Sorry, for the very long post. Actually I am not sorry, but I just want to warn.
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Originally Posted by boo boo
I usually refer to myself as an agnostic.
But I'd like to believe there's some spiritual force of some kind out there, It's not uncommon for me to reference god or thank god for good fortune.
I don't believe in divine intervention or fate or anything like that and I think creationism is just idiotic. But I have a hard time believing that existance is just a big fluke, I think there had to be an intelligent force behind it, so I'm probably more of a deist than anything.
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I cannot prove or disprove the existence of a god. Our actions define who we were at that moment. If I act as if I don't believe in a god, yet somewhere in the back of my mind I feel as though it might be possible, wouldn't I still "exist" as an atheist?
That is why I don't understand agnosticism if it is the "live life as if there is no god, but there might be a god."
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Originally Posted by JKSmith
1. Why do you love your children? Because they're your children. Same reason God does.
2. I am happier off with religion. Without it, I would only be searching for it. Which is what all humans do, because of a gene which they have found that makes you believe in a God.
3. In the place besides this wretched planet, you get what you want for nothing, you also love and be loved, but unconditionally.
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1. Loving my children has to do with the fact that I make them who they are until they are at a period where they can question those certain areas of their essence. It isn't black an white, but it is the best I have. In other words, from birth children can choose certain aspects of their character. However, it isn't until later where they can completely define themselves for themselves.
Once they get to the period where they can define all of themselves, that is where I can love them or not. They have become independent.
2. A gene that makes you believe in a god? It wouldn't matter. There are genes to make one want to smoke Marijuana more and such. It doesn't matter if we say existence precedes essence. You create who you are, not your genes. That idea is poison. Why would someone want to believe that their life is out of control? Then all the enjoyment they experience isn't really theirs.
3. What? I get what I want for nothing? That takes away the journey and the pursuit of happiness in which one finds happiness. That which you speak of is the dream of materialist. Why do you think you feel better about a school project when you put all your effort into it instead of slacking off and doing just enough to get an A? It is the fact that you have shown yourself your own potential manifested in the creation. You begin to appreciate yourself. Only after you love yourself can you truly love others.
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Originally Posted by cardboard adolescent
I'm sorry, but this seems somewhat immature to me. Can't we love everyone for the simple reason that we all share existence, that we all suffer and have to rely on each other? Simply through recognizing that on some level we're all the same, regardless of how we respond to the pressures of life. I guess this entails for me recognizing that we all have the capacity for great evil, however desperately we try to externalize and demonize that evil. Unless you only save your love for saints, most of the things we look for in other people end up being somewhat arbitrary and superficial, and our relations are more about establishing individual identities and a collective picture of reality than about finding the best people on Earth and bestowing your love on them.
So basically, why be stingy with your love? The more you give, the more you get. Spread it around.
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We don't have to all rely on each other. We can rely on those which we choose. In the end, we do have to rely on someone, but that is not everyone. We are not all the same. I treasure individualism because it gives me a uniqueness in the universe. It makes one happier as a person to know that he is his own creation and that he may be known amongst the billions of human beings living on the planet. It builds a healthy self-esteem.
After reading through you post a couple of times I see the difference. Do I have a likeness for all humans because they are humans? That is correct. Yes, we are all on the same level on some level and that is a factor in my appreciation for humanity. If I saw a man getting read to cross the street into traffic I would tug on his traffic because he is human.
However, that is because I am only viewing him as a human. I am not viewing him as who he is. I am not looking at his essence. I am not viewing him as an individual, but merely one blue marble amidst a jar of millions of the same. In that moment I appreciate him the same as the rest.
Let's say he wants to pay me back for what I did. Let's say he takes me to the local coffee shop (though I despise coffee shops) to buy me a cup. We talk a bit and I really think this guy is a great guy because he likes the things I like. He dislikes the things I like. It's the start of a beautiful friendship.
Now let's rewind a bit and start over. This time, the guy is a religious nut who just bought me coffee so he could attempt to save me with the gospel. I absolutely hate the guy because he bores me and annoys me. I genuinely hate the guy. If I was at a party and saw him, I would not go near the guy. If he went into traffic again, I probably would only save him so that I would not get wrapped up in the mess. (Forget the fact that it is shallow as hell to hate a guy after the first meeting.)
You are telling me, though, that I should give love to this guy because I will get it back. It might make sense in this instance, but what about a guy like Hitler? Am I to love him? If I were a Jew who went through Auschwitz am I supposed to try and bond with those who persecute me? No. I will bond with those who share my suffering and my values, which have been reduced to almost nothing by the likes of the Nazis.
In a pacifistic sense, yes, I could treat everyone with a certain level of respect no matter what they have done to me. However, I certainly would not call that "love."