Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Quotation of the day

I don't understand people who say they're spiritual but not religious. Isn't that just being superstitious without the benefits of community and ritual?

Shawn McDonald

[h/t to PZ Myers]

3 comments:

  1. I usually think it's just the teenage mind's initial refutation of religious dogma as a whole. Typically the people that make this statement in earnest actually DO have to mental capacity (maybe everyone does?...not so sure about that actually) to understand the idiocy once it is pointed out to them. Funny quote regardless...

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  2. The dictionary defines one meaning of spiritual as affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things. In that respect, I guess, if someone is moved by or motivated by emotions, for example, one could be considered spiritual. If one were moved by music, art, or by a kind act, one might be spiritual. I've never thought of myself as being spiritual, even though I am affected by the human spirit quite often. I've always thought of spiritual as relating to religion or to spirits and since I stopped believing in religion as a pre-teen (over 50 yrs ago) it never occurs to me to describe myself that way. But, I guess, I can understand why someone might.

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  3. I guess, if someone is moved by or motivated by emotions, for example, one could be considered spiritual. If one were moved by music, art, or by a kind act, one might be spiritual.

    There seem to be three definitions of "spiritual":
    1) Motivated by emotion (everyone is motivated by emotion),

    2) Motivated predominantly by emotion (i.e. interested in Pirsig's "romantic quality" to the exclusion of "classical quality")

    3) Superstitious

    All too often atheists and skeptics are deprecated for being "un-spiritual"; clearly only the second and third senses can be intended.

    ReplyDelete

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