I could offer you an invisible product and you can pay me for that too.
In spite of our differences you sure can make me laugh some times. Thanks.
I guess you'd probably agree that religion is the opiate of the people. Incidentally I've been a lot happier since my epiphany. I never expected happiness in this life but it helps me to know God will compensate me the damage done to me by my enemies and relieves me of the responsibility of seeking vengeance and getting even with people. That's not very Viking of me but it turns out I'm not scandinavian at all, just britsh isles and germanic europe.
And when the confederates saw Jackson standing fearless as a stone wall the army of Northern Virginia took courage and drove the federal army off their land.
ajax18 wrote:I never expected happiness in this life ...
This sentiment saddens me. You live during the best time on Earth and within arguably the most prosperous nation. Virtually all US citizens enjoy a standard of living, health and daily safety that exceeds most people on the planet, and by a tremendous margin when compared to 90% of the globe. I just can’t see how life is so arduous for you that you expected no happiness could be wrung from it, but I can only speak from my own interpretive standpoint.
... but it helps me to know God will compensate me the damage done to me by my enemies and relieves me of the responsibility of seeking vengeance and getting even with people.
Why do you expect that you need to be compensated for anything in any afterlife, and exactly what would such compensation entail? Why would that compensation bring you joy after you’re physically dead?
That seems to be a strangely shortsighted or myopic ‘eternal perspective’.
Does that happiness translate into a greater sense of compassion for your fellow human beings at all?
I've had compassion on my fellow human beings when I was unhappy and a nonbeliever. Pained living does that for man. That doesn't mean I don't still lock the doors and yes even the wheels of my truck. To some that may demonstrate a lack of compassion and Christian hypocrisy. Why should I get to ride around in $52k new truck when others don't? We all draw the line somewhere, even the communists. Do you think Jesus owned the clothes he wore? How could he be perfect if he were wearing clothes when other people didn't have clothes?
And when the confederates saw Jackson standing fearless as a stone wall the army of Northern Virginia took courage and drove the federal army off their land.
I could offer you an invisible product and you can pay me for that too.
In spite of our differences you sure can make me laugh some times. Thanks.
I guess you'd probably agree that religion is the opiate of the people. Incidentally I've been a lot happier since my epiphany. I never expected happiness in this life but it helps me to know God will compensate me the damage done to me by my enemies and relieves me of the responsibility of seeking vengeance and getting even with people. That's not very Viking of me but it turns out I'm not scandinavian at all, just britsh isles and germanic europe.
ajax I have got an idea about something. I'm going to start a thread for you and I to discuss some of the above and whatever else develops from it. I'll put your screen name in the thread title.
It's perfectly okay if you wish to opt out. I'd understand. I'd really like to do something with you if you trust me enough by now and I think you do.
Check it out in a few minutes or more, and see if you'd like to join.
Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up.
Chinese Proverb
ajax18 wrote:That doesn't mean I don't still lock the doors and yes even the wheels of my truck. To some that may demonstrate a lack of compassion and Christian hypocrisy.
So, this comment actually provides some insight into our differences on border security.
There's nothing wrong with having personal boundaries, ajax. That's healthful. But like all things in life, balance is the key to getting things right.
I think you take the concept of boundaries to an unhealthful extreme. You've essentially erected a barbed-wire fence around your psyche. The opposite of that (as I imagine you'll agree) is letting everyone walk all over you.
Optimal living exists somewhere between those two extremes. You can't let everyone into your life, but if you'll accept no one, you'll end up just as unhappy, largely because the goal is so unrealistic.
God belief is for people who don't want to live life on the universe's terms.
MeDotOrg wrote:But it's the truth even if it never happened.
Last night I was watching an old Star trek movie. My 11 year old daughter was mocking how stupid the drama and technology was. The star travel and beaming technology still isn't real, but we have surpassed so much of it.
When I think of the influence that movie had on the nerds and techies, it blows my mind. I once had a job where I was working those bullied nerds that still had star trek stuff and lived with their moms at 50 years old. They built this technological world we take for granted.
Spirit is the power that changes the world. And do, yes, it's the truth even though it never happened.