robcrompton, No difference that I can honestly think of. Because even after becoming concsious of our existence in life, in death (supposedly) we can not be conscious.
Monsieur
JoinedPosts by Monsieur
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27
Does fear of death equate to need for God?
by Monsieur inread a very interesting opinion article on cnn last night.
"why i raise my kids without god".. .
the writer aluded to the fear of the possibility of one's life ending forever (along with our beloved children's).
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27
Does fear of death equate to need for God?
by Monsieur inread a very interesting opinion article on cnn last night.
"why i raise my kids without god".. .
the writer aluded to the fear of the possibility of one's life ending forever (along with our beloved children's).
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Monsieur
Read a very interesting opinion article on CNN last night. "Why I raise my kids without God".
The writer aluded to the fear of the possibility of one's life ending forever (along with our beloved children's). Thus, necessitating God whom embodies the concept of life and eternity. Those of us who believe in God (real or not) can psychologically cope with death in other words.
That fear of absolute 'finality', is it really predominant? For those who are atheists, how have you come to accept non-existence?
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169
The "Tree of Life and its meaning"
by EdenOne inhi all.. just letting know that i've published a new article on my website, titled "the tree of life and its meaning".. you're welcome to visit, read and discuss it.. eden.
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Monsieur
cofty wrote - "But there is always a reason why people make bad moral choices. Its always rooted somewhere in nature or nurture.
You have simply evaded the question"
I too believe (stress 'believe' as I don't have the absolute answer, but it MUST exist somehow) that for every action there is a reaction. And that every 'occurrence' must have a spark/push/motive even, to catapult it, so to speak, into action.
Is is a fact that people that believe in God (as I do) also believe that God has absolute control and power over all things. In this case, the reasoning is that God removed himself from interfering with Satan so as to allow free will.
My problem with this reasoning though is this-
1)the consequences of this 'reality' are incredibly horrendous, BUT not for all of man. It is an absolute injustice that some must suffer terrible fear and death while others simply die a peacefull death in sleep in old age.
2) it seems pretty clear that man as a whole mimics too awfully close the 'law of the beast', as in, it's a dog eat dog world, survival of the fittest, etc. Wether this is a reflection on evolution is another matter, but facts are facts, and man destroys man for its own advancement/surviva. Thus, is man simply another element of creation, born to die? as any animal or plant or living thing?
Is that what it amounts to?
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36
Greetings
by Monsieur ini visit this site often for various reasons, above all to see the opinions of those in regards to their present state in life in relation to past or present tendencies in thinking (religious, morals, etc).. i had not found anything constructive or worthy of adding to this conversation but for one reason or another here i am doing so now.
i am presently an active jw member.
i believe that our faith provides a haven or parameters from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways.
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Monsieur
jgnat, thank your for the recommendation,
you are so kind! a pleasure interacting with you.
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36
Greetings
by Monsieur ini visit this site often for various reasons, above all to see the opinions of those in regards to their present state in life in relation to past or present tendencies in thinking (religious, morals, etc).. i had not found anything constructive or worthy of adding to this conversation but for one reason or another here i am doing so now.
i am presently an active jw member.
i believe that our faith provides a haven or parameters from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways.
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Monsieur
greetings rebel8
in regards to the religion, there are members that NEED to have a place of worship (kingdom hall), need prayer, need to relate with others of like mindedness through meetings, moved by their faith they can find themselves needing to preach to others regarding their beliefs.
i suppose they could go out and do this on their own but chose to do this within the structure of this faith. eventually some come to relate this structure, consitency and/or familiarity with their own comfort. This is typical of the human mind or it is human nature to associate similar elements with one's own ideals or preoccupations.
i imagine that in ANY religion its members derive a peace of mind of sorts in transferring worries like mine onto God and leaving them be. But as I've written, this has stopped working for me.
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36
Greetings
by Monsieur ini visit this site often for various reasons, above all to see the opinions of those in regards to their present state in life in relation to past or present tendencies in thinking (religious, morals, etc).. i had not found anything constructive or worthy of adding to this conversation but for one reason or another here i am doing so now.
i am presently an active jw member.
i believe that our faith provides a haven or parameters from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways.
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Monsieur
xianthippe, thanks for guiding me to this opportunity with AI, i will most definitely look into this.
OM, thanks for going out of your way in using 'tasteful' language! In regards to Flipper's advise (don't get me wrong, i appreciate the spirit of it) i feel that it is no longer something I can do. I've crossed a threshold that doesn't allow me to simply ignore 'reality'. Pretending as though my world is only as wide as a 30mile radius from my constant position sounds, frankly, unintelligent.
To me, it's the same as saying, 'just look the other way'. Granted, I realize that our limitations (physical) make it impossible to solve this 'state' of man. But I am beginning to believe deeply in the verse "Knowledge is power", and fully comprehending this mother of a WHY has to provide resolution. I believe my God owes us humans this much.
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36
Greetings
by Monsieur ini visit this site often for various reasons, above all to see the opinions of those in regards to their present state in life in relation to past or present tendencies in thinking (religious, morals, etc).. i had not found anything constructive or worthy of adding to this conversation but for one reason or another here i am doing so now.
i am presently an active jw member.
i believe that our faith provides a haven or parameters from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways.
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Monsieur
hello jgnat,
thank you for interacting with me, i sense we have similar sensibilities. and thank you for sharing the links with me as well.
abiblestudent,
not to argue with your honest 'take' on the subject, but God not 'approving' doesn't really add up to anything anymore. i too had a strong attachment to your ideas regarding God's interventions or lack thereof. Yet how ironic that as a jw my 'beef' isn't with some organization or some group of men, rather it's with God.
Because ultimately man is almost totally useless in his desire and effort to 'build up and mend'. Yet it was God who created Earth and put man in it. I feel that somewhere along the way the idea of 'accountability' became lost on God. If EArth was a trully and simply a 'test', I don't believe (or I'm having an incredibly difficult time accepting) that witnessing the sorry and violent effects of man's hatred was suppose to feel this terrible, much less experiencing it. Besides, for whom is this 'testing' going on? Those that are simply witnessing the misfortune, surviving it? Where is the sense of justice in that? If this is so, than we trully are not equal, though we be all human.
Did God really decide who would be tested and who would be the victim of such 'test'?
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36
Greetings
by Monsieur ini visit this site often for various reasons, above all to see the opinions of those in regards to their present state in life in relation to past or present tendencies in thinking (religious, morals, etc).. i had not found anything constructive or worthy of adding to this conversation but for one reason or another here i am doing so now.
i am presently an active jw member.
i believe that our faith provides a haven or parameters from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways.
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Monsieur
thanks, i'll look into it.
someone asked about the mormons. i know nothing of the mormons' but i'm sure, as the witnesses, there are those that find comfort in its structure. as to the mind control claims, i could say, 'yeah sure, you can call it that or anything you want it to. but it doesn't really matter when you look at the reality of the 'state' that man finds himself in.
i can only trust God by virtue of being cognizant of Him, which requires me to be alive, right? if i'm not alive, and not able to react to Him, does it take away from some bigger agenda or mission He seeks to accomplish? yet, i think these thoughts which give importance to MY self, and something is beginning to tell me that I or WE are perhaps not that important after all. At least not as individuals.
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36
Greetings
by Monsieur ini visit this site often for various reasons, above all to see the opinions of those in regards to their present state in life in relation to past or present tendencies in thinking (religious, morals, etc).. i had not found anything constructive or worthy of adding to this conversation but for one reason or another here i am doing so now.
i am presently an active jw member.
i believe that our faith provides a haven or parameters from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways.
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Monsieur
DOC, care to share?
jgnat,
your point of view regarding the people of Syria is optimistic. i imagine those victims MUST push foward with this mentality, otherwise.
I am finding it harder and harder to find joy in my own life KNOWING that such things are happening. I consider it ridiculous at times when i look around and things really ARE perfect compared to those people's lot. Common sense dictates that i should be thankful that i am not in the middle of those circumstances, and in many ways i am. My family isn't being threatened with bombs or machetes, but why? is it because we are simply lucky?? does this luck make me a better person because i can be thankful of my lot? i don't believe so.
i guess i find myself more being relieved that i nor my family have to face death in the face like that, rather than appreciative of it. Because i am finding that the moment i start to thank God for my fortune, the faces and images of those people creep in and i ask, who is looking out for them??
its an emotion unlike anything i've ever experienced.
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36
Greetings
by Monsieur ini visit this site often for various reasons, above all to see the opinions of those in regards to their present state in life in relation to past or present tendencies in thinking (religious, morals, etc).. i had not found anything constructive or worthy of adding to this conversation but for one reason or another here i am doing so now.
i am presently an active jw member.
i believe that our faith provides a haven or parameters from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways.
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Monsieur
Greetings
I visit this site often for various reasons, above all to see the opinions of those in regards to their present ‘state’ in life in relation to past or present tendencies in thinking (religious, morals, etc).
I had not found anything constructive or worthy of adding to this conversation but for one reason or another here I am doing so now.
I am presently an active jw member. I believe that our faith provides a ‘haven’ or ‘parameters’ from which members can significantly obtain structure and order in many different ways. This is the case for those members that consider themselves ‘spiritually’ motivated and that are wholeheartedly seeking a spiritual ‘truth’. I know hundreds of people that fit this description and are genuinely happy with their current ‘state’ in life (with all their experiences past and present and expectations).
I myself actually derive a certain joy and feeling of happiness from seeing this ‘joy’ emanating from these believers, particularly those that are kind hearted and humble. I think happiness IS contagious. I also think this ‘joy’ can be universal and not necessarily attached to a faith or religion.
My internal state however, is a totally different story.
I consider it important to keep an eye on the big picture. At one time I was certain of what this picture was. Recently though, its apparently become less clear.
I can say for certain that this began once the reality of the atrocities occurring in Assiria settled in. Questions began to fill my mind.
-how low can man go in his display of cruelty and selfishness?
-is man really alone in carrying on these actions of hatred? Or is he truly aided by Satan?
-either way, can these atrocities be attributed to a ‘cause’, if so, a cause for whom?
-or are these atrocities simply ‘unforeseen’ occurrences that befell to some incredibly unfortunate souls?
, and so forth.
These questions I found (very interestingly) led me to a place I had long ago thought I had visited and left forever. I can only describe it as a heart to heart session with God. More specifically, a request for an explanation from God over my questions and others that arose from them. Once again, to my dismay, the essence of existence was being brought to question.
As I said, my interest in this site revolves around comparing similar thoughts I find here to mine.
I don’t find a lot of opinions here very tasteful but we all have a right to express them in the end.
As to God, I am convinced that He does really exist, there is too much proof of it in my mind (the birth of a baby for instance). But who is this God that I had once thought I knew?? What are His real feelings towards us, His human creation?
Have we really been all placed into a setting to fend off for ourselves after all?