Do atheists disavow Satan the same as they disavow God?

[cliffy1]

Is that a perceptual thing? LIke no light and dark but light and absence of light? Or evil not being a thing unto itself but rather the absence of good?

It is all about judgements. In the bible it is summed up as, "Judge not lest ye shall be judged." In Buddhism, it is about being in the Now. Without judgement there is only being. Wonder is the absence of judgement. Memory is clinging to the past. As Ram Das said, Be Here Now, there is only the present. The past is a lie (due to selective memory) and the future is just a dream. All we have is the present moment and if we live each moment as if t is our last, it will last an eternity.

[fluffy]

You lost me there. Talk to me like this is my first time.

[unclemarty]

It is all about judgements. In the bible it is summed up as, "Judge not lest ye shall be judged.".

You can try to use the bible to support a new age worldview if you want but scripture does contain plenty of warnings about impending judgement and calls for repentance to stay that judgement.

You are right that it's never been up to us to make that call - beyond what pertains to ourselves.

[cliffy1]

You lost me there. Talk to me like this is my first time.

Duality is about judgements. If you learn to just be, without judging any situation, then you can absorb the wonder of it all. Life is neither good or bad. For instance, rain is just rain, but if you judge it as being unpleasant, then you miss enjoying it for what it is - a life giver and sustainer. Water is miraculous stuff. We cannot live without it, but how many times do you hear people whine about it. Unless you ski, snowmobile or play hockey, snow can be a pain in the butt. But that is a judgement. Snow is just snow. It is neither good or bad. It just is. Same with life in general. It just is. Would you rather enjoy it or feel miserable? The only thing keeping you from enjoying it judgements on different aspects.

I hear people say stuff like they hate Mondays, getting a cold, getting turned down for a raise, traffic... whatever! If you are in the moment, well, there you are. Take the next step without expectation and you will never be disappointed. Life suddenly becomes interesting all the time because it is always a surprise.

To be born again is to become like a child, with a mind wide open to the wonder of learning something new every minute. It has nothing to do with religion. Religion is all about judging - judging your thoughts deeds, others. Takes all the joy out of life.

[cliffy1]

It is all about judgements. In the bible it is summed up as, "Judge not lest ye shall be judged.".

You can try to use the bible to support a new age worldview if you want but scripture does contain plenty of warnings about impending judgement and calls for repentance to stay that judgement.

You are right that it's never been up to us to make that call - beyond what pertains to ourselves.

The bible is a book. Its meaning is up to the individual as to figure out. There are over 2500 different Christian sects. None of them agree on its meaning. Everyone of them thinks their interpretation is the only right one and they will be the only ones saved. That is a judgment, strictly forbidden by the book. I have discussed the bible (and many other holy books) with hundreds of people from a great variety of religious and philosophical belief systems and in every group there are only about 1% who actually get it. They don't go around telling people what to believe, or that they are going to hell because they don't believe the way they do. They just quietly become the truth of their beliefs, they live according to their way of seeing the truth.

[fluffy]

You lost me there. Talk to me like this is my first time.

Duality is about judgements. If you learn to just be, without judging any situation, then you can absorb the wonder of it all. Life is neither good or bad. For instance, rain is just rain, but if you judge it as being unpleasant, then you miss enjoying it for what it is - a life giver and sustainer. Water is miraculous stuff. We cannot live without it, but how many times do you hear people whine about it. Unless you ski, snowmobile or play hockey, snow can be a pain in the butt. But that is a judgement. Snow is just snow. It is neither good or bad. It just is. Same with life in general. It just is. Would you rather enjoy it or feel miserable? The only thing keeping you from enjoying it judgements on different aspects.

I hear people say stuff like they hate Mondays, getting a cold, getting turned down for a raise, traffic... whatever! If you are in the moment, well, there you are. Take the next step without expectation and you will never be disappointed. Life suddenly becomes interesting all the time because it is always a surprise.

To be born again is to become like a child, with a mind wide open to the wonder of learning something new every minute. It has nothing to do with religion. Religion is all about judging - judging your thoughts deeds, others. Takes all the joy out of life.

Thanks cliffy1, I get your drift. You know those little sayings that set off a little bell in your head, the ones you know right away are "keepers"? One I've been carrying for years is "I can't change the world, but I can change the way I look at it". I big benefit of this type of living would be the release from fear, which when you get right down to it, is at the root of a lot of the problems people face today.

[cliffy1]

Thanks cliffy1, I get your drift. You know those little sayings that set off a little bell in your head, the ones you know right away are "keepers"? One I've been carrying for years is "I can't change the world, but I can change the way I look at it". I big benefit of this type of living would be the release from fear, which when you get right down to it, is at the root of a lot of the problems people face today.

That is correct. Fear is the biggest element that keeps people from enjoying life - fear of what others think of them, fear of making mistakes and embarrassing themselves, Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of relationships... the list is endless.

Fear is the root of all anger. Fear enslaves us, imprisons us. It is the major cause of heart failure and cancer, two of the biggest killers today. Religion and politics are the two major sources of fear. When I was growing up we were told to fear communism. Now we have to fear the threat of Islam. It amazes me that people actually leave their homes sometimes.