We Are Fucked.

[Spiritual Warfare]

15 minutes ago, Basman said:

I've heard blood feuds where way more prevalent before the advent of Islam in the Middle-East. I could be wrong but according to spiral dynamics, stage blue is above stage red in terms of moral development. For instance, slavery was ended in part due to Christianity. Charity originated from Christianity.

Of course religion is going to be less moral compared to higher stages, like SD stage Green but now we are privileging our own perspectives instead of working with what we have. Religion has its place in society, like it or not. We can of course discuss how exactly but like I pointed out earlier, religions do change and develop.

Religious fundamentalists are not the majority. This is a bad faith caricature.

It is majority 

[Basman]

2 minutes ago, Spiritual Warfare said:

It is majority 

What is your proof? Don't just make up stuff about people because it suits you.

[PurpleTree]

People have ideas

now we have ideas about people with ideas.

it’s loopy ♾️ 

[Spiritual Warfare]

Just now, Basman said:

What is your proof? Don't just make up stuff about people because it suits you.

Google is free.

[Leo Gura]

@Spiritual Warfare Go outside and touch some grass.

[Princess Arabia]

8 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

@Spiritual Warfare Go outside and touch some grass.

Hehe. Grounded in jokes.😜

[PurpleTree]

Don’t touch it in an inappropriate way though.

[Spiritual Warfare]

12 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

@Spiritual Warfare Go outside and touch some grass.

You are our only hope, Leo. I know this is a big responsibility and it even makes you scared, but we are all going to support you. Deep down, you know you can change the world, just like Jordan Peterson has. Religious extremism is on the rise, and you know it deep down. Wake up, Leo! Come back and show the world who the real Messiah is.

[Nemra]

Focusing on religious people too much can cloud your judgment, and you might eventually become a fundamentalist of some sort.

Edited September 26 by Nemra

[Leo Gura]

7 minutes ago, Spiritual Warfare said:

You are our only hope, Leo. I know this is a big responsibility and it even makes you scared, but we are all going to support you. Deep down, you know you can change the world, just like Jordan Peterson has. Religious extremism is on the rise, and you know it deep down. Wake up, Leo! Come back and show the world who the real Messiah is.

Nope. I'm not getting involved in such games.

[PurpleTree]

8 minutes ago, Spiritual Warfare said:

You are our only hope, Leo. I know this is a big responsibility and it even makes you scared, but we are all going to support you.

Nah speak for yourself.

I‘m not going to support anybody.

That already sound cult-ish.

[Hardkill]

I think that while there has been some noticeable religious fundamentalist backlash in developed nations since around the 2010s, I think that the long-run decline of religion has still continued in developed nations even as we speak.

Isn't that right @Leo Gura ?

In fact, according to a website from Christianity Today:

• "Christianity, the largest religion in the United States, experienced a 20th-century high of 91% of the total population in 1976.[31] This declined to 73.7% by 2016[94] and 64% in 2022."

According to Pew Research Center:

• As of 2024, "Religious ‘Nones’ Now Outnumber All Individual Religious Cohorts, Outpacing Catholics and Evangelicals."
• "Over one quarter (28 percent) of American adults now identify as religiously unaffiliated compared to just 16 percent back in 2007, outpacing Catholics (23 percent) and evangelical Protestants (24 percent)" 
• It also said on wikipedia that, "In a new study published in 2022, Pew Research Center projects that if the rate of switching continues to accelerate (primarily to no religious affiliation), Christians will make up less than half of the American population by 2070, with estimated ranges for that year falling between 35% and 46% of the American population (down from 64% in 2022 and down from 91% in 1976)."

Religion has also continued to decline in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Western Europe, and in some countries in Central Europe.

I wonder if the growing the number of influencers in America who are religious fundamentalists are just representing some of the loudest voices in the country despite the fact that they are still a part of a shrinking population. 

Edited September 26 by Hardkill

[Inliytened1]

4 hours ago, Spiritual Warfare said:

Religious individuals seem to be thriving, gaining traction and laughter alongside atheists in this forum. They garner over 100K likes daily on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, and it’s evident everywhere online. It feels as though they have triumphed, Jesus fans is too strong. I must admit, I harbor a deep resentment towards religious people, and I don’t sympathize with them for being misguided. Enough is enough. 

When Trump wins the presidency, they will express gratitude to God, and soon enough, everyone will be knocking at your door, urging you to accept Jesus. It's time to stop what you’re doing. Don’t be fooled for a second into thinking life is worth living; it feels as if they have already won and will continue to gain power. The only potential shift could occur if Leo engages in debates with religious individuals, but it seems unlikely. 

Honestly, it feels like life is coming to an end. There appears to be little we can do; the brainwashing is far too strong.

 

If actual Truth wasn't masterfully hidden it probably wouldn't be Truth.   Truth would much rather lie in the shadows unseen.   And if you find it you will join it in the shadows.  That's just how it is.  What's mainstream is illusion and deception.   For it wasn't for that there could be no dream.  So stop being bothered by this - it's a bug, not a feature. 

Edited September 26 by Inliytened1

[UnbornTao]

2 hours ago, Spiritual Warfare said:

Exactly! Thank you for commenting on that. They never question their beliefs because they have given all their authority to their dusty book.

Yes, and you also removed yourself from the question. I didn't so much mean it in terms of superficially adopted beliefs such as those of philosophy, religion, or even "science," but rather the fundamental, unconscious shared beliefs from which we operate as a culture. There is a plethora of these overlooked convictions which influence our experiences and lives the most.

In order to deepen our investigation into personal assumptions, ask yourself: What is a belief? What do I believe is true? Which ones have I experientially encountered as the case, as opposed to just heard from external sources?

Edited September 27 by UnbornTao

[hyruga]

Christianity is on a decline in many European countries. Even though I don't live in those countries, I will be more worried about the decline than any cringy videos they put up to evangelize more people.

Christians, in general, are not harmful because they love God and love people. 

[Joshe]

Any analysis that doesn't factor in and deal with with the campaigns currently underway to undermine the separation of church and state in the U.S, and fails to acknowledge their success, is just not good. 

The separation of church and state is objectively under attack and those who seek to undermine it are making great progress. 

Christian nationalist are infiltrating the government. Just this week, yet another state partnered with PragerU to bring PragerU Kids to children in public schools.

• Florida: In July 2023, Florida became the first state to approve the use of PragerU Kids videos in public schools for grades K-6.
• Oklahoma: In September 2023, the Oklahoma Department of Education launched a partnership with PragerU Kids.
• Montana: PragerU is listed as a "bonded textbook dealer" on a Montana state website, and the state's superintendent of public instruction announced a partnership with the organization.
• New Hampshire: In September 2023, the New Hampshire State Board of Education unanimously approved the use of PragerU courses to satisfy financial literacy requirements in high schools.
• South Carolina: As of September 2024, South Carolina has aligned its state standards with PragerU content, allowing educators to access PragerU Kids' supplemental educational resources through the state's official learning portal.

One state brought in PragerU. Then another. Then another. Then another. 

It will continue to infiltrate the schools and they will continue to infiltrate the government. It's not going away. Trump showed them it can be done, and so it is being done. 

My local county council meetings kick off by everyone standing up and listening to the board president make up a prayer on the spot, and he says shit like "dear lord we thank ya lord, and we just really thank ya lord, and look over Susan when she's having surgery lord, and dear lord let this meeting be productive lord, in your holy precious name we pray, Amen". 

It's on the rise.

Edited September 27 by Joshe

[Inliytened1]

This isn't spiritual you fools.

[Princess Arabia]

19 minutes ago, Inliytened1 said:

This isn't spiritual you fools.

Lol. People are lost in the dream.

[Kid A]

6 hours ago, PurpleTree said:

Not really you can’t really measure happiness. 

Also Sweden now seemingly has gangs and no go zones because of recent immigration and refugees from the Middle East etc. That’s sadly seemingly not just rightwing nonsense.

Norway, Switzerland, Iceland or Finland are happier 😎

No, Norway and Switzerland are not happier than Sweden. According to UN’s happiness index, Sweden is in 4th place, while Norway is in 7th and Switzerland in 10th. https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2024/happiness-of-the-younger-the-older-and-those-in-between/#ranking-of-happiness-2021-2023

Be careful about focusing too much on Swedens problems. It’s easy to get lost.

I don’t agree that you can’t measure happiness. If you ask enough people from all the countries in the world how happy they are on a scale of 1-10, i would argue you get a pretty clear picture. 

Edited September 27 by Kid A

[Davino]

9 hours ago, Spiritual Warfare said:

I’ll keep it short and simple: all religions are wrong. It’s not even a question of whether a deity exists, who cares? When you prioritize your salvation over basic human understanding and refuse to investigate, you become part of the problem. I cannot accept a God who condones slavery, murder, and rape. In fact, it is those who adhere to such beliefs who perpetuate the issue, and the so-called word of God is nothing more than propaganda.

That's a legit position to take.

However, I grant you there is more to Religion than that. You have only been exposed to a narrow set of religions, from your historical times, to which you categorize as pre-rational. There's truth to that but I would say you are throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

There are an immense range of Religions. For example, Jainism not only passes the moral test you have given but doubles down on them: extreme veganism, crafting their own clothes, only uplifting bussiness can be done, no vehicles because of pollution...

They wear moth protection not to swallow insects accidentaly and they sweep as they walk to not step and kill little creatures. So the exact same criticism you are making of souless religious action, these religious individuals could make about you and your lifestyle. So again it all depends on where you stand in the spectrum, your values and your level of development.

Moreover, consider that Religion is an amalgamation of culture, codes of conduct, history, art, architecture, rituals and mysticism. One can judge each aspect of a Religion accordingly. You are just judging the codes of conduct and culture and are ignorant about the rest. Islamic art from their golden age is of tremendous beauty, geometry and mathematics. In fact, a muslim temple called Alhambra in Spain was the inspiration for Escher to make one of the most profound art and research on tesselations ever done in Human History.

There are diverse family branches to religion, many aspects to each one of them and they all evolve and intermingle with each other. Overall, you are fitting religion into a very limited box given to you by rationalism, scientifism and materialism: all of that to feel so good about yourself and point out their obvious shortcomings, without realizing your own ones nor caring deeply to understand the Comparative Religious field of study.