How and Why (Religion)

by dhw, Monday, February 28, 2011, 19:52 (5015 days ago) @ xeno6696

MATT (re the epistemological framework): I never meant to let it falter, but I will catch back up.-The last posting was mine on 7 February at 13.13.-I tried to point out that the question "Why am I here?" only has universal significance (though there will still be a wide range of answers) if we believe in a Creator who has a divine purpose for us. If we don't, then it becomes a purely personal matter. That was why I suggested that your own reference to raising kids and being a good teacher might provide you with an answer, by which I mean "what is important to me", as opposed to "what God wants from me". A Buddhist might answer: to achieve enlightenment. A western politician might answer: to teach the world that we westerners know best. An Al Qaida terrorist might answer: to bomb the west to hell. I was also responding to your claim that "how questions are always much more important than why questions", which you claimed did not move us forward, but reading your post, I think we've already reached agreement on this. -On the other hand, you wrote: "I struggle a bit with the comparison of meditation to say, going to church or believing in God." On 20 February you wrote that you made "strong mental gains" when you meditated regularly, but having neglected meditation, you were now "nearly incapable of going to the gym, unable to concentrate properly on my studies, all the self-control I learned has since disappeared." The comparison lies in the ability to focus your life. Most religious people I know find that their faith helps them to channel their energies in what they believe to be the right direction (or "moving forward"). Meditation apparently does the same for you. As usual, I'm harping on about subjectivity, and I concluded: "Different minds, different beliefs, different motivating forces, and no hierarchy beyond that of what is important to each individual." Back to our epistemological framework!