Results 21 to 30 of 59
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03-07-2013, 01:04 AM #21
I'm going to say something which may be controversial to some people, but I love to speak my mind here....
I do NOT believe that Humanity has any specific meaning whatsoever.
This is where some creationists will jump on someone like me because they'll automatically think that MY life has no meaning and because of that, it doesn't matter what I do.
However, it couldn't be further from the truth.
First of all, the reason why I believe that Humanity has no special meaning is because it's rather foolish to believe that we're special beings only based on the fact that our specific trait was intelligence.
No one questions whether an ant's life has special meaning, no one questions whether this being has a "soul" (whatever the hell that is), or if this ant will go to hell or heaven...
And yet this ant has about as much significance in this universe as a Human.....when one thinks just how huge and seemingly endless this Universe really is, how selfish, how ARROGANT, how simple-minded is it to believe that we are greater than all of that?
Secondly.....to address my life....the fact that it has no specific meaning is not a bad thing at all.
I was lucky enough to experience this reality, to experience things which are full of joy, fulfillment, and pleasure.
I don't take these moments for granted, I stand on the shoulders of giants who gave their lives to the betterment and advancement of humanity....so that others could have an easier, more comfortable, and more enjoyable life.
I think it's a shame to waste their efforts.
Thirdly.....Believing that my existence is nothing more than the plaything to an egotistical god, and this life is worthless because the REAL life starts when you die, is just a sad thought to me.
Lastly....So that I'm not misunderstood, I don't believe humanity has a specific meaning the same way other living species don't have a specific meaning....however, that doesn't make our lives worthless, the same way an ant goes about it's life, so do we....because of our intelligence we have concocted all types of ideals about this existence, but at the end of the day we are a living organism and just like every other living organism, we are born, we live, and we die. that's it.
It's HOW we live our lives that matters, not why we live our lives.Last edited by JustAlex; 03-07-2013 at 01:06 AM.
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03-07-2013, 01:53 AM #22
Thanks Alex. I've been hoping you'd come here and talk, even if it wasn't the answer I was hoping for, although it did lead me to a conclusion.........In the end, it's up to me to find my own meaning/purpose/way. I've never bought into anything before and until I started visiting this board I'd never even contemplated religion. And I don't believe that you can just BELIEVE, just like that. Sooooooooo thanks eh? I doubt anything will change but hey, at least I don't care hahahaaa.
BTW, I pick up worms off the pavement in the rain and put them back into the grass, and I throw the spiders that I catch in the office or house back outside. I dunno about their souls, but All Creatures Great & Small..............
I DO wish my parents had given me hockey lessons rather than clarinet lessons tho.............
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03-07-2013, 01:57 AM #23
Alex, if you think that is what religion is about then why would you want anything to do with it?
but maybe it is not religion that is the problem, but your idea of what religion is.
I simply do not agree with anything you just said in relation to religion and what it is about.
if some how you are gifted with the wisdom and need no guidance, examples, ideas, contrast, ethics or morals, then cool. not that people cannot have these things outside of religion, but religion at its core is a mass collection of some of the greatest minds and perhaps people who ever lived, their value to us is undeniable and priceless.
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03-07-2013, 02:32 AM #24
That works too.
IMO, the path we choose to whatever conclusion we make is based on our best understanding of what is life.
We as humans want to believe so badly that we (in some way) will keep living forever, and if our existence ends, than what was the point of living?
However, this "end" that all of us are so afraid of, is quite silly in many ways.
None of us gets sad to think of the BILLIONS of years that went by without us being here....right?
We don't ponder if the end of a movie was pointless since it did in fact END....the material has worth, even if it did end.
Shrew, be honest with me....you believe there is an afterlife, correct?
If so, this afterlife will be forever, after a trillion years have gone by another trillion more still awaits us, and then another trillion after that....forever and ever.
Consider the average human life in the U.S......78 years.
Now compare that to eternity.
Within this logic, these 78 years or so (which are NOT guaranteed to us) are truly worthless and meaningless since eternity awaits us.
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03-07-2013, 06:51 AM #25
so family, friends, and community are worthless? your one life on earth means nothing?
your afterlife would not consist of you on a summer picnic with your wife and kids, a cool breeze from the ocean at sunset, the sound of children playing, waking up with your lover, or hanging out with your friends. you won't be a father, a mother, a brother, a friend. you will never be cold, wet, hungry, tired, sad, glad, a winner, a loser.
why would this life mean nothing whether there is a purpose or not?
if there is a God why would He create life just to worship Him?
what would make you think your afterlife is the same as life on earth?
if there is an afterlife why would you think what we term as knowledge would matter?
again, your ideas on religion amaze me, and not in a good way
here is an example
No one questions whether an ant's life has special meaning,
this shows your lack of study of religion, but yet you criticize it constantly
this is no different than me saying human evolution must be wrong because the earth is only 6000 year oldLast edited by shrewsbury; 03-07-2013 at 09:42 AM.
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03-07-2013, 10:22 AM #26
very well said.
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03-07-2013, 11:30 AM #27
Its a tough question to answer. The only think I know is that I know nothing. There are things that make me think Good has to be real. There are things that make me think that there is no way there's a God. One can't ignore all the freak coincidences that exist. One also can't ignore the complete randomness to life. It's an unanswerable question.
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03-07-2013, 11:33 AM #28
That's interesting. I think a lot of people look at "this" life as a tryout for the "next" life.
With that thinking, is training camp worthless for athletes? (not the greatest analogy, I know)
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03-07-2013, 12:23 PM #29
I'm just thinking out loud here after reading Alex's last post and wickabee's "training camp" comment. If an infant dies from Sids after being baptised as an example. Does that soul enter the afterlife with the same level of knowledge and conciousness that a 90 year old man would have learned over his life time? For that matter, does every soul suddenly become equally enlightened? Does everyone enter the afterlife with an awareness equal to a Pope for example?
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03-07-2013, 12:27 PM #30
you guys are still trying to use human knowledge to explain things
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