I have uncommon (so far as I know) beliefs and feel that there must be others out there. This is my attempt to connect with them.
I am inundated with the christian viewpoint by radio and everywhere else. I am not a christian but find some value in listening to them. I won't throw out the bible with the bath water. :-)
I believe in One Creator. Only one, no trinity or pantheons.
I accept (with a few reservations - because I still do not understand everything) the first 4 books of the "old" testament. The rest of the tanach, I use with great care and caution. I tend to go along with the samaritans on David and the prophets.
I would like to learn as much as possible about my Creator.
I would like to exchange ideas with other seekers and enjoy a warm, supportive and enlightening friendship with them.
Please feel free to contact me and share your thoughts and experiences.
Hi, Well what strikes me is that everything we think is what we've been taught, until we learn to think for ourselves. Is that possible? What if most of the stuff we've learned is wrong?
Well hi, I'm probably not the best person to talk to...I'm of native american descent and we believe in a creator but don't think about it too much. We just try to use our minds to live the best lives we can in accordance with what is right. A lot of people have a mind but don't use it.
I wrote a detailed reply but it seems to have vaporized. :-) Give me a few minutes to reconstruct.
I'll reconstruct my thoughts and try again. As to your using your mind etc., what defines " the best lives we can in accordance with what is right" who makes that decision? You ARE the best person to speak with on this topic. I welcome all points of view.Right and wrong "is" a slippery slope. There needs to be an agreed-upon yardstick in place to proceed with a meaningful discussion.
True, many people do not use or underuse their minds. The same complaint could also be made of myself. :-(
I wrote a detailed reply but it seems to have vaporized. :-) Give me a few minutes to reconstruct.
I'll reconstruct my thoughts and try again. As to your using your mind etc., what defines " the best lives we can in accordance with what is right" who makes that decision? You ARE the best person to speak with on this topic. I welcome all points of view.Right and wrong "is" a slippery slope. There needs to be an agreed-upon yardstick in place to proceed with a meaningful discussion.
True, many people do not use or underuse their minds. The same complaint could also be made of myself. :-(
Woops, it happens (losing a post). I just lost a post this morning when after writing it, went to Google up "old rain forests" so I could add a link, but when I went back to my post, it was gone! Had to start all over again.
Well, on the topic of using one's mind...that is a vast territory and quite subjective. Each person has his or her own "appetites" and people don't agree with what's good for the world, and each person has his or her own ideosophies which are chosen for a reason.
I believe we all have to learn how to use our minds and it takes many years. A person is either hindered or helped by what kind of parents he or she has. Off to a good or bad start, as they say. This world presents problems all by itself, but having good parents who guide in the right direction rather than hobble, is such a wonderful thing.
As you know, native americans had an animistic belief, which means basically that everything is spirit. It is just a matter of learning how to communicate with it and to learn what to make your own. To use the words of the "holy writ", this world is one of the heavens, just one of them.
Here we go one more time....Hope this one goes through.
OK.
In childhood and even then, much of what we are taught forms the bulk of our reasoning methodology. However as we age and (hopefully) mature, observation, idea interchange and our innate ability to discern and discriminate takes over and thus we constantly advance (??) and form more complex ideas, associations, likes and dislikes. "Thinking for ourselves" does not seem possible for me as our thoughts do not occur in a vaccuum and must, of necessity, incur prior thoughts and ideas in their formation.
My opinion is that a lot of folks seem to pride themselves on being "able to think for themselves". But that is an illusion. In the endless permutation of thoughts and ideas, all our ideas must, of necessity, bear the prior intent and pressure of other's thinking. Was it Solomon who said there is nothing new under the sun?
You are to be commended for questioning the way you do. Please continue to do so. As to most of the stuff we have learned being wrong, it well may be. Living as long as I have, I have had to throw out (some with regret) a lot of previously learned ideas upon receipt of more accurate knowledge.
If it is wrong, it is wrong. Just be careful with making that determination. Move on and formulate new thoughts and ideas. Replace error with (hopefully) errorless fact. (lotsa luck with that --- that's life)
Here we go one more time....Hope this one goes through.
OK.
In childhood and even then, much of what we are taught forms the bulk of our reasoning methodology. However as we age and (hopefully) mature, observation, idea interchange and our innate ability to discern and discriminate takes over and thus we constantly advance (??) and form more complex ideas, associations, likes and dislikes. "Thinking for ourselves" does not seem possible for me as our thoughts do not occur in a vaccuum and must, of necessity, incur prior thoughts and ideas in their formation.
My opinion is that a lot of folks seem to pride themselves on being "able to think for themselves". But that is an illusion. In the endless permutation of thoughts and ideas, all our ideas must, of necessity, bear the prior intent and pressure of other's thinking. Was it Solomon who said there is nothing new under the sun?
You are to be commended for questioning the way you do. Please continue to do so. As to most of the stuff we have learned being wrong, it well may be. Living as long as I have, I have had to throw out (some with regret) a lot of previously learned ideas upon receipt of more accurate knowledge.
If it is wrong, it is wrong. Just be careful with making that determination. Move on and formulate new thoughts and ideas. Replace error with (hopefully) errorless fact. (lotsa luck with that --- that's life)
Okay, we agree on all that. So not much dialogue as far as that.
Btw, I noticed you've been here for awhile and not getting many posts. There should be a welcoming crew to have people feel welcome. Most people just jump in to the many forums/threads below. But if a person says "Hi, I'm here" and nobody responds, it's a shame, because some people leave before they ever get started talking. They may feel ignored. Like a few days ago, a person by the name of Jason was new and he asked if anybody knew how to put up a pic. I just happened to check in, something I don't ordinarily do, and he hadn't got a response for 5 days. I got an answer to him, but he never reported back. It makes me think I should just request management to set up a welcoming crew. Some talk websites do have that.
I have been researching sacred texts for many years.
In childhood and even then, much of what we are taught forms the bulk of our reasoning methodology.
My opinion is that a lot of folks seem to pride themselves on being "able to think for themselves". But that is an illusion. In the endless permutation of thoughts and ideas, all our ideas must, of necessity, bear the prior intent and pressure of other's thinking.
You are to be commended for questioning the way you do. Please continue to do so. As to most of the stuff we have learned being wrong, it well may be. Living as long as I have, I have had to throw out (some with regret) a lot of previously learned ideas upon receipt of more accurate knowledge.
Okay, we agree on all that. So not much dialogue as far as that.
Hi,
I just joined myself a few minutes ago, and wanted to say how I very much follow a similar line of thinking to that shared by both of you.
I often chuckle a little to myself when in the course of a discussion someone shares that they're open-minded, only to then completely negate the whole purpose of having said that with some statement that's anything but. Lets be honest - are any of us truly open minded - we can strive to be certainly, but as you say, so much of what we are, what we think is conditioned into us.
