Religion and Origins

The Marriage Feast at Cana (1672) by Barolomé Esteban Murillo

As a forward to the thoughts on this page, I guess I am what they call agnostic but not in the strictest sense. I lived as a Christian for many years but my thinking has changed in the last few years. I still believe in 'God' but I don't necessarily believe that everything in the Bible is 'God inspired'. The Bible is not one book written by one man. The Bible is a collection of 66 separate writings written by 40 plus authors thousands of years ago. It was written by different people disconnected from each other by hundreds of years in foreign lands, foreign cultures and foreign languages. It's been copied and recopied, the originals long gone. There's no way to prove what really happened and what was made up. Today, I see all the 'fake news' and 'disinformation' or 'misinformation' on the internet. I see religious extremists making wild claims in various religions including Christianity. Do I really think that mankind was that much different thousands of years ago when the Bible was written to what they are today? Like they say, don't believe everything you read. But, even so, I still feel that God has come through for me in several hard times in my life when I reached out to him. The 'Golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you' is basically all you need from the Bible. I've discovered this same sentiment is present in many of the world religions in one form or another. Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Sikhism, Unitarianism, Native Spirituality, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Judaism, Islam, Baha'i Faith. Moving on, I find the immensity of our universe fascinating. I don't know, maybe the universe is the very substance of God...

Musings

21. It's like, the universe is testing us to see exactly how many wild claims we will believe. Do we really believe that the earth is flat? (not me) Do we really believe the Nazis killed 6 million Jews? (yes) Yet, there are people who truly believe the earth is flat, that the holocaust really didn't happen, that we really didn't go to the moon, etc. So what causes us to believe or disbelieve? Isn't belief generally based on data? I used to believe without question every word in the Bible. Not anymore, because I received new data. Data I wish I had from the beginning. There are hundreds of creation accounts in the world with absurd unbelievable stories. Including, the bible. Think about it. So, what about the reliability of the bible? There appears to be pros and cons. In the New Testament, there are several stories that are repeated in different accounts of the Jesus narrative. Critics say that they contradict each other. Some of the stories do vary in their details and descriptions but isn't that to be expected? To a certain degree, yes, humans are subject to honest mistakes. But, there are more and more bible scholars coming out and revealing serious problems with the text of the bible. I've read them and they are not to be ignored. Anyone who ignores them has to twist their way through the bible to make it make sense. Critics say there is very little outside sources that confirm the bible. But on the pro side, the bible itself is not one source. It is a collection of sources. For example, the four gospels were written by different people at different times and places. That's just four of several different sources about the man Jesus. That's not counting the outside source of Josephus. In short, the bible is definitely an enigma with issues, but, I wouldn't totally discount it. We don't totally discount the internet even though it's full of disinformation, misinformation and outright made up stories. We have to use common sense on the internet, maybe the same with the bible?
Oct 30. 2024

20. Thoughts on John 2:23 - Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. - It's ironical, the bible which was written by man says that its main protagonist doesn't even entrust himself to the very people writing about him. Why then should we? Why should we entrust ourselves to a dialogue written thousands of years ago by people we don't even know? The bible has been shown to be contradictory in it's stories, words, theology and doctrine by biblical scholars. Not claiming that it's all false or fake, but maybe one should take some of it with a grain of salt? There are several other ancient religions to choose from, what makes the religion from the bible better than the others?
Oct 21, 2024

19. I've said before, the idea that anything exists doesn't make a lick of sense to me. The only thing that makes sense is nothingless. Nothingless, I can explain. Which is kind of an oxymoron. Because I myself am more than nothingless, yet nothingless makes sense to me. Our brains deduce things from logic. We wake up and there is light shining through our windows. We logically deduce that it's morning. We logically deduce everything from patterns. But to logically deduce where everything came from is impossible. Existence is impossible. Yet here everything is. I didn't ask to gain consciousness. Which is kind of a stupid thing to say, seeing how before I was conscious, I wasn't even conscious to ask for consciousness. So why did I pop into existence? An unconscious nothing becomes a conscious something. Nothingless, I can explain. This, I cannot.
10/12/2024

18. According to the Bible Jesus was trying to get the Jews to think outside of the box, outside of the rules and dogmas they created with their religion. Seems that we're always putting ourselves in a box. The Bible itself is a box created by arguing men trying to decide, according to their beliefs, which of the many writings floating around should go in the box and which to throw out. That same box though, says that even Jesus didn't entrust himself to any man (John 2:24). So, why should I entrust myself to a group of cranky old men telling me which writings are legit and which are not?
9/1/2024

17. Back when I was living my life going to my church I remember reading different things about how other religions were wrong. Even how other Christian denominations were wrong. It made me feel good about how I was in the correct place. That somehow I had the right belief system. I remember reading a story about how a Muslim 'saw the light' and converted to Christianity. What it must be like to live your whole life believing a certain way and then realizing it's all been a lie. Right...
8/24/2024

16. Not only has the universe brought me into existence, it's given me things to occupy my time with. For example, a couple of days ago I woke up to a flooded basement. There was about 4 inches of standing water in the basement which also shut down my gas water heater, so, no hot water. I tried in vain with a plumber's snake to unblock the blockage. This was on a Sunday, so all the plumbing services were closed or unavailable. I was afraid to run any water for fear it would just end up in the mess in the basement. In the end, it was an adventurous couple of days until we finally got the problem fixed. But this is a perfect example of things that happen in life that represent living. Refer back to number 1.
08/06/2024

15. Are we god? Am I god? What's the definition of god? I woke up one day and here I am. Is that how god came into being? I don't know, I think I came to the realization that I just believe in God. I can't prove he exists, he hasn't spoken audibly in my ears, he hasn't just 'appeared' to me out of nowhere. But for other reasons, I believe. I can't 'see' electricity or wind or magnetism, but I see the effects of them.
7/25/2024

14. I've found myself coming into consciousness in this human body. My question is could I have found myself coming into consciousness in any other form, such as an animal. I'm assuming that I could have become conscious in any other human form. I wouldn't think that what I look like has anything to do with my consciousness. But, it does make me wonder, why did my consciousness materialize in this present body? Why not appear in the body from the family of an African tribal community, or in contrast, to the family of wealthy aristocrats. Was there an intentional purpose?
7/20/2024

13. I'm not the one in control of the planet I'm on. I didn't build any of this. In fact, I'm not even in control of myself. I've been under someone else's control ever since I was born. All my life someone has told me what to do, what to think, where to go, how hard and fast, how high and when. And up to this point, I've just accepted it without really thinking about it. It has just been my life. I mean, who am I? I don't have the answer to all the world problems. Even when I'm dealing with everyday situations, many times I find myself praying to a God that I can't prove exists. How do I do this? How do I answer this person? What should I do today? Etc. I am like a robot requesting instructions.
7/14/2024

12. Let's say that the inventors invented devices that made life so easy that we didn't have to do anything physical again. It used to be that in order to wash our clothes that we had to scrub them by hand, rinse them by hand, wring them out and then hang them to dry. Then they invented the washing machine and automatic dryer that took a lot of the physical exertion out of it. We have vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, etc. We have automobiles, planes, trucks, tractors, etc. We have cell phones, giant tvs, computers, etc. As time passes we get more and more gadgets to make our like easier. And each year all these gadgets become more and more improved. So, when does it stop? Let's say they finally cured cancer, and all diseases. Let's say we don't have to work anymore because they've discovered free energy, free food, free everything. Isn't this supposedly the goal of mankind? To make it so we don't have to do anything? But isn't the act of living require doing all these things?
7/11/2024

11.People look for something in this life to bring meaning, excitement, contentment, security, pleasure.
7/9/2024

10. I suppose one would think in order to find out how this world started, one would look to the 'elders' or recorded history. Most people are gradually given information on their 'origins' as they grow from a newborn to an adult. But as already mentioned, depending on what part of the world you were born in, you will get various explanations. So, who is correct? Is there even a correct answer?
7/7/2024

9.You know, I didn't ask for this. I mean, I didn't ask to come into existence, to come into consciousness. I just 'woke up' and here I am. One might say, well, if you don't like it, just end yourself. That's the thing, though, it's not that I don't like it, I'm just trying to make sense of it, now that I'm here. Is there a grand purpose to all of this? I mean, I'm here, so apparently I'm supposed to be here, or, to think of it another way, I belong here.
7/5/2024

8. For whatever reason, here I am. A consciousness in human form existing on planet earth. I can only identify with my own consciousness. I can't identify with someone else's consciousness, I'm not 'inside their head'. I can't read their thoughts. As far as that goes, I don't know if there really is another consciousness existing in 'their head'. It could just be a biological computer program running in there but no real 'consciousness'. I mean, do animals have consciousness? Are they aware of their existence, have feelings and emotions? Some animals we keep as pets and they seem to exhibit human like qualities, like a dog. Yet some cultures eat dogs. Most of the world eat cows, pigs, chickens, fish. Do any of these 'lower forms' of life have consciousness? Why is this world so cannibalistic?
7/3/2024

7. What is a belief? If a society believes something, does it mean that it is true? For that matter, what is truth?
7/2/2024

6. I've found myself coming into existence as a human in a world of complex, multifaceted societies of temporary living beings. A world of past civilizations long gone leaving only traces of their existence. A world presenting many explanations for it's existence, yet many contradicting each other. A world with not one universally accepted belief for its origins.
7/2/2024

5. Or is it as the evolutionists say, there's no meaning to life. But, how can that be? Everything seems to have a meaning or purpose. The bees pollinate the flowers. The flowers give food to the bees. The bees give food to humans. The trees make oxygen for the animals. The animals spread the seeds. On and on and on. If everything created has a purpose even if it's a hidden purpose, then there must have been a purpose for everything to be created, to come into existence. Our goal, apparently, is to figure out what that purpose is....
6/30/2024

4. Or how about, what's the sense in being alive unless life is interesting? What makes life interesting? Observing nature, meeting new interesting people, helping someone solve a problem, solving the mysteries of ancient long gone civilizations?
6/30/2024

3. Again, what's the purpose of being alive unless there is some kind of noble purpose? Not some mundane purpose, but a 'glorious' wonderful purpose. What would be considered a glorious purpose? To help someone who is down? To just be there for someone who needs companionship or a friend? To live life to it's fullest enjoying special moments? Bringing peace to a world at war? Is that why we have war? To bring a reason for living?
6/29/2024

2. Why did the universe put us here? To discover itself? To understand life? To enjoy life? We're put here with our 5 senses to interface with the environment around us. Sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. That and a thinking brain. What are we learning?
6/29/2024

1. What's the point of being alive unless there is some kind of purpose? Some kind of glorious purpose. Why do we exist in this universe of endless problems? Yet, if there were no problems, then what would we do? What is the definition of existing?
6/29/2024

Comments:

-----