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Why is homosexuality wrong?

JetLeg said:
Mashuna,

But you are bluffing, you are making your claim up. You are not really worshipping FSM.
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Let's try something else.

I worship the Hindu god Ganesha, along with millions of other people. The elephant headed Remover of Obstacles and Lord of Beginnings has been very inspiring to me in many ways, and I keep an idol of Him on my desk as well as in my home. I can't imagine my life without His influence, His care, and His love.

Prove to me that the emotions I feel and the divine inspiration from beyond do not come from Ganesh, when I know in my heart of hearts that they do.
 
Hokukele,

I agree that my material brain has something to do with my immaterial feelings.

So?
 
zombiebex said:
Let's try something else.

I worship the Hindu god Ganesha, along with millions of other people. The elephant headed Remover of Obstacles and Lord of Beginnings has been very inspiring to me in many ways, and I keep an idol of Him on my desk as well as in my home. I can't imagine my life without His influence, His care, and His love.

Prove to me that the emotions I feel and the divine inspiration from beyond do not come from Ganesh, when I know in my heart of hearts that they do.
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Well, who of the hindus say that they literally feel Ganesha's love?
 
JetLeg said:
Hokukele,

I agree that my material brain has something to do with my immaterial feelings.

So?
Click to expand...


It is the first step in dropping dualism. No independent mind, no soul, etc. In addition, understanding that your brain can play tricks on you can lead to an understanding of why a phenomenon that can only be experienced by you, and no one else, is not necessarily real, but simply another trick of the brain, or even possibly a defect that you may be unaware of.

Please note, I am not suggesting that religion is a brain defect, but that it is a brain artifact. Of course, this does not disprove god, but it makes personal religious experiences much less reliable as hard evidence.
 
Hokulele said:
In addition, understanding that your brain can play tricks on you can lead to an understanding of why a phenomenon that can only be experienced by you, and no one else, is not necessarily real, but simply another trick of the brain, or even possibly a defect that you may be unaware of.
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Well, do you think that the specific emotion of feeling god, or of feeling god's love might be a trick?
 
JetLeg said:
Well, who of the hindus say that they literally feel Ganesha's love?
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There's only one response to a truly cowardly response as this.

FN-391-200~Short-Tailed-Weasel-Posters.jpg
 
JetLeg said:
Well, do you think that the specific emotion of feeling god, or of feeling god's love might be a trick?
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I think that specific emotion is an artifact generated by the brain.

Read up on neurotheology, the limbic system, and the work of Dr. Michael Persinger. I also highly recommend the work of Dr. V.S. Ramachandran, particulary his book Phantoms in the Brain.

(The underlined words are all links to pages that might help you get started. Please click them to learn more.)
 
Lonewulf, wrong. I want to know if the Hindus merely believe in Ganesha, or they say they feel his love.
 
JetLeg said:
Well, do you think that the specific emotion of feeling god, or of feeling god's love might be a trick?
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Jetleg,

Here is the point you seem to be missing. It is unwise and likely to be a mistake when you equate your feelings with objective reality.

If a man buys a lottery ticket and he feels very strongly that he is going to win, does this improve his odds?

Likewise, if you feel the love of a wonderful, all loving, judgmental, destructive, bad tempered God of mercy, that kills millions of people every time he gets pissed off, and then sends his Only Begotten Son to die for our sins so he can still punish us for them, this also does not prove that he exists. It does seem to indicate some passive aggressive tendencies, but only on the part of your Sky Daddy, not you.

If you have feelings that give you comfort and help you to enjoy life and be productive and loving, that's great. I'm glad you are satisfied with your emotional life. But this does not establish that the things you believe are true, it only establishes that you like these ideas.

It is not in your best interests to confuse your emotional responses with what does and does not exist.
 
From http://www.beliefnet.com/story/131/story_13104_1.html

Teaching Kids to Love Ganesha
Practical ways to make Ganesha worship--and temple visits in general--treasured parts of children's lives.
By Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami


Passing on Hindu traditions to the younger generation has always been a duty of parents. Clearly there is a heightened need to teach children the benefits of regular worship at the Hindu temple when they are young, so that when they are adults, temple worship will be treasured as an important part of their life.
Teaching children that the Gods are real beings and that the purpose of going to the temple is to experience Their blessings is what transforms the temple from a cultural hall to a truly sacred place. For a child, going to the temple can then be like visiting the home of a grandfather or grandmother whose compassion and wisdom the child really enjoys. The child is happy to go to be with someone he or she delights in spending time with.

In his book "Loving Ganesha," Satguru Subramuniyaswami says: "Among all the wonderful Hindu Deities, Lord Ganesha is the closest to the material plane of consciousness, most easily contacted and most able to assist us in our day-to-day life and concerns... We must teach the world's Hindu youth the greatness of their Hinduism. We must teach them to seek the able assistance of Lord Ganesha in all things. He is the first Ishta Devata, the chosen God, of all Hindus, regardless of their sectarian position. Worship of Lord Ganesha leads the devotee most naturally to the other great Gods."

Clearly, teaching children to worship Lord Ganesha is a natural place to start in introducing them to the Gods. This is most effectively done by showing how worshiping Him can help us in day-to-day life and concerns. Here is a short list of benefits to focus on, and some approaches for teaching children that you can try for yourself.

Intellectual Control: When you start each day's study, or come upon a difficult subject, pray for Ganesha's clear mind. See and feel a bright yellow light around your head. Feel smart. Strongly desire to understand. When you have a problem in life, at school, home or work, Lord Ganesha will help you. Ganesha knows everything about you and everybody you know, from the past into the future. But you must ask for His help. See Ganesha's majestic face and with mental force ask for help and explain the problem. Lord Ganesha will send you ideas and thought power, introduce you to new attitudes, help you to understand other people, help you use wisdom and not emotions to face life's many experiences.


JetLeg, not only do Hindu children feel the love, they FEEL Ganesha as if he/she were a part of the family. They are taught to tie in problem solving, mental capabilities and understanding of others to a belief in a god with an elephant head.

I daresay they FEEL a lot more than you do or I ever did in a personal sense from a god.

If not the great and powerful FSM. And not Santa... how about Ganesha? At least Ganesha will try to lead you down the ironic path of using wisdom instead of emotion to face life's many experiences.
 
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JetLeg said:
Well, who of the hindus say that they literally feel Ganesha's love?
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*raises hand*

Are you trying to tell me that my feelings are wrong? What gives you that right? You don't know what I feel, only I do, and I KNOW that it is Ganesha. How dare you insinuate that all the great things that the Lord Ganesha has helped me to attain did not in fact come from him?! I haven't prayed to a Christian god for anything since middle school. Ganesha is the only god who has ever really and genuinely helped me and continues to help me, and for that I thank him.

Prove to me that my feelings do not come from Ganesha. Prove to me that he is not the one who helps me through life.
 
Whoa whoa whoa, Belz.

Fiend God! Oy!

There's only room on this thread for one god! Don't try to take any of my, ah, worship.
 
zombiebex said:
*raises hand*

Are you trying to tell me that my feelings are wrong? What gives you that right? You don't know what I feel, only I do, and I KNOW that it is Ganesha. How dare you insinuate that all the great things that the Lord Ganesha has helped me to attain did not in fact come from him?! I haven't prayed to a Christian god for anything since middle school. Ganesha is the only god who has ever really and genuinely helped me and continues to help me, and for that I thank him.

Prove to me that my feelings do not come from Ganesha. Prove to me that he is not the one who helps me through life.
Click to expand...

I have to think about the article quoted above.

But you are not serious, I know.
 
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