to my fellow atheist, what do you guys feel about spirituality?

1. 59

   GennaMGLposted 13 years ago

   to my fellow atheist, what do you guys feel about spirituality?
   
   any thoughts on how atheist feel about spirituality. im just interested to see where difrferent people stand.

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2. 60

   peterxdunnposted 13 years ago

   Spirituality is a non-concept. Ask a priest - or anyone else for that matter - to explain it to you: all you will get is blather and mumbo jumbo. Religious people use this word without having a clue as to what it means.
   
   The word 'spirit' is derived from the Latin 'spiritus': which means 'air' or 'breath' or even 'wind'.
   
   The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew which was later: around 300 BC, translated into Greek and much later: around AD 200, translated into Latin.
   
   The equivalent Hebrew word is 'ruah' or 'ruach'. The equivalent Greek word is 'pneuma'. They all mean breath, air etc.
   
   In the Old Testament this word is used to describe how God bestows gifts: such as Samson's gift of great strength, upon people - he literally 'breathed' upon them.
   
   Nowhere in the Bible is the word 'spirit' used to denote a quality (as in 'spirituality') or a disembodied person or ghost. The term 'Holy Ghost' is only found in English versions of the Bible - it was the result of a complete mistranslation of the early texts.
   
   There are even intances in the Old Testament where the 'spirit': such as the 'spirit' (or gift) of prophecy, was taken away from an individual by God. So ask yourself - can a spiritual person have their 'spirituality' taken away from them?
   
   Evil and unclean spirits are found in the Old Testament - but in every instance they sent by God to torment people. Where they appear in the New Testament their origins aren't made clear.
   
   So GennaMGL - from a fellow atheist - forget spirituality. Think 'connectivity' instead. Ask yourself, 'How do I connect with it all - where do I fit in - how do others see me - what kind of impact am I having on the World?'. The ways in which we all connect with each other, with our World and - ultimately - the Cosmos are both profound and infinitely varied.
   
   The Universe is a big place; you are, nonetheless, as important an aspect of it as anything else.
   
   Think about it. How profound can you get?

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3. 62

   nightwork4posted 13 years ago

   it's the human mind confusing itself into believing in something that they feel they need to get by. it's kind of silly to me but if it helps someone then all the power to them. i just wish people would believe in each other as much as some claim to believe in god.

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4. 94

   cat on a soapboxposted 13 years ago

   I am not an Atheist, but I am answering this outside the concept of God.  If a person was incarcerated in solitary confinement, for example, his spirit would be the one unbound thing that could leave the body and go anywhere like a bird. It is the thing that transcends our physical being. You might call it the mind with wings.

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