The Philosophical, Cultural, Political or Religious Rant Thread

[Animal]

Rant about your beliefs on any topic. I just listed a few in the OP, but have at it. What's your outlook, philosophy, religion? You don't have to commit to any of the thoughts you share here. This is just a rant thread to work out your thoughts, and rant about your current ideas.

It's fine to comment on people's rants, and challenge them. But please keep in mind this is a ranting thread, for unleashing thoughts. The thread may contain ideas that are not fully formed.

[Animal]

My own principles fall in line with Satanism more than Christianity, though they don't fall squarely into either. The concept of original sin (believing man is inherently flawed and must be redeemed by someone outside themselves to be good), and finding salvation through an outside source... is not my cup of tea. I much prefer individualism and honoring the animal nature, but balancing it with respect for others, which is the core principle of Satanism. That said, my core principles are beyond any dichotomies surrounding God vs. Satan.

To me, it's not necessary to have an authority. I don't need Big Daddy God to tell me how to be and to redeem me, nor do I need Big Daddy Government to collect taxes and tell me how to behave to redeem my ancestors' sins in society. I have a conscience, and it does its job. Although I take others' opinions and needs into account, and research things from many angles and keep an open mind - in the end, I am my own authority. And I don't need to be redeemed for the crime of being born. If there is a Creator (which I tend to feel is most likely, though I won't presume to know for sure) - then that Creator put us here, just the way we are. I would not want to worship any authoritarian deity who created us in such a flawed way that the only way to be good is to worship him. Any God of mine would reward people who do their best to love the people around them and think for themselves, regardless of their abstract beliefs.

The best way to describe my beliefs is a quote from Les Mis: "To love another person is to see the face of God." Or, my own quotes: "So carnal it's spiritual," and "Music is divine symmetry." Art, nature, empathy - these are the paths to the divine. If God created the world, he gave us nature by which to learn about it. While books written by people can be illuminating and inspiring, they are not direct works of God, as nature is. Of course, nature includes human nature, animal nature, and the elements. By studying these - and studying my own nature as well - I learn most about the universe and my connection to it. The sun, the stars, the trees and the eyes of my loved ones are my bible. The mirror keeps me in check.

[inkreservoir]

I find it exhausting when people who only really know about Christianity make blanket statements about "organized" or "Abrahamic" religions. I get that the entire concept may fundamentally not be someone's cup of tea and that's fine, and I can't speak to Judaism because I don't know much about it, but it's really annoying when people say things that are literally just not applicable to Islam and then fold it in to a blanket statement. I don't get why people feel the need to do this instead of just saying "Christianity" if that's what they mean.

[Animal]

Yeah, I can see that. I'm definitely not a collectivist myself, but I can see the benefit of it, and it's something I contend with in my book. Pure individualism doesn't work.
To me, the REAL "moral argument" is between individualists and collectivists. Both of these positions hold genuine, timeless merit. Society rests on the balance between these principles. The left/right stuff is mostly manufactured for the sake of being divisive. In the 60s, the liberals in USA were individualists and the conservatives were collectivists. Now, it is reversed, although some leftists try to claim it isn't. When someone is a modern leftist and *admits* they are collectivist, that's a position I respect, because it shows that they actually understand what it is that they stand for. And I stand for individualism, but I cannot claim to be a conservative, because I'd switch my affiliation over night if the conservatives became more collectivist, and stopped being the silenced voice who is fighting for my right to speak my opinion. (And others are welcome to be offended by that opinion too, ofc, but not to silence and censor me on media that I'm depending on to promote my work, or kick me out of jobs.. both of which are real dangers for anyone who speaks out against the left today.)

Anyway.. I respect the position of individualism and collectivism, and I believe a healthy society requires an honest balance between the two. The politics of today often obscure the true trends underlying people's positions. So it's hard to have an honest discussion about it.

[inkreservoir]

I totally agree with you on that. Good politics are about balance, the right to pursue your own freedom to the fullest degree without infringing on the freedom and humanity of others.

[Animal]

Yes! That's the ultimate aim. Exactly the issue my characters contend with in my books as well.

[Full_fathom]

>>Yeah I get what you mean. It's easier to just make assumptions.

Probably dating myself, but when I was 12yo the movie 'back to the future' came out and it had a slightly controversial scene where a couple of Arabs tried to blow up Doc and Marty with a grenade launcher. This wasn't invented, world events had already sorta shaped the geo-political relationship and made for easy Hollywood bad guys. (They're pretty disingenuous like that, Hollywood). The Beirut bombing was recent, it probably seemed relevant. These Arabs though, they were portrayed as Iranian, and what we would describe today as 'Jihad'. Not much has changed really, the most easy route is still dogma and probably why it still exists. Like listening to people talk about Israel. The unreasonable meeting the unreasonable, and somehow for absolutely no reason, it effects us... the US, the world's parent. Existing to shoulder every burden, your poor huddled masses. My random thought, not meaning to tack onto or join the above.

[Vive]

I used to be glad I was raised without much of a real religion, but at this point I wish I had looked a little more and really gave it a proper whirl, doing my best to extract the parts from different religions that really speak to me. Not to mention that really understanding the religion helps with understanding cultures that rely heavily on it and have laws that are still heavily informed by it.

I still have plenty of time to learn and study, regardless.

[Animal]

You posted this on my birthday. That *same day,* I was just talking about this with my co-author, how I wished I had more education in it; how I misunderstood some of the concepts in our own fictional world, which he so intelligently introduced, because I lacked religious education, and how I took comparative religion in college, but it wasnt the same as talking to people who actually grew up in that culture --- which is FINALLY starting to orient me more toward that state of mind. It's so interesting you brought this up literally the same day I was talking about it!!!