Originally posted by LemonJelloit may ake us comfortable, but it really shouldn't. haw can i be comfortable when i know i am not quite living up to the standards i should do? i mean, i know i'll be forgiven, but i know i should try harder to be more like Jesus. it's a weird comfort, but it's not making my life more comfortable (although it may my mind). it really isn't anything i can describe. although this is probably because i'm a maths student and therefore can't really descibe anything without using mathematical models. i could vaguely describe the population of rats and cats in a large box, if you wish? (predator/prey models, the bain of applied maths)
like i say, your 'car' just makes your life more comfortable. i see no more justification in your faith-based beliefs than that alone.
If Christianity makes my life more comfortable, why am I believing in the fact that all is vanity, that we are dust in the wind. Why do I know that our jobs, our bills, our chess, our very lives, are all in vain. Where is my pay check for believing in Jesus? Why do I struggle with myself each day, feeling guilty about the smallest things? Why do I suffer under the chastisement of God because He loves me? Why not just say who cares? Why not rid myself of worry when I sin? Why do I fear God? Secondly, many people have done the same things we are doing even today. The only man I know who set Himself apart is Jesus Christ. No one knows what it means to really live until they have walked a life with Jesus. Believing in the supernatural means being a part of religion you say? Very well, but at least I'm apart of the only religion which is the factual one, and the one that keeps you alive for eternity. 🙂 No one but Jesus walked the immaculate life. Not Mohammed, not Buddah. No one but Jesus Christ. Why is that? Why is it that nothing in Christianity can be shawn farce? Why is it that many men have set out to historically debunk Christianity and have failed? Why do men - through their mission to debunk Jesus - come to faith in Him? Not one person on this internet or in this world can give factual evidence that Jesus was not the Son of God. But, there is plenty of evidence to suggest He was. There exists the hearts of men. Praise Jesus!
Originally posted by geniusthe comfort of religion lies in the willful disregard of uncertainty. it is a hard, brazen notion to think that it may all just be "vanity" and that with death comes simply a permanent end to consciousness; or to think that with death may come a state that no one has ever even conceived of, whether good, bad, or ugly. it is much more comforting to believe in a greater purpose and to think that upon death you will ascend into the heavens and enter into an everlasting realm of love, peace, happiness, joy, blah, blah, blah forever and ever and ever -- a place where you can hold hands and sing songs and laugh and bubble over with a frothy joy whilst eating bon-bons and all your favorite flavors of ice cream without getting fat; a place where nobody's farts smell bad; did i mention you also get to live forever and ever and ever? and ever? there is absolutely no evidence, mind you, for any of this; but these happy and sweet arbitrary beliefs are more appealing and comforting than perceived alternatives. in my mind, there is no real substance to these afterlife beliefs beyond a throbbing egoism and a lust for personal reward, coupled with a complete disdain for all that is uncomfortable and challenging to the intellect. i am not in any way, shape, or form saying that all religious persons are only after personal reward; rather, i am talking only specifically about the arbitrary, abstract belief that there exists a heaven where one may receive eternal reward. far from solving the possible problem (if one wants to call it a problem) of life's being all "vanity," these beliefs sound to me like the pinnacle of vanity, the apex of self-interest. i doubt many religions predict that, upon death, their devout proponents will receive a lump of coal in their stocking, a swift kick in the nuts, and a paper cut.
it may ake us comfortable, but it really shouldn't. haw can i be comfortable when i know i am not quite living up to the standards i should do? i mean, i know i'll be forgiven, but i know i should try harder to be more like Jesus. it's a weird comfort, but it's not making my life more comfortable (although it may my mind). it really isn't anything i can ...[text shortened]... of rats and cats in a large box, if you wish? (predator/prey models, the bain of applied maths)
of course, in general, i can find nothing inherently wrong or evil about holding such arbitrary beliefs. likewise (and no less worth mentioning), i also see nothing inherently wrong about believing in the elvish or unicorns. and holding these beliefs may bring you some measure of happiness, although i personally see nothing happy about the holding of arbitrary beliefs, particularly those rooted in the need to stroke my ego. but until the believer can actually demonstrate some compelling evidence for his beliefs, then he cannot expect or demand to be taken seriously.
i don't profess to know, but my inkling is that death will bring a permanent end to consciousness. if so, i'll never be directly aware of it.
Originally posted by powershakerWhy do I struggle with myself each day...?
If Christianity makes my life more comfortable, why am I believing in the fact that all is vanity, that we are dust in the wind. Why do I know that our jobs, our bills, our chess, our very lives, are all in vain. Where is my pay check for believing in Jesus? Why do I struggle with myself each day, feeling guilty about the smallest things? Why do I su ...[text shortened]... , there is plenty of evidence to suggest He was. There exists the hearts of men. Praise Jesus!
perhaps your mind is rebelling against the blatant lack of evidence for your beliefs. that would weigh on me pretty heavily, which is why i refrain from adopting such beliefs.
Why not just say who cares?
why is everything so black and white? so either you believe in God or you say 'ah, the hell with everything'? there is a vast spectrum of grey shades in there that you are ignoring.
Why do I fear God?
how do you know that it is God that you fear? if God does not exist, then we can assuredly state that it is not God himself that you fear -- maybe just a concept of God.
at least I'm apart of the only religion which is the factual one, and the one that keeps you alive for eternity.
exactly. keep telling yourself that and all your problems will just dissolve away like cotton candy on your tongue. thanks for making my previous point.
Why is it that many men have set out to historically debunk Christianity and have failed?
as far as i can tell, the case for the Christian God is one based on circular reasoning. the problem with circular arguments is not that they are invalid. heck, they may even be sound. the problem is that they offer absolutely no reason for one to accept their conclusions; they lack all form of persuasion. for such arguments, it is not the responsibility of the listener to systematically dismantle your case; it is your responsibility to regroup and come back later with better evidence.
