Dun Dun DUN. I'm doing it. I'm bringing up a point of contention.
Recently, a close loved one has been bringing up some interesting points about religion in the wake of the whole "Corporations can deny contraception based on religious blah dee blah." This has sparked a lot of conversation between a lot of groups, and the Atheism/Theism debate has been stepping into the limelight. Long story long, I recently heard the quote (from a theist) "If you don't believe in God, how do you know what's right and wrong?"
Good question. Seriously. Because once you put the ball down here in the mortal court, it's really easy to get confused about right and wrong, good and bad, etc (check out the whole Adam and Eve myth- eating the fruit "of the knowledge of good and evil" and all). What's good for me might be bad for you (or so we perceive) and vice versa. How do we deal with this?
Some people turn to God and the physical institutions claiming to represent It (temples, scriptures, strictures, etc.). Let me say now: I MAKE NO CLAIM TO KNOW WHETHER THERE IS A GOD. Also, some of those institutions, especially scriptures, say some pretty cool stuff ("Judge not, lest that ye be judged," "being, consciousness, bliss," etc.)
But here's the deal: for those who reject the institutions, how do they determine how to act? Without a sacred text, without this or without that, where is their barometer? This could get really long, but let me say it this way: maybe it's time to change the notion of trying to do what is "right vs. wrong" or "good vs. bad" and simply introduce a new vocabulary. How about "healthy vs. unhealthy?" Fact: feelings of optimisim, positivity, and altruism increase vitality in the body in many different ways. So we could say that is healthy for the body. Conversely, negative feelings like stress, depression, etc. are linked to cardiovascular disease, decreased happiness (duh) and other unpleasant physical sensations. In this way, would could say these are unhealthy emotions.
Yadda yadda yadda, we do what we can to get to the healthy end of the spectrum, do your research to know what causes long term health vs. short term pleasure (exercise vs. cake), yadda yadda yadda.
Different acumen: helpful vs. harmful. A little tricky to navigate, but do your best to guess. Whom are you helping by your particular action? Remember, think as long term as you can. Anyway, try to cultivate health. Help lots of people. But remember, give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish, etc.
Love you!
Recently, a close loved one has been bringing up some interesting points about religion in the wake of the whole "Corporations can deny contraception based on religious blah dee blah." This has sparked a lot of conversation between a lot of groups, and the Atheism/Theism debate has been stepping into the limelight. Long story long, I recently heard the quote (from a theist) "If you don't believe in God, how do you know what's right and wrong?"
Good question. Seriously. Because once you put the ball down here in the mortal court, it's really easy to get confused about right and wrong, good and bad, etc (check out the whole Adam and Eve myth- eating the fruit "of the knowledge of good and evil" and all). What's good for me might be bad for you (or so we perceive) and vice versa. How do we deal with this?
Some people turn to God and the physical institutions claiming to represent It (temples, scriptures, strictures, etc.). Let me say now: I MAKE NO CLAIM TO KNOW WHETHER THERE IS A GOD. Also, some of those institutions, especially scriptures, say some pretty cool stuff ("Judge not, lest that ye be judged," "being, consciousness, bliss," etc.)
But here's the deal: for those who reject the institutions, how do they determine how to act? Without a sacred text, without this or without that, where is their barometer? This could get really long, but let me say it this way: maybe it's time to change the notion of trying to do what is "right vs. wrong" or "good vs. bad" and simply introduce a new vocabulary. How about "healthy vs. unhealthy?" Fact: feelings of optimisim, positivity, and altruism increase vitality in the body in many different ways. So we could say that is healthy for the body. Conversely, negative feelings like stress, depression, etc. are linked to cardiovascular disease, decreased happiness (duh) and other unpleasant physical sensations. In this way, would could say these are unhealthy emotions.
Yadda yadda yadda, we do what we can to get to the healthy end of the spectrum, do your research to know what causes long term health vs. short term pleasure (exercise vs. cake), yadda yadda yadda.
Different acumen: helpful vs. harmful. A little tricky to navigate, but do your best to guess. Whom are you helping by your particular action? Remember, think as long term as you can. Anyway, try to cultivate health. Help lots of people. But remember, give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish, etc.
Love you!
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