Posts by fifi40

161

What if you're missing the purpose?

by journey-on in

jw
friends

for those of you who espouse the philosophy that one needs to discard who we "think" we are and embrace the "reality" of who we really are, what if, there is a divine purpose to our miniscule existence in the here and now and that purpose is to experience the pull of opposite forces (duality), and you are missing it by not allowing yourself to experience the ego self?

what if you are missing the whole purpose of this pull of pain and joy by trying to suppress it or place yourself outside of it?

the below is a short story sent to me by a friend and it is an example of what i'm inferring.

fifi40

Journey On

The most difficult life experience I have had was the loss of my 2 day old son, sixteen years ago. At the time it felt like my world had collapsed. It is the only time I have ever considered ending my life.

I am trying to think of good that came from that experience and I would say that on a personal level it taught me that I can survive. It taught me that no matter how rough life gets you can take it one day at a time and things do get better. It taught me the importance of valuing those we love. It also taught me (and this is controversial) that sometimes religous belief is a huge help for some in getting through the 'painful' times and whether those belief's are true or not, if someone uses them that is ok with me (I know people will disagree with me).

On a less personal level I think it opened my heart to those who are suffering..............whether or not they can be helped is a different matter, because I think change or healing starts with the individual suffering.........but I guess what I am trying to say is that it taught me to resist the urge to judge others but to rather look behind a persons 'front' and understand where there motivation/defense comes from.

It also made me appreciate life.

110

A PUZZLING QUESTION...????...????...????

by Terry in

the "sacred secret" of god that creation was yearing to glimpse for so long was jehovah's plan of salvation and righteous government rescue operation.. yet, pagans, heathens and various crackpot primitives all came up with the same plan long before jehovah's was "revealed".

something smells bad about this!!.

i find it puzzling.. child sacrifice to appease wrathful deities is a disgusting solution to crop failure.

fifi40

Dear Writetoknow

All around us in the animal kingdom and all types of plants etc there is death.......not questioned just quietly accepted.

I often wonder whether the origins of religion had their roots in man's fear of death............a refusal to believe that we are like all other living things around us and that at some point we are just nothing.

It also seems to me that there is nothing left to remove from atheists..............they accept that one day they will die.

If people of faith did not have their various hopes for a life after death scenario how many would actually continue to serve their God?

It seems to me that those of a religious belief may be the ones doing the hiding.

Is religion just a mystical shield to keep the idea of total nothingness away?

You do what you can with your life............I appreciate my time, I appreciate the beauty of this planet we live in, I appreciate the precious gift I have in my son and the time I will have to spend with him, I appreciate those I choose to take this journey with........if I can add some good whilst I am alive that is okay........do we need a 'sense of purpose' or do we just accept that life is what it is.......ours for a short while.

25

A MORAL SOCIETY WITHOUT GOD OR RELIGION

by fifi40 in

religion has taught that without a belief in god and in absolute standards there is no genuine moral conduct.

but for many alive today who do not hold a belief in god, is a moral and good life possible?.

not to be confused with sin, which is essentially a religous idea defined as disobedience to god, morality concerns itself with observed consequences, so a wrong act can be determined by the effect or harm it causes to others.. for example religion teaches that in the eyes of god homosexuality is wrong.

fifi40

A practical matter that in the objectivist view requires benevolence!

46

DOES FORGIVENESS MAKE ANY SENSE?

by Terry in

what you reward you tend to get more of.. what you punish tends to atrophy.. the balance between a good act and a bad one consists of the consequences.. society has found many ways to treat bad behavior.

the worst being imprisonment and execution (if not torture) for high crimes.. but, there is a core philosophy among altruists and christians of a certain stripe who advocate forgiveness.. so, we ask the question : does forgiveness make any sense?.

when we do harm we cause an effect.. the effect injures others or their property.. to restore what is harmed a system of justice has developed to deal with administering the pressure toward restoration (when possible).. fines, community service, reparation for damages all constitute that restoration process.. insurance companies act as brokers in the case of "accidental" causes and effects and their remedy.. but, in the realm of religion the principle of forgiveness rears its ugly head!.

fifi40

Urmmmmm..........bit between the teeth

Are you saying you wont forgive others for anything?????

We are a little different to dogs.........I would quote your own words on what dogs are like........but I wont

46

DOES FORGIVENESS MAKE ANY SENSE?

by Terry in

what you reward you tend to get more of.. what you punish tends to atrophy.. the balance between a good act and a bad one consists of the consequences.. society has found many ways to treat bad behavior.

the worst being imprisonment and execution (if not torture) for high crimes.. but, there is a core philosophy among altruists and christians of a certain stripe who advocate forgiveness.. so, we ask the question : does forgiveness make any sense?.

when we do harm we cause an effect.. the effect injures others or their property.. to restore what is harmed a system of justice has developed to deal with administering the pressure toward restoration (when possible).. fines, community service, reparation for damages all constitute that restoration process.. insurance companies act as brokers in the case of "accidental" causes and effects and their remedy.. but, in the realm of religion the principle of forgiveness rears its ugly head!.

fifi40

Compassion and empathy allow for recognition that none are perfect..............so on a personal level forgivness towards others who have harmed us in some way is our own choice!

25

A MORAL SOCIETY WITHOUT GOD OR RELIGION

by fifi40 in

religion has taught that without a belief in god and in absolute standards there is no genuine moral conduct.

but for many alive today who do not hold a belief in god, is a moral and good life possible?.

not to be confused with sin, which is essentially a religous idea defined as disobedience to god, morality concerns itself with observed consequences, so a wrong act can be determined by the effect or harm it causes to others.. for example religion teaches that in the eyes of god homosexuality is wrong.

fifi40

Terry

That sounds similar to that concept I spoke to you about before. That we shine to the best of our abilities, talents and all that we have been blessed with (good looks and a crooked nose) thereby giving unspoken permission for others to shine.

Or in otherwords we use all that we have in a 'selfish way' to be the best that we can..........as for stepping on other people to better ourselves........well are we not right back to the basic problem!

Sorry if I didnt get the point............but hey ho, dumb blonde in the building!

25

A MORAL SOCIETY WITHOUT GOD OR RELIGION

by fifi40 in

religion has taught that without a belief in god and in absolute standards there is no genuine moral conduct.

but for many alive today who do not hold a belief in god, is a moral and good life possible?.

not to be confused with sin, which is essentially a religous idea defined as disobedience to god, morality concerns itself with observed consequences, so a wrong act can be determined by the effect or harm it causes to others.. for example religion teaches that in the eyes of god homosexuality is wrong.

fifi40

For Drewsagan

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_chur2.htm

hope that works :)

25

A MORAL SOCIETY WITHOUT GOD OR RELIGION

by fifi40 in

religion has taught that without a belief in god and in absolute standards there is no genuine moral conduct.

but for many alive today who do not hold a belief in god, is a moral and good life possible?.

not to be confused with sin, which is essentially a religous idea defined as disobedience to god, morality concerns itself with observed consequences, so a wrong act can be determined by the effect or harm it causes to others.. for example religion teaches that in the eyes of god homosexuality is wrong.

fifi40

Religion has taught that without a belief in God and in absolute standards there is no genuine moral conduct.

But for many alive today who do not hold a belief in God, is a moral and good life possible?

Not to be confused with sin, which is essentially a religous idea defined as disobedience to God, morality concerns itself with observed consequences, so a wrong act can be determined by the effect or harm it causes to others.

For example religion teaches that in the eyes of God homosexuality is wrong. It is an act of disobedience to God.

But for those without a belief in God the moral question prevails; does the act of homosexuality between two consenting adults harm others?

So is morality a human concept concerned with the principle of not harming others and consent?

4

A mother's story

by fifi40 in

jw
friends

i bore you in pain.

the ultimate moment of my life.

a perfect moment; the best history of my mind.

fifi40

I bore you in pain

The ultimate moment of my life

A perfect moment; the best history of my mind

And you grew

A gorgeous dependant baby; your first steps, innocence and inquisitiveness mixed in equal measure, your care my priority

First school, first day, proud parents concealing their angst

Thousands of days thereafter, a blend of encouragement, help, nuture, exasperation, pride but above all else love

And then a decision; to represent your country, to learn the art of war, to obey the commands of those who lead

Into a foreign country, to fight someone else's battle, a battle which in my heart we should have left well alone

Because of religion

Because of twisted leadership

Because of intolerance

Because of greed

Because of your decision

You will never walk back through my door

And I can never again tell you I love you

Because of a crazy world and a pointless war

For all those who have lost a loved one, because of mankinds refusal to accept the condition of peace and the moral obligation to treat others as we would be treated, or simply not to harm others.

110

A PUZZLING QUESTION...????...????...????

by Terry in

the "sacred secret" of god that creation was yearing to glimpse for so long was jehovah's plan of salvation and righteous government rescue operation.. yet, pagans, heathens and various crackpot primitives all came up with the same plan long before jehovah's was "revealed".

something smells bad about this!!.

i find it puzzling.. child sacrifice to appease wrathful deities is a disgusting solution to crop failure.

fifi40

Dear writetoknow

When something is invented and manufactured and made available to the general public and then proves to have a major life threatening fault; what happens?

When a food product is put onto supermarket shelves and is found to be contaminated, what happens?

I think you know the answer.........but just in case, it is common practice for the product to be recalled, so as not put innocent people at risk.

What you appear to have overlooked in Terry's reply and left out of your argument is the fact that not only was Adam punished for his sin but all his descendants were too.

Why didnt he do product recall.........and fix the fault?

Why didnt he out Satan and all those little demons who had chosen to follow him?

Why oh why did he allow for this huge experiment, to see which of this imperfect beings he had created, who would be subjected to all sorts of horrendous experience would remain faithful and praise him despite the vast confusion of trying to choose the correct belief to have about him?

At least with mankinds laws and legal systems, which you readily use to illustrate Gods way of governing, the buck stops with the person committing the crime.

So whilst it is possible to admire your defence of your God..........I find it easier to put the blame for mankinds problems firmly at mankinds door.......and leave whichever God a person chooses to follow out of the equation.