Mind and Heart in conflict

1. 59

   dadibobsposted 12 years ago

   My mind and intellect tell me of the existance of dinosoars, ancient relatives of man, possible evidence of extra terrestrial life, yet my heart cannot release me from a strong belief in god.
   
   I feel as though the two main aspects of my being are in conflict.
   
   Science tells us one thing, giving reasons and evidence of evolution.
   
   Religion gives me comfort and security.
   
   Is it possible to live with both?
   Do i need this issue resolving?, or do i just accept both?

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   1. 70

      Cagsilposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      That's because your apparently not understanding your own life. Your belief in god is based on emotion, not intellect.
      
      Your mind(IS your intellect).
      The two main aspects of your being is your mind and emotions. Can them be in conflict? Of course they can. Your belief probably comes from one of two places (a) indoctrination from childhood or (b) "shock and awe" effect of viewing the world around you.
      That's because science isn't in the business of looking for truth. It's in the business of understanding the world around you, a.k.a. reality.
      Yes it does on an emotional level. It makes you fool(delude) yourself with regards to needing it.
      Yes, you can live a nice and long, and healthy life with both. Most likely without learning what matters most.
      You can resolve the issue if you choose. You can only accept both if you are willing to negate any and all inconsistencies.

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         jacharlessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Even for you Ray, that is a bit out of line. You are speculating a mans understanding.
         To be more exact: emotion ALSO comes directly from the intellect/mind/brain.

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            Cagsilposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Hey James, no need to speculate on the man. I only went by what he said.
            
            As for your "to be exact"? Emotion happens not based on intellect. It's reactionary/instinctive. Intellect is all about rational thought. Emotions are only rational when they happen.

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      2. 59

         dadibobsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         thanks everyone, i didn't really expect a response!
         
         you have all given me different things to consider, and will certainly do that now.
         
         I do not go to a church, nor have i ever been baptised or accepted into any religion.
         I watched a close friend die of cancer, and it was his strength and lack of fear, his abilities during the final stages, which made me question this.
         Where did his strength come from, his body was broken, but he never doubted in his belief, and please consider this, he never believed before.
         
         We spoke many times, and wether it was real or not, it helped him at the end. The belief in god made his impending death easier to take.
         
         This is the source of my conflict.
         
         cheers everyone.
         
         john

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      Cranfordjsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      One can also take comfort in science, even if that science points to the lack of a God. So what if we don't live for ever, spend an eternity in heaven? what's stopping us from being content with what we have. It seems selfish when one disregards fact, such as evolution, in order to stay on their religious fallacy that constitutes eternal life. With everything we have, do we deserve an afterlife?
      
      This idea of God is great, and I hope there's a God. I hope we are able to re-establish relationships lost. But in the mean time, one's time on Earth is probably best spent on what we know.
      
      For me, what’s healthy would be to base my life on what I know with a slight twang of optimistic outlook, in regards to a Deity. Not the other way around.
      
      All in all, we can embrace life for its wonders without creating a Deity. The sooner we do this our quality of life will improve, while being able to appreciate it in the way it deserves. (Not looking forward to an afterlife that my or may not exist)
      
      “I don't try to imagine a personal God; it suffices to stand in awe at the structure of the world, insofar as it allows our inadequate senses to appreciate it.”- ALBERT EINSTEIN

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      A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      What kind of comfort and security?

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   4. 74

      Eaglekiwiposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I accept them both
      
      Some things we cannot understand fully, yet doesn't mean it will always be that way, so why cant both theories reside side by side like an old married couple..

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2. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   Science neither affirms nor refutes the existence of a Higher Power. As for religion, that is man made. So just pick the one whose philosophy most closely matches yours.

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3. 74

   jacharlessposted 12 years ago

   bob,
   I am not generally in the advice column, however, as a once professional minister, a learned scholar in several philosophies and history -coupled with science, my experience -and only my own experience- tells me : reject both. Both? Yes, both science and religion are of the same rootstock. A stockpile of madness, a dysfunction that resulted in humans indulging their minds, because they believed  "we need[ed] to know".
   
   We all know. And whatever we think we don't can easily be known.
   A few weeks, months, maybe even years of de-programming --full one on one time with Creator-- settles this issue once for all. This is what religion crows about, yet never shows how-to. This is what science is trying to prove, but never proves. That thing called faith; that thing called anointing; that thing that makes humans so wonderful, so rational, so ... perfect. The unlimited ability to live and experience things beyond the processor of light:: the mind/brain. Both science and religion are studying this to no end and have for ever, but cannot implement because it goes beyond the mind, yet the mind knows it inside and out. Look at the many inventions of manmade doctrine -"the church of..." and "iEverything", time travel to running faster than chariots; be it communications through fiber optic cords or through voodoo-woodoo evoking. Granted, different applications/approaches, but nonetheless the same reason, same point, indulgence of self.
   
   Belief in science or religion is ultimately useless.
   Every human has found that out.
   What matters is you --moment to moment-- exercising the things you believe actually and a complete dismissal of the things you doubt -err- don't.
   
   James.

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4. 60

   whoisbidposted 12 years ago

   That all depends on what you believe about God. If you have been converted to a religion by fundamentalists there will seem to be some apparent conflict between science and spirituality.

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5. 61

   recommend1posted 12 years ago

   There is no conflict between any a belief in a god and evolution - it is only total dimwits who believe that a god made everything in 7 of our days a few thousand years ago.  A belief in a god does not negate the possibility of (god's) creation being the big bang.

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6. 0

   Emile Rposted 12 years ago

   The assumption that God exists does not automatically mean that any religion has fool proof information on who, or what, that is. If God exists, that's a fact; just as is every other fact in this reality.
   
   Don't put any stock into foolish notions. Don't let religious lies create conflict. Just trust that what is exists for a reason and cherish the life you have. If anyone was meant to know the answer to the question of God, we'd have that answer in a way that could not be disputed.

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      Castlepalomaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Welcome to the forum
      
      Good question,dadibobs another good question you may ask yourself.
      
      If I obey the bible with all my heart, mind and soul, I am accepting also the fact the bible carries the highest bloodshed count of mankind  ever experienced and recorded in human history.
      
      If you know where someone is coming from, you have a good idea where that person is going.

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