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For Chap
Posted: Tue May 03, 2022 9:55 pm
by Jersey Girl
Chap we had this brief exchange on another thread.
Chap wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 7:18 pm
Jersey Girl wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 6:41 pm
Markk...this might not make sense to you at the moment and given the complexity of the topic but...the answer to almost every single question you could possibly ever face is usually--->love.
Rock-ribbed atheist that I am, I do agree with this, both on experiential and wider humanistic grounds.
Jersey Girl wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 7:26 pm
It doesn't matter if you are theist or atheist. I say it holds true.
So...
Will this work for your world view? I totally dig this philosophy for approaching life. It's at least a part of what I espouse.
“Stop being praying and giving you blows in the chest, what I want you to do is to go out into the world to enjoy your life.
I want you to enjoy, you sing, have fun and enjoy everything I’ve done for you.
Stop going to those gloomy, dark and cold temples that you built yourself and that you say to be my home.
My house is in the mountains, in the forests, the rivers, the lakes, the beaches. That’s where I live and express all my love for you.
Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you you were a sinner.
Stop having me so scared. I do not judge you, nor criticize you, nor anger me, nor bother me, nor punishment. I am pure love.
Stop asking me forgiveness, there’s nothing to forgive. If I made you… I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies… of free will, how can I blame you if you answer something that I put in you? How can I punish you for being as you are, if I’m the one I made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who misbehave, for the rest of eternity?
What kind of God can do that?
Forget about any kind of commandments, of any kind of laws; those are wiles to manipulate you, to control you and that only create guilt in you.
Respect your peers and don’t do what you don’t want for you. The only thing I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that your alert status is your guide. This life is the only thing there is, here and now and the only thing you need.
I have made you absolutely free, there are no prizes or punishments, there are no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one carries a record.
You are absolutely free to create in your life a heaven or hell.
I couldn’t tell you if there’s anything after this life, but I can give you a tip. Live as if there wasn’t.
As if this was your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist.
So, if there is nothing, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, be sure that I will not ask you if you behaved well or wrong, I will ask you. Did you like it?… did you have fun What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?…
Stop believing in me; believe is to assume, guess, imagine. I don’t want you to believe in me, I want you to feel in you when you kiss your beloved, when you throw your little girl, when you love your dog, when you bathe in the sea.
Stop praise me. What kind of egotistical God do you think I am?
I’m bored to praise me, I’m fed up to thank me. Do you feel grateful? Prove it taking care of you, your health, your relationships, the world. Do you feel looked, overwhelmed?… Express your joy! That’s the way to praise me.
The only thing sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders.
What do you need more miracles for?
Why so many explanations?
Don’t look for me outside, you won’t find me. Find me inside… there I’m beating in you.”
Baruch De Spinoza
Re: For Chap
Posted: Tue May 03, 2022 10:26 pm
by Chap
Thanks - I don't know much about Spinoza, but that is certainly worth reading.
Re: For Chap
Posted: Wed May 04, 2022 12:12 am
by Res Ipsa
That really resonated with me. Thanks for posting it Jersey Girl.
Re: For Chap
Posted: Wed May 04, 2022 12:15 am
by Jersey Girl
Chap wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 10:26 pm
Thanks - I don't know much about Spinoza, but that is certainly worth reading.
Right? I haven't fully researched him. I heard mention of this from a brief thing from Elon Musk I listened to.
Re: For Chap
Posted: Wed May 04, 2022 12:19 am
by Jersey Girl
Res Ipsa wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 12:12 am
That really resonated with me. Thanks for posting it Jersey Girl.
It's cool, right? Maybe it's one of those universal type philosophies that can appeal to believer and non-believer alike? Kind of like universal truths some of us aspire to to one degree or another.
If God is our creator and Father...wouldn't he want to know what we liked best about being on Earth? Oh goodness...I pray differently in that relationship than I think others might typically pray. I don't think we're all one size fits all theists or atheists. We're humans.
I had a hunch that when Chap read my original comment he envisioned 1 Corinthians chapter 13 or other portions of scripture but that is not exactly where I was coming from...though certainly part of it. It's not entirely about scripture by personal philosophies I've developed over the years and I am sure continue to evolve.
Like why are Christians in church on Wednesday and Sunday? I think we should be OUT of the church building...serving the community. You can fellowship and break bread while you're working you know.
Ah well. I am what I am.
Re: For Chap
Posted: Wed May 04, 2022 7:09 pm
by honorentheos
Chap wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 10:26 pm
Thanks - I don't know much about Spinoza, but that is certainly worth reading.
Someone on the board once recommended the book,
A Book Forged in Hell. I picked it up based on that recommendation and would now echo it. I'd give them credit if I could remember who suggested it, too.
Re: For Chap
Posted: Wed May 04, 2022 7:43 pm
by Morley
honorentheos wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 7:09 pm
Chap wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 10:26 pm
Thanks - I don't know much about Spinoza, but that is certainly worth reading.
Someone on the board once recommended the book,
A Book Forged in Hell. I picked it up based on that recommendation and would now echo it. I'd give them credit if I could remember who suggested it, too.
It was probably either Stak, or me mentioning that Stak had recommended it to me. He's rarely led me astray.
I've gotten much unacknowledged guidance and entertainment from members of this board. There's been a lot here that's helped me to reexamine my own mind.
Re: For Chap
Posted: Wed May 04, 2022 8:11 pm
by honorentheos
Morley wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 7:43 pm
honorentheos wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 7:09 pm
Someone on the board once recommended the book,
A Book Forged in Hell. I picked it up based on that recommendation and would now echo it. I'd give them credit if I could remember who suggested it, too.
It was probably either Stak, or me mentioning that Stak had recommended it to me. He's rarely led me astray.
I've gotten much unacknowledged guidance and entertainment from members of this board. There's been a lot here that's helped me to reexamine my own mind.
Ah, thanks Morley! Both for the reminder and the recommendation. I don't recall the circumstance but it was recent enough I suspect it was in a discussion about the original recommendation. Either way, I'm indebted to you both.
Re: For Chap
Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 6:09 pm
by Gunnar
Res Ipsa wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 12:12 am
That really resonated with me. Thanks for posting it Jersey Girl.
If more Christians were like our dear Jersey Girl, this world would be a better place!