Sartre, Camus and All Things Non-Religious

[Alexis_US]

Cloud: Excellent question! Too bad I have to get up early and am exhausted! I hope to answer soon...
Let me just say that the Voltaire quote would be in line with the Marx "opiate of the masses" concept. The idea being that society cannot contain itsself and prevent revolution without something to make the people believe that whatever lemons the world throws them, they may as well start squeezing them and maybe one day they will get to drink that tall cool glass of lemonade in heaven. Instead of throwing the lemons at the heads of the ruling class.
More Socialist soapboxing later...
A

I must be "SOL," cause I can't quote anybody, and even if I read something that some great mind wrote, my mind wouldn't let me remember it. So, I guess I'll just have to write, in my own words.
My question was about spirtuality and if non-believers, believed in such. I'm not interested in what Marx or Jung have to say on the matter, or Voltaire (sorry Cloud).
If you believe in a connectedness with the universe, then you believe in something. That's my question.

Hi, Becca,
I cant speak for all non-believers, just for myself.
I DO believe in some sort of spirituality.
I've always had someone with me and spoken to them right from when i was a little Catholic. Turning my back on Catholicism has not lost me my 'friend'.
You could think i'm talking to myself?
LOL....ah even answer masel so next thing could be the wee grey van?

Back to being serious...yes, i believe in sprituality and am happy in that belief and in trying to Do the best and Be the best i can without worrying about ritual!

[Alexis_US]

I'm sorry, Becca. I'll try not to avoid quotes, except maybe at the end of postings, just for fun! I was trying to answer you question before, and I guess it didn't come out too clear (all those damn quotes, I'm guessing ;-) )
I do believe in a connectedness of all things on this planet, so in that definiton, I guess I do have some belief in a power outside myself. What I was trying to say before was that I don't believe in ORGANIZED religion, dogma, that kind of thing. I feel like religion has a lot to do with thought control. Maybe it hasn't always been that way, and maybe it has future potential to come away from that, but as it is now, I feel it is very limiting to spirituality.
I hope that is clearer and again I am sorry if it was turning into Quote Fest 2000, Part II. I don't mean to hide behind someone else's words, but I also felt that some of the writings of Marx and Jung (what a combo!) accurately described the process I have gone through tho get to where my feelings and beliefs are today. I realize now that that may have come off as pompous or haughty, like I was trying to prove that I was some big smarty pants, which I am not.

[pudding450]

Hello everyone, I believe in myself and others.
Puding

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pudding

so put on a happy face....

[Liv]

Hi everyone.
First i want to say , that it doesn't matter how many people you can quote if you can't quote yourself so to say.
i have for a long time considered the bible to be a myth, with historical facts, as the tales of Homer, and i do allso believe that through history , the main reason of believeing in God , was fear.Fear of disease, fear of death, fear of oneself.
I could and wount call the people who believe otherwise than me ignorant, but i do mean that many peopke use religion in ignorant ways, instead of thinking up their own answers some belive only in what the bible has to say, and how is that possoble when the bible was only written by man, and you know how untrustworthy man can be.!!!
People can't stand the idea of dying with no purpose, they can't stand that they come from nothing and will go back to nothing, therefore they get afraid and start creating meaning, they struggle their hole life to find a meaning and answers, and that is, bascily, why God was created.Or to say it in my own way, the idea of God.
When i read the bible or the work of religious persons i never take it litarally, even though it is meant to be so, because there is a lot of lovely symbolism in these things, like in many other religions.
I believe that a man who does not belive in anything is lost, i do not believe there is no such thing as an happy atheist, you have to belive in something, call it hope, call it dreams, it doesn't matter.Hereby i do not mean a religion, but more to believe for instance,in nature, in yourself, in people among you, all sorts of different things, but the thing is in my way of believing, i do not have essential answers, and my answers are perhaps only my answera and just mine, but that's alltight, we are different all of us, so why shouldn't we believe in different things.Offcourse i read some philosophy, i do not think we are born with answers, all the one's we create , are really the work of someone else, perhaps 3 philosophers's idea's can make me think , and create my very own idea.
I believe there is a lot of different reality, i can lookj at a tree, and another can look at the exact same three, but the thords in our head are different, and therefor the image may be aswell.
If you can imagine that all people have a circel around them, that contain their very own material of bveing what they are.Then these circles can penetrate each other a little bit, and people can learn from each other, litterally, feel each other.It's always hard to explain what's in my head, but i often speak methaforicly, like the mind is a lake, (i'm getting a little muschi here):-)the stone's you drop in a lake will spread rings, and the very stone will lie on the bottom forever, now what do you think i mean by that...*S*tell me...
Maria

[Liv]

sorry, my spelling is absolutely horrible, i was in a hurry, will try to make up for it another time...
embarresed greetings from Maria.