Calling all spiritual atheist.

Calling all spiritual atheist.

I would love to hear your view point on this subject. I had no idea there was room for spirituality, ascended masters, reincarnation,

Is there room for a creator in Spiritual atheism? My guess is the claim the religious text proclaim god is this that or the other is the problem.

www.centerforabetterworld.com...

As you know, traditional Theists believe in a literal "God" who supposedly created and rules the universe; while traditional Atheists reject the idea of "God" altogether.

Generally, Spiritual Atheists are people who do not believe in a literal "God" (thus the term "Atheist"), but still consider themselves to be (often deeply) "Spiritual" people.

There is no consensus among Spiritual Atheists regarding the literal existence of one's own "spirit" or a collective "spirit"; however, there is consensus that if any "spirit" does exist, it is not external to the universe and it is not "supernatural".

Spiritual Atheists believe that nothing that exists or happens violates the nature of the universe; they believe that all such things only further define the nature of the universe.

For Spiritual Atheists, being "spiritual" means (at the very least) to nurture thoughts, words, and actions that are in harmony with the idea that the entire universe is, in some way, connected; even if only by the mysterious flow of cause and effect at every scale.

Therefore, Spiritual Atheists generally feel that as they go about their lives striving to be personally healthy and happy, they should also be striving to help the world around them be healthy and happy. ("Wholistic Ethics")

Spiritual Atheists generally recognize the word "God" as a personal name that has been given to the collective personality* of the infinite and eternal universe; just as your personal name is the name that has been given to your individual personality*. Even so, many Spiritual Atheists are extremely reluctant to make use of the word "God", due to the extreme desecration it has suffered by traditional Theists and Atheists alike.

a reply to: Stormdancer777

Well i wouldn't call myself a "spiritual" atheist, but i do know some folks who refer to the universe as "god". It seems more like a term of convenience though, given that we live in a very religious part of the United States. Most of the people here will def discriminate against an openly atheistic person.

Personally i see no reason to believe in a creator and if someone else does, i wouldn't call them an atheist.

Sounds to me, you would be refering to a deist.

In awe of everything,

Ironically this is something I have pointed out to atheist who are not spiritual, and something I agree with to an extent.

There is an experience which is common to every religious belief system. It is the sense of coming face-to-face with something far greater and immeasurably more vast than yourself, glimpsing the essence of reality and being overawed by it.

www.patheos.com...

5 Ways Atheism Can Be Spiritual
thoughtcatalog.com...

Spiritual but not religious
en.wikipedia.org...

spirituality

www.merriam-webster.com...

Spirituality

Spirituality means something different to everyone. For some, it's about participating in organized religion: going to church, synagogue, a mosque, etc. For others, it's more personal: Some people get in touch with their spiritual side through private prayer, yoga, meditation, quiet reflection, or even long walks.

Research shows that even skeptics can't stifle the sense that there is something greater than the concrete world we see. As the brain processes sensory experiences, we naturally look for patterns, and then seek out meaning in those patterns. And the phenomenon known as "cognitive dissonance" shows that once we believe in something, we will try to explain away anything that conflicts with it.

Humans can't help but ask big questions—the instinct seems wired in our minds.

www.psychologytoday.com...

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: Stormdancer777

Well i wouldn't call myself a "spiritual" atheist, but i do know some folks who refer to the universe as "god". It seems more like a term of convenience though, given that we live in a very religious part of the United States. Most of the people here will def discriminate against an openly atheistic person.

Personally i see no reason to believe in a creator and if someone else does, i wouldn't call them an atheist.

Sounds to me, you would be refering to a deist.

thanks carver,

It is engraved into people's head that one need to believe in god to be spiritual. It is not true.

Spiritual is a innate emotion the brain goes through, everyone has it, not all tap into it.

For me, being spiritual is being one with nature.. sound of running rivers in the morning, dews on leafs on a fogging morning, looking at the stars in a dark night.. the glow of moon... they invoke my spirituality.

originally posted by: luciddream
It is engraved into people's head that one need to believe in god to be spiritual. It is not true.

Spiritual is a innate emotion the brain goes through, everyone has it, not all tap into it.

For me, being spiritual is being one with nature.. sound of running rivers in the morning, dews on leafs on a fogging morning, looking at the stars in a dark night.. the glow of moon... they invoke my spirituality.

I don't have a problem with any of that.

Do you or woodcarver practice Buddhism or follow any ancient spiritual philosophy?

I guess what I am trying to say is, do you find the teaching of great masters inspirational?

Personal Spirituality

This is not, however, the only way the concept of "spirituality" can be used. For some people, it involves a variety of very personal things like self-realization, philosophical searching, etc. For many others, it is something like a very deep and strong emotional reaction to "wonders" of life — for example, gazing out at the universe on a clear night, seeing a newborn child, etc.

All of these and similar senses of "spirituality" are entirely compatible with atheism. There is nothing about atheism which prevents a person from have such experiences or quests. Indeed, for many atheists their atheism is a direct result of such philosophical searching and religious questioning — thus, one might argue that their atheism is an integral component of their "spirituality" and their ongoing search for meaning in life.

In the end, all of this vagueness prevents the concept of spirituality from carrying a great deal of cognitive content. It does, however, carry emotional content — much of what people describe as "spirituality" seems to have much more to do with emotional than intellectual reactions to events and experiences. So, when a person is using the term, they are more likely trying to convey something about their emotions and their emotional reactions to things than a coherent set of beliefs and ideas.

atheism.about.com...

Just trying to throw some food for thought and discussion out here.

Believing in the creator can be purely logical and rational. There is no need for spirituality and divine books to prove the existence of the creator.
How can people be spiritual while they do not believe in the creator. If they believe that something like spirituality exists that can not be checked in the Labs. and by experiment. So how do they know that God does not exist.
If they do not believe in the unseen. So How do they think that the dark matter exists. How do they know that gravity exists in the universe ! Some people believe in UFOs even far more than God !!

a reply to: Stormdancer777

Research shows that even skeptics can't stifle the sense that there is something greater than the concrete world we see.

Like the electromagnetic spectrum? Or the zillions of particles flying around? We're discovering new worlds every day. Technically speaking, what we actually perceive is less than 1% of what is actually there. But it would be a mistake to discover the leg of an elephant and immediately assume that it's a tree.

I consider myself to be a spiritual atheist. I don't believe in the biblical God, and I don't use the word God to describe anything about my beliefs. That's the atheist part. I do have beliefs that lean toward the spiritual. These beliefs are not firm. I don't have anything "figured out", nor do I want to put restrictions on these beliefs by making a statement of "how it is". My beliefs have changed over the years and will probably change more as I go along. There is nothing hinging on me getting the "right belief". I don't have to nail down the "truth"... In other words, I don't HAVE to figure out what I firmly believe and have faith in it and never change those beliefs. I'll find out what happens when I get there.

There probably is some kind of "life after death". I don't know what it's like, nor do I care, but I have had experiences that make me think it's probably true and that it's a beautiful thing, based in love.

I believe our "souls" are all connected, and at some point, we are all from the same "collective". (I put things in quotes, because these words mean different things to different people.) There is no need for one "higher-level" source, as each of us is a part of that source, and each of us has everything we need. There is no hierarchy. We are all one.

I believe the "soul" is who I am. And that I am in possession of a body and a mind for my journey here on earth.

originally posted by: Stormdancer777
I guess what I am trying to say is, do you find the teaching of great masters inspirational?

I do. Especially Jesus. I think a LOT of what he taught is how I'd like to live my life. He was accepting, non-judgmental, treated everyone with respect and love. I don't know if Jesus was a real person or not, but the character of him is something to aspire to, IMO.

In the end, all of this vagueness prevents the concept of spirituality from carrying a great deal of cognitive content. It does, however, carry emotional content — much of what people describe as "spirituality" seems to have much more to do with emotional than intellectual reactions to events and experiences. -

I think this is important, emotion verses intellect, when I take into consideration the first person that thought about a creator and the first people that reasoned together,

The evolutionary origin of religions theorizes about the emergence of religious behavior during the course of human evolution.
en.wikipedia.org...

Setting the stage for human religion
Increased brain size

Lewis Wolpert argues that causal beliefs that emerged from tool use played a major role in the evolution of belief. The manufacture of complex tools requires creating a mental image of an object which does not exist naturally before actually making the artifact.

Religion requires a system of symbolic communication, such as language, to be transmitted from one individual to another. Philip Lieberman states "human religious thought and moral sense clearly rest on a cognitive-linguistic base"

Psychologist Matt J. Rossano argues that religion emerged after morality and built upon morality by expanding the social scrutiny of individual behavior to include supernatural agents. By including ever-watchful ancestors, spirits and gods in the social realm, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups.

religion is genetically "hardwired"

Reason is pre-empted by emotional drives. The religious feeling in a congregation is emotionally different from individual spirituality even though the congregation is composed of individuals.

Belonging to a collective religion is culturally more important than individual spirituality though the two often go hand in hand. This is one of the reasons why religious debates are likely to be inconclusive.

Origins of organized religion

Invention of writing

'verisimilitude' – a stage on the human journey to truth.
en.wikipedia.org...

A literary work throws a lasting impression on its readers if it presents the theme in such a way that readers could relate to real life. Conformity to the theory of verisimilitude ensures the existence of reality in a literary work.

I guess, given the description you've provided in the OP, that I have been, or at times still am a 'spiritual' atheist.

It's not much to consider, especially when you throw many Buddhists into the mix. After all, the only thing all atheists have in common is what it says on the tin.

But yeah... I meditate every once in a while to feel... I dunno, connected with the surrounding environment? More grounded, secure and confident, less detached...

Sometimes I subscribe to solipsism or the simulated universe theory for kicks - if I 'convince' myself that the universe's code can be cracked, it adds an element of confidence to my decisions. Of course, this is delusional, which is why I only do it when I'm high on... life. High on life. Nothing else.

Just spitballing here, not sure if it's any help.

originally posted by: luciddream
It is engraved into people's head that one need to believe in god to be spiritual. It is not true.

Spiritual is a innate emotion the brain goes through, everyone has it, not all tap into it.

For me, being spiritual is being one with nature.. sound of running rivers in the morning, dews on leafs on a fogging morning, looking at the stars in a dark night.. the glow of moon... they invoke my spirituality.

I love all those things too. I think of them as very natural. I am in awe of nature and real science. I do not agree with calling that feeling spritual but that is just me. Im kind of a hardliner when it comes to this subject.

For me, these things already have names. So to call it spiritual seems like redefining to fit some kind of preconceived idea.

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic

originally posted by: Stormdancer777
I guess what I am trying to say is, do you find the teaching of great masters inspirational?

I do. Especially Jesus. I think a LOT of what he taught is how I'd like to live my life. He was accepting, non-judgmental, treated everyone with respect and love. I don't know if Jesus was a real person or not, but the character of him is something to aspire to, IMO.

I think we are on a journey for truth.

If you just take the teaching attribute to Jesus, if there wasn't a real Jesus, one still has to wonder who this enlightened being was.

a reply to: Stormdancer777

Spiritual atheist is a ridiculous term I am sorry. How can you believe in a spiritual nature and not a higher power. There are already different theological groups that have the "spiritual atheist" premiss. No need to make a new one up. Just because you don't believe in the bible doesn't make you an atheist. But animism, ancestor cults, deism, Buddhism, Jainism, daoism, Shinto, zen, Wicca, etc are not atheist. Atheist believe this is it. The world can only be judged with empirical knowledge. There is no higher power, spirit, or any other metaphysical happening. Hence the creation of the word and meaning atheist.

Most atheists I know are deist. But a few philosophers are truly atheist.

originally posted by: Stormdancer777
much of what people describe as "spirituality" seems to have much more to do with emotional than intellectual reactions to events and experiences. -

This is true. I think I have a healthy balance of emotion and intellect. The intellectual part of me tells me "what is" and the emotional part of me tells me "what could be" or "what might be". It's the wonder... the feeling I get when I hold a hummingbird in my hand, or see a baby born, or feel the heartbeat of my husband in my chest.

originally posted by: Stormdancer777

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic

originally posted by: Stormdancer777
I guess what I am trying to say is, do you find the teaching of great masters inspirational?

I do. Especially Jesus. I think a LOT of what he taught is how I'd like to live my life. He was accepting, non-judgmental, treated everyone with respect and love. I don't know if Jesus was a real person or not, but the character of him is something to aspire to, IMO.

I think we are on a journey for truth.

If you just take the teaching attribute to Jesus, if there wasn't a real Jesus, one still has to wonder who this enlightened being was.

and then we have to wonder how sad it would have been if his teaching were never heard by future generation, the word was never heard.

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic

originally posted by: Stormdancer777
much of what people describe as "spirituality" seems to have much more to do with emotional than intellectual reactions to events and experiences. -

This is true. I think I have a healthy balance of emotion and intellect. The intellectual part of me tells me "what is" and the emotional part of me tells me "what could be" or "what might be". It's the wonder... the feeling I get when I hold a hummingbird in my hand, or see a baby born, or feel the heartbeat of my husband in my chest.

I absolutely consider these feelings as spiritual awakenings, and think religion sprung from them.

a reply to: Stormdancer777

If I had kids, I would teach them how to be. Not because "Jesus said so", but because it's the right thing to do. Plenty of atheists have children that are taught right from wrong without the need of a handbook. Life does not have a handbook. Here's where I am a humanist: We don't need a God or a governing body to do the right thing. Our humanness allows for us to be GOOD people, even if we never heard of the bible, Jesus or God.