That sums up the problem very well BB. I believe that there is probably more going on already than we humble citizens are allowed to know, but there does seem to be a gulf between some countries and others when it comes down to intelligence information.
I don't like the idea of state prying but regard it as probably now necessary - what I lose in civil liberties to the state snooping I gain from more secure living. Strong rules have to be in place as it is for our protection but ultimately those with nothing to hide will never suffer from "intervention"
I don't have an issue with the state snoping into my affairs, I don't really have anything to hide - my ramblings on here and FB are hardly sedition! But TBH, I would imagine that the snoping is rather more targetted and the databases involved rather complex so that it's more based on relationships and the linking of those relationships.
I suspect that the greater the volume of snooping the harder it becomes to distil useful information from it.
Great post Cologne -what it shows is that it is good to find your own god - whatever that may be and that what is bad is to impose your view of god on others. If we all accepted that it is the differences between us all that makes life so good then we would value and respect those whose views differed. We all of course, by definition, think that what we believe is right (or we would not believe it) but it is the height of arrogance to think that we can tell others that we are correct and that they are wrong. To then take that to extremes and use violence against others for what they believe is insane
I'm an apistevist. It is a relatively new term. Whereas an atheist lacks a belief in god or gods, an apistevist lacks a belief in faith. I don't think this is the place to get into a philosophical argument as to exactly what that might mean but I am happy with the term. And I am in a profoundly happier place in myself than I ever was clinging to any supernatural belief. To take your last sentence though Leo, there is absolutely no empirical proof that what these lunatics believe in is true. Thus their murderous actions are doubly insane - one in the action itself and again for the thought process (sic) or erroneous philosophy behind it.
It seems that the cover of the next edition of Charlie Hebdo is to have a picture depicting the prophet Muhammad. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30786211
Hmm - two fingers to the terrorists, which will either make them think twice about committing such atrocities again, or spur them on to commit something even worse. I know which my money is on.
I have a friend Stephen Batchelor who was with me at WGS in the 60s who the went on to become a Buddhist priest and famous author in the field of western Buddhism. He then went on to renounce the trappings of organised Buddhism. One of his latest books is 'confessions of a Buddhist atheist'. I have two other friends who are world leaders in what is called pureland Buddhism and have written extensively on Buddhism and Buddhist psychology. I myself have written a couple of book chapters on religion, spirituality and therapy and used to teach the psychology of religion. I also have an Anglican priest friend who has renounced the church and is now a labour Councillor in Leeds. I say all this to contextualize what i want to say now. There is an immense difference between religion and spirituality faith and personal experience theology and personal morality etc etc All my colleagues above would say that they are now atheists and there is most likely no god in the personal sense. They have come to this after decades of practice, prayer, meditation and the like. I myself meditate most days and feel great for doing so. I rarely go to Church, gurdwar, temple, synagogue or mosque. It is fair to say I have lost a faith in the hereafter and the theology of death and resurrection. In doing so I have discovered a living joy and a belief in the magic of living. Personal experiences that have totally reinforced that for me include sitting on a hill in wales in 1972, sitting silently in a church in Corsica a few years back and trecking in Ladakh in the Himalaya and sitting outside my tent in the night time. In all of these situations the magic of the silence was overwhelming. Nowadays the joy , and challenges, of family life reinforce my belief in the wonder of being alive. When I look at the images over the last week, and the terrible killings in Nigeria and Syria/Iraq, I wonder what experience of the wonder of life members of these terrorist groups have. I imagine for the most parts they are oppressed, poor, with little personal power etc., who are promised bliss in the future etc etc. So I guess i am saying two things here Religion does not necessarily mean spirituality, love, bliss, compassion etc, which are personal. In fact religion is used by people for their own agendas The institution of religion is something that I no longer have faith in.... but i respect the great work being done by religious leaders and members of organized religions to make this world a better place. Morning epistle over
I obviously do not have the same personal experience as you Yorkie, but like you I have sought god in many different organised religions and like you have come to the conclusion that the god that Christians, Muslims and Jews describe in their holy books is not there. Whether that god exists or not I cannot say but I didn't find him and see no sign of his existence. I have also dabbled in many eastern religions and not seen signs of a "personal" god or any of the deities worshipped by some. However even now I do accept a "spiritual" nature and know that some things are not touchable but exist perhaps in the energy that surrounds us. The power of nature is enormous - after Mrs L's heart attack which caused our move to Wales we found the land and nature almost magical - the peace and tranquility we enjoyed was supreme. The unfortunate fact that the Welsh NHS is appalling killed that dream but we have been lucky in finding a good alternative in living by the sea where again the power of nature and the exuberance of the waves has been restorative.
I am saddened by the issue of Charlie Hebdo. I do believe in free speech and accept that it is their right to publish a cartoon of the prophet Mohammed. However I also see many who confuse free speech with licence to offend.and regard this as an example. Millions of Muslims will not appreciate this cover but most will accept that it has been done for a reason and quietly ignore it. However a magazine designed just to cause a little humour by being horrible to others (in this case Muslims but in other cases anyone they choose to target) is a tawdry magazine.
I feel a tad more generous , if that is the word, towards what they are about. There will of course be a resolute defiance amongst survivors... they will not bow down etc........ They wish to stand up against bigotry etc. Ultimately though unity is needed etc..... I have an experience, in English, only of private eye which does seek to raise awareness of corruption etc etc... at a times is both revelatory and very amusing
be careful Dave... Mind you if that is true .. we will all be down below and only the murderers etc up above so to speak! We could organise football!
Great couple of posts from Yorkie and Lenny and I find a lot that I nod along to. I too have no great faith in the organised religions, but I do find I can take great comfort and a sense of well being after visiting church. At some very low points last year Mrs W_Y also took great comfort from visiting our village church for Sunday service. Also I agree with Lenny about deliberately trying to offend - whilst I would always support the right to free speach, I cannot understand the need to offend just for the sake of offending - is that a right? Unless you want to highlight a particular current issue, what is the need?
