40, Nothing to Show for It

Off Topic
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@greenboy

At the risk of sounding cheesy and cliche, let me go ahead and say that true Christianity is more of a relationship than a religion.

I’m not a theologian, but I specialize in philosophy, so towards a certain angle I think I can speak with authority about this…

Let’s see, where to begin…

You have to keep in mind that God didn’t create Man to be truly autonomous. In Eden, before The Fall, Adam and Eve had the great privilege of being in a very real, very visceral communion with God. Now bear this in mind, this was real and tangible. They SAW God, could touch Him, could talk to Him. Even Moses didn’t have that degree of relationship. And then of course, as history tells you, they ate the fruit and got screwed. At that point God left them. Throughout history BEFORE the advent of Christ, Man lived alone. Exceptions were guys like Noah, Job, and Moses. And then… Bam… Christ arrived and died for our sins.

Ever since that fateful moment our relationship with God was somewhat restored. “Somewhat” I say because it is not the same kind of relationship that Adam and Eve originally had. But, in the traditions of many spiritually-minded Christians (like me), we can FEEL God’s presence. We pray to Him and He sometimes answers our prayers in borderline miraculous ways. THAT is the true value of the Christian faith even in modern, secular times. If the body of Christ is a bodybuilder’s body, the Church is the biceps. It’s a small part of it and is not the defining factor of its entirety. The true essence of the Christian faith is COMMUNION with God, not ritualistic practices.

Also… To be blunt, preachers aren’t required to be smart. lol. They just have to be charismatic and positive. There are preachers and there are apologists. If you are more inclined to listen to the intellectual side of the Christian faith, look to people like Ravi Zacharias and William Lane Craig and John Lennox. I don’t wanna sound like I’m forcing my faith on you but allow me to say this… Give it a chance. lol. Ravi Zacharias once said that he firmly believes that if a person sincerely seeks for God, he will eventually find Him. Of course he refers to the Christian God.

Also, I mentioned that God sometimes answers my prayers right? Check this out…

About two weeks ago, I was bored. I’m not in an official academic adventure of getting a philosophy degree in some institution, but I’ve been deeply studying philosophy for 4 months now. At that time I was bored… I prayed to God. I can’t remember verbatim what I said but it was something close to this —> “God, please show me a kind of mental stance that will give me power.” I wasn’t even taking that prayer seriously. I was just bored out of my mind, alone at home, talking to myself because I’m nuts. lol. But about 15 minutes afterwards, I decided to watch some anime videos on YouTube and I stumbled upon this… Keep in mind, I had a lot of anger in my heart towards many people, and then I found this. Check it out…

I really think that the Christian spiritual life is superior to Buddhism. Buddha promises you deliverance from suffering by eliminating your worldly desires. Jesus on the other hand… promises you deliverance from suffering by changing the world.

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You realize that Google was listening to you and updated your YouTube algorithm to favor that type of video, right. So Google is your God.

I think religion is great if used for good. Was raised Lutheran and my family is still hyper involved in their large Lutheran Church. I just don’t see any hard evidence of a higher power, and don’t see the benefit of religion for me, so I’m basically agnostic leaning athiest. If i have to be at a low point for religion to help me, then isn’t it just a coping mechanism? Not necessarily a bad thing though.

I personally think people would benefit more from getting an outdoorsy hobby that “recconects them with nature”, than they would finding religion. But, ymmv.

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@Californiagrown

As an atheist though (I know you said agnostic but let’s just simplify it for now), how do you find meaning in life? Or you don’t think finding meaning in life is necessary at all?

The irony of Nietzsche’s philosophy is that as much as nihilism (what his philosophical stance is officially called) embraces total meaninglessness and purposelessness, it is actually very empowering if only because of the concept of Ubermensch, translated as Superman. It’s our next step in the evolutionary process.

Sorry. I’m carried away. lol. This is one of my favorite conversation topics.

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Just sayin;.

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@The_Myth

Don’t have time to watch the whole thing.

But I’m sure I would just dismiss it as typical heresy from just about anyone uncomfortable with the truth.

But yeah, I’m dropping the subject. I know how these discussions often go.

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Meaning of life is to enjoy life as much as possible while balancing that pursuit with helping others to enjoy life. Leave the world better than you found it, while enjoying the little time you have as much as possible etc.

When you die, pretty sure it’s the same as going under for surgery except never waking back up. You don’t know the difference.

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@Californiagrown

You used the word “enjoy” three times in a single paragraph. Very Epicurean and atheistic. And your assertion that death is the end of consciousness only adds to it. Epicurus was the first philosopher to deny the existence of an afterlife.

I’m neither saying it’s good or bad, just making an observation.

I guess I can consider myself blessed for being mentally weak. I inherited my grandmother’s schizo disorder (a milder version) and forced me to look outside of myself for strength. Then I found God. Things have only gotten better for me.

I guess part of the reason I cling to Him is that I have met so many intelligent people from all walks of life who turned out to be actual believers. My best friend (whom I’ve fucked, heheh. She’s a lady. I’m not gay) is an endocrine scientist and told me that her colleague is a devout Catholic. I used to volunteer in a shelter and one of the people who worked there was a history major and a very vocal and devout protestant. He can hold his own both as a preacher (which he did in the mess hall as an optional thing for the people there to attend) and as an apologist. He’s versed in ancient Roman history.

And then of course, there’s me. I’m awesome and I’m a Christian. lol. Just kidding…

On a serious note, Chuck Norris is a Christian.

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I don’t mean to be obnoxious, and I am totally open to the conversation, but you should take the time to watch it. It’s produced by the BBC so it’s not overly wacky.

If you would like to continue the conversation rather than hijacking this thread, you can post in WooWoo Stuff - All Things Woowoo

This smacks of righteousness and fundamentalism. If you are sure you know the truth, then don’t bother discussing it. However, if you’re open to other interpretations of a supreme architect, then feel free to post.

Peace brother.

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@The_Myth

I’ll transfer to that Woowoo thread. I’ll call your attention there. And yeah, I knew I’d get criticized for outright saying that I’m right. The tragic thing about these topics is that it is very hard to be non-triggering. And really, if people are honest about their deeply-held worldviews, they are bound to offend some folks out there.

But yeah, I’d love to talk about it. I’ll head over to the Woowoo thread now. Thanks man.

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232

So you have to believe in God to have any meaning in life?

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Why Did God Create Atheists?
There is a famous story told in Chassidic literature that addresses this very question. The Master teaches the student that God created everything in the world to be appreciated, since everything is here to teach us a lesson.
One clever student asks “What lesson can we learn from atheists? Why did God create them?”
The Master responds “God created atheists to teach us the most important lesson of them all — the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs an act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that God commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in God at all, so his acts are based on an inner sense of morality. And look at the kindness he can bestow upon others simply because he feels it to be right.”
“This means,” the Master continued “that when someone reaches out to you for help, you should never say ‘I pray that God will help you.’ Instead for the moment, you should become an atheist, imagine that there is no God who can help, and say ‘I will help you.’”
—Martin Buber, Tales of Hasidim Vol. 2 (1991)

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I have never read that before.

Thank you, I really enjoyed the quote.

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Good post. I actually consider myself an “atheist who wants to believe”. Why? Admittedly atheism is very boring and very weak!

I declared myself atheist at eight years old or so but actually was one since five or six years old though I didn’t know the word atheism then.

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I did this from the UK to Australia, pretty much about as for as you can go before you start coming back again. Best thing I ever did.

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237

Bangers and mash to barbeque shrimp. Well done.

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Travistee, I just am wondering…

Would you rather stay in your dull, corporate job with a stable mental state? Or would you rather live MY life, having AMAZING moments but have an extremely unstable life? Because let me just tell you this, there are people who’d give an arm and a leg to have what you have.

You said “I have no mission or purpose”. Well you have two choices. It’s the same decision that I made myself at one point in my life. First choice is give my life to Christ and lean on his strength and grace. Second choice, the Nietzsche and Sartre route, the existentialist route, I will make my life the way I want it.

It’s up to you. In my case I chose to just lean on Jesus Christ. lol. But it’s not the only path. There are MANY belief systems and philosophies for everybody. Choose the one that you feel is best for you.

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Maybe after 9 months he’s 41 now. Wonder if he has anything to show for it yet :thinking:

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I wish I was only 20k in debt. And had a boring corporate job. On any given night I’m elbows deep in someone’s ass or trying to give the dying an extension to their misery. I come home physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted and I’m probably 60k in debt plus a quarter mil on the mortgage. If only I had time to stop and ponder the meaninglessness of it all. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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241

#americandream

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“elbows deep in somebodys ass”

Jesus, Beth - what kind of job do you have?

ferchristsake~