Religion and life

That makes sense, the phrasing "servitude" put me off as it comes off anti liberty, but I believe in being good to my fellow man. The divine aspect may still be beyond me but I feel the stories contained within the Bible are a collection of allegories about what humans throughout recorded history have decided as what 'good' is when we talk about being good to our fellow man.

Do you believe morals are relative? I've seen a lot of religious people claim they are absolute, and that there are no contradictions in the Bible. I think the contradictions show us the relativity of morality, they show that some actions are not absolutely evil in certain circumstances.

Maybe not nature per se but the conditions of life that impart suffering

The focus of Vipassana meditation is to continuously and thoroughly know impermanence of everything (annica), no-Self in anything (anatta) and the dukkha teachings of Buddhism.

Pratityasamutpada, also called "dependent arising, or dependent origination", is the Buddhist theory to explain the nature and relations of being, becoming, existence and ultimate reality.

Thats basically a worship of nature, my line of thought was geared more towards nihilism in a general sense.

Those god and jesus chaps seem like decent fellas but their followers are hateful murderous shits that I have no idea why anyone would want to associate themselves with that.

And I'm not even talking about the century after century of murder and pillage of historical christians, modern ones cause so much pain and suffering it's unreal.

Religion is humanity's worst literal meme.

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>he cares about normie suffering
Reddit go home

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No most modern christ followers are like ned flanders
You just don't know cause Europe is 100% atheist

Yeah, the term "servitude" does immediately seem intimidating, and anti-liberty, so to speak, but the exact problem you are raising is adressed in Romans 6:12-23, and it also touches on your question as to wether or not morality is relative, and to a degree it is. While God is the absolute arbiter of justice, and thus the judge as to what is right and wrong, sin varies from person to person, as sin is "the shackles of the flesh", so to speak. If one indulges in hedonism, one lives a passive life, only going from one kick to the next, and in that sense one becomes a slave to the flesh and all one does is to serve its immediate desires, but God tells us to rise above that, and to rise beyond our immediate human desires, and to strive for something greater, namely to serve the Kingdom of God.

So insofar as what ones "shackles of the flesh" may vary from person to person, morals are relative, as each person lives their sinless lives differently, however morality is not relative insofar as the fact that everyone is striving for the same sinless life.

You now what? I agree. Religion is horrible ones it grants people the power to hurt others, and when it is exploited to control the weak, who are not aware of their existence as souls in the face of God and the universe, but merely say as all those around them that they are Christians, and delude themselves into thinking that conformity is the good that one strives for, and not the salvation of ones own soul, and to strive in order to bring the Kingdom of God to earth.

I am saddened by the existence of Churches like the West Boro Baptist Church who uses Gods name in order to spite their fellow man. Yes, homosexuality is a sin, but so is shaving, and we are all sinners, and we are all doomed to hell, lest we repent and are transformed through the Holy Spirit. The same rules apply to us all, and those who claim sainhood in order to belittle their fellow men are lower than even the worst of sinners.

Religion and spirituality go flaccid and recede before the violent reality of human existence, the entirety of which is this: fierce competition between the several races of man in a world of limited resources.

Just to clarify the part where I say that homosexuality and shaving are sins, right after having explained sin completely differently, I mean that only to highlight the hypocricy of the WBBC, as their method of determining that homosexuality is sin, also means that shaving, eating shrimps, laying in bed for hours, working on the sabbath, etc, is also sin, according to them. My stance on sin is what I described in the two first paragraphs.

In a world where everyone is a selfish casual acquaintance those who form strict hierarchies with clear rules of conduct will overtake the rest.
Hence the term divide and conquer.

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the more crazy I become the more religious I get. It's like believing in god is correlated with mental illness. I don't know if I'm on a path to enlightenment or just going mad.
Still think christianity is bullshit, at least in a way people interpret it. Most of the bible is a ripoff of older texts, like sumerian for example, but I think there are bits of truth hanging in there among all the kikery that's been added over the years by ((you know whom)).

while i was raised an atheist i grew to dislike religion because it's too narrow and too stale
while the entire "some outdated book" stick has been done a million times it's true, the last update to the christian bible was about 2000 years ago and the world has changed a lot

i've grown to gain my "spirit"tuality from "futurism"/transhumanism. i believe that humans are wonderfull creatures capable of wonderfull things, that we should do those things and that i should help with those things.
it helped me get through my education and motivates me with both work (engineering) and passions (animation)

while i can't say that my cause will work for everyone, i would advise everyone who can't stand gods to get a passion that keeps you going

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>Romans 6:12-23
Interesting passage, thanks. Seems to hit upon the idea that while we can strive for liberty and freedom, there is no absolute liberty either. We are always at the whim of some desire, so instead of being a slave to the desires of sins, we should be a slave to the desire for righteousness. By doing so we will find a purpose in life, instead of the "death" that comes from a nihilistic passive slavery to sin. Going back to talking about depression and atheism, if your only purpose in living is to further your own sinful desires, you will end up hating yourself for giving in to those desires, and in turn lose that will to continue living.

Hey there christian user, I'd be glad to get some input from a christian on a certain matter... I'm kinda afraid to ask in real life, also because I don't want to hurt anyones religious feelings. But first I have to tell you part of my life story, for the question to put into context or to really make sense I think.

Got some time for a rather loaded question and to read a wall of text?

Anybody in the near of Munich mind to baptize me? I live more in the direction of Dingolfing, Landshut precisely

Help a russian diaspora christian in Germany out fellows

Gadola Elohai

I suppose you are right in saying that we ought to be slaves to righteousness, although I personally disagree with calling this non-liberty. In the passage itself, Paul says that he uses this imagery in order to make us understand the relationship with God, and this state of slavery to goodness, is one which takes an enormous amount of willpower, and I'm personally not sure if I'd call something one strives personally to achieve as being subjugated in any way. Not in the negative understanding of slavery, anyway. That's just my own personal thoughts, but to me one isn't really subjugated if one strives to achieve it.

But yes; essentially Christianity is about being aware of ones sinful nature, and then striving to overcome it, and to be edified through the Holy Spirit, and in that understanding of Christianity, it strikes me as odd that so many who seems to be in suffering dismiss it, although it just might save them.

Sure, go head. I have the time.

Consider the scientific method. For the last few centuries (that is, for the entirety of it's existance) it has been the best source of information about the world. Then consider the Bible. It is the most reliable source of knowledge about the Christian deity.

Now consider these verses.
Psalm 145:3
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.
Romans 11:33-34
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"

There are plenty of others which deliver the same message: God cannot be explained.
One of the criteria that defines whether a hypothesis is scientific or no tis falsifiability. To cut the long story short, if there is no imaginable experiment that might prove a hypothesis is a false one, than it is not worthy considering. It is impossible to prove or disprove something that is incomprehensible by definition. Therefore, the idea of God is irrelevant from the scientific point of view.

Fuck you and your god. He is trying to infiltrate us with reptilian overlords via facebook and Zucc is one of their masters.

You will not win.

Go back to /x/ with the rest of the larpers and mentally ill creeps.

Sorry, mate, I can't help you, as I'm not in Germany.

I think your best shot is to find your nearest Russian church and look there.

Thank you. The question is not so much about depression and atheism, more a question about schizophrenia and atheism and where it might be leading me to (Christianity).

I'm diagnosed with schizophrenia. Meaning I had two psychosis that lasted for about 4 months each, and one minor episode lasting for about a month.

Why does that matter? Well, before psychosis I was a life long atheist, raised as such, and my psychosis was religious in nature. Basically, first time it happened, it felt like I was the chosen one, the messiah, and like God was syncing with me, like I would become a vessel for him and one with him completely. I called it being filled with the holy spirit, but as I was never religious I'm not sure if these were the right words for it. It also felt like a religion crash course.

Second psychosis was similar, only that when becoming God' again, I would also have the mission to wake up from reality to heaven, and to get others like me to awaken too. To find a shortcut, get into heaven without dying.

But this is the romanticized version, other symptoms were present, and I would behave pretty insane during this time, manic, and in other ways just plain old crazy from an outside perspective at least. After psychosis and on heavy meds, I dropped out of university and didn't show up at work anymore. Got on disability and became a NEET. I stayed this way for years. On the positive side, before that I was a depressed nihilistic atheist with no more will to live, now I was a live loving person that believed in something greater than was just in front of his ordinary eyes.

Anyways, still no believing in Jesus or Christianity, one day I decided to just give it a shot and pray. Really pray, for forgiveness, for salvation, for guidance, and for Jesus to come into my life, with all my heart. He answered. This was my third and so far final psychotic episode, if you want to call it that. cont...

Together with a presence of divinity I could hear his thoughts again, and he guided me this time to the bible, told me to read it, especially paying attention to the new testament, and well, gave me practical pragmatic advice to get my life back on track.

Now I still have the job at a christian foundation that came out of it. I still talk to God often. But I can't hear his thoughts anymore, at least not this clearly as I could back then, more like a strong intuition would be. I quit smoking weed since then and my earthly life is back on track with jobs friends and everything. I still thank him every day, and I try my best to be a good person and follow the example of Jesus.

But, here's the thing. Can this illness really be called a religious experience? Is my Jesus really real or just part of my illness? I feel like it's all real, but isn't that part of the illness as well, distorted feelings?

And when I say it's all real, I mean part of it is real, like the underlying divine nature of it, not that everything I believed back then was real, I'm certainly no messiah or jesus.. Just.. yeah..

Guess I'm a little bit confused there, and where I should go next.. I'm still living between worlds, my old atheistic one and a new found religious one and also christianity, I still wonder if christianity is really true for me in every regard. And well, maybe you have some input on that, if you've read this far. Or maybe you have some guidance for me, I dunno, just thought I could tell a christian this for once, I don't know that many that aren't my bosses and employers and I don't think it's a good idea if I asked them, so here we are.

For any vulnerable anons in this thread: This is how religious fucks try and get to you.

They catch you at your lowest and push on their god shit and sometimes it works, because people need something, anything, to believe in.

Get yourself something healthier like drugs or anime and don't fall for the god meme...

>I personally disagree with calling this non-liberty
I agree, the pursuit of righteousness is something one is at liberty to take if he so chooses, and as the Romans passage says, he will be rewarded with if he does. Thanks user it's been interesting to hear a christian perspective on things.

Forgot to mention I am shy as fuck and shit that's why I ask here

youtube.com/watch?v=VbvYn_dhSIc

carm.org/roman-catholicism-mary-idolatry

Matthew 15:9
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

1 John 4:1 - Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Jude 1:4 - For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 John 2:27
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

kingjamesbibleonline.org/Revelation-17-4/

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Thomas 1-1
"You're tearing me apart, Lisa!"

Thomas to Marcus - The great betrayer of God 69:1
"I'm so happy I have you as my best friend, and I love Lisa so much"

Thomas 1:13
"It's bullshit, I did not hit her. I did nooot. Oh hi, Mark!"

Marcus 1:4
"Johnny's my best friend!"

christianity made me weak and set me on this path, thankfully I lost faith in the jew hippie, but became a nihilist for a time, then i starting LARPing as pagan, have improved because of that.

>Not even looking into the history of Christianity and early Christians, being able to take verses out of context to fit your personal agenda

>Thinking that the Holy Spirit talks to you and you're a special snowflake.

Protestants were the original SJW's

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Are you all ready for the truth??

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If god is real how are is there no mention of dinosaurs in the bible?

and what about radiometric dating?

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Could you try finding a Christian fb or something from your area? I know there's a group called /rel/ on fb which might be able to help, but they might be a bit extreme at times. Good luck tho. But remember that the rituals aren't the most important part, but ones personal relation with God. The rituals are there in order to help you in your relationship.

holyspiritactivism.com/2014/04/04/ten-reasons-why-the-catholic-view-on-the-early-church-is-wrong/

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C*tholics will never learn. baka

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People need to learn the TRUE teachings of God.

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They may all try to deny it, but we, the ones who are aware of the truth, will never give in.

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Daily reminder that if you believe in something that you never saw yourself, or confirmed via scientific papers or analysis, you are a brain dead retard.

Faith is a lie that people accept because they are too stupid or lazy to seek out information.

It is true that it is impossible to explain God from a scientific angle, but I don't find that to believe that he is obsolete, so to speak. On the matter of the science on God, I find the idea that "we can't see God in creation, therefore there is no God" to be a bit strange, and to be missing the point. If one studies a painting with scientific instruments, one can find the chemical composition, the structure, the age, the size, the shape, and all the messurements of the painting, but one won't find the clues of the painter in the picture itself. If one looks at a painting, and then says "well, I don't see a name on it, so that must mean that there is no painter" people will surely lable you as mad. The same is true for God. God is the creator, and as such, looking for him in creation is odd at best, and lunacy at worst.

But as I discussed with the other user, God does provide guidance and purpose to humanity, and we are free to follow those guidelines if we please, but there is no forcing us. However, if one is to determing wether or not something is real, then it is worth determining wether or not it has an impact on the real world or not, and if one takes a look at various statistics and studies, one can see that generally speaking, when society has moved away from the guidelines of scripture, everything goes to hell. To name some examples, according to Satoshi Kanazawa, and evolutionary psychologist, he demonstrates that polygamous societies have a tendency to be more violent. Theories on how family-centered human societies arose from the hyper-violent and hyper-promiscous chimp societies, allude to the possibility that pre-human societies who became more monogamous became more peaceful, and thus managed to provide the social environment for more "enlightened" activities, which gave rise to human society. (comment got too long for me to finish it properly, but my proposition is that by following the laws of God, man became man instead of beast)

Keep in mind that compared to the theories all the way up until the 1960's, the bible has been the most accurate description of how the Universe was created. If one reads the creation myth, all forgives it for taking some artistic freedoms, it is a rather accurate description of how things happened. "In the beginning there was light" is pretty much a description of the Big Bang for a caveman, as he wouldn't quite comprehend "13.6 billion years ago, the universe was in a state of quantum vacuum, which caused the creation of all mass in a single instant". Futhermore, humans have indeed evolved from mud, in the crudest sense of it, so if one forgives its 5000 year old desert nomad story telling, the bible does give a fairly accurate description of "creation".

Glad you took the time to talk with me aswell! I find it that I learn best myself when teaching onto others, so I'm thankful that you gave me the opportunity to hopefully enlighten the both of us in some capacity.

Or you could, you know educate people and/or leave them alone to form their own purpose, set of moral values and guidelines to living life without following a book written by dirty sand men who thought heard voices.

youtube.com/watch?v=kr1I3mBojc0&t=3s

That's really interesting.

I'm sorry for answering late, but I sadly got distracted in the real world for a bit. If you'd like to talk more about it, add me on discord. Thread might 404 sooner or later, and I'd like to talk more about this, and I'm screencapping your story.

Message me on discord, if you want. My username is MariusThatsMe#5367

Thanks, I've just added you, name on discord is tumult. I'm glad to talk about this more, but for now I have to go to sleep, tomorrow I have to get up to work in seven hours. I hope to talk to you soon on discord though, hopefully tomorrow!

I don't like the idea of otherworldliness, Christian fundamentalists have pushed the idea of Heaven being the True world while this one is just a bridge. Along with that they don't see this world having any value since there is something better to go to anyway. The way I see it this is all we have, and I would rather suffer here forever than have a false hope to go to

same happened to me, was a full blown atheist before, now I don't know if I'm losing my mind or onto something. I've heard many similar stories. lunatics like us call it dark night of the soul or something like that, when you're at the lowest point in your life then suddenly weird shit starts happening to you. Psychiatrists call it magical thinking and schizophrenia.
I wasn't communicating with god like you, but heard voices a few times during my meditation sessions and had a general feeling that some higher force is leading me. Idk, I don't think you're ill, I don't think I'm mentally ill. The universe is a far more mysterious place than we could imagine, it's like a video game, virtual reality if you will

I'll bite but sage because I literally have nothing better to do. I personally am more of an agnostic than an atheist, though I was one when I was a spergy cringelord freshman. I find that many (here in burgerland at least) who follow religion are either fakers looking for brownie points or follow some retarded evangelical institution set up to dissuade people from communism. I did rely on hand me downs for a few years, so the donation aspect of it all is something I can get behind, but most just do it to look good instead of doing it because they want to or because God or whatever asked them to. I have nothing against the idea, rather the people who tend to follow it. Maybe in Europe or other places it's different but here it's a fucking meme if I've ever seen one.

ITT: mentally ill people which hear voices and seek religious help instead of psychological

so i have to believe that some guy with a beard created the universe and magically assembled the planets?

doesnt sound very real to me

but user, he sortof killed his rape baby so he can forgive you for masturbating

but of course, i totally forgot that!

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You know, you could be more thankful and burn brown people, women and give your belongings to the church.

Just as God intended.

About a year ago I got a leaflet in the mail for a modern church in my area which puts their services on Youtube

youtube.com/watch?v=qgvbpB0RVnI

I'm watching it now.

Reading the bible is very dense and it's hard to apply any of of the things you read to everyday life. So with a service the priest or pastor will explain all of the background information and how to apply it.

>I'm an internet traveler
>Refers to people as 'robots'

You couldn't be more obvious, but I'll bite.

> Now, I'm not here to moralize any of you or anything, but I'm curious as to why so many of you seem to down on life, and yet seem to hate the forces which might set you free from your suffering.

I'm actually pretty happy and contended with life. Screech NORMIE all you want, but I've got a lot working for me, and I don't believe in God. I feel that many of the people here on Jow Forums would be miserable regardless of whether or not they believed in a god or any god.

Religion does not magically alleviate suffering any more than a pill or good therapy might. In my own case, I pursued therapy, lots of self-improvement and reflection, and find the idea of there being no god(s) extremely humanizing and empowering. I feel at peace with my own agency and find the idea that humanity - not a deity - is responsible for its own destiny and laws extremely empowering.

That's all I have to say since I'm at work shitposting lol.

If it helps, I was raised Catholic and was active in church for about 20 years, despite not really ever being capable of squaring the science, history and philosophy required to believe in the Christian God.

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No you're right, and I frankly agree. As I said in what I find to be one of the biggest tragedies in all of Christendom is the fact that is has become such a tool of power over people, and it does infact seem especially bad in the US. On the whole browniepoint thing, it is sad that so many people do it, as the bible directly states that what is important is the relationship one builds with God when one is alone with him. I'm kicking myself in the leg for not being able to find the specific bible verse, and google isn't of any help, but it says something along the lines of those who preach in the streets and show off their faith are damned, but those who cherish God in the quite of his own room is holy, or something along those lines.

But yes, overall, the individual spiritual aspect of Christianity is one that has been sorely forgotten in this day and age, and I believe that if more people were do build a relationship with God on a personal spiritual level, many of the pains of life would be taken away from the Earth. As I spoke with the other user earlier, the struggle to acheive the Kingdom of Heaven is just that of those hand-me downs that you mentioned, and many other acts of goodness, that is true Christendom (inb4 "no true scotsman"), and it is a tragedy that it has become more about guns and Trump, and a matter of political power, rather than simple kindness, without any politics, without any state, without politicians or activists, but just community and charity.

Forgive me for being rambling.

Nice bait.
For the most part if you chose to be non-religious you're damning yourself to a lack of meaning. Personally I didn't really chose to drop religion; I just couldn't fool myself of its existence on any level.
I'd rather be religious, but realistically speaking it makes a lot more sense that life is meaning less and that the only thing promised in life is a return to the void from whence we came.

I'm glad that you have found meaning in life outside of God, and that you have found a path in life which gives you joy and purpose. I sincerely am.

The joke with being a traveler and using "robots" was in part just for jokes, and in part to show how much of a Jow Forums outsider I am, and not really deserving of any attention from anyone on here, but that I just wanted a chat with people, if that makes sense. To lighten the mood, as it were.

You may be right that many here would be depressed and miserable regardless. My main reason for starting this thread was I saw a lot of depression threads and whatnot, and also a few religionbashing threads, and as someone who has, and knows tons of people who have, overcome hardships in life through faith, I did, as stated in the OP, that I find it interesting that people seemed to bash that which might help them. Barking at the hand that could feed them, if you will.

And again; "seemed". I know that not everyone on here is a religion basher, and that not everyone here is depressed, etc, etc. I'm very much of an individualist, and I am very aware that any crowd is just a group of individuals, and thus the impression of the collective never reflects any of the individuals, and I wanted to reach them in the thread.

This got messy. Forgive me, it's getting late.

The last thing i want is to be so desperate for happiness that i turn to something i don't believe in so i can get a false sense of hope

fucking this. Mature answer, user.

fuck off, you were looking to recruit desperate people at their lowest point to your shitty beliefs which is a very nasty thing to do.

It's funny how christfags claim to be on higher moral ground but cannot see how truly awful their behavior is in general.

Go talk to your god or reddit and fuck off from r9k with your bullshit.

Fair enough. Religion and spiritualism is a bit of a mindbender, I'll concede, but just excisting is pretty mindboggling in itself if you think about it.

For some reason I find this quote by Albert Camus fitting for your sentiment: "The literal meaning of life is whatever you're doing that prevents you from killing yourself"

Do with it whatever you like, I guess.

Don't sweat it OP. I know what you're saying. I know people who have also been helped by faith, but I know a lot who have been hurt by it, or who have it but are still in just as much pain. It's a hard road to walk if you're trying to get your life back together, and ultimately I'm glad for people who do it.

If you really are an outside to this community (which I don't believe you are still), then you'd need to have a deeper understanding of the culture here on Jow Forums, and especially Jow Forums, and REALLY get to know the robots. They're not going to just turn to God and suddenly things will start to get better. People's problems go so much deeper than just "faith" or a lack thereof.

What I see in religion, or at least what you're suggesting, is simply another bandage for deeper personal and social issues that Robots face. It's no different than just asking a Robot to open his curtains and let the light in. It might help a select (and then vocal) few, but it's going to glance largely off the surface of a Robot's hardened exterior.

I feel it's unfair, immoral and ultimately slimy as fuck that people come here to Evangelize. You shouldn't do shit like that to vulnerable people. It's wrong, no matter how right you're convinced you are.

Pretty much. You hit a soft spot by pulling Camus.
For reference; I was christian up until a few years back and it feels like I live in a state of constant existential dread ever since. Props to you for having the fortitude to stick with what makes you happy.

Not really, just looking for a chat. I got a few, so it's all good. Strictly speaking, there is nothing in it for me if people come to Christ, and to be fair, I opened the thread as a discussion on spirituality on a whole, not just Christianity, and there was some talk on Buddhism in the beginning, although I didn't get on that.

>I was christian up until a few years back and it feels like I live in a state of constant existential dread ever since

hmmmmmmm......

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Funny enough, the opposite happened to me
I was Christian for many years and was in a constant state of spiritual and existential dread. I got more into existential literature (Camus is my favorite author), started brushing up more on history, science and Philosophy, and "gave up God", so to speak.

I've been much happier since.

I'm not saying there's no god, but this thing pretty clearly appears to be a memeplex bred for maximum penetration and virulence.
At least it's not islam.

This is probably a almost exquisite bait. Truly the best i ever had in weeks. I want to believe you are a good samaritan and a true christ believer, but you are not. You're like me, spending your whole life trying to do as the holy book says, and yet we fail. Many intentions of scam were present and mentioned in the bible about fake prophets and heresy is everywhere. I do not trust you. It is impossible that you are in r9k with good faith. Leave please. If these poor souls should be saved, they shall overcome. If not, well, maybe there isnt enough space in heaven.

>hey guys why are you depressed
>I get strength through my beliefs and it helps
>Now, I'm not here to moralize any of you or anything, but I'm curious as to why so many of you seem to down on life, and yet seem to hate the forces which might set you free from your suffering.
>playing innocent this hard

Dude, seriously, fuck off from r9k. You are a terrible person and if you cannot see that, you are dumb too.

Doesn't sound like an opposite, it just sounds like you found comfort through existential authors. I'd put cash down that we both read through the same branches of existentialism if we both came from that background. I just can't assert meaning and give it any weight knowing that it will eventually fade.

Hey, man, add me on discord, like the other user if you want to talk about it. MariusThatsMe#5367

oh and @ the other guy who was christian and got into existentialism; I'll steal that guys idea, feel free to add me on discord if you wanna chat
flower#0001

Hi, user. I have a question
Why do you choose Christianity when all knowledge is uncertain? If you maintain that faith is required to have a strong relationship with Christ, why do you deny all other beliefs that also require faith? How do you know, for example, that Islam is true, and the Bible was written by liars? How do you know that something greater isn't happening, making humans believe and worship a god who is actually evil, and using us for his own gain? Isn't it possible that Yahweh and the angles are 5th dimensional beings who are asserting control over our universe? Why do you think they wouldn't lie to you?

If I live my life with a purpose to be good and start a family, to follow my biological goal of surviving and reproducing, how can Yahweh justly send me to Hell for not worshiping him?

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>I find strength, closure, and motivation for selvimprovement through a fairytale some dirty ancient hillbilly wrote
yeah no thanks bud

All things will eventually fade though, and that's what gives them meaning. Again, I think it's kind of funny that we both came out on opposites ends from the same materials.

If we go on forever in the afterlife, who gives a shit what happens here, and further, who gives a shit about what happens in the afterlife? It'll be the same Sisyphean task of trying to divine meaning out of an existence that will never end. That to me is truly a torment.

I think because our time is limited and because nothing is forever, we have meaning. If I spent my life building a beautiful sculpture and died, that would be great. If I built a beautiful sculpture but could never die, and it was there forever, I'd just shrug and maybe try to make a new one? and then again? And again? or something else?

It's like too much of a good thing.

Good post, though you neglect the possibility that our afterlife may be torture on purpose. What if a certain religion granted death as a reward, and afterlife as punishment?

>god is nice and benevolent :)
when will this meme end
>How do you know for example, that islam is true and the bible isnt
thats the point of faith, believing in your religion
>isnt it possible that yaweh and the angles
>angles
stopped reading
you have to be 18 to post here

Next time you are in some kind of discussion or "debate" or something, just start asking them how they know that. Most answer with "I believe", which is NOT knowing, it's believing. Occasionally they say "there is evidence," but question that as well. Question how they know their most basic forms of evidence to be true.

>How do you know Jesus absolved us of our sins? Can you confirm it? Do you feel lighter in the chest? Did a beam of light shoot out of Christs' chest on the cross? Can anyone who was there, outside of the bible, confirm that a beam of light shot from his chest? Do you 'feel' like he did? That's not knowing, that's feeling.
>How do you know that God is working in your life? Can you confirm that your promotion was due to God versus Satan? Did God himself speak to you and tell you? How can you be sure that it was God and not Satan or some other religion's god?

The more you do this, the more you realize just how much Christians expect people to swallow and how much of this is based on nothing more than a very strong desire for it to be true, rather than any of it actually being true.

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Agreed. I don't know, that's why Christianity (and all religions) seemed silly to me. They've got all this elaborate lore and explanations for everything without any sort of evidence. None. Fucking 0. It's like talking to someone who's based their entire life around Lord of the Rings and is taking it literally.

I am currently doing perfectly fine in life, just to let you know. Not everyone that is atheist is some neckbeard loser from Reddit.

I could say a lot of things about why I would rather not be a Christian, but I think the simplest reason is that I dont see any need for it. I can do perfectly fine in life without god and would rather invest my time into reflection and self improvement instead of prayers or going to church.
You could say that is selfish but ultimately everything everyone does in life is partially for themselves. That is probably the case with you, too.

Perfectly sums up my thoughts. All of the evidence Christianity provides is incredibly flimsy, self contradictory or can be interpreted in far too many ways, resulting in further inconsistencies amongst different testimonies.

>God is nice and benevolent
I specifically mentioned the possibility that the gods are evil. I just don't see a point in belief when there's too much uncertainty. I can't will that kind of lifelong faith.
>that's the point of faith, believing in your religion
Yeah, your religion. You haven't provided a reason why faith in one idea is superior to another.
>you made a typo, so I don't have to take your post serious!
If I really didn't know how to spell "angel," what's the probability that I could spell every other word in my post? Btw you misspelled "Yahweh" so don't bother responding to me

Yeah, my personally philosophy is to fulfill my biological desires in the most optimal manner. Reproducing will be my greatest achievement, though I have the incentive to make my children better than I am. It's hardly logical, but it's in my DNA, so I shouldn't deny it. There's a quote I read recently from Norse mythology, "The mind only knows what lies near the heart," which summed up my thoughts on life. I have this life, and I am experiencing it. I only know what I experience, and my goal is to improve my experience. My biology gives me basic goals, while my reasoning abilities allow me to pursue those goals in a rational manner.

As to how I know that my faith i the true faith, you are correct: there fundamentally isn't any way for me to know for certain, although, the conviction I have today I have reached by years of soul searching and reflection, and to make it short; I have faith, but I acknowledge that that is fundamentally all it is: faith. I'll admit that I have no empirical truth to show to the world, but Christ has been a such force upon my life that I cannot deny the existence of a higher being, if nothing else. And yes, you are correct in proposing that God and all that follows him might all be simply higher creatures, but that is a realm of theology on which I can't do anything but admit that I do not have a deep enough understanding on it to really bolster a proper rebuttle on.

As to wether or not you'll go to hell merely for living your life there are two things: firstly Romans 2 explain the relationship between "gentiles", and the short version is that that which is good in life is from God wether one knows it or not, so if you live a rightous life outside of God, this is due to your inately Christian soul, so to speak.
Secondly is the notion of hell: Hell isn't what is often depicted in imagery as a burning place where souls are tortured for eternity, but merely an absense of God. As described above, the Christian belief God is essentially Goodness, and as such all Godness is God, so if one rejects God in this life, one will have a life without God in the next, and that with then de facto be a life without Goodness, manifested perhaps in whatever way is most gruesome to the soul itself, but I'll admit that that too is a question it is above me.

Hopefully that makes some sense.

This view seems autistic to me, You don't understand why mythology exists? The reason people sit around and invent stories about things is because there is no other way to accurately communicate a lot of shit other than through stories. We've been doing it for thousands of years. What you're doing is the equivalent of asking for evidence the boy who cried wolf existed so you can believe the moral of the story.

Also Fulfilling your biological desires is a real nihilistic and soul sucking attitude to life. You admit yourself you have the power of reason, so why do you reduce life to everything your body feels? Rather than what the greater soul behind it thinks?

It's honestly been mostly interesting reading all the replys, and I'm honestly amazed at how much traction this thread got. Sadly, however, I have an exam tomorrow, and have to head to bed.

Thank you to you all.

Nothing wrong with myths, the problem is when people treat it like the absolute truth.

>What you're doing is the equivalent of asking for evidence the boy who cried wolf existed so you can believe the moral of the story.
So, take morals from religion, but don't take it as fact. Got it.

Focusing on the soul is your preference, not mine. I've never felt as much purpose as I do now. Every day, I think about how I will raise my future sons, how I will make sure I achieve my goal career, and get a good wife. I couldn't ask for any more than a simple life with good family. I understand this isn't everyone's dream, but it's mine, and it makes me happy, but I also understand, biologically, why it makes me happy. However, I don't see the reason why I should devote my life to some belief of something I don't fully know. How can I deny that I have the urge to have sex? But I can easily deny that I have a soul, because it's never been proven to my mind, and my monkey brain doesn't understand its significance. I appreciate mythology, and don't reject any belief systems, because I don't claim that they can't be true. I just don't see any reason in focusing all of my mind/soul on one belief when I can appreciate all of them. I'm reading the Iliad right now, and believe that the Greek gods are real, though I don't actually believe that.

I don't deny that I have a soul, but rather I wouldn't agree that I have one. I know it's possible that I do have a soul. I didn't think before I typed and worded it incorrectly

I was brainwashed by religion by my mom as a kid. I was told the rapture was going to happen any day, etc.. I grew up very isolated and now I have no social experience.

>it's a test from god, user

what is this soul? have you ever seen one or heard from one? What is it made of? What are the physics and laws behind it? Does everything have a soul? Does my current laptop operating system too have a soul and continues to exist somehow if I decide to break it or delete it?