I am doubting my faith - need guidance/advice.

flushd wrote:

Quote:

See how Neo, Set, and Timber were chatting about getting together for some friendly joe drinking? That's the ticket. That's the way to go.

Now, that's a table I'd like to eavesdrop on...

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Yer more'n welcome to drop in. First cup is free.

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Joe Nation wrote:

and as soon as you think you've found all the answers, start asking more questions.

Joe(who let him in here?)Nation

Hey rockpie.....keep this in mind and in your heart.

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

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why do we search for truth? if there is no god, when we die, that's it. end of. no more. so unless we assume a god, the question of lifes purpose is meaningless...

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rockpie wrote:

why do we search for truth? if there is no god, when we die, that's it. end of. no more. so unless we assume a god, the question of lifes purpose is meaningless...

Are you saying that the idea of 70-80 or more years on earth has no meaning for you? If so, you will be wasting your life, so why bother? I think that life has a tremendous amount of meaning, and every second that we live is precious.

I think that a lot of your difficulty in grappling with this issue is that you ARE so young, and life has not unfolded that much for you yet.

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Some folks figure life's meaningless if they don't have a boyfreind/girlfreind, some folks figure life's meaningless for other reasons, some folks accept their own responsibility to make the best of life without looking for external validation real or imagined. Individual capacities, individual choices.

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You can assume a god without assuming an afterlife.
You can even assume an afterlife without assuming a god.

I assume.

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rockpie wrote:

why do we search for truth? if there is no god, when we die, that's it. end of. no more. so unless we assume a god, the question of lifes purpose is meaningless...

A few years ago, I spent 5 weeks travelling to at the opposite side of the planet, exploring parts of Europe, England, Scotland. I had an absolutely wonderful time, and I learned a awful lot.

The thing is, after that incredible journey of thousands of miles...I'm home. I'm in exactly the same place I started my journey from.

Are you saying it was pointless? That I really went nowhere? A huge waste of time and money to go exactly nowhere?

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rockpie,
The question you originally asked is, I think, a rather classic noob question. Quite naive. Never fear, though, as Phoenix has already stated, the more you question, the better, also the better your questions will become. (I feel rather odd saying this as I am younger than you!)

There is something seriously wrong with the statement you just made. Just read other replies to it. I'd just like to add one thing: you obviously have not even considered other religions. Almost every other religion ever created foretells life after death. Christianity is not the only road, believe it or not. Try Buddhism or any other non-theistic religion. I don't believe there are any paradoxes there.

George,
I don't think there are any religions with a god but no afterlife, unless you personalised a religion.

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aperson wrote:

rockpie,
The question you originally asked is, I think, a rather classic noob question.

There is something seriously wrong with the statement you just made. Just read other replies to it. I'd just like to add one thing: you obviously have not even considered other religions. Almost every other religion ever created foretells life after death. Christianity is not the only road, believe it or not. Try Buddhism or any other non-theistic religion. I don't believe there are any paradoxes there.

George,
I don't think there are any religions with a god but no afterlife, unless you personalised a religion.

Ahh, but there is right under our collective nose.

Solomon wrote:

For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all . . . (Ecclesiastes 9:5)

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While the absence of God or God's plan may mean that life has no "big picture" meaning, it also means we are free to pursue our own ideals rather than those handed down by people who claim to know what God requires of us.

I find the prospect of personal freedom (and responsibility) in a universe that has no meaning more meaningful than jumping through hoops trying to win the favor (or escape the wrath) of an arbitrary, all-powerful God.

And if, as many of us suspect, this God proves to be imaginary, I will be glad I did not waste my life pursuing meanings that are, in the absence of their "creator", more meaningless than anything I might discover for or about myself.

In other words, if there is no prize, there's no point in playing the game as though there is. But if there is no game, then life itself, and the way we choose to live it, is what matters.

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Yes, let's get back to the beginning.

Rockpie, are looking for information to reassure you faith?
OR
Are you looking for people to try and convince you that there IS or ISN'T a God? (Of course, as many wouldn't hesitate to enlighten you, that leads to another question.)

Most kind people would prefer to tell you what you want to hear, before telling you what you don't want to hear. So please clarify.

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Greyfan wrote:

While the absence of God or God's plan may mean that life has no "big picture" meaning, it also means we are free to pursue our own ideals rather than those handed down by people who claim to know what God requires of us. . .

What about those actually handed down by God?

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...enter someone who claims to know...he will now present his proof and solve the problem for us all !!!

Ladies and Gentlemen.....neologist.....!!!!!

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I could hardly suppose to have solved the problem with my own troglodytic brain. However, the answer has been laid down sufficiently by others.

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neo,
The Bible, my friend, is so F**KING CONDTRADICTIVE OF ITSELF that we cannot be sure what is diamond and what is glass. We don't even know if there is any diamond. This quote from the Book that you have just made only proves my previous statement, as it is evident that in other parts of the Bible that it says that we do experience a life after death.

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I'll have to get back to you on that, aperson; unless you wish to muddle through 2 years of my posts.

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aperson wrote:

...George,
I don't think there are any religions with a god but no afterlife, unless you personalised a religion.

Reform Judaism, while not taking any "official" position on the matter, has
for the most part ignored the question, and tended towards the belief that
there is no such thing. The attitude of Judaism might best be summed up
as "We really do not know, but if there is a life after this one, and a
reward for what we do, then surely it will be dependent upon the kind of
life we have lived - therefore, let us strive to follow God's path for us as
closely and as enthusiastically as possible, for then we will surely know all
manner of rewards, especially the one of seeing a world that is a better
place for our efforts".

Written by Rabbi Howard Jaffe, Temple Har Shalom, Warren, NJ

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Large parts of Judaism have neither god nor afterlife.

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Rockpie.

I believe there are thousands of different kinds of " religions " out there... it's one of the easiest businesses to set up, start one of your own, invent your own God... become a prophet, you can you know.... and there is no one that can deny what you preach or what you believe or what you say. I can assure you the other Gods out there will not intrude into your world of make believe, any more than you can theirs.

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I am doubting my faith - need guidance/advice.

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