Yes, I agree GG. Thanks for starting this thread.
I'm grateful for this forum, and for the minds who are contributing and sharing their knowledge. Wow..... what a real goldmine.
In my life, I have never been presented with an opporunity to communicate like this with secularists on such a grand scale. They just don't meet at the corner building in droves on Sunday.
Though I consider myself spiritual (not religious) and don't "believe in" a theological god, I have made an effort to explore different spiritual paths, only to kind of end up with a lot of clutter that needs clearing out. This is a fabulous forum to pare down, and really examine the beliefs I formed from a young age, without adding to them with yet more spiritual viewpoints. It can get confusing. I have spent well into the hundreds on books exploring spirituality, mostly earth-based, and they just collect dust (though I
have read them).
I have so many ideas and questions to present on this forum that I can't quite keep up with them!
I don't have any grudges against organized religion, though I realize there may be atheists/secularists who do, perhaps stemming from negative experiences. I hope these folks are viewed with tolerance, because I think some viewpoints may wrongly be perceived as bashing. I imagine there are Christians who view secularists with a lot of disdain through negative experiences also. Let's face it; atheists have generally gotten a bad rap and faced a lot of prejudice, among Christians and non-Christians as well. So there's bound to be some commentary along those lines (and I imagine the lines will get pretty fine at that). But this is an intelligent lot, and hopefully this will be an enlightening experience for all.
Good stuff (and keep it comin')!
