Life isn't pointless (friendly debate)

[Imaynotbehere4long]

@DontBeSilly

you didint make this thread to debate, you made it to prove us ‘non-believers’ wrong

I was under the impression that the thread was made to explain what changed M00’s mind, like I asked, not necessarily to convince us to change our minds as well, so pretty much what Xist wrote. It’s possible to explain why you think one way without trying to convince others that you’re right (even if that’s how it gets interpreted most of the time, unfortunately).

@DontBeSilly

you can donate 10$ to one or another religion to buy out your sins.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t that stop around the time Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door?

@M00

if there’s no afterlife then it rly doesn’t matter what one does in the end, cuz it will all be forgotten one day.

I’ve never understood that perspective. It seems like it only takes into account long-term effects, and if that’s the case, it’s just as shallow and potentially-destructive as one that only considers short-term effects. So what if nothing we do matters in ~200 years? It matters right now, doesn’t it?

[M00]

@Imaynotbehere4long

So what if nothing we do matters in ~200 years? It matters right now, doesn’t it?

you’re absolutely right on that, it does matter right now regardless

@Imaynotbehere4long edit: I will add to that though that I was arguing a specific point there; it doesn’t mean one should neglect short-term effects. In fact, these are interrelated, as doing good now affects those around you, produces immediate positive results, and will also then affect you (and perhaps others) in the next life.

[M00]

@pulling3r

I sorry but a book that has been translated and changed over thousands of years to fit the narrative of the person or people who would benefit from it is not grounds for the proof of a creator.

this book has not been changed; it is still the same book after 1400+ years; there’s only one version, wherever you go in the world

{Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur’an and indeed, We will be its guardian. And We had certainly sent [messengers] before you, [O Muhammad], among the sects of the former peoples. And no messenger would come to them except that they ridiculed him. Thus do We insert denial into the hearts of the criminals. They will not believe in it, while there has already occurred the precedent of the former peoples. And [even] if We opened to them a gate from the heaven and they continued therein to ascend, they would say, “Our eyes have only been dazzled. Rather, we are a people affected by magic.”} [Quran 15: 9-15]

@pulling3r

The proof he was given was he was killed by a thunderbolt and brought back … how would that compel you to believe in god?

If dying and being brought back to life after death (I’m not talking about CPR here, lol) by God Himself will not compel you then I imagine indeed nothing will.

And that’s fine by me

[Imaynotbehere4long]

@M00

edit: I will add to that though that I was arguing a specific point there

Unless I’m mistaken, it’s that specific point I want to bring up, because from my perspective, life can still have a point even if you don’t believe in religion; you can still try to contribute something positive to people or society even if you believe you will never experience any benefit from doing so or that it will last all that long.

In other words, even if there’s no afterlife, life isn’t pointless because what you do still very much matters, if only in the short-term. Does that make sense?

[M00]

@Imaynotbehere4long

In other words, even if there’s no afterlife, life isn’t pointless because what you do still very much matters, if only in the short-term. Does that make sense?

can’t argue with that, makes perfect sense, so i must agree

[Mosky]

I wish I could hide a thread for myself. I can’t stop myself from reading this one, but I’m not getting anything from it. I’m even tempted to respond, but I know it won’t be productive.

[M00]

Well, you may if you want to, so far I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how ppl have been sharing their own viewpoints on these matters honestly. I think it’s nice how this forum rly is a place where one can simply share how they feel about whatever and feel comfortable doing so. That’s a pretty rare thing on the web i feel.

[GDBringer]

Oh @M00. You should know religion and politics are the topics that get people riled up. Not to mention that hating religion is the new cool thing to do. You have your atheists who don’t care. And you have your anti-theists who care and get irrationally angry at the thought of people having religion.

A long time ago, I would debate these topics. But I’ve become too tired of reading the same dozens of paragraphs of the same arguments over and over. Then when the arguments are resolved, endless hyperbole, anecdotes, and fallacies take over. So the most you can hope for is they don’t harass you by bringing up the discussion at every opportunity.

Hence why I keep my thoughts to myself in memorial topics. I can only hope nobody holds a hidden grudge or prejudice from this since chronies tend to not be hostile…

[M00]

@GDBringer

a hidden grudge or prejudice

that would mostly be sad for those ppl then, but like you said, I wouldn’t imagine that being the case here at all

[Madway]

So originally I really did not want to express my thoughts here on the subject, but I keep coming back feeling like I should.

My first draft came off a bit hostile (or at least it could easily be interpreted as such thanks to just being text) so I did not post it.

I feel like life can have meaning, but it’s up for every person to decide what it is. I do not think that one is just handed to us by a supernatural all powerful being that seems to refuse to interact with us in a clearly detectable manner.

Back when I was little I believed, because my parents believed and I was thought to do so without question.

When I was a kid I thought that adults were flawless beings that knew everything and had their life together. Then my parents divorced, a lot of other sad stuff happened and some people that I knew died.

Back then I thought that prayer was a meditative state that allowed you to contact God and receive answers directly, but nothing came.

Back then I thought the evidence for God was an indestructible Holy Book that was sent down from the heavens one day that contained rules on how God wanted people to live. But then I found out that it’s just a series of really old stories that people could interpret a 100 different ways…

Back then I saw heaven as this great place to go to after I died so long as I was a good person. Then I heard the many interpretations and different versions and requirements for heavens and hell’s people had made and I wasn’t sure which was the right one anymore.

So in the end I decided to stand out of the circle and assume none of them were true until proven and so far I haven’t found solid proof for any of them outside of anecdotes, which is fine for the people who had those experiences, but not for me.

Back when I was I kid I thought that magic was real, thanks to stories of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and such, then I found out those were just works of fiction…

So it’s fine if you believe @M00 , the only problem I have with religion is trying to dictate how people should live by influencing the various governing bodies around the world using religion without really demonstrating the validity of their claims.

Outside of that I’m with with it.

[delenn13]

Thank you all for keeping this civil. I so love this community.

[KingJamezJr]

You all are fools, why cant we just finally all agree on our one true savior GARFIELD.

[M00]

hm, I think I’ll pass