A secular spirituality

Originally posted by lucifershammer
"Secular spirituality" - LOL!

I don't see anything contradictory in the term "secular spirituality". Perhaps you should buy an English dictionary.

From the Merriam-Webster on-line one: Secular

1 a : of or relating to the worldly or temporal b : not overtly or specifically religious c : not ecclesiastical or clerical

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/secular

Originally posted by lucifershammer
Why don't you define the term 'secular spirituality' for poor religious ignoramuses like me, then?

Let me give it a try. Some years ago when I was training as a massage therapist we were required to do practice massages on people. I remember approaching a woman I knew in my church that had back problems. She said she would "never let a man touch her." I found this to be quite ironic in that we attended the same church and would hear the same biblical stories of Jesus healing with the power and sensitivity of his "touch." Yet, for her, there was a disconnect between the hearing of the biblical stories and her willingness to experience an in the now experience. But this experience was a pivotal point in my training. I did a lengthy research project where I questioned people from a variety of religious traditions, including more secular understandings of the human condition. What I found out was that people who attended church were more likely to 1) sexualize massage therapy and 2) more likely to have lower self-esteem. Ironically, those who engaged in massage therapy were more likely to have a more well thought out theology and had better self-esteem and body image. I think this could be considered a "secular theology."

I guess I should also add that those on the more conservative and fundamentalist end of the spectrum were more likely to see human nature as bad as well as the physical body being "bad."

Some of you guys might be interested to chase up teh following theological works:

Altizer, The Gospel of Christian Atheism
Altizer and Hamilton, Radical Theology and the Death of God

I simply don't understand what the term 'Spirituality' means in the context of a secular belief system.

Originally posted by Codfish
I simply don't understand what the term 'Spirituality' means in the context of a secular belief system.

Then you and lucifershammer should form a study group or something.

Originally posted by Codfish
I simply don't understand what the term 'Spirituality' means in the context of a secular belief system.

We've been through this before.
Spirituality means many things to many people. I consider some things in my life to be spiritual - yet I'm an atheist.
My experience of love for my wife and kids would be one.
My sense of wonder at the world when I'm in natural environments is another.
My sense of insignificance in the universe when I watch stars in the sky at night is yet another.

The religious will argue for the existence of God in or behind these feelings. I disagree, but can't I still call them spiritual.

In fact, there are some who use spiritual to describe these feelings and Spiritual (note the capital s) to differentiate these with religious notions.
I'm not much into that, but hey ... whatever takes your fancy.

Originally posted by stocken
I think I understand what you're saying but I'm not sure. Secular being anything not religious, so it cannot be part of religious atheism. Right?

Not exactly.

I know that 'spirituality' and 'atheism' belong to two different categories of concepts. So, any subsequent qualifier to the two would also belong to two different categories - therefore the two cannot be identical.

Originally posted by Vladamir no1
You're showing your ignorance

He shows his ignorance on every topic except the Catholic church.

And that ain't worth knowing, being a pack of lies.

Originally posted by howardgee
He shows his ignorance on every topic except the Catholic church.

And that ain't worth knowing, being a pack of lies.

LOL!

All those years at university - and this is the best you come up with?

Come on, hg - no1's 6th grader comes up with better insults.

Originally posted by howardgee
He shows his ignorance on every topic except the Catholic church.

And that ain't worth knowing, being a pack of lies.

Anyone who uses LOL all the time as he does is ignorant enough without asking the silly questions he does....perhaps his insecurity in his lack of knowledge makes him want to pick fights with those who have actually got something to say.....Lucifer's hammer? more like Lucifers wet flannel...anyway lets hope he leaves the thread to those who want to discuss secular spirituality!!

Originally posted by Vladamir no1
Anyone who uses LOL all the time as he does is ignorant enough without asking the silly questions he does....perhaps his insecurity in his lack of knowledge makes him want to pick fights with those who have actually got something to say.....Lucifer's hammer? more like Lucifers wet flannel...anyway lets hope he leaves the thread to those who want to discuss secular spirituality!!

Lucifer'sStammer sure is pitiful.

Originally posted by Vladamir no1
Anyone who uses LOL all the time as he does is ignorant enough without asking the silly questions he does....perhaps his insecurity in his lack of knowledge makes him want to pick fights with those who have actually got something to say.....Lucifer's hammer? more like Lucifers wet flannel...anyway lets hope he leaves the thread to those who want to discuss secular spirituality!!

ROFL!

Originally posted by lucifershammer
Not exactly.

I know that 'spirituality' and 'atheism' belong to two different categories of concepts. So, any subsequent qualifier to the two would also belong to two different categories - therefore the two cannot be identical.

You really need an English course. How about "American" or "teenage" before the words "spirituality" or "atheism"? Or any of a few thousand others?

Originally posted by no1marauder
You really need an English course. How about "American" or "teenage" before the words "spirituality" or "atheism"? Or any of a few thousand others?

Well said!

Originally posted by stocken
The funny thing about this little thread thus far, is that I believe it was LH who tried to hold up an argument once that atheism is a form of religion. For some reason, spirituality within the same would be ridiculous. 🙄

Not that I think atheism is a religion or spiritual. But I do believe a person can be spiritual (in a sense) and still atheist. Somehow. I haven't really worked that one out. 😕

I have gone over this before. Believing in a spirit world (the strictest case of "spirituality" ) does not necessitate belief in a god. Hence a "New Ager" can feel a "spiritual" connection and still be an atheist. Another example is an atheistic medium who believes in channeling spirits from beyond the dead.

The supposition that a spirit world requires a god is an application of the same misguided reasoning that a natural world requires a god. Thus, it does not surprise me that so many god(s)-believers mistakenly equate atheism with a lack of belief in anything spiritual.