From the empty into the vacant:: Liturgy and meaning

The spirit and ritual of the world leads us from the empty into the vacant. The ritual of Church life and the Liturgy bring meaning and fulness of being.

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[graymatrrocks]

Beautiful Sermon! I found it very meaningful.

[bigboy45454545]

@ioannismiami Thanks for the concerns for my mental health. I'm an emotionally stable critical thinking person. I'm not suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder as you contend. I feel that religion has nothing to offer and I feel that religions are based on lies. If I were you I'd be more worried about myself and my illogical beliefs in magic sky wizards and such. Have you ever heard of Science and evidence and critical thinking? It's the 21st century, it's not the 14th century.

[bigboy45454545]

@ioannismiami I don't give a rat's ass about a believers emotions or delusions. The faster a person's God delusions are debunked the faster a person can recover and become an emotionally healthy and logically minded person. Right now you and all believers are suffering from cognitive dissonance otherwise known as mental gymnastics to account for God magic you know isn't true. Lying to people about Gods is the real bullying here. I hope you recover soon. You're a victim of religion not me.

[ioannismiami]

[# 3 message] NPD often presents with other complications, such as:

(1) Substance abuse

(2) Alcohol, street drugs, and/or prescription drug abuse

(3) Axiety, depression and/or other mood disorders

(4) Suicidal thoughts or behavior

(5) Eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa

(6) Relationship difficulties

(7) Problems at work or school -- due to low-level emotional intelligence, despite high level of cognitive intelligence

NPD responds well to cognitive-behavioural therapy.

[ioannismiami]

[# 2 message] All of these traits are part of a cluster of symptoms associated with Narcissistic Personality Disorder [NPD]. People with NPD may not want to think that anything is wrong about their symptoms, or even that they manifest them. Such acknowledgment would not be consistent with their self-image of power and perfection. For that reason I asked if a family member or friend had spotted these in you. NPD appears in early adult years by ratio two times more in men. [See message #3]

[ioannismiami]

@bigboy45454545 Have you ever heard someone having identified the following traits in you? (1) Believing that you're better than others; (2) Exaggerating your talents & beliefs; (3) Believing that you're special and acting accordingly; (4) Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings; (5) Taking advantage of others by taunting or bullying; (6) Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior; (7) Trouble keeping healthy relationships; (8) Having a fragile self-esteem. [See #2]

[bigboy45454545]

@ioannismiami So you're talking about the tradition of ritual worship of your Gods. You can have it. I choose not to be superstitious. Time is better spent in other pursuits. If your Gods don't exist then all time spent in ritual worship of your Gods is wasted time. I'm sure that worshiping Gary the pink invisible Unicorn would be fun and bring meaning to gullible superstitious people too. However there's no evidence for Gary or Jesus or any other Gods. Gods live only in the imagination.

[ioannismiami]

[# 2 message]: Among unwritten rules about behaviour in shopping malls, there is an expectation of payment for items purchased before a customer removes items from a retail outlet. Similar unwritten expectations shape the rituals of communication. For example, when advancing a difference of opinion, an unwritten ritual is to temper inflammatory words or at least to acknowledge having conveyed such words with an apology. Given that rituals as these shelter the human race, would you use them?

[ioannismiami]

@bigboy45454545 "There is a liturgy of life," according to Vladyka in this video. All people participate in rituals as they engage the "work"--liturgy--of daily life. He employs an image of a shopping mall with multiple retail outlets as a locus where commercial rituals occur. Certainly shopping malls in North America provide rituals of trade and commerce that vary from those in Bangkok or Managua. However, such rituals as these convey unwritten expectations about behaviour. [See #2 message].

[blackbette07]

This reminds me a friend went to the local Orthodox Church with me. Later she said it was too ritualistic. Haa I bet anyone that there is not a church on this continent that is not ritualistic. Some folks just like certain rituals more than others