A question for everyone for a change! Are we not all the same at heart?

Question

Someone said earlier "Atheists come to the conclusion they do through personal experience, research, reason, and critical thinking."

But surely Ásatrú, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Pagans and everyone else on R&S also use the very same things to arrive at their beliefs about 'Life The Universe and Everything'?

So are we not all just doing our best to figure out what it's all about? And if that's so, why not give credit where credit's due and stop all the petty bitterness? 'Cos aren't we all the same at heart?

Polite answers please! Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

"Unbelief is just like belief, in essence and not in content."
~Delingeralo Poscules

Yes, I agree that we all are in the process of trying to figure it out. Some have ruled out supernatural, as to them only those things we can see or measure makes sense (without them, science would not have advanced so far as it has). Others find sense in the logic of a Creator God (without whom the origins of everything would be a guess). Some find worship of a god to be their lifelong goal, and that they will be rewarded. Others feel that a life of good deeds IS their reward, believing that when they die they return to dust and it is over. Everyone just wants a sense of knowing where they fit in the midst of things, and everyone finds a different place to fit in.

Answer 2

There is a fundemental difference between believers and non believers.

Believers pass responsibility for their life onto another being.
They fear death so much that they convince themselves that there is some sort of existence after death.
Most religious people will tell you that a rightous life can only be achieved through their God.

Non believers still fear death........but accept it.
Non believers understand that if you take responsibilty for your own actions and decisions, you can lead a good life and make a meanful contribution to making the world a better place.

I'm not saying that believers can't and don't do good things. But you don't have to be a believer to achieve good. And many believers do terrible things that make the world a worse place, like starting wars.

Answer 3

Are we not all the same at heart?

Yes. We are all the same at heart. Because we as spirit soul, are situated in the heart, irrespective of one calling oneself, Ásatrú, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Pagans and everyone else.

"The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air (prnaa, apana, vyana, samana and udana), is situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all over the body of the embodied living entities. When the soul is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited."

That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.(Bhagavad-gita-2.17)
Purport by A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of ISKCON,
(International Society for Krishna Consciousness)
The influence of the atomic soul can be spread all over a particular body. According to the Mundaka Upanisad, this atomic soul is situated in the heart of every living entity, and because the measurement of the atomic soul is beyond the power of appreciation of the material scientists, some of them assert foolishly that there is no soul. The individual atomic soul is definitely there in the heart along with the Supersoul, and thus all the energies of bodily movement are emanating from this part of the body. The corpuscles which carry the oxygen from the lungs gather energy from the soul. When the soul passes away from this position, the activity of the blood, generating fusion, ceases. Medical science accepts the importance of the red corpuscles, but it cannot ascertain that the source of the energy is the soul. Medical science, however, does admit that the heart is the seat of all energies of the body.

Answer 4

I don't think we are all the same at heart.

Most believers actually don't engage in an intellectual defense of their faith. Most are born into a faith and keep it for family and social reasons.

A lot of people on this board have probably gone through a process to arrive at their beliefs. Especially if those beliefs are non-mainstream.

Answer 5

Unfortunately, there are many passionate/obsessed/extreme people out there, and nothing short of a huge shock to their system will change the way they think.
My current keyword in life is "tolerance". I'm trying my best, and hope that my actions inspire others.

Answer 6

I think you are right. I don't believe in God, but I understand why people are part of religions. I don't know what happened to someone to make them the way they are, so I try not to judge them. That being said, I do think its important to speak out against hatred and ignorance, but I try to do it in a way that addresses the issue and does not attack the person. I don't always succeed.

Answer 7

I couldn't of put that better myself, i'm Catholic (though not practising) i think everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and we should respect that - not ram it down each others throats, causing pain, death and as you say petty bitterness. I personally think that if a person's faith encourages them to hate and kill others, then surely there's something very wrong with that faith or person.

Answer 8

Certainly we are all the same at heart. The people who disagree all seem to be religious types who think that their way is the only right way, which just shows you how religion perverts people's minds.

Answer 9

Jesus is love.and you can tell who is on their way to heaven by the way they treat others even if they are not saved now when its time they will go through the bright white light that is love.it is the Aurea of Jesus.one third of the angels left heaven to go with lucifer satan.isn't it a coincident that one third of the people are for the killing war that's going on now and the sad part is most of them claim they follow Jesus.Well the Jesus that saved me told me to love and forgive everyone even if they kill you.food for thought

Answer 10

unfortunately we are not.
i disagree with religious beliefs, because i feel they are dangerous in that they cause division amongst people.
why cant people just be, and appreciate what we have, but i guess part of the human condition is to question.
i guess that is all i try to do. but sometimes i have a little fun with it.
if we can't laugh at ourselves, what can we laugh at.