Freeze-dried, like a new religion

[etcet]

In the fine spirit of L. Ron Hubbard, the Pentecostals, and Aleister Crowley, I'm here today to start a new religion. Fortunately for everyone involved (all none of them), there are no silly initiations, hidden costs, or even tax loopholes. No, this is much more insidious.

Everyone Think.Honestly, I think one of my biggest stumbling blocks to

Comments

[trystbat]

Yep, that's an impossible approach alright! You underestimate the human desire to belong, be part of a group. It can go sheepy or it can be self-affirming. Either way, most ppl want to share some commonality with others, whether it's a belief in a certain religious system or a shared passion for stompy music & black clothes.

There's a deep comfort in similarity. Maybe it's genetic. Dunno where it comes from, but I know that it's a huge, overriding concern of pretty much all ppl all over the world (& it has caused the vast majority of the world's problems too -- so fix *that* & we'll be set ;-).

Because . . .

[deansavatar]

before anything else we were tribal people, and that is where we descended from.

Re: Because . . .

[etcet]

mighty_man puts it thusly:

"I'm on the same team as everyone else - my own."

[etcet]

I do agree with you here, and trying to move from "We are XXXXX-ists" to "We're sharing our own personal happiness with others who have" is tricky.

But I wonder - if you see someone who has achieved peace and joy, would you want to understand how they did it, so maybe you could, too? Not just mimic what they did, but find your own?

[helcat]

BTW: I was wondering if regulation hats and scarves and things will be part of this whole talking for free thing.

[etcet]

*blink, blink*

I'm going to sit here quietly and completely not get the reference.

[helcat]

Well, points to the first person who does, then!!!

[yokes1971]

I'm in as long as there are no aerobics involved. as a recovering rc I look for religions that dont require too much exercise.

Oh and there has to be beer and hockey or I am out.

[etcet]

You can buy beer; as far as hockey, you might need to take the beatdown to Bettman & Co.

[bynner]

It's an interesting idea, but the trouble with let-everyone-make-up-whatever-suits-their-personal-idiosyncrasies runs counter to the let-objective-standards-and-peer-review philosophy we use to establish what is "true" or "accurate" in scientific arenas. If you tell people they must use one method to reliably establish truth in areas A, B, C... through ZZZZZZ. They will want to apply a similar system to Area ZZZZZZ+1... God. Otherwise, you're asking them to admit that their "Divine Truth" is no truth at all, but pure sophistry, which will annoy the fuck out of them... then you'll go straight back to war. Not that there aren't probably some middle-grounds we could find that are better (<-- that term, itself, being subject to considerable debate).

[etcet]

Religion is not science; this allows people to not have one color the other if they don't want to.

Feel like being a strict rationalist? Groovy - search out divinity within yourself, or in the physics of the universe. Feel like being a goddamned hippy? That's fine, too - if divinity bubbles up through some cloudy water with a lighter nearby for you, go with it.

Otherwise, you're asking them to admit that their "Divine Truth" is no truth at all, but pure sophistry, which will annoy the fuck out of them...

Bynner, I already do. *laughs happily*

[roaster]

Well my religion will have many dogs in it, it will be a holy sacrement to take a dog for a walk. Treeing a squirrel will indicate a day of rest, or maybe a trip to the beach. Anyopne who don't like dogs will be named as an apostate and have to make do with Cats and or Gerbils. I may also try to work Weasels into it as well as it can be scientifically proven that Weasels are the best. Or maybe Meercats, no its got to be Weasels.

It does make sense, if you have shared any space with a Welsh Border Collie, and then you Deifiy them and cast them in the role of supreme creator, it makes you understand why the universe is so bloody mental.

Come on lets do something with sticks!

[etcet]

"Humans provide all of their pet's needs. This makes dogs believe them to be gods, while cats see it as proof that they are."

[roaster]

Because of my recent convertion to the religion of 'Canis Familiaris' I can now point at you and scream - 'BLASPHEMER!!!'

On a more serious note I think you were talking down the Gnostic route. I think this was an internalized view of religion, I'm not sure but tI think the Cathars were a Gnostic sect. I'd pick the brains of cavalorn on this one he knows muchly about it.

gnosticism

n : a religious orientation advocating gnosis as the way to release a person's spiritual element; considered heresy by Christian churches [syn: Gnosticism]

gno·sis ( P )
n.
Intuitive apprehension of spiritual truths, an esoteric form of knowledge sought by the Gnostics

[etcet]

It is a tad like that, though if "spiritual element" for $Person is their understanding of Jesus and/or Big G, that's not discounted.

I don't think conscious divinity would always be intuitive; I fully expect that introspection and self-examination, as well as observation of the world/universe at large, are things that would take some pretty heavy contemplation for a lot of folks.

Once you've approached [general "you" here] your own personal take on divinity, though, you might be able to more intuitively react to situations based on it. . . . like learning balance as part of studying dance - if someone throws a baby at you, you'll be better equipped to catch it, though it's not part of your established training.