Philosophy

[Asmus]

What are your answers to the 5 great puds.

Why am i, IE; Why is we?
How do you find the key to peace?
Is God?
Why?
Where do we go when we croak?

[ebo]

Are you referring to the meaning of life? If so, I haven't found
a plausible answer yet. I don't think there is any deeper meaning though.
Mankind has this habit to take oneself way too important. We are so
self-centered. If you look at the dimensions of space, our problems and
beliefs become ludicrous - As conclusion, I'd say we're here because
of pure chance

Peace is achieved through inner peace, i.e. you have to be
in harmony with your inner self and the outside world.

Depends on how you define God. If you mean the religious
abstract thing, then no.

Because I don't believe in one being above us. For me, god is
just a synonym for something which gives hope and strength to us. That's
why every religion has it's own god/s they believe in. By that
definition, God can be anything that gives you strength when you need
it. Don't rely on a virtual entity, rely and believe in yourself.

We'll see If I had to choose one of the most popular beliefs,
I'd take reincarnation. I don't believe in the concept of heaven or hell.

[Jeremy]

Why am i, IE; Why is we?
Because through evolution things slowly change. This change happens for no reason except that things with better survival chances live longer. This is not good or bad - it's just what happens - we have no purpose nor does the universe have any purpose - we are just here through coincidence. Considering how old the universe is, it's not amazing that we came to be at all - infact it's probably inevitable - I only believe in one reality and also that the laws of physics if known to their full extent would completely explain every facet of the universe. (if you could do the calculations - which you can't - see the chaos theory and the uncertainty theory)


How do you find the key to peace?
Through tollerance and understanding. If you don't understand the problem you can never solve it. Also accept things for being how they are. If you don't think they are right - of course take action - but always take into account the fact that your view is no more or less important than anybody elses and you have no more rights than anybody else.

Is God?
No - God is a fictious character made up by humans who couldn't cope with the knowledge that their whole exsistance is meaningless and also who didn't understand how the world worked and wanted an explanation.


Why?
People are scared of what they don't know - so if they believe that things are happening for a reason - even if they don't why - at least they know (or think they know) that "god" does. Also it's very scary to know that your exsistance is meaningless - it can sap your motivation or make you behave in a self centered manner - believing in god gives you a purpose and direction - it gives you motivation to do "god's work" and makes you feel like you are here for a reason.


Where do we go when we croak?
Nowhere - the idea that we go somewhere is just a silly story to make people feel better when somebody they love dies and to try to stop us from fearing death. Ultimatly since we have no purpose or reason for being here - there is nothing to fear in death since it doesn't matter if we are alive or dead and nothing is truely lost. However since once you are dead you can do and feel nothing - you should make the most of your life - it's your one opportunity. Much of life is about getting high - when something makes you feel good - it's always because of chemicals in your brain making you feel that way. Even things like eating make you high in some regards. Footbag definitly does this. So does helping other people. Also remember that you aren't special or any better or worse than them. Infact better and worse aren't real words - things are just how they are - nothing is really better than anything else - except in a closed context. So obviously at footbag Vasek is better than Jorden - but in a non footbag context they are both the same.

[delakong]

What are your answers to the 5 great puds.

Why am i, IE; Why is we?
How do you find the key to peace?
Is God?
Why?
Where do we go when we croak?

Luck. Our planet was put in the right place at the right time.
Just stop caring. If you don't have anything to worry about, you have no stress. no stress=peace.
People have always made up reasons for why things happen. At the time, "god" was the best way to explain things that we didn't understand. Now that we've found out how things happen with science, god is just a cop out. I used to be "_______ happened because god works in mysterious ways." Now it's "________ happened, let's use science to find out why."
Why not?
We are all part of a food chain. Simple explination:

Grass>Cow>Human>Repeat.

When we die our bodies decompose and the grass (trees, flowers, other such stuff) absorbs the nutrients (sp?) that our decomposition has let in the soil. What's it matter really, why worry, aren't you trying to achieve peace?

[Air]

Is God?
No - God is a fictious character made up by humans who couldn't cope with the knowledge that their whole exsistance is meaningless and also who didn't understand how the world worked and wanted an explanation.


Why?
People are scared of what they don't know - so if they believe that things are happening for a reason - even if they don't why - at least they know (or think they know) that "god" does. Also it's very scary to know that your exsistance is meaningless - it can sap your motivation or make you behave in a self centered manner - believing in god gives you a purpose and direction - it gives you motivation to do "god's work" and makes you feel like you are here for a reason.

This is excatly how I feel too.

Grass>Cow>Human>Repeat

[ebo]

Grass>Cow>Human>Repeat.

How many adds would that be if I made the last move a human'ing rake?

[Asmus]

I agree with Jeremy pretty much in all questions..
People tell me it should be depressing but i think not!
By not believing in any big thing i can believe in the small things!

[FlexThis]

You guys are out of your minds.

Saying that life has no meaning is complete crap. Look at the birth of any child and then tell me life is meaningless.

Simply being here in the first place should give you some indication that someone or something else is in control.

Matter did not just appear one day. Space cannot be just a series of dirt bouncing off itself.

The brain has not even been fully explored. Nor the oceans for that matter. For all we know God lives at the bottom of the sea.

You none believers make me ill with your "I can't see it, therefore it must not be real" falacious arguments. You did not live in the time of Jesus or budda or any other diety of religous faith. So how can you sit there and type these none sensical explanations about religion?

Have some faith. I'll pray for your souls.

[mohkale]

You did not live in the time of Jesus or budda or any other diety of religous faith. So how can you sit there and type these none sensical explanations about religion?

Did you?

[crazydwarf]

FlexThis wrote:
You did not live in the time of Jesus or budda or any other diety of religous faith. So how can you sit there and type these none sensical explanations about religion?

Did you?

There are lots of people I believe in that I did not live in there time though... for instance I have never seen my grandfather because he died before I was born, I still believe he exists though... I know it's a little different then the argument here because i don't think my grandpa was a diety

[Thom]

What are your answers to the 5 great puds.

Why am i, IE; Why is we?
How do you find the key to peace?
Is God?
Why?
Where do we go when we croak?

Because of creation

By putting your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and Casting your woes unto him.

Yes

Why is God here or why are we here. We're here to bring glory to God and God is here as the creator and master over everything

Heaven or Hell.

[Sporatical_Distractions]

If you're looking for reasons about a god, you may be interested in existentialism. Many different philosophers have different views on this. One explanation of the existence of god can be explained through the transvaluation of values as proposed by Nietzsche. But before we go into that we must take a look at master morality and slave morality.

Master morality is life affirming meaning that you do what's best for you. the Army phrase can be coined in here to: "be all that you can be". Those that hold a master morality generate what they strive for. They are the source of their own values. Those that have master morality are usually those that push themselves to reach their goals, are never afraid of what other people think, and are the fast, smart, strong ones in many senses.

Those that have a slave morality are the weak ones of the population who define themselves by what they are not. A good example of this would be christianity. They spend their whole lives defining themselves not by who they are as an individual but by who god wants them to be. this could be considered nihilistic because it is life denying. This is what attributed to the rise of judaism and christianity through the slave populations.

The slaves who could never get on top because they weren't as smart, strong, fast, and didn't strive for as much as those that held master morality created a god in order to have something to believe in. Those with master morality would hear about god and laugh, but then they would hear about him again, and again, and again. They would be told that this god would take care of them and that they need to change the way they live. By being on top those with master morality were targeted for the christian propaganda. What the master morality population once thought was good was considered bad by the slave morality population.
finally, after hearing about god enough, those that were on top said screw this and went down the totem pole giving rise to both those that had slave morality along with the rise of christianity and judaism.

[delakong]

God will soon go the way of every other diety. What ever happened to Greek mythology. Remember the days when you talked shit about Zues you'd get a lightning bolt up your ass. Those gods were kick ass. It's only a matter of time before god can be explained away, just like every other one before him. But never fear, there will be a new, more perfect god to worship.

I don't use the "can't see it, it's not there" argument. I like mine alot better.

[FlexThis]

Fear God or be smitted!

When you (no one in particular) say God doesn't exist or that religion is a bunch of none sense, you are slapping my mother (who holds a masters degree in religious studies) in the face.

Hell you're slappin' the pope for that matter.

This thread is dumb, if you atheists want to unite, great! More room in heaven for me.

~peace out

[Colin]

Lets see. A couple of guys say they don't believe in god. Then someone says that he does - specifically the 'forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us' and 'turn the other cheek' God - and says that he looks forward to watching their eternity of torture in hell.

You make a compelling argument, Damon.

Anyways, isn't your belief in God just as much a smack in the face to somebody with the opposite beliefs?

P.S. I know at least one atheist with a masters degree in R.S.

[FlexThis]

If the Politically Correct community gets offended by me using the word "faggot" or "flaming homo", then NO they should not be offended by my beliefs in God.

Tolerance of religion with all it's morals and helping others is valid.

Blowing off God is blowing off those same morals, so I don't buy into the rehtoric.

[sen]

Depends on how you define God. If you mean the religious
abstract thing, then no.

I rarely respond to religous things on the net, but this upset me enough that I have to.

"Abstract Thing"????? How can you call God an absract thing? Have you ever read any part of the Bible? If you've put any effort into reading the Bible or searching for answers about God you would never have said what you said because you would know it wasn't true and that God has a personality and is full of Love, Justice, Loyalty, Kindness, Rightgeuos Anger, ect.
Since you haven't looked into the Bible and learned these things you had no right to say to what you said anyway.

Sorry if that was boring or preachy but I couldn't live with myself if I hadn't said it.

[Colin]

The point wasn't that they should be offended by your beliefs, it was that you and yours shouldn't be offended by theirs. The western world was founded on freedom of religion. (A monsterous oversimplification, but meh)

I don't believe we need a god to decide our morals for us. Besides, this reality of ours would never have been allowed as an experiment by any university ethics board, so in a way, god has failed the morals that we've developed.

[sen]

<b>God</b> didn't fail. <b>Mankind</b> Failed by not following the quildlines that God clearly set forth for us. If everyone in the world did follow his guildlines there would be NO problems.

[Colin]

If a scientist were to propose an experiment where he would put a fox in a room with 50 chickens who each had a leg snapped off, do you think the experiment would be carried out? If it were, do you think its the scientist or the fox which has had a moral failing?

Do you think we understand foxes better than God undestands us?