Help, I think I may be a Pantheist. Can I still hang around here?

http://www.pantheist.net/
http://www.pantheism.net/
http://www.pantheist-index.net/

Pantheism \Pan"the*ism\, n. (Pan- + theism.)
Any doctrine, philosophy, or religious practice that holds universe (cosmos), taken or conceived of as the totality of forces and/or matter, is synonymous with the theological principle of God.

The belief statement of the WPM
1. We revere and celebrate the Universe as the totality of being, past, present and future. It is self-organizing, ever-evolving and inexhaustibly diverse. Its overwhelming power, beauty and fundamental mystery compel the deepest human reverence and wonder.
2. All matter, energy, and life are an interconnected unity of which we are an inseparable part. We rejoice in our existence and seek to participate ever more deeply in this unity through knowledge, celebration, meditation, empathy, love, ethical action and art.
3. We are an integral part of Nature, which we should cherish, revere and preserve in all its magnificent beauty and diversity. We should strive to live in harmony with Nature locally and globally. We acknowledge the inherent value of all life, human and non-human, and strive to treat all living beings with compassion and respect.
4. All humans are equal centers of awareness of the Universe and nature, and all deserve a life of equal dignity and mutual respect. To this end we support and work towards freedom, democracy, justice, and non-discrimination, and a world community based on peace, sustainable ways of life, full respect for human rights and an end to poverty.
5. There is a single kind of substance, energy/matter, which is vibrant and infinitely creative in all its forms. Body and mind are indivisibly united.
6. We see death as the return to nature of our elements, and the end of our existence as individuals. The forms of "afterlife" available to humans are natural ones, in the natural world. Our actions, our ideas and memories of us live on, according to what we do in our lives. Our genes live on in our families, and our elements are endlessly recycled in nature.
7. We honor reality, and keep our minds open to the evidence of the senses and of science's unending quest for deeper understanding. These are our best means of coming to know the Universe, and on them we base our aesthetic and religious feelings about reality.
8. Every individual has direct access through perception, emotion and meditation to ultimate reality, which is the Universe and Nature. There is no need for mediation by priests, gurus or revealed scriptures.
9. We uphold the separation of religion and state, and the universal human right of freedom of religion. We recognize the freedom of all pantheists to express and celebrate their beliefs, as individuals or in groups, in any non-harmful ritual, symbol or vocabulary that is meaningful to them.

I don't see you talking about an entity creating the universe or telling us our sins are unforgiveable.

I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals Himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings.
--Albert Einstein

PS. hey is that a UU icon?

The list is:

The Doubtful Guest by Edward Gorey, DU Fightclub, Atheist symbol from American Atheists, Ying Yang from Taoism, Flaming Chalice from UUism, and the Joyful Human from Secular Humanism.

Its there because I believe in fighting the good fight. Not one to back down when I think there is a way forward.

Man, you gotta love physics buffs. DH is a programmer with serious lust for Physics and mathematics so deep it doesn't even use numbers anymore /end snark. His take on god is basically this:

If one posits that the universe is infinitely large and infinitely old, then probability says that at some point, an entity conforming to the ideas of a god - which ever one - not only probably does exist, but in fact must exist. However, in an infinitely large and old universe, the probability of such an entity being in close enough proximity to affect this planet and my life is infinitely small, so to all effective ends, there is no god worth the chatter.

Furthermore, that entity by necessity of the composition of the universe must be created from the most common denominators of the universe, those being dust and probability (and yes, I know for a fact he had this idea before Scott Adams.) Therefore, god is effectively equivalent to dust and probability.

And that's why he can't use a bloody Swiffer. *grin*

30 seconds before the Universe ends...kinda pointless I guess. :)

And Red Dwarf. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's a Hitchhiker's marathon coming up in the near future, as he reads the books and watches the original series before the movie comes out.

In a infinite universe it is of course necissary that an entity will come to exist that will instantly cause all surfaces to be swiffed. Since this has not demonstrably happened the universe is obviously not infinite in nature as the floor needs swiffing.

That one might come in handy.... especially after today's marathon cleaning jag, in which I found enough cat hair to make two more cats.

I will never, ever leave home for 6 weeks again without a service coming in.

(with acknowledgement to Red Dwarf)

:)

perhaps the need of defining an identity on belief's grounds (i.e. "*.theist".) De facto, our fight is one of guerilla, not one of blocks of soldiers nicely put in neat rectangles of colors, with pretty flags and insignas. It's apparently formless, with no clear identity or particular beliefs. It's shape-shifting and, as far as I am concerned, does not need a name.