| Jun 7 @ 3:31 PM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion.
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burnslikethesun
Posts: 9,609
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Is what?
Which to follow or how to attain?
Where is there a balance? Is a balance even needed?
I think I got a knot in my shoe lace. 
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| Sep 4 @ 9:32 PM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion. |
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Loreli
Posts: 20,319
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IMO, religion is labeling faith in something.
Spiritualism is not necessarily put into separate categies....just one big one.
I think knots or sail can help you more 
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| Sep 5 @ 8:25 AM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion.
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yashaenka
Posts: 4,639
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It is true that spiritualism presumably provided proof of the sorts of claims made by traditional Christianity for centuries, but this does not meant that Christian leaders eagerly welcomed it. Quite the contrary, actually — although a few certainly involved themselves with the spiritualist movements, this was often as a result of attempting to contact loved ones they had recently lost.
On a professional level, most religious leaders condemned the spiritualists, accusing them of being in communication with demons in contravention to biblical commands. There was much more going on than a simple case of breaking some traditional religious rules, though. Spiritualists were posing a fundamental challenge to traditional authorities, religious, political and social. http://atheism.about.com/od/parapsychology/a/religion.htm
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| Sep 5 @ 9:22 AM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion. |
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Thor1960303
Posts: 1,887
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Burns, do you mean the difference between being spiritual and being religious? Spiritualism is a branch of Christianity that believes in communication with the dead and psychic phenomena.
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| Sep 5 @ 9:39 AM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion.
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sail_dancer
Posts: 8,601
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Burns,
Both spiritualism and religion deal with life's unknow mysteries. My concept of spirituality is the search for answers related to these unknown mysteries. Basically attempting to formulate ideas of the unknown which hopefully will manifest into positive effects on mankind in general. I think that those considering themselves spiritualists are independent thinkers that define their own path.
Religion, however, is like a chain of MacDonalds restaurants. Every restaurant having the same menu and building design. Same specials and give aways. The same ads claiming that their food is the "best".
Religion indoctrinates its members with what they "must" believe. Individual searching for answers, outside the dogma box of the religion, is frowned upon and considered blasphemous. Religion is designed to control people and tell them what to believe. Members must adhere to the truths provided by the religion, not truths gained through a members search and the wisdom gained by questioning the many mysteries of life.
Peace
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| Sep 5 @ 10:04 AM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion. |
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yashaenka
Posts: 4,639
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Spiritualism is like a thirsty man seeking water outside of himself only to find the more he pursues anything outside himself, he always ends up right where he started, himself.
Religion in all Monotheistic forms is simply redressing the same ole doll in new clothing by using olden myths to perpetuate the insanity of man made theories.
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| Sep 5 @ 10:06 AM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion.
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Aeromuse
Posts: 2,820
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I totally agree with sail.
Being spiritual takes a lot of work. It's an ongoing process of seeking, learning, and digesting. With religion it's pretty much already all spelled out for you(dogma). I'm not saying that the two never intersect, as I do know conventionally religious people who are also deeply spiritual. But in general, spiritual people seek their own way, while religious people are happy to adhere to the findings of others.
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| Sep 5 @ 10:22 AM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion. |
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sail_dancer
Posts: 8,601
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I'm not saying that the two never intersect, as I do know conventionally religious people who are also deeply spiritual. But in general, spiritual people seek their own way, while religious people are happy to adhere to the findings of others. Muse 
Peace
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| Sep 5 @ 10:35 AM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion.
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hammertime
Posts: 14,071
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I consider all beings spiritual but like religion spirituality is vaguely defined. We need to be clear to define what it is and not mistake this with the Spiritualists movement where mediums communicating with the dead were all over the place. Harry Houdini spent a lot of time debunking their garbage.
I consider reality and its apprehension and comprehension to be a spiritual pursuit and that actually falls in line with Buddhist/Taoist principles. The whole thing gets damaged when unfounded, unsupported, unverifiable beliefs get shoved into the spiritual paradigm. That is, ghosts, goblins, Ouija boards, elves, spells, magic and the wide range of mental aberrations many "spiritual" people consider religious experiences. A hallucination is not a spiritual experience because its not about growth, its about decay.
So there must be some method or methods as addressed in epistemology in finding truth, acquiring knowledge and perceiving reality. Its a lifelong pursuit and a journey that never ends. For this reason I relate to a statement Bishop Spong says...
"The idea that the truth of God can be bound in any human system, by any human creed, by any human book, is almost beyond imagination for me. God is not a Christian. God is not a Jew or Muslim or Hindu, a Buddhist. All of those are human systems, which human beings have created to try to help us walk into the mystery of God. I honor my tradition, I walk through my tradition, but I don't believe my tradition defines God. I think it only points me to God."
I keep reading that statement and each time "get it" a bit more. Bishop Spong is obviously an enlightened man.
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| Sep 5 @ 11:29 AM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion. |
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sail_dancer
Posts: 8,601
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So there must be some method or methods as addressed in epistemology in finding truth, acquiring knowledge and perceiving reality. Its a lifelong pursuit and a journey that never ends. For this reason I relate to a statement Bishop Spong says...
"The idea that the truth of God can be bound in any human system, by any human creed, by any human book, is almost beyond imagination for me. God is not a Christian. God is not a Jew or Muslim or Hindu, a Buddhist. All of those are human systems, which human beings have created to try to help us walk into the mystery of God. I honor my tradition, I walk through my tradition, but I don't believe my tradition defines God. I think it only points me to God."
I keep reading that statement and each time "get it" a bit more. Bishop Spong is obviously an enlightened man. People have to realize that Bishop Spong never says that he has all the answers. He basically tells us to use our minds and follow a path that leads to peace and love for all mankind. If something does not lead to all of us being loving humans, it is off the path and should be ignored.
Peace
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| Sep 5 @ 11:32 AM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion.
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16knots
Posts: 3,627
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Sail
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| Sep 5 @ 11:38 AM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion. |
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hammertime
Posts: 14,071
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People have to realize that Bishop Spong never says that he has all the answers. No enlightened individual ever would. No teacher ever would. No system. No anything of value ever would say it as all the answers. Run like hell when someone does.
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| Sep 5 @ 6:04 PM |
Of the difference between Spiritualism & Religion.
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burnslikethesun
Posts: 9,609
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