Please Welcome Dareesedelrae 

to the Science and Religion boards and to  beliefnet.

Thanks for joining us.

Apr 12, 2010 -- 4:41AM, Dareesedelrae wrote:

Can a cohesive community and a sense of belonging  become our higher self? And be a substitute for a belief in God? 

It depends on what you mean by a cohesive community.  If you mean the village, either global or local I don't think it would be possible.  

As a self chosen community among like minded friends and friends of friends I think it is the only way to replace the community of God believers.  My chosen community has a similar set or mores, a similar rational approach to problem solving and a similar view that the only important activities are those that affect our community.  Ourselves certainly, but the effects on the community reflect back on us.  I am reminded of the famous image of the drop of water on a still water surface.  Certainly the ripples radiate outward, but the reflection inward is the dominant effect of the action.  

I don't really need a substitute for God.  I never had one to substitute for, and all the meaning and purpose I need comes from and is directed toward that community that will carry on my legacy after I no longer can.   

Apr 13, 2010 -- 12:15PM, Seefan wrote:

  That's not to say Atheist haven't found a degree of peace and contentment for they abide by the same rules ...

True they abide by the same rules, but the rules are fundamental not God.  In other words God has no choice but promote rules that are good for the society of believers, and by and large those rules would be good for any society.  Do not lie, cheat, steal, kill, respect authority beginning with parents and going on from there, to God if religious, to other authorities worthy of respect if not.  

Apr 14, 2010 -- 12:05AM, Dareesedelrae wrote:

the-aaahh.org that is building a community /relationships on a vibrational level. I've read through the website and it looks like it would be something I would like to do. For me, God/Love is a vibration. Maybe I'm misunderstanding the information. I'd appreciate a second opinion if possible.

First and shallow interpretation of the site is that it is yet another social networking site based on a slightly different woo-woo substituting for God.  If it resonates for you it might be worth a deeper look, but I might suggest exploring beliefnet or another social networking group that is in line with your main interests.  Many topic interest organizations are developing a social site, eg community.sfsymphony.org/  Personally, I would rather build my community around a common interest and find people with similar spirituality there, than dabbling in spirituality and trying to find common interests.