30 Jun '19 21:16>
@caesar-salad saidIt was.
Seems dismissive.
@caesar-salad saidWhose this now? Another who teaches others to teach themselves?
... does not require your worship or your attention.
... imparts no wisdom or guidelines for behavior.
... has no verbiage to remember or preserve or distribute, which is just as well, because verbiage and its attendant folkways only occur in some of the habitats and venues throughout the Cosmos.
... is content to abide, just so, without ambitions or expectation ...[text shortened]... though of course things do happen somehow anyway.
... by any other name would do and be the same.
@hakima saidNot all who wander are lost.
I particularly like this one from the holy book by Harry Nilsson:
Finally, the two travellers reached what appeared to be the entrance to the Pointless Forest.
It was a huge stony barrier with a small sign at its base which read '
THIS WAY'.
Once on the other side of the barrier, Oblio and Arrow had their first encounter . . .
with the Pointless Man or the Pointed Man . ...[text shortened]... ing a few yards ahead of Oblio - disappeared into a bottomless pit . . .
to the point of no return.
@caesar-salad saidI have reflected on this, that some people have such a need, and come to the conclusion that the problem is not that some people find some religions pointless, but that they find pointlessness problematic.
Have you ever reflected on your implied need for there to be a point?
@moonbus saidPerhaps it’s more pertinent to this thread that some people prefer to point at the person who is pointing at the evidential pointlessness of something, in order to make a point for point’s sake and thereby score a cheap point.
I have reflected on this, that some people have such a need, and come to the conclusion that the problem is not that some people find some religions pointless, but that they find pointlessness problematic.
@moonbus saidAt least those who wonder while they wander are not anyway.
Not all who wander are lost.
@divegeester saidWell then, let me formulate it differently. Suppose the following: Jesus taught "Keep the Ten Commandments, but above all love God and love thy neighbor as thyself," and that was it. No life after death, no personal immortality, no resurrection, no eternal consequences of any kind whatever. You live once, you die, you stay dead, and if you love God, love thyself, and love thy neighbor, that's all that matters. Open question to all Christian posters: would there still be any point to Christianity? Would the ethical bits be enough for you (plural y'all), without the promise of immortality?
Perhaps it’s more pertinent to this thread that some people prefer to point at the person who is pointing at the evidential pointlessness of something, in order to make a point for point’s sake and thereby score a cheap point.
@moonbus saidBut that isn’t what the OP said. The OP said this:
Well then, let me formulate it differently. Suppose the following: Jesus taught "Keep the Ten Commandments, but above all love God and love thy neighbor as thyself," and that was it. No life after death, no personal immortality, no resurrection, no eternal consequences of any kind whatever. You live once, you die, you stay dead, and if you love God, love thyself, and love thy ...[text shortened]... ianity? Would the ethical bits be enough for you (plural y'all), without the promise of immortality?
@divegeester saidYes, there is a difference because I'm assuming there is a God who has a message for man but does't impose any sanctions for non-compliance or disbelief and is "content to abide." So, I'm exploring a nuanced difference by asking Christians here whether they would follow commandments (instructions, guidelines) even if there were no eternal consequences and no "requirement" to do so.
But that isn’t what the OP said. The OP said this:
[i]does not require your worship or your attention.
... imparts no wisdom or guidelines for
... has no verbiage to remember or preserve or distribute, which is just as well, because verbiage and its attendant folkways only occur in some of the habitats and venues throughout the Cosmos.
... is content to abide, ju ...[text shortened]... ersion has a “point” as there is a requirement to keep some commandments. Do you see the difference?
@ghost-of-a-duke saidDo you do any? I mean generally, not just this morning.
I wandered into work this morning.
@moonbus saidMaybe some Christians do need both the carrot and the stick: the carrot for the Easter bunny, and the stick for egg-rolling races.
Yes, there is a difference because I'm assuming there is a God who has a message for man but does't impose any sanctions for non-compliance or disbelief and is "content to abide." So, I'm exploring a nuanced difference by asking Christians here whether they would follow commandments (instructions, guidelines) even if there were no eternal consequences and no "requirement" to do so.