Pantheism

(My photo is intentionally left uncaptioned!)

https://onlinephilosophyclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16290 Pantheism can be a pluralistic middle ground in the debate between atheism and religion. One could interpret God to be like a shapeshifter who lives through everyone. It could serve as a baseline to assess and contextualise the various religious faiths. We can always solve the academic problem of consciousness at death simply by dying ourselves. But of course that’s not what we mean and I don’t think that would be much of a consolation. You’ll solve the perennial philosophical problem of what death is like but sadly you’d be dead. It’s usually about coming up with ideas ahead of time! Evolution speaks of a common ancestor while religion evokes a common spirit. I was asked to fill in for some doubles tennis game four years ago and as I walked home I became a bit nihilistic. In such an extreme state of mind I could only think in very general, basic terms. Paradoxically it was only when I found reasons to keep going even if I'll never feel happy again that the brief nihilistic sensation actually lifted and I felt back to normal. That eventually inspired me to explore pantheism. Pantheism is merely a philosophical doctrine and not a religion! A disbelief in heaven doesn’t mean you can’t pray; in fact it can be an incentive to pray even more before the adversity of death.

https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/5913/pantheism

“Out, out, brief candle.

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.”

- Macbeth

The eternal problem of death, oblivion and nihilism. Even in a million years when there’ll be unlimited resources and technology, people will never be immortal and death will always be a conundrum. I learned off a pile of these quotes in school so I’m afraid I’ll have to insist on using them in casual conversation!

“The fate of the unlearned, also known as the destiny of the unevangelized, is an eschatological question about the ultimate destiny of people who have not been exposed to a particular theology or doctrine and thus have no opportunity to embrace it. The question is whether those who never hear of requirements issued through divine revelations will be punished for failure to abide by those requirements.”

I suppose we could always do a small bit of improvisation after we died if we were to be confronted with the threat of hell for not believing in one particular faith:

Although perhaps humans in another galaxy millions of years away in the future would seem omniscient relative to us!

“A Posthuman God is a hypothetical future entity descended from or created by humans, but possessing capabilities so radically exceeding those of present humans as to appear godlike... (A) variant is the hypothesis that humanity will create or evolve into a posthuman God by itself.”

-transhumanism.fandom

Indeed if a medieval person could’ve transported to the year 2020, they’d think our technology and food was god-like. After having spent so much time moving rocks to build a castle for their king, they must view a crane operator to be much like Zeus.

(Zoned out, background trance music for a mystical vibe!)

You never know; the choir could start singing along to some techno music during Sunday mass!

If Jesus changed the water to coffee instead of wine we’d all be able to get up on time for the 6am mass!

It’s amazing when you mess around on photo brightness and discover your spiritual side!

Or you could also decrease the brightness to look more mysterious!

Unfortunately we don’t have the direct line! I think whatever created this universe won’t be gossiping to us!

If heaven were perfect then my old dog wouldn’t be allowed in as he’d jump on the table and eat everyone’s food. I’d imagine there’s probably a sign that we’d have to leave the dogs at the gate!

I don’t think I’ll ever make a will. All the money is to be spent on making a cool statue of myself! Apologies to any family members.

I’d a few eccentric second cousins. He didn’t believe in Jesus as such but became a priest nonetheless!

What would happen if humans in the future could live until age 200? One doesn’t have to be immortal to be wiser than present-day people. They’d be as old as the trees! Perhaps they’d resemble wizards compared to us!

Imagine if religion comes full circle to become a new counter-culture! You’d have rappers saying the rosary in their next album.

If society was like school then religious, scientific, left and right wing people would all be classed as nerds. Instead they are mortal enemies!

"The Silver Branch Movie: An uplifting and emotional celebration of people and place, which captures the delicacy of the natural world; the heart and soul of a farmer-poet, Patrick McCormack; and the ancient rural spirit of Ireland which stands behind him."

- I truly admire his unusual job title of farmer-poet. It has given me the confidence to declare myself a tennis-philosopher.

I was walking on the outskirts of town when I bumped into a random stranger from Germany offering to tell me about a document on the bible. I agreed to listen and he was telling me he wasn't connected to any church but it was only out of his own belief in God. He talked about his faith as a way to find meaning in life and I found it inspiring even though I wasn't necessarily in full agreement with everything he was saying. I think he was trying to describe how his life turned from a dark place to a positive one which would have been more uplifting if only he didn't go into so much detail about all of his sins. There are some things you can really afford to leave out to politely avoid the awkwardness. Anyway I thanked him for his time and told him I admired his dedication!

I helped out once in editing the eulogy of a distant relative's funeral. This is just a warning to always be on your best behaviour during a family reunion. You never know who could be having the final say or adding in a few put-downs in your last mass! It was for yet another eccentric cousin who was once training to be a priest in a cloistered abbey in Rome. He then changed his mind and jumped over a wall to escape and return to Ireland. They didn't know how to describe it so I said we'd write that he "temporarily studied to be a priest" and we left it at that!

How do I opt out? I'm unemployed so I'm not in the working, middle or upper classes. I handed out the money basket a few times in mass so perhaps I'll try to weave my way into the religious class which is just above the aristocrats and behind the nobles!

It'd be relaxing to have your own private prayer or meditation room at home. You could pay the priest to do some freelance work to save you the bother of going to the church on Sunday!

The state bans drugs and the church disapproves of mind-altering chemicals. Some people reject religion in favour of various drug habits. However what people forget is that if God is the creator of all things then it was actually God Himself who invented drugs for reasons we don't know!

Finally; someone who actually agrees with me!