Tigranes Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 (edited) Hm. I think this is my first topic, and I've been here since day one. Go figure. So this is about religion, so this is going to be a flamefest. I'd hope it's slightly different, though, and maybe the extravagant verbosity of my rambling discourages idiocy somewhat. Or is it the reverse? Anyway, all of this comes from my personal experience with the church and the religion which I recognise to be extremely limited and infantile. All the better for me, who will come to learn something, and not for you, who might be fooled into suffering through all this. 1/ Christians are big on "being thankful for everything", right. The Christian premise is that an ideal Christian is thankful to God whatever his circumstance, because there is always something to be thankful about. Now, logically, one could say that this is a workaround / crap, because sure you can see the silver lining in ANYTHING, and therefore it is clearly ridiculous. Well, tendrils of thoughts wander here: what is the basis for such a logical argument? There is only a good side to everything because that is how our world IS. That is a truth of the world just like gravity, and need not necessarily be that way. So, if we assume that God exists, and God did create the world, then did he not create it so that no matter what, we will never find ourselves in a situation where there is nothing benefitial to us, either short-term or long-term? Then, is that not something to be thankful for, in itself? Of course, another way to look at it is how I have when I was younger - it's just a self-regulatory mechanism to train yourself to seize opportunities and not despair at the situation. And the eventual 'respite' most people experience is probably related to the optimistic / energetic behaviour such thoughts often generate. Although, I've seen cases where people *aren't* very thankful, wallow in their sorrow: then things get better, and they pray in thankfulness because God picked them up from the mud even though they were being bad Christians. I have yet to integrate this into my chain of thoughts... but in any case, the Christian ethic seems to provide for a more pleasant life experience. It's not like we can go a day without criticising something anyway. w00t.gif 2/ One of the things the Christian Church warns against is "creating your own God". For example, one claims to be a Christian and takes to heart Jesus' teachings about love, but dismisses his teachings about, say, homosexuality, arguing the text is corrupt, or whatnot. A "selective faith", of course, is tantamount to creating your own deity - you are no longer believing in the Christian God if you just 'pick and choose'. But the arguments can be put forth that the Bible as we have now is of highly debatable integrity, what with the religious reorganisations of the late Roman Empire, the various Nicaean Councils and the fickles of the Emperors in consolidating or banning sects such as Nestorianism. Not to mention the.. what do you call them, the Apocryphals? And the symbolic nature of the Bible means that even if the text is perfect, it is corrupted in the reading - how can one believe the Christian God manifests himself in absolute, invariable and complete values and ethics in the present world with so many 'versions' of the religion? Is God's 'presence' within your heart, through prayer, etc, more "true" (or just your imagination) than the minister on the pedestal that might or might not be listening to God? The heart of Christianity is not to question but to believe, but it is to believe in God, and to believe God must you not first separate divine and human in the religious infrastructure? Eh. Flame On, I guess. Edited October 19, 2005 by Tigranes Let's Play: Icewind Dale Ironman (Complete) Let's Play: Icewind Dale II Ironman (Complete) Let's Play: Divinity II (Complete) Let's Play: Baldur's Gate Trilogy Ironman - BG1 (Complete) Let's Play: Baldur's Gate Trilogy Ironman - BG2 (In Progress) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atreides Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Jesus loved explaining things by parables. In fact he expected his followers to be able to find the meanings behind the parables, which they couldn't always do. I take this as an encouragement to search for meanings in what he said and not to take things at face value. There's a reason Christians are encouraged to read the bible. Personally I feel it's not to be able to memorise and follow everything it sayas, but to search for meaning in the words. The same with life in general - you need to search for your own meaning in life. Spreading beauty with my katana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lawman Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Personally I think topics on religon should be left off these forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowPaladin V1.0 Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Leaving anything up to interpretation is asking for trouble. Then again so is expecting a book written 2000 years ago to give you the answers in todays society. I have to agree with Volourn. Bioware is pretty much dead now. Deals like this kills development studios. 478327[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Launch Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Personally I think topics on religon should be left off these forums. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree... it's hard not to offend someone when there are people who obviously feel strongly one way or another DL [color=gray][i]OO-TINI![/i][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musopticon? Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 I don't really care. Let all flowers bloom, etcetera. kirottu said: I was raised by polar bears. I had to fight against blood thirsty wolves and rabid penguins to get my food. Those who were too weak to survive were sent to Sweden. It has made me the man I am today. A man who craves furry hentai. So let us go and embrace the rustling smells of unseen worlds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarjahurmaaja. Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Personally, I think it's about time some serious offending took place here. It's been far, far too long since the last time. 9/30 -- NEVER FORGET! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musopticon? Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Burning stuff enhances growth. So flame away. kirottu said: I was raised by polar bears. I had to fight against blood thirsty wolves and rabid penguins to get my food. Those who were too weak to survive were sent to Sweden. It has made me the man I am today. A man who craves furry hentai. So let us go and embrace the rustling smells of unseen worlds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Launch Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Losers [color=gray][i]OO-TINI![/i][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musopticon? Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Ooh, Miss Spank shows some edge. kirottu said: I was raised by polar bears. I had to fight against blood thirsty wolves and rabid penguins to get my food. Those who were too weak to survive were sent to Sweden. It has made me the man I am today. A man who craves furry hentai. So let us go and embrace the rustling smells of unseen worlds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowPaladin V1.0 Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 It only enhances the growth of fire. It's pretty detremental to the condition of what your burning. I have to agree with Volourn. Bioware is pretty much dead now. Deals like this kills development studios. 478327[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowPaladin V1.0 Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 It does amuse me though when people try to adapt any religion to suit their own purpose, or to make them feel better about their particular life choices. I have to agree with Volourn. Bioware is pretty much dead now. Deals like this kills development studios. 478327[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musopticon? Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Well, when somebody nowadays mentions the youth's growing interest to religion, I quote my old religion/philosophy teacher: "They're in for chicks and kicks" kirottu said: I was raised by polar bears. I had to fight against blood thirsty wolves and rabid penguins to get my food. Those who were too weak to survive were sent to Sweden. It has made me the man I am today. A man who craves furry hentai. So let us go and embrace the rustling smells of unseen worlds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Schmarth Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 It is such a quiet thing to burn. ^Asinus asinorum in saecula saeculorum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
><FISH'> Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Go Atheism! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akhan225 Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Aethism is a religion in itself. It is the belief that there is no higher power and that life was created spontaneously. This has been proved btw to be at nearly impossible odds(Im talking .00000001% chance). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Aethism is a religion in itself. It is the belief that there is no higher power and that life was created spontaneously. This has been proved btw to be at nearly impossible odds(Im talking .00000001% chance). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Right, GOD did it. *cracks up* :D DENMARK! It appears that I have not yet found a sig to replace the one about me not being banned... interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Schmarth Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 What are the odds for a God? 99.99999999% I take it... ^Asinus asinorum in saecula saeculorum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akhan225 Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Im not here to say right from wrong, its not like me. I just state facts and let you make your own opinions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WITHTEETH Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 (edited) Aethism is a religion in itself. It is the belief that there is no higher power and that life was created spontaneously. This has been proved btw to be at nearly impossible odds(Im talking .00000001% chance). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Wrong. Atheism is not a religion, its just a belief. just like how theism is not a religion, its a belief. See where im getting at? I as an atheist do have a religion, its humanism, that is my religion. Atheism is a negative belief meaning that its a disbelief also. You assume much Akhan, Given that time is infinite, a random event occurring, even with odds of 10 to the power of 119,000, is not astonishing. By the way, how do you formulate an equation without knowing all of the variables in the equation? Edited October 19, 2005 by WITHTEETH Always outnumbered, never out gunned! Unreal Tournament 2004 Handle:Enlight_2.0 Myspace Website! My rig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surreptishus Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 (edited) Akhan what fact did you state? Good work withteeth i was thinking of doing that myself. Edited October 19, 2005 by Surreptishus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 That we're wrong, or something. DENMARK! It appears that I have not yet found a sig to replace the one about me not being banned... interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akhan225 Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 (edited) That there is an incredibly slim chance for life to be created spontaneously. I said I was not here to say anyone is wrong BTW Im not christian, so my religion or beliefs are different than what you are probably thinking Edited October 19, 2005 by Akhan225 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Schmarth Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 There is also an incredibly large universe where it can happen. ^Asinus asinorum in saecula saeculorum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Launch Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Atheists are always complaining about how religion is always pushed in their face... but I find more atheists push their beliefs in my face... sure I believe in God but I'd never try and convince someone who thought otherwise... we're all entitled to believe what we want DL [color=gray][i]OO-TINI![/i][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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