Where do you live...? - Page 30 - Big Big Forums

YNKYH8R · 04-07-2005, 02:35 PM

Please don't kill my thread......

llbriteyes · 04-07-2005, 03:14 PM

I agree.

Linda

Quote:

Originally Posted by YNKYH8R

Please don't kill my thread......

Jolie Rouge · 04-07-2005, 11:22 PM

How about showing a little tolerance ... and a sense of humor.

YNKYH8R · 04-08-2005, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolie Rouge

How about showing a little tolerance ... and a sense of humor.

Unfortunatly there are certain risks to have a debat forum. But I know you have a tougher skin...I mean you are the Queen of C & P.

YNKYH8R · 04-08-2005, 12:11 PM

Not everyone goes to heaven. Or least to some not everyone should. No one knows what is in a man’s heart except for God him/herself. Have you ever been in a situation where someone asks you whether or not a mutual acquaintance is in heaven or not and your wanted to say “no” but were compelled to say “yes”? When the man/woman who sexually molests a child dies and the child asks if he/she is in heaven, what do you say?

Heaven and hell are two abstract concepts that have plagued man for as long as the concept was invented. As a matter of perspective some could argue that we are in hell right now. But one point that is ultimately true is the fear that is involved.

Fear of death, the unknown. We naturally fear that which we don’t understand and fear can lead to anger and hate. Some people wish for a hell, they see the deeds of man and pray that in the end there is some final retribution for their actions. Is that Christian? I don’t know. Humans are driven by revenge. Your everyday person would be seriously dismayed to find out that Timothy McVeigh, Adolf Hitler, or Poll Pot were in another realm that was not a pit of fire for which they could burn. As a society we automatically pass judgments on who should burn and who should not. Life just would not be worth living, for some people, if they knew that they had “behaved” themselves their whole lives just find out there was nothing to be gained from it. Likewise that people who hurt our feelings, or hurt other people physically are not suffering for their crimes against us. Hell is going to do for you that which you cannot legally do for yourself: make your adversaries suffer.

Since no one has actually come back from the dead to do an interview with Larry King then we are free to fill in whatever afterlife we see fit to. Or sometimes we subscribe to other peoples interpretations. In fact some people will try to persuade you to believe in their interpretation to validate their beliefs or simply to control you. (or sometimes they care about your soul) All of these things are true to the human psyche. We feel comfortable to know that we have a say it what happens to ourselves when we shuffle off the mortal coil. It is when you try to inflict your beliefs on someone else when we truly know we’ve gone too far.

If I had my way I’d spend eternity catching up on all those television programs I missed because I was too young or never got a chance to see them.

llbriteyes · 04-08-2005, 01:57 PM

I totally believe all you wrote. My problem comes with people's interpretations of it. Seems they use the old testiment and new testiment of the Bible for their own personal opinions, and wonder why people think they're nuts. I don't believe in hell, but I do think there may be a heaven. THAT IS MY OPINION.

I will state: IN MY OPINION, that ALL organized religions are technically cults. When Christianity first started, it was considered as such. Just because a religion has five billion believers doesn't make it less than one.

Definition: Main Entry: cult
Pronunciation: 'k&lt
Function: noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: French & Latin; French culte, from Latin cultus care, adoration, from colere to cultivate -- more at WHEEL
1 : formal religious veneration : WORSHIP
2 : a system of religious beliefs and ritual; also : its body of adherents
3 : a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents
4 : a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator <health cults>
5 a : great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad b : a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

How many of us go to church and say when prompted, "... and also with you." How many of us were taught and recite at will the Lord's Prayer? These are doctorine. ALL religions are also "shame" based. Remember hell? If we don't do things or do certain things, we will end up there. SHAME on you! Why do certain Christians try to "save" you?

Sorry to hijack the thread, YNKYH8R, but I felt the need.

Linda

Quote:

Originally Posted by YNKYH8R

Not everyone goes to heaven. Or least to some not everyone should. No one knows what is in a man’s heart except for God him/herself. Have you ever been in a situation where someone asks you whether or not a mutual acquaintance is in heaven or not and your wanted to say “no” but were compelled to say “yes”? When the man/woman who sexually molests a child dies and the child asks if he/she is in heaven, what do you say?

Heaven and hell are two abstract concepts that have plagued man for as long as the concept was invented. As a matter of perspective some could argue that we are in hell right now. But one point that is ultimately true is the fear that is involved.

Fear of death, the unknown. We naturally fear that which we don’t understand and fear can lead to anger and hate. Some people wish for a hell, they see the deeds of man and pray that in the end there is some final retribution for their actions. Is that Christian? I don’t know. Humans are driven by revenge. Your everyday person would be seriously dismayed to find out that Timothy McVeigh, Adolf Hitler, or Poll Pot were in another realm that was not a pit of fire for which they could burn. As a society we automatically pass judgments on who should burn and who should not. Life just would not be worth living, for some people, if they knew that they had “behaved” themselves their whole lives just find out there was nothing to be gained from it. Likewise that people who hurt our feelings, or hurt other people physically are not suffering for their crimes against us. Hell is going to do for you that which you cannot legally do for yourself: make your adversaries suffer.

Since no one has actually come back from the dead to do an interview with Larry King then we are free to fill in whatever afterlife we see fit to. Or sometimes we subscribe to other peoples interpretations. In fact some people will try to persuade you to believe in their interpretation to validate their beliefs or simply to control you. (or sometimes they care about your soul) All of these things are true to the human psyche. We feel comfortable to know that we have a say it what happens to ourselves when we shuffle off the mortal coil. It is when you try to inflict your beliefs on someone else when we truly know we’ve gone too far.

If I had my way I’d spend eternity catching up on all those television programs I missed because I was too young or never got a chance to see them.

YNKYH8R · 04-08-2005, 02:29 PM

No problem. Great response. This should be a forum of free thinking and object thought.

YNKYH8R · 04-08-2005, 02:30 PM

What if someone told you that everything that you knew was not exactly a lie but then again not entirely true either? Would you feel angry, suspicious, doubtful; maybe even thankful?
Now how would you feel if you found out you’d been working on a project for a long time; put great effort and practice into it; studies for hours on end just make sure the information in your brain was straight and made sense so that you could carry on your knowledge like an accomplished professional only to find out you wasted your time?

My wife once told me that if she ever felt I was wasting her time she would stop dating me. (I must be doing something right; we’ve been married almost three years)

Doubt is the worst thing for self proclaimed religious person to feel; the very notion that you could be incorrect. If you follow a map across country and are off by a few degrees then you could end up hundreds of miles away from your destination. If this was to happen to you on a spiritual sense then you are hopelessly lost, right?

I have a co-worker who shuns certain things (music, movies, and books) in fear that an iota of doubt might enter in. She will not read certain books, or watch certain programs because anything contrary to her belief structure has a possibility to take it away from her. Is this because her world will crumble or she does not want to face that she may have been wasting her time. She is a self described narrow minded person. I applaud her reasoning and pity her position. Should not ones faith be something to over come something as small as doubt? Not everyone I guess. Instead of allowing her self to have a more open mind on the world (in reference to her religion) she closes her self up in a kind of mental cocoon.

We all search for the truth. But do we search for an absolute truth or do we search for a truth that is convenient for our way of life?

“Faith is universal. Our specific methods for understanding it are arbitrary. Some of us pray to Jesus, some of us go to Mecca; some of us study subatomic particles. In the end we are all searching for truth, that which is greater than ourselves.” Dan Brown Angels and Demons pg. 110

llbriteyes · 04-08-2005, 02:54 PM

Wow. What an excellent post. I'm afraid I won't do it justice. lol

I completely understand where you're coming from on the belief scale. We all believe what we NEED to believe to get by. For example, my husband of 22 years and I have three children. He is an athiest, and I am non-nonbeliever. If that makes sense. I basically have read, and do read the bible, but I follow the teachings of Jesus, not the teachings of some "reverend" or "priest." I try to live my life that way and not shove it down other's throats.

We have three children. Keep in mind, these children were raised by the same parents their whole lives. All three have gone/going to college. The two girls believe deeply, and our son is an athiest. Go figure. The most important thing we have taught them is to think. Think for themselves and choose what is right for them. They have freedom of thought. They are ALL law abiding and have great morals. They're tolerant of other's beliefs as well. Whether that be Muslim, Jew, Christian, Athiest, Agnostic, Humanist, Wiccan, white, black, asian, american indian, gay, straight...They believe as we do, in that "the greatest of these is love."

They know that nothing is an absolute in this world. They know if they believe something, they believe it for a reason. They are respectful of other's rights to believe as they do. Things change. And if you ask most Christians, they will tell you that each time they open the bible to read a passage, depending on where they are in their lives, that same passage may mean many different things.

Having such absolute faith in ANYTHING is dangerous. The rug can be pulled out from under you at any time. For instance, if you bang your toe with a hammer, and curse, in many religions you have sinned. Sinning is wrong, we all have original sin (I don't get that one). I didn't HAVE a chance to sin when I was first born. I don't accept the Adam and Eve deal.

Open minds... Shouldn't we all have them? I know I am stubborn on many issues, however, I AM open to discussion. My son, when he was 10 years old had a bedtime of 8:00. I was determined he WOULD go, but I said, "convince me." He did. With facts. Then carried through with deeds. A small example, but it proves my point.

Linda

Quote:

Originally Posted by YNKYH8R

What if someone told you that everything that you knew was not exactly a lie but then again not entirely true either? Would you feel angry, suspicious, doubtful; maybe even thankful?
Now how would you feel if you found out you’d been working on a project for a long time; put great effort and practice into it; studies for hours on end just make sure the information in your brain was straight and made sense so that you could carry on your knowledge like an accomplished professional only to find out you wasted your time?

My wife once told me that if she ever felt I was wasting her time she would stop dating me. (I must be doing something right; we’ve been married almost three years)

Doubt is the worst thing for self proclaimed religious person to feel; the very notion that you could be incorrect. If you follow a map across country and are off by a few degrees then you could end up hundreds of miles away from your destination. If this was to happen to you on a spiritual sense then you are hopelessly lost, right?

I have a co-worker who shuns certain things (music, movies, and books) in fear that an iota of doubt might enter in. She will not read certain books, or watch certain programs because anything contrary to her belief structure has a possibility to take it away from her. Is this because her world will crumble or she does not want to face that she may have been wasting her time. She is a self described narrow minded person. I applaud her reasoning and pity her position. Should not ones faith be something to over come something as small as doubt? Not everyone I guess. Instead of allowing her self to have a more open mind on the world (in reference to her religion) she closes her self up in a kind of mental cocoon.

We all search for the truth. But do we search for an absolute truth or do we search for a truth that is convenient for our way of life?

“Faith is universal. Our specific methods for understanding it are arbitrary. Some of us pray to Jesus, some of us go to Mecca; some of us study subatomic particles. In the end we are all searching for truth, that which is greater than ourselves.” Dan Brown Angels and Demons pg. 110

YNKYH8R · 04-08-2005, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llbriteyes

Wow. What an excellent post. I'm afraid I won't do it justice. lol

I completely understand where you're coming from on the belief scale. We all believe what we NEED to believe to get by. For example, my husband of 22 years and I have three children. He is an athiest, and I am non-nonbeliever. If that makes sense. I basically have read, and do read the bible, but I follow the teachings of Jesus, not the teachings of some "reverend" or "priest." I try to live my life that way and not shove it down other's throats.

We have three children. Keep in mind, these children were raised by the same parents their whole lives. All three have gone/going to college. The two girls believe deeply, and our son is an athiest. Go figure. The most important thing we have taught them is to think. Think for themselves and choose what is right for them. They have freedom of thought. They are ALL law abiding and have great morals. They're tolerant of other's beliefs as well. Whether that be Muslim, Jew, Christian, Athiest, Agnostic, Humanist, Wiccan, white, black, asian, american indian, gay, straight...They believe as we do, in that "the greatest of these is love."

They know that nothing is an absolute in this world. They know if they believe something, they believe it for a reason. They are respectful of other's rights to believe as they do. Things change. And if you ask most Christians, they will tell you that each time they open the bible to read a passage, depending on where they are in their lives, that same passage may mean many different things.

Having such absolute faith in ANYTHING is dangerous. The rug can be pulled out from under you at any time. For instance, if you bang your toe with a hammer, and curse, in many religions you have sinned. Sinning is wrong, we all have original sin (I don't get that one). I didn't HAVE a chance to sin when I was first born. I don't accept the Adam and Eve deal.

Open minds... Shouldn't we all have them? I know I am stubborn on many issues, however, I AM open to discussion. My son, when he was 10 years old had a bedtime of 8:00. I was determined he WOULD go, but I said, "convince me." He did. With facts. Then carried through with deeds. A small example, but it proves my point.

Linda

Thank you for the compliment. I have these random thoughts and I decided to make this my random thought/editiorial thread. (why let all those ideas in posts go to waste?) You want a kick in the brain read Angels and Demons.

llbriteyes · 04-08-2005, 03:30 PM

Sounds like required reading.

Thanks.

Linda

Quote:

Originally Posted by YNKYH8R

Thank you for the compliment. I have these random thoughts and I decided to make this my random thought/editiorial thread. (why let all those ideas in posts go to waste?) You want a kick in the brain read Angels and Demons.