.133-06:002010-12-29T03:07:33.133-06:00That was a wonderful, personal, heartfelt post. I ...That was a wonderful, personal, heartfelt post. I don't agree with all of your conclusions, but I salute the courage it took to reflect on them and note them down. You may well come back to look at them in five years, too, and see that your thoughts have evolved - that's all to the best, isn't it?<br /><br />I count myself an atheist. Like all other questions pertinent to the practice of religion, being an atheist does not necessarily mean not having a faith, by my books. For me it also does not mean eschewing certain religious-style cultural practices. It means not having a God. It doesn't sound to me like you really want to perceive the universe in which you evolve as a Godless one. I rather exalt in it, personally. There is so much else that is awe-inspiring, and in the end, that I take on faith even if science brought that knowledge to me - but that I as a scientist could explore if I wanted to, just as a theologian/philosopher could explore many of the tenets that s/he takes "on faith" - and neither would arrive at more of a right answer.<br /><br />Give me a religious person who thinks, questions, and is humble before the enigma of physical existence, anyday, over a self-righteous, self-labeled "scientist" who thinks they know everything that needs to be known and must inculcate others that what needs to be known is so limited and narrow.<br /><br />My point being, take your "agnostic" label and wear it proudly, Ian.Heatherhttp://occamstypewriter.org/irregulars/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-47367723687787486122010-12-28T20:05:31.279-06:002010-12-28T20:05:31.279-06:00I enjoyed reading this post. I was raised Catholic...I enjoyed reading this post. I was raised Catholic too. I'm kind of ashamed to admit this but the older I get the harder it is to believe in anything. I guess I'm a little bit lost on the whole faith issue.zerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04325890720049545008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-44839259509009234392010-12-28T18:45:18.391-06:002010-12-28T18:45:18.391-06:00@GInq: nice. "chicken shit athiest". Or ...@GInq: nice. "chicken shit athiest". Or of course the whole philosphy behind it is equally invalid by your eloquent, and verbose, definition. But, to each their own...tideliarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12570056632131128856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-75644784697495973732010-12-28T18:14:27.507-06:002010-12-28T18:14:27.507-06:00an agnostic is just a chicken shit atheist. or so ...an agnostic is just a chicken shit atheist. or so i have been told. just modify pascal's wager and put you money on the against. if you're right then you will never know.The Grand Inquisitorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13938037802131838571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-12388187874504173302010-12-28T18:10:24.215-06:002010-12-28T18:10:24.215-06:00"For a long time this sustained me. Love the ..."For a long time this sustained me. Love the Church, love God, but pity the sinners you share a pew with. It just wore out after a while. Mostly because the church itself started to lose its lustre and truthiness. "<br /><br />I understand, and I agree that it can be hard to not become disgusted at hypocrisy. I have to deal with it within my own family (one born again Christian, and another teaches CCD, but apparently the "rules" do not apply to them). I've come to the conclusion that many people are not living consciously, but going through the motions of life.<br /><br />Not really questioning, just following blindly. I learned to stop expecting more from people who say they are spiritual or religious. We're all just doing the best we can with what we know. Essentially, I have forgiven them for not forgiving me. <br /><br />I can only change my mind, not theirs. Who's really experiencing hell? Not me.Jadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-71733316103975655132010-12-28T17:34:09.780-06:002010-12-28T17:34:09.780-06:00@Jade: "I can't follow Catholicism anymo...@Jade: "I can't follow Catholicism anymore for various personal reasons- hypocrisy the basis of them all. But the hypocrisy is with the leadership of the church, not the members. People just do the best they can, you know? No one is perfect."<br /><br />For a long time this sustained me. Love the Church, love God, but pity the sinners you share a pew with. It just wore out after a while. Mostly because the church itself started to lose its lustre and truthiness.tideliarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12570056632131128856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-46227471790289992432010-12-28T17:29:45.762-06:002010-12-28T17:29:45.762-06:00Thanks to all of you for your kind and supportive ...Thanks to all of you for your kind and supportive messages :) These kind of posts are the mot to write, but the hardest to do so at the same time (for obvious reasons, I think).<br /><br />I like Huxley's defintions of agnosticism:<br /><br />"The deepest sin of the human mind is to believe things without evidence...Agnosticism simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that for which he has no grounds for professing to believe"<br /><br />I think my New Athiest friends will take me to task over that though :)<br /><br />@SUIRAUQA: Thank you. But here my name is Tideliar :p (lucky I'm fully outted already, huh?)<br /><br />@RPG: I love you man! Only you would have noticed that! (The Damocles post was something else entirely, but as these things do, the post took on a life of it's own when I started writing)<br /><br />@Candid: Was it hard to not attend mass, even for the family & symbolism of it? Did your family give you any...issues?<br /><br />@uDr.O: I love that line, and that was instrumental in me finding the strength, or even faith, to question my faith. Honestly, that same line. "...all your mind". So I did. And He'll understand, I hope, if we should ever meet.tideliarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12570056632131128856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-9741936533585587502010-12-28T16:11:38.946-06:002010-12-28T16:11:38.946-06:00I wouldn't say being agnostic is a cop-out; I&...I wouldn't say being agnostic is a cop-out; I'd call it being open-minded. I'm a devout Christian (Methodist), but I've always believed that each person must find their own path - kind of a Buddhist thing I guess. I can't believe that the loving, forgiving God I was raised to know would ever damn somebody for following their heart and mind, which He supposedly gave to them. I've heard such sentiments from <i>some</i> people in the churches I've attended (though not many), but I choose to ignore them. Faith is a funny thing: it does require a blind leap, but it also has to be your own. IMO, it should never be based solely on what your chosen denomination tells you to believe. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your <i>mind</i>." Luke 10:27Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-37704403631135583932010-12-28T08:32:14.885-06:002010-12-28T08:32:14.885-06:00I was raised Anglican in a mixed-religious (Christ...I was raised Anglican in a mixed-religious (Christian and Muslim) household as well too and could probably be counted upon as an agnostic.Genomic Repairmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07755692245709237397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-85252178258176870662010-12-28T07:06:01.235-06:002010-12-28T07:06:01.235-06:00Such journeys can be fascinating, so thank you for...Such journeys can be fascinating, so thank you for sharing. As a Roman Catholic- bred, born, and raised- I just spent my first Christmas at home with my parents where I managed to not attend mass. Haven't bought into it for a good 10 years, so this was a bit of a step forward(?). <br /><br />I had never heard agnostics be described as you did here- I embrace the term- I acknowledge but I don't understand. For me, not so much of a cop out as simply how I feel right now.Candid Engineerhttp://scientopia.org/blogs/candidengineernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-18571810137187501542010-12-28T05:28:34.793-06:002010-12-28T05:28:34.793-06:00Phwee.
Yes, I hear you. Excellent post. You know ...Phwee.<br /><br />Yes, I hear you. Excellent post. You know where I stand, and nothing makes me sadder than the things you describe.<br /><br />I have a plan, barely formed--but maybe later. Meantime, I love that you changed the title of your post during editing.rpghttp://occamstypewriter.org/rpg/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-72964592074760146152010-12-28T02:51:46.794-06:002010-12-28T02:51:46.794-06:00Very heartfelt and touching experience, Ian. Thank...Very heartfelt and touching experience, Ian. Thank you for sharing. Someday when you have time, I shall tell you the story of my 'deconversion'; perhaps you may even be able to relate directly, although mine was a different faith altogether. I wish you all the best in the search for whatever it is that you seek.SUIRAUQAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17918432443330964561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-87181739904022452142010-12-28T00:53:00.773-06:002010-12-28T00:53:00.773-06:00Really nice post about your spiritual journey. I&#...Really nice post about your spiritual journey. I've done the religion merry-go-round myself, trying to find a theology where the members practice what they preach. I also wanted to check out many of the less mainstream faiths such as Christian Science, Unity church, and Charismatic type groups(that's the whole speaking in tongues, etc. stuff). I also spent some time with a group of Krishna followers to see what they had going on and attended meetings for believers in Satya Sai Baba. <br /><br />All of these groups preach similar messages, but all have their unusual rituals that make adoption difficult for a scientist. <br /><br />I can't follow Catholicism anymore for various personal reasons- hypocrisy the basis of them all. But the hypocrisy is with the leadership of the church, not the members. People just do the best they can, you know? No one is perfect. <br /><br />I think the most important thing is to keep searching and to question everything until you find what resonates with you as truth. Whatever that is, it is the right answer. <br /><br />Now that you are no longer a brainwashed Catholic, you can let go of feeling guilty about questioning and doubting. You are free to believe how you wish. It's the way it was always supposed to be.Jadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-6206130731515849652010-12-27T20:44:25.863-06:002010-12-27T20:44:25.863-06:00I know what you mean.
Catholic>lost it>agno...I know what you mean.<br /><br />Catholic>lost it>agnostic/atheist>non-denominational. Now the closest I can find/makes sense to me is theist, as in the opposite of atheist, not these fancy new off-shoots. I don't need any man-made religions. I know eveything is held together (by glue).Angela Ronsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05003279604946629162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9164353561843227536.post-85506301783917242092010-12-27T19:41:47.760-06:002010-12-27T19:41:47.760-06:00I keep hearing "agnostic is a cop-out" t...I keep hearing "agnostic is a cop-out" type of attitude. The thing is.. it's where you stand at that moment. I've gone through many changes in my belief system as I've grown, learned, experienced, questioned, etc.<br /><br />What an awesome, heart-felt post. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself!Gabriellehttp://www.abfabgab.comnoreply@blogger.com