AJ
You said."Unfortunately, until you can define and demonstrate what exactly what a spirit is, this is all fairly meaningless".

God is not a spirit: God is spirit. [full stop] Spirit is manifest by attitude, character, morality, creativity and motivation

Ah, yes Philo. I’ve heard them all before: god is energy, god is nature, god is love, god is all of us, god is that which we cannot understand and yes, apparently to some, god can even be ‘spirit’.

But the word “god” carries some baggage with it because of its historical use. It would be wrong for me to claim that, say, ‘gravity’ is ‘god’, because gravity doesn’t have any of the identifiable characteristics of the classical definitions of god where we get the baggage from. It’s dishonest and disingenuous to argue that god is something else.

If god is spirit, then just use the word ‘spirit’ and leave it at that.

I’m sorry, but you don’t just get to add the word ‘god’ to anything you want and then ignore the baggage when it’s convenient, but then, at the same time, use the baggage when it IS convenient. For example, you don’t get to claim that god is spirit and then, at the same time, claim that he actually cares what we mere mortals actually do with our genitals.

But this sort of nonsense is merely an attempt to sound accommodating, sophisticated and open-minded when in fact, it nothing but childish, nonsensical, unsophisticated and intellectually devoid.

AJ, with these comments, "But this sort of nonsense is merely an attempt to sound accommodating, sophisticated and open-minded when in fact, it nothing but childish, nonsensical, unsophisticated and intellectually devoid." Demonstrate the real nature of your spirit. Think about it!

Learn what you are really like. What are your positive secure thouights?

Philo,
AJ has you pegged. You're the one who should go away and think it over.
You talk authoritatively about God:
<God is not a spirit: God is spirit. [full stop] Spirit is manifest by attitude, character, morality, creativity and motivation> etc.
But these are just empty words, imaginative yearnings that do indeed "reveal nothing but childish, nonsensical, unsophisticated and intellectually devoid" thinking.
In the absence of evidence that can't be dismissed as delusion (usually self-agrandising), what's wrong with simply confessing one's ignorance of such matters? Having a deep-seated belief in some kind of divine benevolence/providence is one thing, but spruiking about it, as if you had more than blind faith; as if you had the faintest idea about such high-sounding intangibles as:
<God is not a spirit: God is spirit. [full stop] Spirit is manifest by attitude, character, morality, creativity and motivation>
is tiresome in the extreme.
I suspect myself that there is a much greater mystery to life than merely what is manifest, but I don't make the least pretence at understanding or explaining it.
"Ignorance is like a delicate fruit; touch it, and the bloom is gone".

Have you partaken of the apple, perchance?

Sorry about the delay in reply, Philo. Illness and the floods (I live very close to the Brisbane River) have made posting difficult for me lately.

<<...these comments, "But this sort of nonsense is merely an attempt to sound accommodating, sophisticated and open-minded when in fact, it nothing but childish, nonsensical, unsophisticated and intellectually devoid." Demonstrate the real nature of your spirit. Think about it!>>

Really?

The only thing I think they reveal about me is that I care about the truth of my beliefs.

You sound very cranky here. If I offended you then I apologise, but think about this: are you offended because I said something wrong or out-of-line? (If so, then please tell me what it is and why). Or are you offended because you just didn’t like what I said?

Think about it.

<<What are your positive secure thoughts?>>

Well, when I was a Christian, my secure thoughts were the idea that death wasn’t the end and that there was a powerful and (conveniently) invisible being taking care of everything.

But realising that there was no good reason to believe in god was a big shock to the system. I had to re-learn my entire way of thinking as I had discovered that I cared about my beliefs being as close to the truth as possible.

But growing up was never meant to be easy.

I don’t think I have any “secure thoughts” now. But at the same time, I don’t really feel the need for them anymore.

I think this brings us to the core difference between us, Philo: I hold my beliefs because I feel they are as close to the truth as possible - whether or not I like them - you, on the other hand, don’t seem to care so much about the truth of your beliefs, you just like them.

Same with all theists actually.

Continued...

...Continued

As for my positive thoughts, the first one that comes to mind is that, of all the countless people that will never be born, I’m alive. Another that comes to mind is the sheer fact that existence in itself is purpose; an imagined omnipotent being is not required for those of us who are appreciative an thoughtful