28 Apr 06
1 edit
Originally posted by lucifershammerI don't see anything contradictory in the term "secular spirituality". Perhaps you should buy an English dictionary.
"Secular spirituality" - LOL!
From the Merriam-Webster on-line one: Secular
1 a : of or relating to the worldly or temporal b : not overtly or specifically religious c : not ecclesiastical or clerical
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/secular
28 Apr 06
Originally posted by lucifershammerLet me give it a try. Some years ago when I was training as a massage therapist we were required to do practice massages on people. I remember approaching a woman I knew in my church that had back problems. She said she would "never let a man touch her." I found this to be quite ironic in that we attended the same church and would hear the same biblical stories of Jesus healing with the power and sensitivity of his "touch." Yet, for her, there was a disconnect between the hearing of the biblical stories and her willingness to experience an in the now experience. But this experience was a pivotal point in my training. I did a lengthy research project where I questioned people from a variety of religious traditions, including more secular understandings of the human condition. What I found out was that people who attended church were more likely to 1) sexualize massage therapy and 2) more likely to have lower self-esteem. Ironically, those who engaged in massage therapy were more likely to have a more well thought out theology and had better self-esteem and body image. I think this could be considered a "secular theology."
Why don't you define the term 'secular spirituality' for poor religious ignoramuses like me, then?
I guess I should also add that those on the more conservative and fundamentalist end of the spectrum were more likely to see human nature as bad as well as the physical body being "bad."
28 Apr 06
Originally posted by CodfishWe've been through this before.
I simply don't understand what the term 'Spirituality' means in the context of a secular belief system.
Spirituality means many things to many people. I consider some things in my life to be spiritual - yet I'm an atheist.
My experience of love for my wife and kids would be one.
My sense of wonder at the world when I'm in natural environments is another.
My sense of insignificance in the universe when I watch stars in the sky at night is yet another.
The religious will argue for the existence of God in or behind these feelings. I disagree, but can't I still call them spiritual.
In fact, there are some who use spiritual to describe these feelings and Spiritual (note the capital s) to differentiate these with religious notions.
I'm not much into that, but hey ... whatever takes your fancy.
28 Apr 06
Originally posted by stockenNot exactly.
I think I understand what you're saying but I'm not sure. Secular being anything not religious, so it cannot be part of religious atheism. Right?
I know that 'spirituality' and 'atheism' belong to two different categories of concepts. So, any subsequent qualifier to the two would also belong to two different categories - therefore the two cannot be identical.
28 Apr 06
Originally posted by howardgeeAnyone who uses LOL all the time as he does is ignorant enough without asking the silly questions he does....perhaps his insecurity in his lack of knowledge makes him want to pick fights with those who have actually got something to say.....Lucifer's hammer? more like Lucifers wet flannel...anyway lets hope he leaves the thread to those who want to discuss secular spirituality!!
He shows his ignorance on every topic except the Catholic church.
And that ain't worth knowing, being a pack of lies.
28 Apr 06
Originally posted by Vladamir no1Lucifer'sStammer sure is pitiful.
Anyone who uses LOL all the time as he does is ignorant enough without asking the silly questions he does....perhaps his insecurity in his lack of knowledge makes him want to pick fights with those who have actually got something to say.....Lucifer's hammer? more like Lucifers wet flannel...anyway lets hope he leaves the thread to those who want to discuss secular spirituality!!
28 Apr 06
Originally posted by Vladamir no1ROFL!
Anyone who uses LOL all the time as he does is ignorant enough without asking the silly questions he does....perhaps his insecurity in his lack of knowledge makes him want to pick fights with those who have actually got something to say.....Lucifer's hammer? more like Lucifers wet flannel...anyway lets hope he leaves the thread to those who want to discuss secular spirituality!!
28 Apr 06
Originally posted by lucifershammerYou really need an English course. How about "American" or "teenage" before the words "spirituality" or "atheism"? Or any of a few thousand others?
Not exactly.
I know that 'spirituality' and 'atheism' belong to two different categories of concepts. So, any subsequent qualifier to the two would also belong to two different categories - therefore the two cannot be identical.
28 Apr 06
1 edit
Originally posted by stockenI have gone over this before. Believing in a spirit world (the strictest case of "spirituality" ) does not necessitate belief in a god. Hence a "New Ager" can feel a "spiritual" connection and still be an atheist. Another example is an atheistic medium who believes in channeling spirits from beyond the dead.
The funny thing about this little thread thus far, is that I believe it was LH who tried to hold up an argument once that atheism is a form of religion. For some reason, spirituality within the same would be ridiculous. 🙄
Not that I think atheism is a religion or spiritual. But I do believe a person can be spiritual (in a sense) and still atheist. Somehow. I haven't really worked that one out. 😕
The supposition that a spirit world requires a god is an application of the same misguided reasoning that a natural world requires a god. Thus, it does not surprise me that so many god(s)-believers mistakenly equate atheism with a lack of belief in anything spiritual.