return to childhood religion

Joan...you make perfect sense...enjoy the day

supernana - I too believe every atom of my physical being will be recycled by nature. And I too wish to live my life well, doing no harm to any living thing, hopefully leaving this world having done all I could to bless others, and give back to my fellow man that which will encourage, enhance and uplift those who come into my life. But I am also fully aware that I am not just flesh and blood, but also soul and spirit.
I used to believe at the point of death there was just annihilation....but I came to the realisation that that was a cop out, it meant I could abandon all responsibility for discovering the reason for my existence.
The reason we are all brought into this world is to experience what it means to be fully human, the good and the bad, to discover the best of ourselves is to be connected to God's Spirit. I have known the comfort of His nearness, and His gentle guidance at difficult times in my life. He has proved Himself to be deeply aware of my comings and goings. I now KNOW my life will continue with Him after physical death.

Dear Kiwigran...I am happy for you...I'm also happy for me...

How about thinking that the energy/life force/creativity which produces and maintains the whole thing (by which I mean universe, galaxy, cosmos - the lot) and also is the life in each one of us, simply continues after we are gone and somehow our life is absorbed into the cosmos, perhaps becoming part of new life as it is created? I can't really articulate it because it's way beyond my capacity - but then, if I could grasp it, it wouldn't be worth grasping. Would it?
That's why I find all these defining 'truths' about gods and their relationships to us to be no longer satisfying.

It does go on PatriciaPT. Every atom of every compound in our bodies was first created in the nuclear fission of stars, so we came from starstuff which is wonderful in itself, and when our electrical and chemical processes cease whether we're buried or cremated those atoms "live" on. Whether you follow a god or not it's pretty cool!

It does go on PatriciaPT. Every atom of every compound in our bodies was first created in the nuclear fission of stars, so we came from starstuff which is wonderful in itself, and when our electrical and chemical processes cease whether we're buried or cremated those atoms "live" on. Whether you follow a god or not it's pretty cool!

Apologies for the double post... it took so long to send I thought it had died.

Like so many of the other posters on here, I was brought up as a catholic, attended a convent boarding school and reached adulthood so full of the fear of God and of death, that it wasn't surprising I left the church. I did go back for a while when my children reached school age, but it caused many problems, not least with my husband, who had no time for the church.

Then, happily for me, I found the Unitarians - a spiritual community who encourage you to think for yourself. There is no creed and everyone has the right to seek truth and meaning for themselves. They claim no exclusive revelation or status for themselves and simply respect and tolerate all who follow different paths. The result is that in our congregation we are all there just because we want to be and our spiritual journeys are lived out in company. I would not have believed it works, but it does. I am only sorry I never discovered them earlier.

milliej Which version of the Bible does Dawkins misquote? There are lots of them in English, let alone in other languages – all translations from mostly Aramaic (OT) and ancient Greek (NT). There are also various "original" versions or fragments of "original versions" which Biblical scholars will probably continue to argue over until the end of the world.

Dawkins is a very thorough academic. He does not misquote. Check his references, which will be detailed and accurate unless there has been a typing error. Whether one agrees with his arguments or not, he cannot be accused of deliberately misquoting. I suspect he is using the King James bible when he refers to it at all. I believe that version is usually highly regarded, at least as to language.

When we were very small children, our first instincts were to grab all we could, and trample our siblings underfoot while grabbing. Our parents taught us to treat one another with love and consideration. At first we were nice to our brothers and sisters because that was how our parents wanted us to be, but as we grew older we valued them for themselves, and most of us continue to do so even when our mother and father (or other examples) are long gone.

All genuine religions, and civilised secular societies, like loving parents, teach a code of behaviour toward others, Perhaps if "humanity" could grow up out of their childish selfishness everyone would treat everyone else as well as they treat a beloved sibling and there would be no need of "religious" morality.