"Religion's for people afraid of hell...... Spirituality's for people who've.."

I think the person who said that was trying to imply that he know so much about spirituality and hell. Well, my idea is, maybe he was just trying to impress people, showing off that he/she know something beyond human mentality.

Accurate No. Not in my views James. It may be the chosen path of a few, but i still have a different view point on this. Religion in my views is a way of life and lays down a set of paths and principles to be followed in your day to day life. Spirituality :- Is an experience to start off with. It's connected with a realm within you. Those who have great experiences in this sphere are those who have actually led simplified lives. Some people who have had difficult times try and in that sense been to hell seek answers and turn to spirituality, in that sense it may be true. But it's also a fact that people once they reach a certain age also trun to it.

I quite agree with this James. Being a person who believes more in spirituality than religion I think 'religion' is too often profaned. It has been so from time immemorial. Liberation, reaching out that could be achieved through purgative enlightening in the process of spiritual upliftment helps in understanding the nuances of religion better. Most people are religious and fearfully so. And I quite endorse the view of the celebrity.

I'm a spiritual person and havent been a religous one in many yrs and I can honestly say that ya I agree with it....but I dont think its something that would apply to everyone walking the face of the earth (a good chunk though LOL)...

No and so often spirituality is just a cover for self-indulgence andnarsassism. Besides celebrities are hardly the best people to take advice from! all the best urban

I like a little spirituality after my religion James. My Teachers rang loud as Bells on a White Horse in GlenMorangie with that one! Too deep for me my friend. I'm more fluffy bunnies and picnics!

I consider myself spiritual but I would never be enticed into becoming the member of an organized religion ever again. I won't be fooled again! The thing is that the warnings are clear all through the teachings throughout our history the dangers of such organizations. The agenda's that can be pushed when one group even a minority can manage some sliver of control in order to obtain more power over others. Substitute any label for the word 'authority' be the label church leader, lobbyist, special interest group, individual seeking control, any number of combination's exist, you could insert the word judge or detective maybe even lawyer or director of the Area Agency on Aging. The 'authority' working to inflict their will upon others through the concept of discrimination creates a bias against either the minority or the majority. From a higher plane we can see below to know the truth and to follow the truth to the point of origin. This is where organized religion takes a fall. I'm sure you expected my opinion to be something on this line of thinking against all organized religions due to their abuse of powers. We do not have to die for our beliefs... Too many organized religions have twisted this into we have to die or kill and that is a lie. What is true is that we all live and have physical being and as such we will all die, our physical self will die but our spiritual being can live on forever.

In my opinion, it is pretty darn accurate! Great quote!

Wow! This is my new favorite quote! I don't care who originally said it! The truth of it is plain to see... for those who have been to hell and are back again anyway. Those that are still walking around dazed and confused, shackled by their own beliefs, and have not made it back home yet, do not seem to have such an easy time recognizing the truth in all things... including this quote, hehehe. Your discussion has reminded me of that Steve Earle song "I Feel Alright"... the last line of the song is "... I've been to hell and now I'm back again."

I don't know that I could define religion or spirituality, Jamesy, but I do know that I ain't got no religion, but I consider myself a very spiritual person, and I have more faith in my little finger than most people have in their entire lives. I believe what I believe and I believe in it strongly. But I couldn't necessarily give you all of the tenets of my belief....it would be so hard to do....because I think that new ones happen at various times in my life, times of growth, knowledge or change, maybe....But I often wonder at people who seem to have this conpulsion to talk about and argue about their faith. It makes me wonder about how strong their faith really is if they have to hammer home their points about it, and go so far as to insult others' faiths. It's like, "methinks they doth protest too much". Ya know what I mean, darlin?

I haven't the slightest idea since I am neither...

hey hun i'm not much up for religion i dislike how people twist and change it to suit their own bigotry and bias but i do agree that when you have been though so much and come through it the other end most people have at least some incklings of spirituality because if they didn't they wouldn't have made it though sane. I mean how else do you accept things like your child dying or a parent with cancer unless theres a bigger picture it has to mean something otherwise it's just to brutal and senseless.

I am in two minds about the quote. I think I can see what it's implying but then again I don't think it is entirely accurate. There are people who claim to be religious but have hearts of stone and there are people who have found religion and it has saved their lives. Spiritual people can be following a trend or feel true faith in their hearts. I don't think you can place labels. There are atheists who don't believe and yet do great things for others such as Irish anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof. There are members of the underworld who kill all week and take their wives and children to church on Sundays. It is a too broad a statement.

basicly people hold religion with fear reason, fear of God, fear have no guide, fear have no saviour, fear they will not go to heaven, including of what you say, they follow religion blindly.

I don't follow the rules and lay-down paths of one single religion, I am interested in many forms of religion and spirituality and I try to find my own trueth within them. Therefor I would refer to myself as a spiritual person other than a religous person. I do not follow the rules and guideliness of a faith as strict as they should be, but I do believe in helping others, being thankfull and things similar to this that are also carried out in most religions. I find it hard to give an opinion on this one, I do see some logic in the statement because people who have been to hell and back (I guess) won't take an outlined path so easily but are more reflective and fylosofic perhaps and take their own path. Please note that I do find nothing wrong with religion persé, but I do think it is good to find out who you are and what you are destined to do before you set your mind to a specific way of life.

I can't say that I fully agree with that statement, James, because I feel that religion is a necessary thing for those who wish to identify with a certain sect, while spirituality is all about ones feeling of being connected with their Higher Power. In my opinion, you don't have to have religion to achieve that connection. Some people need religion in order to publicly affirm their faith. Many others do not. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that if we truly carry the church within our hearts there is no need to visit an institution on a regular basis unless we desire that human contact with people of like minds.

I choose to just speak from my own situation on this one, if that's okay.... Religion didn't work so well for me. I needed to leave it which I battled doing for years because of my fear of hell. Once I left, it took a period of pure hell to get me to spiritualality which ultimately opened for me a desire for an all-loving B(b)eing. Something I never really learned from religion. So, yes, from where I'm standing, that is a true statement. And this was an awesome discussion.

I quite like that statement, and find it rings true for me as well. When I was growing up, my religion didn't teach me to fear God, but I did teach me to fear going to hell. That's what it was all about to me... do good, so you can go to heaven and not hell. Yes, and then came the "hell on earth" experiences, many in my adulthood. My religion wasn't enough for me during those times. The things I'd been taught, didn't seem to apply anymore (mainly, if "God" was always there for me, why did he make me go through that crap?). I slowly became more spiritual. More aware of my own power in affecting the outcomes of situations and circumstances. I cannot think of a way to describe more of my views on spirituality, but I do feel that just like religion, it is very individual, and varies from person to person. Either way, I do like that quote, and I think it's a fairly wise statement.

I totally agree I think that it is very well said.

it seems to me the whole purpose of this quote is to satisfy the people who have sworn off religion as it isn't cool to be apart of yet don't want to admit being atheist. basically there has been this theme in pop culture that you have to believe in something, you just don't have to tell us what it is.