Foxhole atheists

[Matt W]

*laughs*

Quite.

Merlin - I moved it as this MarkW character seems to be a spammer (note the 1 post and he's disappeared, never to be seen again), and he's merely promoting his own site, not sticking around to actually respond to the people who've taken the time to read it.

And yes, this is a 'Low' Moderated Forum...but as to what that entails, that's for us to know and you to find out

[Gorgo]

Quote by: MerlinsByte ...... I am an open thiest christian

Whatzat mean?

[Nugan]

I know this is tangental, but it is the Bioler Room.

My forst thought when I saw the topic of this thread was of World War I and how it shattered the beliefs of so many soldiers, the results of which can be seen in so much of the post-WWI literature.

I think the old saying should be ammended to read:

"There are no atheists in foxholes, but there are plenty of atheists with post-tramuatic stress disorder."

[JamesMcBride]

What about me being an atheist through Buddhism? I don't believe in deities and I won't be screaming out for God on my death bed... Or is my 'faith' in buddhism too weak before your almighty god? :)

[Gorgo]

Since this thread is going nowhere, can you put your ideas about what Buddhism is in a paragraph? Or, what your version of Buddhism is?

[JamesMcBride]

Well I can try... basically, I compare Buddhism to Linux - there are an infinite number of different approaches with 1 basic principle. At the very core of Buddhism is the quest for enlightenment: To live in the immediate moment in perfect harmony with nature and the universe (sounds corny I know, but I lack poetic grace...)

To be enlightened is to live totally free from destructive emotions: greed, anger, jealousy and to seek pure clarity, or, to act proactively, not reactively...

I also believe in reincarnation, although please don't expect me to believe that I'll come back as a cat or something... I believe in the transfer of energy from one source to another, and that I, when I die, will transfer energy onto other energies, and quite possibly, this could be the source of other life - who's to know? (The wheel of life).

It's also quite an existential religion, as, I believe - when I die... I will die and will cease to remain, although Buddhism tries to teach it practitioners to embrace death, not fear it. (hence I've found it quite easy to merge existentialism and buddhism)

In a nutshell - it's about just becoming one with the universe, living in it, and being it... It's about not trying to fight the forces but just going with the flows of energy that resides in all matter.

I'm not a big star wars fan either btw

[Gorgo]

I sort of agree with all that (except not sure about the transfer of energy thing) and can still love Star Wars and yes, even Star Trek.

When I was considering Buddhism, I realized that enlightenment is realizing there is no "there" to get to. Sort of a hippie thing, but it seems about right.

I tried to study zen, but it didn't make much sense (I think on purpose). I like a lot of what Thich Nhat Han has to say.

[JamesMcBride]

Zen's quite complex to get your head around but essentially it's "being where you are"..

It encourages people to stop thinking and just being... Just doing something, trying to release your actions of emotional attachment and just existing rather than trying fight for personal gain, goals, etc...

[MerlinsByte]

Quote by: MerlinsByte
...... I am an open thiest christian



GORGO...Whatzat mean?
__________________

I should clarify that there are some aspects of open theism that I do not agree with, but this "doctrine" seems to concur with most of my beliefs. Below is a pro open theism web page. You may want to read the con as well which is easily found with your browser.



http://stu.westga.edu/~cbost1/openviewtheism.html

[MerlinsByte]

BY JAMES MCBRIDE ...In a nutshell - it's about just becoming one with the universe, living in it, and being it... It's about not trying to fight the forces but just going with the flows of energy that resides in all matter.

Merlin replies...I have a basic knowledge of Buddhism and it is a fantastic belief system. If I weren't deity oriented I would be a Buddhist. I think we need to find a grand unification theory for religion like the GUT for physics, which Einstein tried to do for his last 30 or so years.

It would be a world changing thing if all religions could merge or at least be unified with a AURTOE an all uniting religious theory of everything. Sounds weird but it would be HOE so fine.

mb

[Gorgo]

Quote by: MerlinsByte If I weren't deity oriented I would be a Buddhist.

Not all Buddhisms are nontheistic.

[Cephus]

Quote by: MarkW I have heard Evangelist Billy Graham say that he has never met a foxhole atheist before. He might be right. Hardened men scream for God's mercy on the deathbed (just in case He IS for real). The problem is that people try to protect their sinful lives until the last minute.

Which, of course, is utterly laughable. I have plenty of friends, some of whom are in Iraq right now, who are atheists and in the military. And of course, when I was in intensive care about 10 years ago, on the verge of a diabetic coma and possible death, I sure didn't go screaming for anything, especially not your silly make-believe god.

Try again.

[tman_ndsu08]

God = morphine.

[MerlinsByte]

Not all Buddhisms are nontheistic.

Yes I agree, and not all Christians are monotheists...but I am more christian (open theist) than Buddhist, which is a beautiful belief system. I am not a monotheist per se.




mb

[castille]

I've almost died several times (never in a foxhole, although once in a bunker) and I've never asked for god.

In fact, I asked if satan might consider me for a PR position.