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Words of Wisdom

 
 
Reply Thu 7 Feb, 2008 10:33 am
Words of Wisdom

A child sees things fresh and new an adult sees things as bland and boring but a wise man sees the entire picture going on while the young may see things as new and the old see things as dull the observer see things as all in your perspective.

Life is a journey you are either on your way to pursuit of happiness or on the path to righteousness

To love truth is to go after it and seek it out that it may be found to choose deception is to love complacency and deny your own search for truth. Complacency is like saying "I have Jesus I can stop there." Or "I'm Saved so I don't need to do anything else." or even this one "Jesus is the Truth that I found." yes but that is only one layer of truth! These are the subliminal messages that the enemy uses against us while people probably wouldn't say these out loud they are on the sub-concious level of thought and attitude. Please realize many will call him Lord,Lord but he never knew them. To love truth is to love Yashua

In life we always have a choice some people say "I don't have a choice." But this is the reality, You may not control circumstances but you always control your choice on how to respond and how to behave. If you choose to be bitter and say "I don't have a choice." you choose to be bitter and not only that but they are really saying underneath is "I can't change this and I want more control." Remember you can't control everything that affects you but you control how you think,act, and respond to what happens and to deny this is folly.

The older I get in age the younger I must remain at heart or else I might lose my passion,zeal,ardor. Contrarily wise the more childish I act in age is a foolish way to impart my adult sense of expression.

Someone once said "Life is ours to be spent not saved." Although I would like to say "Life is a choice to waste it on sin or to save it for eternity." Remember though who ultimately saves not us.

To live free is to die hard because this is the reality a cowards dies many times in his own fear because his heart is enslaved but a brave man only dies once because his heart is free from fear. The sad thing is not death the sad thing is that not many people never really live they "exist" day to day meal to meal are you eating to live or living to eat? Are you afraid of death or does death take you on a journey of being alive?

The truth is this if this life is all there is then we have every reason to fear death but if there is life after death because of love then we should die to protect that love.

You can never really know yourself until you ask yourself "Who am I?" not "Who do I want to be? The first is searching yourself the second is searching for a mask.

Yes all that's required for salvation is receiving Yashua as a free gift nothing else is needed however if we do nothing with this gift then we are still acting selfishly and foolishly.

If all we do is to serve God to avoid punishment or recieve reward then we are not really serving God but ourselves and for our own behalf.

Born-again is not a prayer pill it's a choice of free will to abandon sin and the world it will cost you everything from life and even more for love but nothing you do will ever make you new only the Holy Spirit Living in you.

Repentance is not just asking for forgiveness and feeling sorry for yourself it is feeling sorry for sin to ask for forgiveness only to give your heart to change the things you have done and turn them around.

Many people think of Jesus like Hell insurance to save them from pain and death but how many think of Yashua as their friend to shake his hand that was nailed and bless his heart that was pierced?

To Deny Yashua is to deny our own forgiveness and grace but to deny the Torah is to deny God's will for our lives to be "set apart".

The spirit of the law is to Love God and others the letter of the law is the commands written by Moses the whole law or completion of the law is to obey the letter of the law in the spirit of the law or in Love obeying YHWH's law of love bringing forth the fruits of righteousness. To obey one or the other as Christian or Jew is missing the mark.

To despise the law is to despise the God who made it, to love God is to obey him, to obey God is to follow his Son to obey Man is to follow the world.

You cannot have one without the other If you love others and love God then you are only keeping the spirit and not the letter if you only keep the commands without love then you are keeping the letter but not the spirit, the contention is this you keep spirit if you are a Christian and reject the letter, you keep the letter if you are a Jew and reject the Savior and his message about the Spirit this is the solution to the matter..keep them both!
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Aedes
 
  1  
Reply Thu 7 Feb, 2008 01:46 pm
@Israelite007,
Israelite007 wrote:
if you are a Jew and reject the Savior and his message about the Spirit this is the solution to the matter..keep them both!
If you are a Jew you don't reject the savior. If you are a Jew there is no savior, there is no message, and there is no "Spirit". Are you trying to win converts here? How do you think people feel if they don't share your religious beliefs?
0 Replies
 
Israelite007
 
  1  
Reply Thu 7 Feb, 2008 03:02 pm
@Israelite007,
Then I must be mistaken but as far as I know Jews don't believe in Yashua as the promised Messiah that it is what I mean by this statement that I believe he is the Savior and how he gives us the message of love through the new testament

Aedes people may be offset by what I say and people are entitled to believe what they want my goal is not about getting on people's good side but sharing what I believe to be the truth to possibly help them live with purpose

Yes I may never win a convert that is not my mission, my mission is to enhance the quality of life to others for God.

I am not on earth to please people but to please God in many cases this could mean that people are indifferent or unaffected by what I say and yes I cannot change people but I can influence them I just pray that I would influence others in love.
0 Replies
 
Aedes
 
  1  
Reply Thu 7 Feb, 2008 03:10 pm
@Israelite007,
Look, I respect the sincerity of your beliefs. But on a philosophy forum, when you speak through the assumed truths of your religion in a way that seems to dismiss the beliefs held by others, then you end up either attracting only people who believe the same thing you do or attracting people who want to challenge you.

I don't think either is your mission. I mean you wouldn't have given an inspirational set of passages as you have here solely for the purpose of like-minded people agreeing. And I don't think you're looking for people with diametrically different beliefs to challenge you either, because you don't seem like the type that seeks out confrontation.

Do you think that you'd find more common ground with people if, instead of speaking through beliefs (or assumed truths), you would offer common principles that you might share with people from vastly different points of view? I think there are ways to talk about life, and ethics, and humility, and humanity in ways where a born again Christian and an atheist and a Buddhist would find common vocabulary. But with good reason you exclude all non-Christians when your presentation is filled with Christian imagery.
Israelite007
 
  1  
Reply Thu 7 Feb, 2008 03:23 pm
@Aedes,
Okay Aedes, you have me in a bit of respite. In the ideal you speak of I guess I just don't know enough about Atheism, Buddism to really find a common principle so then I must go study and reapply this thread, who knows maybe you will find it is more applicable?

I'll try to see from others point of view and not just my own. I would like to see someone come to Christ yes but that is not my goal on this forum, in part writing these many pieces it is a quest more than a statement so in hearing you this brings light to that experience

Now you should understand however that I must support my own religion so of course I will incorporate this into consideration maybe this will reveal the truth or maybe it won't but the thing is this....I will take your words and try my best to learn from them, thanks.
0 Replies
 
Aedes
 
  1  
Reply Thu 7 Feb, 2008 03:32 pm
@Israelite007,
Thanks for understanding and hearing me out. In my view I think most of humanity, regardless of their religious background, shares common fears, common insecurities, and common ethics. Of course there are variations. But as I'm sure you'd acknowledge there are non-Christians in this world who in their treatment of other people embody the highest Christian ideals other than the specific liturgical requirements. So what does it mean for someone to be good if their foundation is non-Christian?

I think that that is one of the most interesting things about humanity -- that we share so much in common with one another, and it's the cultural stories we build around these commonalities that make us seem so different.

I have no problem with you championing your religion, but I don't want to see these discussions turn into a forum for winning people over. It just doesn't work in this kind of setting, and I don't think it's appropriate or even respectful. Our goal should be to understand and learn from one another, not to convert one another.
0 Replies
 
Justin
 
  1  
Reply Thu 7 Feb, 2008 09:17 pm
@Israelite007,
I completely agree with Aedes. For one thing, I can't even read through it because it hurts my eyes. Secondly, this is preaching. Plain and simple, it's preaching and it's not exactly words of wisdom.

Here's should be done with this:
  • First, make it readable. That means paragraphs are double-spaced and remove all the bolds. I couldn't read the entire thing and I'm sure others wont as well.
  • Change the title. This is preaching and has nothing to do with words of wisdom. In 10 years, if you are still here in this forum and you have sought truth, you'll understand exactly what I'm saying.
Now, this is more like a blog and I'm going to give the members the ability to blog but it's not yet ready. For now, if you edit it correctly and make it readable, we can let this slip through the cracks and then when the blog is ready, I'm going to move this into your blog. Your philosophy Journal is something you can write and look back on and build through your years of membership here. People can comment on the journal entries as well. It's coming soon.

Thank you Aedes for responding to this. Let's get this post cleaned up so someone can actually follow it and this is going to be another rule to add to the forum... Readable Posts.

Israelite, don't get discouraged. You'll have a place very soon where you can post your preachings if that's what you feel inclined to do. The above is simply not philosophy.

*I tried to edit this and I can't tell where one paragraph begins and one ends. Please edit this post Israelite... you don't have to change anything, just make it legible.
Israelite007
 
  1  
Reply Fri 8 Feb, 2008 10:12 am
@Justin,
Yes Justin to tell you the truth I feel a bit insignificant, because my intentions are to help others to see the truth in hopes they would pursue it, but here I am having it out with Aedes when it comes to a point that I am wise in my own eyes, you know actually i realized this after I already posted. I wanted to change the title but it won't work.

The last thing I want is to be stuck in my ways change is what makes life interesting. I pray that we can grow from this I know I said I wanted to be a warrior but now I just want to be a student of life and learning from everything around.

Okay so I am going to dream and wonder and ponder and study and come back then maybe I can share insight into my faith
Aedes
 
  1  
Reply Fri 8 Feb, 2008 11:25 am
@Israelite007,
Israelite007 wrote:
my intentions are to help others to see the truth in hopes they would pursue it
The thing is, if we're being philosophical, then we can't be too confident about assumed truths. We may individually assume certain truths, but in this setting the whole idea of "see the truth" is completely different than, for instance, in Church.

I'm Jewish (though not an especially observant Jew). Because of this background of mine, however, I would never ever accept the dictates of Christianity as religious truth -- nor will you ever accept it from a Jewish point of view, in which Jesus is not even part of religious "truth". The point is that there is PLENTY of room for mutual understanding between us if we intellectually discuss certain topics. But convincing each other of the truth of our religions should not even be a project or an effort of ours. I respect your beliefs enough that I don't seek to "enlighten" you with mine. Similarly, you should respect mine, even inasmuch as I often make a case for atheism.

Quote:
it comes to a point that I am wise in my own eyes
We all are, but that's why it's so helpful to talk things out. Just as I love my mom more than I love your mom, and you love your mom more than you love mine, our personal religious beliefs (however strong they may be) really are relative, and shouldn't be a target.

Quote:
I know I said I wanted to be a warrior but now I just want to be a student of life and learning from everything around.
That's a very mature statement, and I'm glad you feel that way. That's the kind of environment we want here. Bob Dylan, in his phenomenal song "My Back Pages", criticizes his former angry 'protest' years with the line "But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."

Quote:
Okay so I am going to dream and wonder and ponder and study and come back then maybe I can share insight into my faith

A good exercise would be the following. Picture an atheist, someone who rejects religion, rejects God, in fact doesn't really care, who lives his life humbly, helping people, advocating for people, giving to people. Someone whose true enemy is suffering. Someone who doesn't care if other people believe in God or not, he just wants them to be healthy and safe enough that they can choose for themselves.

In other words, I'm trying to present you someone good, even if that whole idea of "good" is founded only in our approval. But this is someone who doesn't derive "good" ideas or "good" motivations from God.

How do you reconcile this with your strong religious spirit? And how would you reconcile this with a monk who devotes his life to praising God but never helps another person?
Justin
 
  1  
Reply Fri 8 Feb, 2008 06:23 pm
@Aedes,
Israelite007 wrote:
Yes Justin to tell you the truth I feel a bit insignificant, because my intentions are to help others to see the truth in hopes they would pursue it, but here I am having it out with Aedes when it comes to a point that I am wise in my own eyes, you know actually i realized this after I already posted. I wanted to change the title but it won't work.


There's no reason for you to feel insignificant. If you truly want to help others then start by helping yourself. You've just swallowed this magic pill of Christianity and now all the sudden you are taking it to an extreme and in my opinion it's farther from truth than you realize. Actually, I don't think most people would recognize truth if it slapped them in the face.

As fas as having it out with Aedes, it certainly didn't look that way to me. His response seemed fitting for the post. Preaching isn't going to be in this forum. Helpful advice yes, preaching no. Please understand this. If you want to preach, there's a place on the internet for you, just do a search.

Israelite007 wrote:
Okay so I am going to dream and wonder and ponder and study and come back then maybe I can share insight into my faith

Why don't you just pray? This was what Jesus tried to teach his followers from day 1 and nobody seems to listen. You don't need to share insight to your faith with us here.

One thing about being a Christian that seems to bother me, (which is a lesson for me) is that instead of doing what Jesus taught his followers to do, they do the opposite. This only causes problems. Jesus led his people by being an example and that's what Christianity SHOULD be.

Anyway, let's not beat this subject to death.

Peace my brother.
Fido
 
  1  
Reply Sat 9 Feb, 2008 09:53 am
@Justin,
Alright, who let the sane guy into the asylum? I hope you locked the door behind him or we'll have to break out the nets.
0 Replies
 
NeitherExtreme
 
  1  
Reply Sat 9 Feb, 2008 12:26 pm
@Israelite007,
Just a comment or two...

I think Isrealite007 has been wise in realizing that the way in which he proposed his ideas was a bit rash, and that it could easily have been taken offensively. And I think that the others have done a good job of bringing this up in a porductive and non-offended way. So good job!

OTOH, I think it might be worthwhile for some others to note that there's a lot of (sometimes harsh) anti-christian/absolute truth/theism/supernaturalism/Bible kinds of statements all over this forum. They don't really bother me, although of course I don't enjoy them. I expect them here, and if I didn't want to see them I would just not come back. But I think it's at least worth acknowledging that they exist, and not simply label one person or another as the offensive party- especially when they are as open to input as Israelite007 has been.
0 Replies
 
Justin
 
  1  
Reply Sat 9 Feb, 2008 03:09 pm
@Israelite007,
Well said and I agree with you completely. Understandably there is going to be statements on this forum both for and against Christianity due to the nature of the forum being philosophy.

I for one, was raised a Charismatic Christian and it took me a long time to understand what it was all about. 10 years ago, I would have been in here just like Israelite007 and saying similar things. You are correct about labeling an offensive party because I'm sure we've all been offensive at some point in our lives and that's simply part of human nature and how each of us views certain things. If moderators found the post offensive, it would have been removed and that wasn't the case. It was edited to be legible and allowed to stay on the forum even though this type posting isn't necessarily allowed.

The idea behind this forum is to accept everyone and allow discussions that will be of benefit to all. Israelite007 has been very receptive to the constructive criticism of others and I understand his excitement about his newly found faith and want to provide a place for him post his thoughts within a Journal, which will be available soon. It's important for everyone to be able to be themselves and learn to enjoy and respect each other as individuals while being able to agree to disagree. This is found on very few forums on the Internet and we really want it to be the heart and core of this one. There's no reason we can't all get along and lift each other up rather than beat each other down.

With that thought, I'd like to offer my sincere apologies to Israelite007 for anyone that has made him feel insignificant, including myself and thank NeitherExtreme for posting your thoughts in here about this. We're all growing each and everyday and learning from each other, and most often times, confrontation provides communication and growth for all parties involved.

Peace!
0 Replies
 
dpmartin
 
  1  
Reply Mon 11 Feb, 2008 06:24 pm
@Israelite007,
Agreed, though I have my ups and downs, this so far, has been the site to be on.

I have been on other supposed philosophy sites and even in their religion section they go on with math formulas like that take some kind of contemplation or some thing.

I do visit other "Christian" sites and the lack of the desire for something deeper just does not seem to be there and God forbid if you might be in error. There is no harm in the search for understanding in the Truth by thinking out loud, so to speak, that is how one learns to get focused and see by bouncing off of others. Your patients with Israelite has been out standing(the Lord be with you all), better than I can do. By reading his posting from time to time, he has been through some considerably tough circumstances and all we have to do is be there, and the Lord will do the rest. Don't be afraid to tell him the Truth for if he don't hear it he will not come to know and love it. Just like talking to your own child (in this case in the Lord) if your not frank with your child he will learn not to trust you.

And your patients with me is Appreciated
Israelite007
 
  1  
Reply Tue 12 Feb, 2008 02:49 pm
@dpmartin,
Didymos,Neitherextreme,Dpmartin,Justin,Aedes.

You are all too kind to speak of me so favorably. I really appreciate all your feedback. Like some of you said this is a great forum I feel much closer with ya'll than any other forum that I visit. I am not here to argue, combat, or impose my beliefs on others. Yes Justin I tend to preach at times while this is a strong desire of mine I will try to keep it in the realm of philisopohical thought. I want to see the world through rose-colored eyes, do you know what that means? It means that you see the world for what you want to see not for what it is. I am learning from others to view the world this way. When I first posted on this forum my views were very biased and bitter about organized religion, christianity and the like, but slowly I started to learn I must see the good in the world not all the bad. Yes many horrible events take our loved ones and that's part of the serious nature of sin it takes the things we love the most.


Justin you are one smart cookie;) I always like hearing you on these matters and I'm sure you know some of philosophy has encountered God in some way. You're advice has certainly helped me about growth,balance,love, and maturity. You have helped me to adapt to myself if that makes sense because of your attention to detail and perception of propriety. Well done you still contine to impress.

DPmartin hey fella good to see you come around again. Yes the truth however bad it sounds is always important. The search for truth is a ever present desire that I hope we both share. I admit though some of what I have written here is in error as I continouly seek guidance and patience from the LORD. Thanks for encouraging me.

NeitherExtreme Well you are quite the character friend. You positivity shines like always and is welcome here. I like your take on things that helps us put things into perspective. It always good to see your thoughts on topics such as this and your comments are appreciated.

Didymos you Didymos excel at challenging my beliefs and May God Bless you for that friend. You do well to quest for answers and that's good keep questioning its how we grow as individuals.

Aedes My heart goes out to you. I want you to know that there is true love in the world and I pray that the door would be open to letting go of the past in order to prepare for the future and embrace the present. You are most certainly on God's wanted list so please stay and continue to bless us with your presence.
Justin
 
  1  
Reply Wed 13 Feb, 2008 04:17 pm
@Israelite007,
Israelite007 wrote:
Yes Justin I tend to preach at times while this is a strong desire of mine I will try to keep it in the realm of philisopohical thought. I want to see the world through rose-colored eyes, do you know what that means? It means that you see the world for what you want to see not for what it is. I am learning from others to view the world this way. When I first posted on this forum my views were very biased and bitter about organized religion, christianity and the like, but slowly I started to learn I must see the good in the world not all the bad. Yes many horrible events take our loved ones and that's part of the serious nature of sin it takes the things we love the most.

Great observation. The positive always outweighs the negative in this wonderfully balanced universe. After it's all said and done, the Universe will reflect back to you, that which you reflect into it, (all religion set aside). The control center of this is perception. So if you perceive the world to be a negative and disastrous place, you are reflecting those thoughts and perceptions into a Universe that will reflect back it's equal manifestation and in turn, manifest a reality.

One of the most often heard, usually ignored yet most profound quotes that people say is, "You'll get out of life, that which you put into it." - that's been a long hard lesson for myself yet it's so simple.

Israelite007 wrote:
Justin you are one smart cookie;) I always like hearing you on these matters and I'm sure you know some of philosophy has encountered God in some way. You're advice has certainly helped me about growth, balance, love, and maturity. You have helped me to adapt to myself if that makes sense because of your attention to detail and perception of propriety. Well done you still contine to impress.

Well thank you Israelite. My intention here on this site is to simply to serve. I've had my share of situations in life that led me to understanding a larger picture. For many years I often blamed others for circumstances I created for myself and likewise, thought the world was a horrible place and all those other thoughts that run through ones head at times. They just kept attracting more of the same. So I too am growing and learning and you are one of my teachers.
charles m young
 
  1  
Reply Sun 17 Feb, 2008 05:05 pm
@Justin,
Before any man can pursue the understanding of our origin, whether it be God Almighty or the evolutionary process of progressive thought, we must first come to an understanding of ourselves and our environment.

Throughout history, man has always made attempts to understand that which is intangible, incognicent of the effects that their ideology will have on society. You could travel the entire world and ask every person that you encounter about what they believe and you would get around 4200 different generalized answers, and an innumerable amount of individual perceptions; but if you ask about what they could socially contribute to the rest of the world, they would either be dauntless or give rather on-the-spot answers that never received previous consideration.

Aside from our various religious dispositions, we are social people. We survive and depend on the productivity of others. If we were anti-social beings, we would grow our own food, raise our own livestock, build our own cars, build our own homes, and be totally independent of interaction with other people. We simply do not operate this way at all. We need each other, and we wouldn't be as advanced as we are now without social structure.

The wall that divides all mankind is constructed of ideology, the plaster of greed, upon a foundation of religion. To protect and preserve the prosperity of mankind as a whole we must tear down this wall and build a new one. It should be constructed of rationality, with a plaster of unity, upon a foundation of human preservation.

Religion, ideology, and greed have been the root cause of every conflict throughout the history of mankind. By creating groups of uniformity we neglect the ever necessary universal unity. Every individual is entitled to whatever belief system they subscribe to, but when those beliefs become the cause of pain, suffering, and segregation, those beliefs become the greater evil and menace to society, regardless of their good intentions.

As unrealistic as it may sound, the most rational explanation to heal the ailments of humanity is to stop being autistic in our belief systems and pursue the advancement of humanity. If we successfully induce unity in the world, we will become the most productive, constructive, and progressive generation in the history of humanity.

But I being poor have only my dreams; and I have spread my dreams before your feet. Tread lightly, for you tread on my dreams.
0 Replies
 
Didymos Thomas
 
  1  
Reply Sun 17 Feb, 2008 06:48 pm
@Israelite007,
Quote:
You could travel the entire world and ask every person that you encounter about what they believe and you would get around 4200 different generalized answers, and an innumerable amount of individual perceptions; but if you ask about what they could socially contribute to the rest of the world, they would either be dauntless or give rather on-the-spot answers that never received previous consideration.


You could, indeed, travel the world and encounter a myriad of belief systems, all having their own language, imagery, and other various differences which reflect cultural and intellectual influences. Attempting to reduce these faith traditions, in all of their marvelous variety and wisdom, to "generalized answers" and "individual perceptions" is grossly misleading.

Instead of assuming what you may hear if you ask the question 'what can this faith tradition contribute to the rest of the world?' you might first ask the question. The fact of the matter is that any serious inquiry will discover well considered answers, though you are right to praise the courage of men who answer these questions; throughout history they have been persecuted and marginalized for their efforts to bridge social barriers.

Quote:
The wall that divides all mankind is constructed of ideology, the plaster of greed, upon a foundation of religion. To protect and preserve the prosperity of mankind as a whole we must tear down this wall and build a new one. It should be constructed of rationality, with a plaster of unity, upon a foundation of human preservation.


The ideology of intolerance, greed, and abuses of religion (which usually amount to perverting religious teaching into an ideology of intolerance) are all, and have all been, terribly devastating to the condition of mankind. What I object to is the blanket assault on "ideology" and "religion" as being so necessarily destructive that we must tear them down (I'll address the proposed alternatives in a moment).
No one can argue that ideology and religion are never abused. They are. Every day. However, we err if we make the argument 'Sometimes religion and ideology are abused, therefore religion and ideology are always bad'. Would you honestly argue that the ideology of "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is necessarily destructive?
Modern science has gifted the world with wonderful medicines, many of which will kill you if abused. Should we toss out these advances as dangerous? Or should we be responsible in our use of these medicines? I suggest the latter option.

Before we throw out religion and ideology, let's make sure we are not tossing out good things with the bad. If we find good things with the bad, let's then try to separate the good from bad, so that we might toss the bad and keep the good.

As for your suggestion that we should "build a new [wall]" in place of the old built "of rationality, with a plaster of unity, upon a foundation of human preservation", I would first like to know why you think rationality, unity and the good for man are new. As far as I can tell, wise men have been proclaiming these virtues for thousands of years. And why are these things necessarily opposed to religion and ideology?

Unity, and wanting good for all people of the world, these are not new themes. We do not need some megalithic shift in the way man lives. What we need is for man to look at the way he lives.
0 Replies
 
charles m young
 
  1  
Reply Sun 17 Feb, 2008 08:08 pm
@Israelite007,
Quote:

Every individual is entitled to whatever belief system they subscribe to, but when those beliefs become the cause of pain, suffering, and segregation, those beliefs become the greater evil and menace to society, regardless of their good intentions.



"But these things are self evident: never could every man be right in their diverse ways, neither could any man recognize his own flaws without measure; and thus we shall never run short of war"

I by no means suggest that religion be displaced out of the lives of men; however those beliefs become a problem when we fail to recognize that every man is entitled to their own beliefs. Granted, most religions are good natured, and wish to set guidelines for living, but whenever violent actions are committed in the name of that religion, that ideology becomes tainted by blood; usually innocent blood. When a religion restricts children from escaping a burning building because they aren't wearing proper religious attire, that religion is totally destructive to human nature. Throughout history these horrific acts have been committed, and the only positive contributions produced by way of religion has been the individual freedom to express it.

Anybody can believe anything they want, but those beliefs should not get in the way of human social progression. I have friends in all walks of life, religion, and political views, and we all agree on one thing: This world is jacked up, and we are responsible to unify and fix it.



I totally agree that there is much good to reap from religion, but if I lend you five dollars every other day, then punch you in the nose on the alternate, which is going to be more prevalent in your mind? Personally, I would only be my friend every other day, but that's beside the point. I'm doing a good deed. My ideology is that through suffering you are strengthened, and your suffering will pay off. Is it necessary? Of course it is, my god told me that this is the right way. And don't you dare tell me I'm wrong, because both of my deeds are good, and I have a right to believe what I want. My god told me to make everybody believe the 'truth' and that's what I plan on doing.

Do you see where I'm coming from on this issue? Sure its good by any standard to give you five dollars a day out of the kindness of my heart, but everything else in that belief system violates your personal rights. As you said, we need to separate the good from the bad, but in most religions these beliefs of good and bad are subject to opinion, and to them they are inseparable words of God, and if he said one, then the other is right. Some religions and ideologies would need to be disposed of entirely, especially the ones that violate human rights, and the morals taught by the peaceable religions can be embraced.

I cannot see religions disposing of the bad without disposing of the religion entirely realistic. Their premise is that a deity that is infallible gave them guidelines to live by, and that all taught in that religion is true. Its all or none for them. For us with open minds, we can pick and choose what values are good and what values are bad.

As a disclaimer, god never told me to punch you in the nose. Lucky for me he didn't tell me to give you five dollars either!


*** By the way, i really enjoy being able to discuss such matters with intellectual people. It really puts things into retrospect for me.
0 Replies
 
dpmartin
 
  1  
Reply Sat 23 Feb, 2008 09:12 am
@Israelite007,
"As a disclaimer, god never told me to punch you in the nose. Lucky for me he didn't tell me to give you five dollars either! "

that one's good,i like that.
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