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Subject: 
Re: Holy crap! (was Re: The partisian trap in California)
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Wed, 29 Oct 2003 00:03:00 GMT
Viewed: 
1021 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Dave Schuler wrote:
   Each of these is, to me, an unsatisfactory justification for belief, and I’d be interested to hear other motivations.

I’m with Kooties in that you are not likely to like my answer either. And I am likely to be further marginalized by “uber-pagan” types like Bruce. Keeping in mind that I reject most organized religions out of hand as obviously politically motivated tripe intended to control the masses, here goes nothing...

I believe there is aesthetic beauty in the idea of the divine; and that there are psychological rewards for ritual action.

This would basically be in the way of Evelyn Waugh’s/Brideshead Revisited/Sebastian says the idea of god is “lovely” school of thought. This could also be in the way of “Beatific Vision” or of an Arthurian style knight’s “reverie” kind of thing. I think of this idea as being hand in hand with the idea (getting back to Waugh) that “to know and love another human being is the root of all wisdom.” To further boil it down, I find that contemplation of the divine, ritual action, and the idea of love is beneficial to the mental health of most persons.

As a wildly cynical skeptic I am often propelled in a completely different direction, and it is with this face that I normally confront the world.

But in my quieter moments, I can think of few things that smooth down the ruffled feathers of tribulation like the idea of a “horn of plenty” whose contents pour out and heal the troubles of the world.

Previously, in debate, I have stated the following (and we might as well end on it):

   MY fantasy is one of an Earth Mother locked in the act of love with the Horned God of the Sun. I don’t happen to ACTUALLY believe in my fantasy, but I think it is more aesthetically pleasing than your fantasy...

   Can we all agree it is quite obnoxious to rub others’ noses in one’s own personal beliefs and faith-imagery? Really, it’s a very private matter...

   ...it also has no bearing on our accepted communal reality, nor should it.

-- Hop-Frog



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: Holy crap!
 
(...) Marginalized by me? I thought it all great - not quite what I expected from The Angry Young Man. Dave may not like it, but I do. It all fits into a neo-pagan Gaiea world view. I suppose it fits into alot of religions - except for the bit about (...) (21 years ago, 29-Oct-03, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Holy crap! (was Re: The partisian trap in California)
 
(...) This suggests a question that may have been asked herepreviously, but I'd like to follow up on it once again: Accepting that you do believe that God exists, {why} do you believe that God exists? I've asked people this in non-LUGNET life, and (...) (21 years ago, 28-Oct-03, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

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