|
|
|
|
Sparked by something Silfer quoted in a previous thread - "The mode of the religious is faith; the mode of the mystic is expirience "
My background is scientific, including a scientific study of human evolution and cultures (ie anthropology) at Uni. This has specifically included the study of theories of religion in a social context. But I have had, throughout my life life, certain experiences which could broadly be called mystical. the earliest I remember was aged five, the most recent aged around 45. Probably less than a dozen such experiences all told.
So I find myself in rather the position of someone who has seen a Yeti (Bigfoot, whatever)a few times at the bottom of the garden. While I can intellectually concede that I may have been mistakened, and that there may be other explanations, I don't actually believe this to be the case. My (occasional) sporadic attendance at Christian churches is a bit like leaving food out for the Yeti - I don't know what it eats, but some books say such-and-such, and it feels right to me .... but actually I have no ideas what Yetis eat, what makes a Yeti happy or unhappy ...
And if it's been several years since I last "saw a Yeti" the memory of the experience dims, and I rely on a faith in my memory of a memory of the experience when I assert the reality of the Yeti ... for me, that's what faith is.
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. ... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night devoid of stars." Martin Luther King
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Faith, mysticism, and Yeti's
By: NW on Fri, 24 March 2006 00:27 |
|
|
Re: Faith, mysticism, and Yeti's
By: Silfer on Fri, 24 March 2006 01:34 |
|
|
Mysticism, magic and morality
By: Deeej on Fri, 24 March 2006 01:51 |
|
|
All just part of the path.
By: cossie on Fri, 24 March 2006 02:42 |
|
|
Ghosts, ghouls and things that go bump in the night
By: Deeej on Fri, 24 March 2006 12:16 |
|
|
There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio ...
By: cossie on Sat, 25 March 2006 02:02 |
|
|
Bishop Ken and the mysterious fishy smell
By: Deeej on Sat, 25 March 2006 02:40 |
|
|
Always thought there was something fishy ...
By: cossie on Sat, 25 March 2006 03:14 |
|
|
... about Winchester!
By: cossie on Sat, 25 March 2006 03:26 |
|
|
Re: There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio ...
By: marc on Sat, 25 March 2006 02:41 |
|
|
Interesting
By: Deeej on Sat, 25 March 2006 02:55 |
|
|
Re: Interesting
|
|
|
Deeej, I've been thinking about your comments ...
By: cossie on Tue, 28 March 2006 00:57 |
|
|
Getting older
By: Deeej on Tue, 28 March 2006 15:53 |
|
|
Geez, I'm not THAT old!
By: cossie on Wed, 29 March 2006 01:19 |
|
|
Anything over 25 is positively ancient!
By: Deeej on Wed, 29 March 2006 01:35 |
|
|
Yikes, an oxymoron!
By: cossie on Wed, 29 March 2006 01:47 |
|
|
Gordon Bennett, Cossie!
By: Deeej on Wed, 29 March 2006 02:06 |
|
|
Re: Gordon Bennett, Cossie!
By: Deeej on Wed, 29 March 2006 02:26 |
|
|
If it please your worship ....
By: cossie on Wed, 29 March 2006 02:54 |
|
|
I don't mean to argue, but...
By: Deeej on Wed, 29 March 2006 03:38 |
|
|
Eek!
By: cossie on Wed, 29 March 2006 03:46 |
|
|
Oxymoron
By: Deeej on Wed, 29 March 2006 15:56 |
|
|
Falsifiable
By: Deeej on Wed, 29 March 2006 16:15 |
|
|
Re: I don't mean to argue, but...
By: Deeej on Wed, 29 March 2006 03:51 |
|
|
Answering the three posts above in reverse order ...
By: cossie on Wed, 29 March 2006 23:14 |
|
|
Fair enough
By: Deeej on Wed, 29 March 2006 23:49 |
|
|
What were we talking about?
By: cossie on Thu, 30 March 2006 00:14 |
|
|
How to display 8)
By: nick on Wed, 29 March 2006 19:28 |
|
|
Re: Yikes, an oxymoron!
|
Goto Forum:
[  ] |
A Place of Safety
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
