What is the purpose of life?

by slimboyfat 583 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  John_Mann

  John Mann life is more meaningful and precious now that I'm almost certain there is no afterlife.

  
  I reached a total different conclusion from yours considering the same point.
  
  
  

  Are you catholic? You went from a modern day abusive cult to one of the originals that is responsible for hundreds of thousands of child abuse victims and millions dying too young in Africa due to the condom use ban.
  See this is what a theist morality gets you. A human sacrifice cult that thinks it's merciful that a billion people go to purgatory just because they were born on the wrong continent. And you theists wonder why you are derided here and ever more so in the public square.

  
  Well is very easy to accuse an institution when you belongs to a "specific claim that no one can speaks for it" as Cofty well defined Atheism.
  
  If no one can speaks for it no one can be responsible for it too.
  
  At least I take a position that there's people who take responsibility for it.
  
  Tell me how can morality exists without responsibility?

  Is true that there's a serious problem about child abuse but the Church are solving this problem.

  The Christian morality only accepts sex between married persons. How can the ban of condom kill married people?
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  azor

  John Man I don't need a totalitarian dictator in the sky telling me how I should act. In fact the most effective method I have found with my children is the principle of empathy. Not hard. No god needed. It also has a clear evolutionary explanation unrelated to Cofty. If he is your reference point you really haven't done your research.

  Look to see how many people have died of AIDS in Africa due to the Catholic position. It's disgusting. But it fits within the narrative of the cult of human sacrifice that all theists believe in. Truly disgusting.
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  Viviane

  But usually the common positions are the dichotomy I mentioned.

  Since when? Where? Citation required.
  

  This implies that He can decide what to known.

  It quite literally doesn't mean that at all. Stop with your dishonesty.

  Your god is just an asshole.
  
  
  
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  looter

  That's all very interesting, prologos, but it's not that I dislike science it's the insistence that science is more important and valuable than the Lord which infuriates me. What I meant with what I said was that science was taking those who hold it to that high value to hell not trusting individuals.
  
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  Viviane

  What I meant with what I said was that science was taking those who hold it to that high value to hell not trusting individuals.

  Actually, polio, smallpox, AIDS, tuberculosis, influenza and a host of other diseases you believe your impotent god created is what's taking people to hell. Science saved us from them.
  
  
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  A Ha

  IMHO the problem if evil must have something related to Infinite Justice. And the Cross of Christ is the needle that seam the entire history of suffering.

  As an aside, I think belief in a god of Infinite Justice and Infinite Mercy is even more of a logical contradiction and probably a stronger argument against such a god than the problem of evil--mostly because it avoids the Mysterious Ways defense. It's like describing God as Perfectly Square and Perfectly Round.
  
  
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  looter

  That's all very interesting, prologos, but it's not that I dislike science it's the insistence that science is more important and valuable than the Lord which infuriates me. What I meant with what I said was that science was taking those who hold it to that high value to hell not trusting individuals.
  
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  prologos

  looter: "science is more important and valuable than the Lord

  with due respect, the Lord is supposed to be the original scientist, with him all things were made, impossible without science. so why is it that he could not recall correctly the science behind all he did and said, why did he contradict the very science he used make it all?

  Bsw: did you get that your name spelled backward is "re-tool", which means to really change the programs you are working with?
  
  
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  John_Mann

  Mercy is achieved by expense of Justice. In Christianity God's Mercy is achieved through justice. Justice is not put aside to achieve Mercy.
  
  That's the point of the Ransom view about the Crucifixion. Crucifixion of Christ payed the expense provoked by Mercy.
  
  Suffering plays a kind of monetary value in Christianity. In Buddhism suffering (dukkha) is a central key too. In Buddhism suffering is partly explained by Karma (in cause and effect sense). Catholicism have a similar view in the doctrine of Temporal Penalties. Temporal Penalties can be paid on Earth or Purgatory. The payment on Earth is more valuable than Purgatory. That's why the Good Thief after his death at the cross went directly to a blissful sphere on Purgatory called Paradise (also called Abraham's Bosom and is the last sphere before Heaven. This Paradise in Purgatory is the JWism interpretation of "millennial earthly paradise" ) because after his Repentance on cross he suffered in same way Christ did.
  
  The problem of evil is not about suffering itself but unjustified suffering or mysterious suffering of innocents.
  
  Suffering can be meaningful as Nietzsche said that you cannot be a hero if you not suffer. Nietzsche viewed suffering (in an atheistic sense) as an opportunity to become stronger.
  
  Suffering is meaningful in the bodybuilding world where the basic premise is "no pain no gain". When they show their muscles (and a lot of smiles) they're literally showing the result of pain.
  
  Christianity gives meaning to suffering because a Christian believes in an immortal soul that gains eternal Glory through suffering (specially unjustified suffering in innocents).
  
  To an Atheist there's no possibility of any metaphysical reason for suffering so it's pointless.
  
  Buddhism says a person in this situation suffers twice. First because it's not possible to avoid suffering itself (with or without a metaphysical explanation) and second this person is doomed to only accept suffering as totally pointless, just "shit happens". Even though its mind will not accept the "shit happens" and will keep trying to make sense out of the situation and this causes an extra huge psychological suffering.
  
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  John_Mann

  Buddhism and Catholicism are very concerned with the experience of suffering specially the suffering next to death. That's why we pray "Nunc et in hora Mortis nostrae".

  Objectively speaking I think this view in face of unjustified suffering and death is better than " shit happens".