Thread: For An Intelligent Conversation On Spirituality/Religion

Originally Posted by JMS

God tends to pain the conscience. Human kind runs from that pain into the arms of many distractions, one of which is religion itself.

I find for me that God lives in my heart and I could not accept him through the stumbling block of religion but only through daily searching, pondering.
Where ever your path takes you, I wish you luck. you seem a rather reasonable person and I have enjoyed your posts.

I never felt I was running from a pained conscience. I just never really got the belief. I felt badly about it, and irrationally felt badly for god that maybe I was hurting his feelings by not believing in him, but then one day I said - Well, what doesn't exist cannot be offended, so... What I was running from was the idea that I should believe. That idea came from people around me - family, social circles, etc. Once I let go of that - realized that the only sin, as Ann Druyan's grandfather put it, would be to pretend I did, I felt a lot better. Free. I live an honest life without pretending.

My mother is disappointed that I do not believe. But she realizes that the actions a person takes really count more than the beliefs behind them, and is generally pretty happy with me on that account, so all is well.

I try to act ethically. When I do not, that is where my conscience gets pained. Then I have to try to undo whatever it is I did. On Earth.