Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion Not-Quite-Science Forum Nature, Nurture & Spiriture--Components of Life

The word "Further" as you use it, would be relative.. as applied to your use of the word "They" in regards to the personal definition of religionists and "simple" believers.
By definition, you fit into the category of a religionist. Your anacronym is qualifying God within respect to special categories idealized by your beliefs, just as you qualify people with respect to title and background.

In the Bible the reference to Eve taking the bite out of the apple (which grew on the tree of knowledge in good and evil), is analogous of the central nervous system as it is directed outward on the senses.
The identification with duality, or the "construct" (of consciousness) as the predominant force in the universe.

Christianity was born of the Teachings of Advaita Vedanta. It was twisted as all teachings are when turned into a belief by people like yourself, who take the idea of the active forces of the universe and divide it into qualities that suit the individual lifestyle. That is religion.., anyone who reduces the ineffable into the limited qualities of duality such as opposites, to remove what is unfavorable in favor of that which is personally pleasing is a religionist.

Spiritual sciences in the Eastern Tradition as it was introduced to the west, has for centuries taught humanity that the outward senses, filtered thru belief and identification with the past, or filtered thru the personality subject to the ego, diversifies the amorphous and ineffable force of the universe into subjective qualities. Though the qualities exist within potential, Man takes his subjective experience to build his own castles of belief to define himself and the world around himself.

History has shown how religion teaches, preaches and even forcibly directs human beliefs toward its own ideals. It uses the ideas of what is not God, to control and manipulate people towards their own interests. That is religion, and religionist uses the personal value system to qualify themselves, and others.

What is "Good" becomes subjective, or bound within the social mores, religious beliefs and even politics. As is that which is Opportune and Desireable.
Your definition is pasted onto the idea of what Good people can build upon. All people are inherently Good and are at all times doing the best they can, regardless of the judgments of others and the pressures that are put upon them by those who insist they perform and live up to the standards of any authority.
Not all who call themselves religious, or athiest, or agnostic hold the same beliefs nor do they have the same life experiences, education or definitions of themselves.

The world today (as exemplified by the media) is obsessed with policing the social actions of anyone that they can objectify as being within the guidelines of good and desireable. You fit right in there rev.

The God of non-duality is within all things and all actions regardless of the man who creates idols of good and bad. The Universe abides in the dark as well as the light and does not judge. Man judges.

And Judgement is not a bad thing in light of the fact that we can evolve into greater understanding of ourselves and the actions that promote expansion of awareness, over the limitations of contraction that come from fear and delusion. However judgment made from ignorance of reality is going to be confined to the personal experience and the limits of ones grasp of the infinite. If a person thinks they can reduce it to the personal concept and then corral the rest of the universe and all diverse experience and judgment into their ideal package, they will die trying without ever succeeding. Even if they spent thousands of lifetimes trying, it would never happen. Even if you had all the humans ever born throughout time to back you up, you could never take the infinite and reduce it into definition.

At best you could point towards something and then if you decided to, dive into the exploration of it. But that is not what religion or people like you do. What you did is go to school, read books by others and then make an assumption without ever really taking the mind and senses into the reality of God... but I digress spending time describing your religious shortcomings...

Man as an entity is more of a participant within a much larger organism than an individual entity, and it supports a larger consciousness than that of the emergent ego.

All things are connected and all actions support each other. Light doesn't exist without darkness and the very definitions of good could not exist without the contrasting experiences that support the good, as they are labeled as something other than desirable, like something bad.

You're an idol worshiper reverend. You idealize your past in that you believe the hard times pushed you into taking action to be better, but you favor the outcome more than the stimulus which pushed you to make your choices. Now you want to pat yourself on the back..., get recognition from others for your choices, and gather others around you to create a club for those who made similar choices...

Everyone evolves in their own way. A single lifetime is hardly an eternity, and it's a far reach to believe any single individual could grasp the reality of the infinite in a single lifetime. (the ones who don't try and have emptied their cup are better equipped to receive the flow of information from the infinite than those who fill their cups with their righteousness of personal identification) The world is a diverse place and its history is full of experience and knowledge that few could understand. People take from the shelf what they believe they must have, without ever understanding the enormity of what is available in the store.

Keep in mind that fairness is relative, and that you don't draw much attention because of the fact that you consistently turn the conversation towards the personal narcissism of your identification with your self and your beliefs, as an idol of worship.