I am not of any organised religion, in fact, I'm not sure the spirit world even exists, and God as a single entity to pray to seems odd to me. I live my life according to good behaviour, justice, politeness, and a sense of right and wrong. Therefore, if I don't believe in the spirits, and only go by what I see as reality before my very eyes, does that mean I am a realist?
2006-10-06 12:52:32 · 30 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Yes we die
we dont go anywhere.. its black
we rot and get forgotten
thats how it works.
2006-10-06 12:55:15 · answer #1 · answered by lonely as a cloud 6 · 5⤊ 2⤋
Why would that make your view any more or less real? You say yourself that you are not sure about the spiritual world. You speak of good behaviour, justice, politeness, and right and wrong very casually as if you know where they came from and that we would all agree on what they mean. This suggests to me that you are more a product of your religious environment than you care to admit. What makes something good, right, or just? If these are learned behaviors from your civilization, I can only say that it has not always been that way through history, nor in the animal kingdom. How does being good, or caring for others improve an individuals chance for survival (Darwinian thinking here.) Can you see that these judgments are near universal (psychotics excepted of course.) Why is that? If we are repulsed by a wrong by our very nature, then that flies in the face of natural selection and implies a Law-giver. I call the Law-giver, God. You can call the Law-Giver, natural law, if you like but that's even more circular.
Just some thoughts to ponder. I suspect that your spiritual eyes may be opening. Of course, I don't know and I could be wrong and misreading you terribly, but you are thinking. Now turn it around, sideways, and/or upside down and think some more. Look at your question from every angle. God bless you as you seek Him.
2006-10-06 20:05:58 · answer #2 · answered by Nick â? 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Not belonging to an organised religion does not necessarily make you an atheist - an atheist outright denies the existence of any supreme being(s).
You say you're not sure the spirit world exists and you only go by what you see before your eyes - well, if you accept the possibility that the spirit world does exist, and it's just that we can't see it, that would make you agnostic. Agnostic is a sort of 'seeing is believing' attitude, or a belief that humans are incapable of perceiving anything beyond the physical world.
A realist takes the world literally. It's not quite the same as atheism, but it's close as it would also reject the idea of divine beings.
2006-10-06 22:12:01 · answer #3 · answered by reddragon105 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
To be a real atheist you have to KNOW there is no God. If you really live your life according to 'good behaviour, justice, politeness and a sense of right and wrong' you are living the life of a spiritual person. Whether you believe in a God does not really matter. You are a GOOD person. Just keep breathing and loving life.
Being a realist has NOTHING to do with any of the above. Reality is a state of mind brought about by a shortage of alchohol
2006-10-06 19:59:57 · answer #4 · answered by SouthOckendon 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
realist is not the right for it; most likely you are an empiricist. As you say, knowledge is obtained from the senses. As for you religion, or lack thereof, you sound more like an agnostic because you mention being unsure about the existence of a spirit world. Atheists deny that such a realm exists.
Your claim of being a realist, however, is a matter of debate; a more proper word is materialist. Since you believe nothing beyond the material world.
2006-10-06 19:59:17 · answer #5 · answered by Edward 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No I would sat that you are not a realist but a person who is in need of a Savior. I too am not into organized religion. I do not have religion. I have a relationship with the Creator of this world, God himself. You can live right and do good works but that does not get you eternal life. Christ came into this world to save people just like you from spending an eternity in everlasting punishment. (John 1:1-5) Trust in him and accept his free gift of salvation. For he alone can give you true satisfaction and fulfilling faith.
2006-10-06 20:09:43 · answer #6 · answered by donefishd 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was born into the Roman Catholice religion. I am now a VERY unsure 30 something. I find it hard to explain death and such things to my dauther without refering to religion! I thank my religion for this, but also feel that I don't want to have a doubel standard!
It is hard. But I also feel that if GOD does exsist, and like is dais - he gave us free will - he should accept that some will believe and some won't!
How can he give free will and not accept us for choosing? Should he accept us all? This is a question that I will be asking with the conotations when I die, if there is a heaven and a gate and a St Peter and s GOD!
I WANT ANSWERS MR GOD!
2006-10-06 20:09:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What is a Realist? Everybody's views are obstructed by their own experiences, therefore everybody's 'reality' is not the same as others.
As to organized religion - not for me. I'm sick and tired of the politics, the hatred, and the wars. I believe in spirituality and walking one's own path to enlightenment. I've read many different religious texts as well as philosophy and science and can see truth in them all.
Still, you need to have some trust in something. If you go only by what your eyes see, you're wearing blinders and could miss some very interesting things. Trust is necessary to the human condition in order to make friends and families. If everybody stared at one another with such blinders, we would eventually become extinct.
2006-10-06 20:01:29 · answer #8 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An atheist simply doesn't believe in a god or gods. It's not something they're not sure of; they know 100% that it's all just pretend. Since such lack of belief usually stems from critical thinking and skepticism, then one usually considers an atheist a realist. Based on your description of yourself, I'd say you're more of a humanist than anything else.
2006-10-06 20:08:57 · answer #9 · answered by digitalquirk 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You may be, but you could also be an optimist which means that pessimists would say you are delusional as they claim to be the only true realists. I'd say you were a humanist because you have reached the understanding that there is is only us here and the rest is stories written by fantasists to entrap idolatrists.
2006-10-06 19:59:09 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not necessarily. One could be an Atheist and still avoid the Facts they are faced with in life. I don't think the word Atheist is automatically synonymous with Realist, in a general sense.
2006-10-06 23:47:34 · answer #11 · answered by Kithy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋