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RE: Another Good Reason to be a Christian
April 19, 2015 at 5:13 pm
(This post was last modified: April 19, 2015 at 5:13 pm by robvalue.)
Also, things are certainly not OK. Not by a long stretch. All I can do is realise the limits of what I can change and to accept that worrying about and imagining the rest of it, however horrible, isn't going to help them or me.
If I thought there was a dude somewhere who could actually fix things and wasn't doing so, that would actually be even worse.
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RE: Another Good Reason to be a Christian
April 19, 2015 at 5:13 pm
(This post was last modified: April 19, 2015 at 5:13 pm by Mudhammam.)
(April 19, 2015 at 4:54 pm)Lek Wrote: the only people I've come across in my life that I would consider joyful have been christians. Have you met any intellectually honest Christians though? Cause that would be a first for me.
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
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RE: Another Good Reason to be a Christian
April 19, 2015 at 5:14 pm
I dunno... if I were a Muslim man I'd be pretty joyful about those supposed 72 virgins waiting for me in the afterlife. Or is it Islam? I dunno. Either way... being a man and knowing you're getting that many virgins when you die... I could be happy with that knowledge.
Disclaimer: I am only responsible for what I say, not what you choose to understand.
(November 14, 2018 at 8:57 pm)The Valkyrie Wrote: Have a good day at work. If we ever meet in a professional setting, let me answer your question now. Yes, I DO want fries with that.
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RE: Another Good Reason to be a Christian
April 19, 2015 at 5:15 pm
(This post was last modified: April 19, 2015 at 5:15 pm by robvalue.)
Muslims are the people who follow Islam  It's the same religion.
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RE: Another Good Reason to be a Christian
April 19, 2015 at 5:17 pm
(April 19, 2015 at 5:15 pm)robvalue Wrote: Muslims are the people who follow Islam It's the same religion.
Ahh thanks for the education. But they do have the promise of the 72 virgins, right?
Disclaimer: I am only responsible for what I say, not what you choose to understand.
(November 14, 2018 at 8:57 pm)The Valkyrie Wrote: Have a good day at work. If we ever meet in a professional setting, let me answer your question now. Yes, I DO want fries with that.
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RE: Another Good Reason to be a Christian
April 19, 2015 at 5:18 pm
(April 19, 2015 at 5:13 pm)robvalue Wrote: If I thought there was a dude somewhere who could actually fix things and wasn't doing so, that would actually be even worse.
Yeah, belief in a god might actually make me more depressed, because I'd look around at the harsh world we live in and have to accept this was the best he could do. I could never be happy believing in a god that designed my sexual organ to also be a waste disposal unit.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
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RE: Another Good Reason to be a Christian
April 19, 2015 at 5:19 pm
(This post was last modified: April 19, 2015 at 5:21 pm by robvalue.)
That's right Judi, yes Well, that is what I have heard anyway. I haven't looked into it.
No problem, it took me a while to twig that myself when I got into all this jazz!
As the joke goes though, no one said they are Virgin women...
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RE: Another Good Reason to be a Christian
April 19, 2015 at 5:20 pm
(April 19, 2015 at 5:17 pm)Judi Lynn Wrote: (April 19, 2015 at 5:15 pm)robvalue Wrote: Muslims are the people who follow Islam It's the same religion.
Ahh thanks for the education. But they do have the promise of the 72 virgins, right?
No. But there is a rumor that they have that as a promise. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houri
You can also do an online search for "islam 72 virgins" (without the quotation marks) and you will find many sites telling you, "no."
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
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RE: Another Good Reason to be a Christian
April 19, 2015 at 5:20 pm
(April 19, 2015 at 5:08 pm)robvalue Wrote: I guess I can sort of see the attraction. It's a bit like handing over some responsibility. It's a bit like getting drunk. It's taking a bit of a step back from reality.
I'd love to step back from reality. I'd quite easily get smashed off my face and not deal with anything. Sadly, I have to deal with the real world as it is.
Believing stuff is just going to be OK is fine, as long as it doesn't lead to complacency.
Yeah, there are times when I need to step back from reality, we all probably feel this. I smoke little weed (hey, it's legal in my state starting in just 2 months!). Some people drink. Some people pray.
Meditation is also a great secular way to get that same feeling.
But since I shed belief in skydaddy, I think I'm actually happier. I was LESS happy for the first couple of years, as there were some major adjustments to make (such as illing off all my dead relatives again in my head, dealing with my mom who said I'd ruined heaven for her, and so forth), but after getting over the hump of the pain of reality, I do also feel like I feel more Joy now than I used to.
I look at my daughter and I know how truly lucky I am to have such a great kid. Not by virtue of magic or because I am good so I deserve it, but just because. I feel so lucky to even be alive! Everything is 100 times more amazing when you realize magic didn't cause it, and you can get a lot more joy out of life for those same reasons.
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RE: Another Good Reason to be a Christian
April 19, 2015 at 5:23 pm
(April 19, 2015 at 5:08 pm)robvalue Wrote: I guess I can sort of see the attraction. It's a bit like handing over some responsibility. It's a bit like getting drunk. It's taking a bit of a step back from reality.
I'd love to step back from reality. I'd quite easily get smashed off my face and not deal with anything. Sadly, I have to deal with the real world as it is.
Believing stuff is just going to be OK is fine, as long as it doesn't lead to complacency.
I believe if someone possesses the truth it will emanate from him. A person who can live with joy in any circumstance is one whom I would look to as evidence of the truth. It demonstrates the power of God in that person. In effect, this person has been "set free". Sin keeps us from experiencing that joy.
John 8:31-32 English Standard Version (ESV)
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Philippians 4:12-13 English Standard Version (ESV)
12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
These people are living evidence of the truthfulness of the above scriptures.
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