why do you believe what you believe

[Snoopy]

Originally Posted by greymare

tripitaka........?????I thought that was just Monkeys travelling companion along with pigsy and the other guy. ( If you dont know the tv show Monkey Magic then please ignore this post)(whoooshes off on a cloud)

The tripitaka are the early novels of the Buddha.

s.

[greymare]

no disrespect intended. my bad

[Snoopy]

none to take. ya good!

s.

[Taosaur]

Originally Posted by Operacast

Going by the historical record, the key evolutionary nudges toward wider caring throughout history SEEM tied to countercultural theism? But maybe that's a red herring. Can any of the readers here detect any other "comfort" thread that also runs through the history of pioneering altruists, or is countercultural theism the only one? Please? If you can confirm some consistent thread here, it should be bottled, because I honestly believe that we are staring down the barrel of imminent human extinction today!

This question prompted me to register for CR after lurking a bit

I'll agree that there's an intrinsic reward for altruism of all sorts--witnessing or receiving compassion, but especially acting upon it, eases tension and increases one's sense of connectedness. I would see the theism bonus as coming from the personal aspect of gods--altruism is all about asserting social connection and affirming the social pact, and one's personal deity is the one social connection that's 'always on.' I would expect the same effect from a guru relationship with a human being, including in some instances a close parent relationship.

For me, present humanitarian crises have a lot to do with theism running up against its limits--while it strengthens the impulse to altruism, it also strengthens com|munity in the sense of pooling arms against real and imagined aggressors. I tend to side with Joseph Campbell's assertion that we're in a period of mythogenesis--we need to find and/or be the new reformers bearing spiritual tools more applicable to the situation at hand.

I believe this because I've listened, contemplated, and meditated and found it to hold up

[seattlegal]

Originally Posted by Taosaur

This question prompted me to register for CR after lurking a bit

Welcome, Taosaur!

I'll agree that there's an intrinsic reward for altruism of all sorts--witnessing or receiving compassion, but especially acting upon it, eases tension and increases one's sense of connectedness. I would see the theism bonus as coming from the personal aspect of gods--altruism is all about asserting social connection and affirming the social pact, and one's personal deity is the one social connection that's 'always on.' I would expect the same effect from a guru relationship with a human being, including in some instances a close parent relationship.

That jives with John 14:15-18 and 25-26

15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
<...>
25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

For me, present humanitarian crises have a lot to do with theism running up against its limits--while it strengthens the impulse to altruism, it also strengthens community in the sense of pooling arms against real and imagined aggressors. I tend to side with Joseph Campbell's assertion that we're in a period of mythogenesis--we need to find and/or be the new reformers bearing spiritual tools more applicable to the situation at hand.

The one thing about the communal nature of the Holy Spirit is that it is a great equalizer against man-made hierarchical constructs. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

[Snoopy]

My “beliefs” are simply the current expression of that which simultaneously correlates with and informs my orientation.

s.

[islamis4u]

Belief is what which give us some aim of life if you do not know what to do n what to belief okay a simple question what would our aim then ma belief alhamdulilah makes me feel what i belief is right n its what we should do n try.

[Operacast]

Originally Posted by Taosaur

For me, present humanitarian crises have a lot to do with theism running up against its limits--while it strengthens the impulse to altruism, it also strengthens com|munity in the sense of pooling arms against real and imagined aggressors. I tend to side with Joseph Campbell's assertion that we're in a period of mythogenesis--we need to find and/or be the new reformers bearing spiritual tools more applicable to the situation at hand.

I would agree that something new needs to emerge in these desperate times. In fact, I might add that the current Presidential election season has made me even more ready to contemplate the very real possibility that not just humanity but all the other species on Earth could all go extinct within roughly a lifetime from now. All it would need is just a combination of disastrously irresponsible ecological destruction and multiple use of free-lance WMDs to bring this about. So the basic ingredients are already in place. Consequently, I view such an eventuality as more likely than not, right now.

If something new does emerge in time, my guess would be that the new synthesis would be made up of certain concepts that are already out there, rather than something wholly unfamiliar. That's the only aspect here that gives me a little hope. The tools are already to hand. Now, this is strictly a guess, but the prime sources for a new synthesis of some sort might be a careful mining of those elements that, say, the earliest texts on Buddha, Socrates and Christ have in common. This is why I behaved so badly here when I encountered an unfortunate misunderstanding re this possible synthesis in a previous thread. I truly feel the survival of all of Earth's species is at stake within this very century. The stakes could not be higher.

The sad misunderstanding in the previous thread lay in my having expressed myself very badly as to the framework for a new set of "spiritual tools", as you put it. Some thought I was suggesting a mere watering-down, a simplifying, of various traditions. But candidly, I could not be less interested in "traditions". Instead, I'm interested in specific texts -- the earliest texts on specific religious/philosophical pioneers being frequently ignored in the subsequent "traditions". So I'm suggesting a very painstaking survey of the very earliest texts on, say, just these three pioneers in particular, with a view to isolating any and all possible specific parallel notions/concepts that all three of these figures seem to have in common. This would be a daunting and time-gobbling task, requiring a whole team of linguists and scholars from a whole range of perspectives working 'round the clock.

But since the alternative is imminent extinction .............. <shrug>

Operacast