Posts by serotonin

42

Are Believers Truly Humble?

by serotonin_wraith in

if you are non religious, do you still feel those with religion show a higher level of humility than others in society?.

on the face of it, i feel most would answer in the affirmative.. but breaking it down, i find it harder and harder to accept.

in fact, i'd call it the opposite of humility.

I excused your arrogance long ago. It's fine, honest. If you don't want to be an arrogant person, judge yourself to see if you are or not. Maybe you don't think you are, maybe you know you are but you don't mind that you are. Maybe you think it's a good quality, one that will get you into heaven perhaps.

For the list:

Some may assume we have souls, even though there is no evidence humans exist as separate entities away from their physical bodies.

As well as the other things you've not answered, I wondered if you'd made a mistake when you wrote this:

Many names for one God. Many faces.
For example, each believer has a different view of God. This occurs as each individual interprets 'God' viscerally and strains their idea of God through a sieve of unique experiences and unique emotions. Five billion people believe in God, there you have five billion Gods.

I ask, because it contradicts what you wrote to me a few weeks back:

You are the one that's closed minded, it seems to me. You repeat the same thing over and over again like your brain is stuck in a closed loop.
YHWH=Thor=Zeus=Ra=Hathor.
Over and over again.

I do think you're a smart person. It's just when this god stuff comes up I feel your logical mind takes a dive.

29

Two Wrongs Make a Right

by Satanus in

if you're a christian, they do.

let me explain.

adam disobeyed god by eating the taboo fruit - a wrong for which he had to die.

serotonin_wraith

I always thought Judas got a raw deal. Jesus had to die, Judas was assigned a part by God to play in it, did his part as foretold and then gets damned for it. What's up with that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9_1RFAcjMU

Apologies to those who saw this link in a previous thread, but it really shows the absurdity of it!

42

Are Believers Truly Humble?

by serotonin_wraith in

if you are non religious, do you still feel those with religion show a higher level of humility than others in society?.

on the face of it, i feel most would answer in the affirmative.. but breaking it down, i find it harder and harder to accept.

in fact, i'd call it the opposite of humility.

serotonin_wraith

DD:

It really depends on many factors, like peers and crowd mentality and so on. Things aren't always what they seem. The old saying about walking a mile in someone else's shoes really applies here.

Humility takes many forms, I'll agree. I'm not talking about the actions of people, rather their beliefs. In that context, someone who stands on the street corner shouting 'repent of your sins!' is being as humble as an 88 year old grandmother who keeps her religion to herself but still feels Jesus is going to come back and judge the world. It's about being sure of the way this universe works and our place in it, when the most humble answer may be 'we just don't know'. Again, in this context, if the man on the corner was willing to change his mind given enough good reasons, and the grandmother was completely shut off from a different worldview, I'd call the man more humble.

24

JW seeking other JW's as email buddies

by jwgal in

it's gotten very difficult to find jw's out on the net now a days.. anyways....i would like to come in contact with fellow believers across the globe.. i'm a 26yr old bapt scandinavian.

single and looking for the right guy.. love cooking, meetings, reading, hiking, swimming and outdoor life in general.. .

post ur email on here and a short description and we might become friends .

serotonin_wraith

Scenario:

You meet someone online from the other side of the world and get on well.

Armageddon strikes, with worldy technology destroyed. There's no way to get in contact with your friend, or to even know if he made it.

You may bump into him in 5,000 years as you both go to pet the same lion, but now he's married!

Maybe it's better to just stick to local friends for now? If you're looking for a relationship anyway.

I wish you hadn't been made to believe I'm evil and under Satan's control, because who knows? We're the same age, we may have got on well.

42

Are Believers Truly Humble?

by serotonin_wraith in

if you are non religious, do you still feel those with religion show a higher level of humility than others in society?.

on the face of it, i feel most would answer in the affirmative.. but breaking it down, i find it harder and harder to accept.

in fact, i'd call it the opposite of humility.

serotonin_wraith

Speaking for myself here, I don't think that only believers ~~that~~ will survive their own death and go to another realm. So, it's not that arrogant.

It works if you cross of the extra 'that'. Looks like a small typo to me. I want to check it's not just a clever play on words though, so Burn, are you saying you believe non-believers could get into heaven, or do you believe they could survive their own death and get to another realm, except this other realm is just hell?

To add to/amend the list:

Some religious people may claim to know there is life after death. Regardless of who makes it to 'heaven' or 'hell' (assumptions about the nature of the afterlife) just believing there's a realm after death looks arrogant to me, especially since none of us know until we die

42

Are Believers Truly Humble?

by serotonin_wraith in

if you are non religious, do you still feel those with religion show a higher level of humility than others in society?.

on the face of it, i feel most would answer in the affirmative.. but breaking it down, i find it harder and harder to accept.

in fact, i'd call it the opposite of humility.

serotonin_wraith

Many names for one God. Many faces.

As an 'all paths lead to God' kinda guy, how do you feel about the contradictions between what some of these gods supposedly inspired?

For example, the Bible says Jesus was the human form of God. The Koran says he was just a prophet. The Bible says Jesus is the way to salvation, Jews say God's son has never come to Earth. Did God inspire all these different religions, or is every religion an attempt to understand God which hasn't quite got it right? If it's the latter, why have you chosen the Bible's version of God over other versions, when it could be just as mistaken?

Are any of those other creatures of the past sentient? Do any of them concieve of the idea of God? We are special! It isn't arrogant if it's true!

I suppose it depends what you mean by sentient. I do believe other animals sense the world around them and understand they are alive in it, even if it's at a basic level. The human brain is part of our body which has become more 'advanced' than others animals, allowing us to use our imagination and think deeply about things. However it is still a body organ. The lion has better body organs than humans for ripping apart flesh. The dolphin has better body organs than humans for swimming. Bats are 'special' in that they can echo locate while we cannot. Even a snail would beat us in a 'walking up the wall' competition. In many ways, animals are better than us. Where we see brain power as being more important, they may see other animals (including us) as inferior to them. "Can any of these other animals run as fast as us? They try, but we're more advanced" a cheetah may think while chewing his prey. We approach it from a human perspective.

It is arrogant to think that they must accept your particular "change" to be "humble". How can I not see this as anything other than arrogant?

While you may feel differently, I feel my position regarding a god is as open minded and rational as can be. With no good reason to believe and faith being something most would not consider a virtue in most situations, (weak) atheism doesn't deny a god completely, waits for good reasons, but understands life may aswell continue as if there is no god with all we know so far.

But even writing this thread isn't to force anyone to change. I would prefer people changed naturally after seeing both sides of the argument, and not base their beliefs on bad reasons, such as ignorance or wishful thinking. As far as my arrogance goes, I don't even say I'm 100% sure of my position. To be that sure would not allow change.

35

Witty replies needed......

by loosie in

ok one of the only two peopel who don't know i haven't gone to meetings in 3 years sent me this remark: , i can't believe how all this time has gone by.

the one good thing about getting older like this is that it brings us that much closer to the new system.

i need a witty reply.

serotonin_wraith

We truly are Jehovah's people, aren't we? Connected in thought and spirit throughout our history, when even over 100 years ago Jehovah's Witnesses used to say the same thing as you!

57

A New Theory of the Universe

by BurnTheShips in

jw
friends

robert lanza has literally written the book on stem cell science and delves into the issue of consciousness, reality, and a biocentric view of the universe.. .

while i was sitting one night with a poet friend watching a great opera performed in a tent under arc lights, the poet took my arm and pointed silently.

why does the universe exist?

serotonin_wraith

I've been thinking about this a lot over the past year or so.

We're evolving creatures. All we know is limited by our senses and instruments. We don't have perfect senses, not by a long shot. We can't hear every pitch, we can't see every spectrum of light, we can't smell all there is to smell. We're limited.

All of this limited information goes to our limited brains, which again, are only as developed as our current models. What we sense is a watered down version of reality. But not reality. What we are is limited too. Although we seem to think we have the monopoly on life most of the time, a plant or an ant probably 'thinks' the same thing. Their existence is enough for them. Ours is enough for us.

It is for me most of the time, but sometimes I envy future creatures who will experience more of reality than I ever will. I'm only getting a glimpse into the possibilities.

42

Are Believers Truly Humble?

by serotonin_wraith in

if you are non religious, do you still feel those with religion show a higher level of humility than others in society?.

on the face of it, i feel most would answer in the affirmative.. but breaking it down, i find it harder and harder to accept.

in fact, i'd call it the opposite of humility.

serotonin_wraith

If you are a religious person, would you consider yourself humble?

If you are non religious, do you still feel those with religion show a higher level of humility than others in society?

On the face of it, I feel most would answer in the affirmative.

But breaking it down, I find it harder and harder to accept. In fact, I'd call it the opposite of humility. I'd call it arrogance.

Not every religious person will believe these things, so this is not a generalisation. Thinking about it, anyone who says 'well that's not my belief!' to anything in this list may still be assuming to know better than those who do believe these things. I'll pre-empt you here: possibly even some atheists.

What may a religious person believe?

That they are worshipping the correct god. They've narrowed down the list of gods, which runs into the thousands, to just one. All without any research into these other gods! Based on pure assumption. It doesn't matter that millions believe in other gods, or millions used to believe in gods that are no longer popular. As long as a god is being worshipped in society at the point in time they happen to be born, it's up for the taking. No questions asked.

That they will live forever. Not only have the picked the right god, they know how this god prefers to be worshiped, and worshipping this god in the correct way will ensure they live forever. Is it humble to think you're going to survive your own death and carry on existing in a perfect realm, even though other humans won't, our sun will roast planet Earth and eventually our galaxy will collide with another galaxy? Even though these other things are finite, believers don't believe they are.

That they are a god's favourite creation. Those who accept evolution are even more arrogant for thinking this. They understand that for millions of years, there were lifeforms without bodies, then lifeforms with bodies, which evolved for millions more years until modern mankind came on the scene 120,000 years or so ago. They know that dinosaurs existed much longer than them, they may even be aware that modern humans almost went extinct at one point. Yet they still feel that even though they're related to all species on the planet, their god likes them better. Even though it took billions of years to 'create' them.

Those who don't accept evolution are assuming to know better than the best scientific minds in the world. Whatever evidence is shown them, their 'humble' beliefs say humans were created in their present form just a few thousand years ago.

Real humility is open to change. Arrogance is not. I could develop this further, but I'll leave it there for now. Feel free to add any more ways you feel religious people are 'humble'. For the religious, am I wrong for thinking this? You do claim to know who the creator of the universe is, and what plans that creator has for all of us, even though you base this on 'faith' - assumptions based on no good reasons. How can I not see this as anything other than arrogant?

6

LIVE LIFE BACKWARDS

by kurtbethel in

i want to live my next life backwards.

you start out dead and get that out of the way.

then you wake up in an old age home feeling better every day.

serotonin_wraith

Reminds me of 'The History of the World Backwards', a comedy with so much potential but which ended up too dull in the TV version, in my opinion. Good stuff to read though.

http://www.robnewman.com/history.html

ROB: What about the everyday lived experience of people in the history of the world backwards? What of love in reverse. Here begins the tale of two unknown lovers John and Teresa, an ordinary couple of no interest to historians of the rich and powerful, John and Teresa speak to us now of how their relationship began with cold disinterest for a decade...
JOHN: We slept in separate beds for the first ten years. We made love rarely because the act would leave both of us overcome by sorrow at time passing.
TERESA: It wasn’t that we argued. No, it was more that for the first ten years there was a formal cordiality between us.

Spacemen

In 1969 something amazing happens. An alien spacecraft lands in Houston, Texas. Two men get out who say that they have come from the moon! They are subjected to a series of tests. They are strapped into a centrifuge machine and spun round at high velocity first one way and then another. But after a while they are too much like us and we lose interest.

serotonin_wraith

Posts by serotonin_wraith