I didn’t ask why people adopt gods. I asked why they would adopt this particular “naturalistic god” at this time. Considering that they either already have a god or they are drifting towards atheism, there appear to be no good reasons for such a move. What would such a god offer them?
Education about the fragility of natural ecosystem in which we are immersed is warranted. No one wishes to see our grandchildren deprived of clean air and clean water. No one wishes to see the future wasteland so many intelligent people have predicted is our future. If we do not learn our place in nature, we will die from preferred ignorance.
“That’s fine” because you agree with me or because you feel that I am entitled to my opinion though it may not be yours insofar as my definition of worship with reference to the gosling?
Whether we are speaking of someone’s feelings/estimation of their God or of their loved one, that kind of an experience is a transcendent one, saved only for those who they “see” in that way.
I suppose that if we all felt and went along with that “should” of his, many animals would not have been saved nor fought for (neither on the street nor globally). Perhaps “worship” is not such a good word to use. Perhaps what we experience is empathy and a strong connection with other species.
Well, I am not so sure about that. I suppose that it would depend on the individual him/her self and how mature the relationship is with God. I tend to think that it might not be too much different actually. How do we know that to our pet, our animal companion, we are not as much of a deity to them in their eyes as a God is to a human being? I do not mean this as an insult. Do animals and humans not share some of the same emotions? Are we not all creatures who yearn to be loved and to love, to feel protected and secure?
Would you agree with me that some adults who worship their God do so more out of a need for protection, hence the words “all-powerful” and Almighty"? Might our animal friends feel the same way about us?
True and if to be believed, a few humans were raised by animals.
“That’s fine” because you agree with me or because you feel that I am entitled to my opinion though it may not be yours insofar as my definition of worship with reference to the gosling?
Whether we are speaking of someone’s feelings/estimation of their God or of their loved one, that kind of an experience is a transcendent one, saved only for those who they “see” in that way.
I suppose that if we all felt and went along with that “should” of his, many animals would not have been saved nor fought for (neither on the street nor globally). Perhaps “worship” is not such a good word to use. Perhaps what we experience is empathy and a strong connection with other species.
Well, I am not so sure about that. I suppose that it would depend on the individual him/her self and how mature the relationship is with God. I tend to think that it might not be too much different actually. How do we know that to our pet, our animal companion, we are not as much of a deity to them in their eyes as a God is to a human being? I do not mean this as an insult. Do animals and humans not share some of the same emotions? Are we not all creatures who yearn to be loved and to love, to feel protected and secure?
Would you agree with me that some adults who worship their God do so more out of a need for protection, hence the words “all-powerful” and Almighty"? Might our animal friends feel the same way about us?
True and if to be believed, a few humans were raised by animals.
The future world will be either green—pro life or brown—decaying. If we choose lucre over life, we have no one to blame for our impending demise but ourselves. It behooves those who care about the Earth to challenge the current trends of devolution. It is not enough to disavow the myths that brought us to this place; a new and more Earth friendly view of religion is needed.
A religion that was intended to protect the earth would be fighting the huge disconnect implict or open in some many current beliefs. Our bodies feel better in nature - as long as we are dressed right for the conditions, have food, etc. Stress hormones drop. We think better. If people coudl actually feel themselves the value would come from their own self-experience, no need for a system of beliefs. But there is so little saying it is even OK to feel yourself.
Very true. Belief would have to become a sharing of felt experiences. Many who claim to be atheists or agnostics have experienced the at-one-ness Nature offers. I think some folks have tried with “Utopian” societies, such as Gasken’ Farm in Tennessee-- have tried to get back the open welcome Nature has for all.
Last I heard the Farm is still operating. But such attempts do not fare well alongside the majority’s craving for more and improved things.
A small start in teaching ecosystems in schools might be all we can do until some disaster awakens us from our possessive slumber.
It not enough to condemn those mindsets that keep humans separate from Nature and from each other. We must introduce challenging new visions of our place in the universe. Old myths will have to be let go as new, rational and spiritual insights are born. The new insights will have to include the latest scientific understandings.
what’s your waste ratio, your carbon foot print. I’m sitting on a hundred poundz of plate glass cause there is now where to recycle it.
What’s it going to cost to dispose of all the LED lights that are all the rage?
Give me an old incandescent bulb. Sure they didn’t last long, but they didn’t involve mercury like phosphorescent tech did and they crushed down to next to nothing compared to the ballasting required of that tech.
Yeah buy LED, it will last longer then we have figured out what to do with it as waste?
Products need to be designed with respect to the entire life cycle, which includes disposal. That means they need to be easily dismantled into parts that are recycled, burned and handled as toxic waste.
Currently the only considerations are cheap manufacture and function. Almost nobody is thinking about what happens at the end of a product’s life.
A major obstacle is even recognizing that we have a problem … that we can’t go on doing what we have been doing for decades.
That was tried in the past but when people saw science taking over, it scared them into fundamentalism and literal reading of myths. IOWs, it scared them into stupidity.
The next time intelligence raises it’s head in fundamental literalist religions, it should be the last time as the majority, even today, who claim an affiliation to a religion are known by their attendance record to be lying en mass.
I would not pick a return to the older lighting as their electric use is higher and that means a larger carbon fooyprint to light the billions of bulbs. That is a guess on my part but an educated guess.
A great cause for you would be cows. Watch the documentary — Cowspiracy and see why.