Comment below: **
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Marek Reavis" <reavismarek@> > wrote: > > > > To Curtis and all the rational atheists out there, > > perhaps you overlooked this historical video in > > your atheistic research. > > > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5LtKh31m0o > > > > As is painfully obvious, there are no "special" > > effects that can be discerned in examining this > > video recorded on a wandering ascetic's cell phone. > > Perfect, Marek. :-) > > And I laughed my way through the whole thing, > and it lightened my day, so many thanks to > you, and to the spirit in which it was shared. > > But now a serious comment. This is almost > *exactly* the level at which many -- if not > most -- of the arguments for the existence of > (and the power of) God or gods or goddesses > is presented. It's the level of emotionality > and adventure stories. Same with many -- if > not most -- of the stories in the Old Testament, > and many of the other world's scriptures. > > If you're a kid, these things probably make > an impression. When you get older, that impres- > sion lingers, and so do the beliefs you formed > watching the movies or listening to similar > stories that were read to you when you were a > kid. But to someone who isn't from that culture, > or who never bought into believing in God or > gods and goddesses, it's just Bad Indian Cinema. > > Ever wonder why so many people who believe in > God find it difficult to even *conceive* of > there not being a God, and that He/She/It/Them > is/are all-powerful? Watch this film clip and > look at what they grew up on, and the lessons > presented onscreen (and in the scripture this > is taken from) about what happens to those > who think that way. > **end** Turq, glad you liked it. I wouldn't agree with you that most (or even many) arguments for the existence of God or Gods are based on emotionality and adventure stories, even if most scriptures at the heart of religions have these type of mythologies. Or at least, really considered arguments as opposed to simple subscription to the religion. I do agree, though, that most people haven't thought about, and don't ever really consider these things at all other than go along with whatever tradition in which they were raised. What's funny to me is the fact that even watching such a hopelessly funny clip as this one still evokes some interiority in me and it's a real high I can't deny. We've both written about the whole issue of 'attention' and one of the things I enjoy about Hinduism is just how much information is tightly packed into the images and stories of the Gods and Goddesses. At first, for me, it was all about deconstructing what 'this' meant and what 'that' meant, two arms or four arms, eight arms or ten or a thousand, this weapon, that skin color, victorious over these demons or those asuras, etc. Over time the rich texture of all those individualized, personalized bits and pieces of information created (for me, again) a kind of wonderful insight into my own consciousness (or *this* consciousness, the only one I know). All this stuff does a real number on consciousness (IMO) and the more you expose consciousness/attention to them then the more real not necessarily *they* become, but whatever it is that they are "indicators" of seems to grow in awareness. True also, I feel, with images of Buddha or Christ, etc.; I just seem to resonate with the Hindu vectors more. But I'd venture that a lot of religion is about enlivening attention through the use of certain images and constructs. Over time, perhaps, the specific images or one religion morph into others but there's some underlying natural push towards something bigger/greater than the individual that religion is one expression of. Marek
