So therefore all religions aren’t about getting closer to God.
Faith is for those things that cannot be proven by reason. Sad.
Government got involved in marriages due to the legal contracts that occurs when 2 become a union. Historically, marriage was much more of a legal arrangement, than 2 people falling in love.
My main issue with religion getting involved in government is more of basing laws/legislation on facts backed up by empirical evidence, vs religious doctrine.
This isn’t correct. A lot of atheists explore “spirit”, emotions, what we value, etc. We just don’t attach a bunch of myth, magic, and fairy tales to it. The notion that because you are religious you are more in tune with the “spiritual world” (whatever that is) is kind of arrogant.
Yet telling people of faith that we attach “myth, magic, and fairy tales” to our faith is modestly unassuming. 
God is the supreme spirit. The spiritual realm is where He dwells; if you are exploring this, I wish you well in experiencing God. Experiencing the spiritual realm is a bit different from experiencing emotions.
Do most atheists believe in a “spiritual world”? When I was an atheist, I didn’t.
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Buddhists, some of whom have no belief in God, do hold a belief in Nirvana. But the atheists in my family, like you, differentiate between spirit and emotions. It appears some do not.
Religions are wiser now and seem to refrain from making claims that can be debunked. It is why the Christian God only seems to heal afflictions that sometimes heal spontaneously and He doesn’t heal afflictions that never heal spontaneously.
There may be one religion that is true and reflective of reality. But I haven’t seen any evidence showing that to be the case.
I thought Buddhists were generally referred to as nontheists and not atheists, though. Could be wrong.
Hear O Israel, the LORD Our God, the LORD is one.
And you shall love the LORD with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your MIND, and with all your strength (emphasis mine on MIND).
Now of course, if you like, you can point out that Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which was being quoted here in Mark 12:29, does not contain the word mind (although the Hebrew נפש, or nephesh, that is translated “soul” in Deuteronomy could have with it the concept of mind).
But then I would assume the Lord Jesus, being the Son and of one being with the Father, would know the correct meaning of the Bible verse.
you are really reaching. The mind is capable of more than reason and logic. Maybe- not understanding that is your problem.
In what way is it reaching?
Instead of just going for the quick barb, you could actually add to the conversation and explain what you think is meant by “mind” here.
That’s a strange way to say your faith isn’t reasonable
You reject 100s if not 1000s of mythologies, myths, and fairy tails by asserting your own. The rest if your post doesn’t really mean anything. The “spiritual realm” which you have not even described doesn’t require a theistic “God”.
Depends on how you define “spiritual realm”. It’s one of those terms people just throw around without actually defining it. And when you truly break it down, it’s just emotions, feelings, mild psychosis. I’m sure many schizophrenics or those on drugs are in a “spiritual realm”. Or maybe you’re on vacation or reading a book and you feel a “connection” to the universe. Either way, it doesn’t follow that God is thinking about you, sent his son to die, or Moses parted the sea.
Absolutely. It’s capable of hallucination and psychosis - believing in things and experiencing things that aren’t reasonable or logical or don’t exist.
umm… you posted mind and emphasized it. I didn’t.
it’s not. You apparently set reason up as the highest human capability. I dont. Faith is higher.
You are jumping to conclusions. I don’t see things as you see them.
God through Jesus said it.
Did not God give us our logical minds?
Did not God said worship with the mind was one of the essentials to worshipping him?
What do you think he means by “mind” here?
