Comments on: Faith and our Emergent Universe

By: Peter Schogol

Peter Schogol — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:37:06 +0000

In a post to the Religious Naturalism Yahoo listserv I said that it took several fits and starts to abandon my belief in a universe under parental supervision; that I had to check the closet and under the bed one last time before I could switch off the night light.

Peter

By: Joakim

Joakim — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Yoga has another perspective on prayer: It might not be the case that a God or the gods or some spiritual entity answer your prayer, but verbalizing your worries, anxieties etc, as if another subject or person is listening is a useful psychological practice. A little like teengers personalizing their diaries, creating an I-thou relation where there really(?) isn’t one.

By: Ash

Ash — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:24:45 +0000

What you bring up is the flip side of prayer. Many see prayer as a virtue, but to my mind, prayer promotes helplessness and inaction. How many parents haven’t gotten their children proper medical care because they believed prayer was sufficient? Even one is too many. I also imagine that many people respond as you did to prayer, with anxiety. It’s one thing to give a “prayer” out of gratitude (which is something I encourage for psychological reasons), and another to ask for favors. Since there are no gods out there listening, the answers to prayers rely on the normal events of reality, and I imagine that that can be nerve-wracking when one is afraid or in pain.

There are better ways, but they require personal work and a naturalistic worldview. Unfortunately, that kind of effort is often a luxury, which is yet another reason to be progressive…by eliminating poverty, ignorance, and oppression, more people can have the time and resources to move out of ancient supernatural belief systems. Well, I can dream…

By: Ash

Ash — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:14:57 +0000

Thanks for this great comment. Very well said.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:54:18 +0000

A great book on this topic is “Reinventing the Sacred” by Stuart Kauffman.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:59:51 +0000

“We lack the hope that comes from praying for a celestial Hand to take away pain and injustice.”

I actually found this to be a source of difficulty, rather than hope – one never knows if those prayers will be answered. It’s like a child not knowing whether his parent is going to hug him or hit him when a request is made – it makes one rather neurotic!

By: Ropian

Ropian — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:15:30 +0000

> “It must be admitted, we lose something by a lack of faith in supernatural beings that are concerned with humans. We lack…”

What can be more amazing, inspiring and fun, than the natural world full of wonders that we live in? An incomprehensible galactic scene, a planet full of beautiful landscape and life, fellow sentient beings each a marvel in itself… Maybe we don’t have the comforting feeling of supernatural protection, but hardship is alleviated if you start appreciating and find the joy in your unique life as it is. A recurring theme I hear from people much wiser than myself is that one ought to “live in the moment”. What else can make you grasp the significance and meaning of this better than the realization that your life is unique, but finite, never-to-be-repeated? I sometimes like to imagine it (my life) as a story – or hit movie if you like – that I’m starring, and this perspective helps me realize that this is no warm-up, or the time to prepare for something better, THIS IS IT, NOW – and I start appreciate and savor it for what it is, as it is.