YouAreAll

Hi,

First, let me emphasize, in the most direct way possible, that spirituality is not religion. Spirituality does not require a belief in gods, souls, heavens, hells, rebirth, karma, or any of the other paraphernalia of religious rationalizations.

Spirituality is, in essence, awareness of our intimate connection with everything that surrounds us: Awareness that we are an intimate and totally interconnected part of everything else.
Religions, are, in essence, rationalizations of scientific knowledge and spiritual awareness into worldviews.

Thus, religions are not anti-reason or anti-science. Rather, they are out-moded attempts to bring all scientific knowledge together into a system, but a system that, because it is fixed and dogmatic, is rapidly left behind by science and reason. Thus, the conflict is not between religion and science, but between those within a religion who want to update the religious belief to keep up with developments in science and reason (the reformers) and those who don't want to touch the established dogma at any cost (the traditionalists). Let's leave that sterile and irrelevant debate to religious theorists and get on with the real issue: Why do we, as rational, scientific people, need to have a spiritual basis to our lives?

There is no reason for spiritual awareness to be in conflict with reason or science. In fact, spiritual awareness needs to be based on a true understanding of the nature of matter and energy. There is but one reality. However, there are several ways we can experience it. We can experience it through our senses - see it, touch it, taste it. We can experiment with it scientifically, to understand about molecules and sub-atomic particles and develop theories about reality. And we can experience reality spirituality - as an intuitive awareness of its underlying unity.

While relying upon our senses to do experiments, science takes us beyond them, into realms that seem contradictory and at variance with what we directly experience. Science tells us about the structure of the universe: how everything is composed of ever-changing energy and fields of force, and is in constant motion between interpenetration, creation, and re-creation.

Thus, science brings us closer to understanding the fundamental unity and interdependence of all things. It should, therefore, form the basis of our spiritual understanding of the universe and not be in conflict with it - as is the case for those religions that have trapped science in a straight-jacket and cannot adapt to new scientific understanding.

Tim

hezekiah jones

Thanks for your interesting thoughts. But I'm going to slide your post over to the Miscellaneous Religion Discussions Forum, where it will probably get more appropriate attention, okay?

[By the way, Welcome to the Boards. You make several excellent points.]

[ March 23, 2002: Message edited by: hezekiahjones ]</p>

Daggah

Spirituality...ugh.

Let's have some clear, concise definitions. Let's have some evidence that such an aspect of life exists.

Until these two things are provided, I will continue to view any discussion of "spirituality" as largely bull.

MadMordigan

Why do we, as rational, scientific people, need to have a spiritual basis to our lives?

Good question. Why indeed?