Opher on spirituality.

Posted on by Opher

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I am an antitheist – I am opposed to all religions. I think they are created by man and do more harm than good. I would like to see all religion wither on the vine.

But spirituality? No. I like spirituality.

I think religions probably started out as means of celebrating spirituality before they turned into power trips for megalomaniacs and indoctrination courses for children.

I do not think science understands everything or will ever understand everything. The universe becomes weirder and weirder with every discovery. What I am sure of is that a lot of the things that seem so inexplicable to us now may well be found to have a scientific basis. We do seem to connect mentally. There does seem to be synchronicity. There are incredible coincidences. People read religious/spiritual things into these. Maybe there is a spiritual element or maybe it has a scientific principle that we have no yet discovered? Who knows?

For me the holy books are interesting relics of an Iron-age mind. They do contain some worthy things plus a lot of culturally suspect garbage. Like any book of fiction or non-fiction there are good things to take out of them and a lot of stuff that has been superseded by our knowledge, thinking and understanding. Those books are products of their age and culture. They contain all the prejudices and attitudes of that culture and time. I’d like to think we’re a lot better than that now.

So what is my understanding of this spirituality that lies beyond religion?

Well for me it is not god, gods or spirits. It is not afterlife or resurrections, hell, paradise or dogma – it is the essence of life, the universe and everything (to paraphrase Douglas Adams).

For me there is a universal energy that pervades everything; every atom, subatomic particle, sun, galaxy and living creature. That energy is a vibration that runs everything. I do not endow it with consciousness or purpose.

For me that throb of the universe runs in me and connects me to everything. I marvel at it in sunsets, trees, rocks, sea, living creatures, plants, sun, moon, waterfalls, mountains, galaxies and the sky at night – all the things that our ancestors worshipped.

I do not worship it. I do not imbue it with meaning.

I marvel at it, enjoy it, relish it, renew myself in the wonder and awe of it and adore it.

If there is something that I would give the name god to it would be the atomic energy that connects all the universe into one right out to the expanding front of the event horizon created by the big bang.

I have no need for the gubbins of religion, for a personal god or eternal life. I have my rainbows, sunsets and snow-capped mountains. There is nothing to believe in, be dogmatic about, to divide people or provide hatred.

When I die my consciousness will cease. The energy that I am part of will not. I don’t care if that energy is conscious or has a purpose. That is meaningless and pointless to speculate. I just know that it will not be any god like the religions describe. It has not interest in my life or consciousness. It is a perpetual flow and I am part of it.

My spirituality is summed up by two people (or a group) sitting on the rim of grand canyon watching the sun go down, sharing a glass of wine, waiting for the stars to come out, gazing up in awe and then getting the guitars out and celebrating that with laughter.

My spirituality is inclusive and requires no expectations or beliefs. I am alive. That is miraculous. I don’t have to have been created. To exist is enough.

143 thoughts on “Opher on spirituality.”

  2. The vibrations of energy that surround us, run through us and connect us to each other and all life. I absolutely love your concept of spirituality. What if we don’t die? What if our life force leaves our body and vibrates on a different level – on a different plane? As you say, we can speculate until the cows come home and still not have answers.

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  5. By what you speak of, are you not creating another religion of you desire as those you point a finger at, what is man today you’re but tomorrow you’re no more…. honour HIM who lives forever…

    1. I am creating no religion or faith. I see no evidence of god or any example of creation. I do not believe in anyone who claims to have heard god while up mountains, in wildernesses or caves. Religion for me is primitive tribal superstition and has no place in the modern world. Most of the claims made by religion are laughable, have been disproved by science, are hearsay and lack any evidence.
      If there is a god then let him/her speak openly to all people.
      When’s this second coming then? Over two thousand years now and you’re still waiting.
      Religion has been responsible for the most terrible persecutions, wars, torture and prejudice – Jews, witches, Catholics, Muslims, hindus. Appalling. Crusades, inquisitions, pogroms, genocide, murder, violence. Horrendous.
      And all so very human.

      1. Many praise you here for your ideas are you not be among god?

      2. I certainly am not one of those who believe in superstition nonsense. I like evidence not primitive faith. Thousands of gods have been invented and discarded. No doubt thousands more will follow before people wake up. It a human failing – an inability to face up to the fact that life has no meaning and death is the end.

      3. Enlighten me on this pointing of waking up from what exactly?

      4. Every culture invents a new god, a new creation story and a new religion. All are found to be rather silly and discarded in time. The gods of the Incas, Greeks, Romans and every other culture, for whom millions died and millions were sacrificed, are abandoned – mere figments of imagination (try telling someone yo believe in Zeus or are going to sacrifice a child to Hanan Pacha (both once believed in by millions).

      7. Yes that’s why am not believing in you and your words is all confusion you deny God and the same time your desires creativity as GOD CREATIVITY beauty is seen all over,you speak of evil of the world and you blame GOD for it….

      8. How can I blame something that doesn’t exist? I see beauty in nature, evil in human actions, good in human actions, life, an incredible universe and death. I need no fictitious god for any of this. All a fiction created out of the minds of men to explain things they find hard to understand. There is no purpose other than what we create for ourselves. There is nothing more than this short life, It has no purpose. Enjoy it. Live it. When it is gone it is gone. Nothing matters. It’s enough.

      9. Which morals in bing bang do I follow to enjoy it and may be do we except bing bang to happen again then we will come back?

      10. There are no morals in science. We create morals for ourselves. I do very well at this. I am a very moral man. I believe in justice, compassion and helping others. I do not need religion to be good.
        You don’t have to worry we’ve got billions of years yet. We’ll all be long gone. There won’t be any life left whatsoever. Fleeting – here today gone tomorrow.

      11. If we say there’s no God then will killing, suffering increase or decrease is not what your heart is crying against is the INDWELLING of thy consciousness that GOD is showing what is evil and HE intended it to happen but it’s because of choices we make, now you choices to reject HIS EXISTENCE were will get to draw a line define wrong and tight?

      12. Religion is the cause of much of the killing, violence and misery. It’s time we discarded these childish ideas. Men can be better than this. We can control our negative impulses without needing religion.

      13. Suggestions how can control negative impulse if first I deny there’s no morals, where do I get understand the negative and positive in the lab or wher?

      15. Who wrote that should not have written he should only believed in himself and keep quiet?

      17. Read the a verse by verse then ask question but walk in speaking Hersey

      19. Show me bing bang happenings where? There’s mount Sinai, JESUS WAS SEEN, CRUSIFIED DIED AND RESURRECTED

      20. Yes he was crucified – what was it he said – My God My God why have you forsaken me. He realised at the end that it was all bullshit.

      21. He was paying for our sin to those who believe….. What about what He said to the thief why can’t quote that

      22. What he said to the thief was earlier – at the end he realised there was no god. He’d been fooling himself.

      23. After HIS DEATH a soldier said surely this was the son of God, why was did we kill who bother to kill someone who is not anyone as you indicated early?

      25. Are not human,same mind we all have? That’s why  1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

      27. “if” so there’s possibilities you know HE EXISTS BUT BITTER because of past failure

      28. I’m full of love, peace, tolerance and happiness. I know the concept of god is an invention. I don’t need leaning posts.

      29. Where did you learn all love,peace is it not from Bible because surely not in lab,

      30. I learnt it from being human and from my love of nature. I certainly did not learn it from a fear-ridden violent religion.

      31. It’s sinners who fear and curse but who take refuge in Christ Jesus is eternal life

      39. 1 [[To the chief Musician, [A Psalm] of David.]] The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, [there is] none that doeth good. 2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, [and] seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one. 4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people [as] they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD. 5 There were they in great fear: for God [is] in the generation of the righteous. (Psalm 14:1-5, KJV)

      41. There is no definite right or wrong – but we can create a code without needing a fictitious god or religion – read the declaration of human rights. That is better than any religion.

      42. Why complain about killing if then today we say killing is good or raping is okey?

      43. Killing, violence and rape are never OK – but religion has done its fair share of all three. Only yesterday schoolgirls were blown up in the name of god. Witches have been burnt alive, people hung from the rafters of cathedrals and armies slaughtered in the name of god.
        Religion is evil.

      45. Blind faith in superstition without any evidence. – a human invention to put a set of dogma into place – a power struggle – a sop to our inability to cope with death.

      46. So how to stop this now you also invent no God superstition or as you say blind faith what is seeing faith?

      47. No faith, no gods, no religion. I invent nothing. I live life. I fill it with creativity, love and constructivity. I cherish life and nature. I have no need for fictitious afterlives or gods, religions or purposes. I create my own purpose.

      48. You speak as if you trying to the role and the glory of God if the sun was a bing bang was you same a bing bang?

      49. Gods are all made up. I’m not trying to be god.
        The big bang happened. We don’t understand it – or many things. But they are not explained by any god made up by people.

      50. People who read science? Is not bing bang made up because you said don’t believe anything?

      53. Read it – it is a very flawed historic document full of rubbish with some delightful passages – nothing more.

      55. Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks!
        There’s your primitive racism straight out of the mouth of tribal nutcases.

      57. Science is a process. It is based on observation, experimentation and verification. It isn’t made up out of nothing like religion.

      60. I came to you to get something out of you own wisdom but still u came to a conclusion of nothing….then what is benefit of you science knowledge still as you speak of religion…..I wonder what was all that talk for?

      61. I talk for truth not fiction. You have no answers because there are none. Everything just is.

      63. That god is a fiction created by men to explain things that cannot be explained. Religion is all about power. It controls and deadens. That’s the truth.

      64. Why are you busy denying and basing your study against what don’t exist? To prove your science

      65. I’m not denying anything other than a fictional fairy story that, through cultural brainwashing, many people take as fact.
        I believe in what is real.

      68. Creatio ex nihilo (Latin for “creation out of nothing”) refers to the belief that matter is not eternal but had to be created by some divine creative act, frequently defined as God. It is a theistic answer to the question of how the universe comes to exist

      78. You rounding yourself in confusion, you speak of reasoning, observations and nothing but faith? But faith to what you reasoning?

      80. Where’s did u stand to measure the universe and the bing bang happenings?

      81. I read the science. I studied it. I can see the logic. It can be measured and verified – unlike god.

      84. So how do base science it can change and we start doing it all over again were the stand point?

      85. That’s life.
        You’d rather base it on something that has never been seen, heard or touched – something that there is no evidence for? That’s up to you.
        If I said I was wandering through the wilderness and god spoke to me you’d think I was nuts. If I said I went up a mountain and god gave me a set of instructions you’d want to see the evidence. If I said I was in a cave and god spoke to me you’d might think I was schizophrenic. If I told you god had an elephants head you would think I’d gone mad.
        That is what religion is based on. Nothing more.
        If there was a god why doesn’t he talk to all of us and simply tell us what he wants? Why all this clandestine stupidity, costume, diet and ritual????

      86. READ THE BIBLE FIRST THEN IF YOU DON’T GET ANSWERS THEN RAISE YOU CASE I LL BE AROUND

      87. Read it already. Why do you believe in things that have no substance or verification? The Romans saw Jesus as a minor Jewish cult – one of many. The bible was cobbled together from all manner of scraps. The stuff that didn’t fit they burnt at the council of nicaea. Constantine, for political reasons, gave it importance above it’s worth.

      89. I have no hate. I am full of love. I do not like lies and stupidity. That’s all. You’re being conned.

      93. That’s good George.
        Tell you what – you are free to believe in whatever you like no matter how silly I think that is.
        I might go back to worshipping the sun – at least I can see that.

      94. And why do you complain about religion or people killing there babies while again you support it?

      97. I support living this life. It’s all we have. We have to make the most of it. There are no answers.

      98. Am not free to believe anything because you gave me an advice I should believe everything I hear….now how comes I do so?

      99. Believe nothing. Nobody understands everything. Religions have no answers. It’s all pretense.

      102. But you complain when things happen like that…which is which bro? What is startand of this feelings?

  6. Base you life in The GOD OF BIBLE who send is only begotten son to die for our sin that we see and we don’t see,that we talk about and you life isn’t nothing

      3. How can Man like that do miracle, confound the wise,heal,cast demons,forgive….

      4. So it is reported. The Romans never saw any of these miracles. St Paul made a lot of it up. I’ll believe in miracles when I see one not when it’s reported by people with vested interests. I need evidence.
        George, you are free to believe what you like. I think it is all baloney.

      5. Your sleep and wake up isn’t that a miracle for you?you eat and digest,animals and even man we have sex to reproduce look closely at system of our GOD arrangements of things works……..

      7. Science does change but the order of GOD does not, men sleep,men eat,men reproduce,men walk,men touch, speak……then this science of yours can’t it bring a new order of doing this simple way?

      9. Yes HE DOESN’T CHANGE HIS ATTRIBUTES, CHARACTER, HE IS LOVE THAT HE CAME SAVE US FROM OUR OWN EVIL

      10. Not in my opinion. He’s been used as an excuse for murder, rape, war, persecution and torture.

      11. And now you too, using HIM TO probagate and propeller you idea of bing bang theory and atheist by speaking evil of HIM THAN WHO KILL…

  7. He came that we should be forgiven for how we a have messed up this world wit wars,porn,nudity, greediness,rape,doubt,all wrongs….. because man in him lies evil desires to fulfill is greedy appetite….causing all chaos we see and we too do…

      1. Is not the choices of men but Bible speaks a against this evil ways, don’t hate or speak against what you don’t know?

      3. We don’t complain about rubbish because it’s rubbish but what is real as an excuse to deny it….

      4. Where’s the proof George? Where’s this god? Why has he been silent for thousands of years? Why doesn’t he just show himself?
        Why does he only appear to people when they are alone? Who witnessed these miracles?
        No sorry – doesn’t make a jot of sense. Like all the other thousands of gods we have invented this one will become a relic in time. It’s time we moved on. This primitive superstition is as Freud said – a mass psychosis.
        We are insecure about death. We have difficulty facing it. We for some silly reason think that everything has a purpose. It doesn’t.

      5. Did bing bang have any reason for starting and like you say it created beauty in this billions of years does this not show there’s a purpose for all of this…..

      7. Do you base your knowledge on written books by men which you said earlier that science does change, you don’t know the future or the past and at present your holding on to nothingness,I don’t know, science which does change?

      8. Aspects of scientific understanding changes. Science sheds light on reality. Religion is superstition.

      9. ….and Bible sheds light to heart and conditions of man and sin.

      12. Really?? I’m doing you another post. Try reading them and thinking. You sound brainwashed to me.

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