Guest e Yer Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 Podcast 2581, timecode: 02:22 - 02:34, Stefan answers no. This is an example of how a no means a yes unless of course if you need to speak the absolute truth all the time or if you are a narcissist. This discussion leads to a broader, important side issue that many young and some older people grapple with: what is my purpose in life? Now the word "smart" is a very abstract, relative word that make the receiver feel uncomfortable because it seems to suggest that the one giving is compliment isn't so smart. A better, more accurate word, I think, is gifted. All of us have a gift because we are not created equal (therefore we all have a gift(s) to carry out a purpose in life.) In my opinion and religious belief, if we no longer have a purpose, or fulfilled our purpose, we would die. So dying isn't so tragic or cold. Take for instance the horrible birth defects of children in Fallujah, Iraq as a consequence of the U.S. illegal use of depleted uranium (DU) bomb shells. Some of those babies have eyes set wide apart, badly deformed hands and legs etc. Most of those defective babies will die and go to heaven. Most important is the purpose they served by being born in that condition. They have drawn worldwide attention to the false myth that the U.S. and its people are righteous, kind, humane, and peaceful people. Of course many U.S. citizens are but statistically, the slim majority of the voting public are clearly not. So Canadian Stefan, and Canadian-born, American Indian Buffy Saint Marie (the songwriter for "Universal Soldier") are clearly brave and gifted in their art of self-expression. Both champion the cause of truth and justice and come to the defense of the children, and the oppressed. My belief is that both are gifted by and serving out God will, even though Stefan is a self-proclaimed atheist. In religion, when you are on track with God's purpose, you are showered with blessings (good fortunes, good luck.) You see when you find your calling, your daily work is expressing your gifts in your art as a work in progress. Notice how Stefan eloquently weaves his language to response to a spontaneous question presented to him. Buffy does the same with her concerts and songwriting. I do the same in my line of work, driving. Once you know yourself, then match yourself with work that will let you self-express yourself through your work tasks, your work becomes a creative process that is appreciated by your audience and customers . At that point, you know you are truly free!
Kevin Beal Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 I'm not sure if this is a criticism or if you are trying to present a case, or really even what the message is Could you form your message as an argument? I'm inclined to think more in terms of propositions, premises and conclusions, which is probably why I spend so much time on a forum dedicated to philosophy. I'm assuming that you are saying something along the lines of: "if we act in accordance with god's wishes we will find ourselves to be free, even if we're atheists". Did I get that right?
dsayers Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 All of us have a gift because we are not created equal (therefore we all have a gift(s) to carry out a purpose in life.) How do you know? Could it only be one purpose? You mention Stef, but apparently he's been really good at a lot of things. None of which came naturally, but required work. In religion, when you are on track with God's purpose, you are showered with blessings (good fortunes, good luck.) What about "God works in mysterious ways" and "the will of God"? Neither seem to follow such a simplistic cause and effect. If it did, it would actually serve as proof of a deity, and most everybody would be doing it for the reward.
MysterionMuffles Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 .....what the hell are you talking about? This block of text went in so many directions that I have no idea what exactly you are trying to convey.
Lians Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 .....what the hell are you talking about? This block of text went in so many directions that I have no idea what exactly you are trying to convey. This guy has been trolling the board for a while now. There's no point in engaging him.
Dylan Lawrence Moore Posted January 14, 2014 Posted January 14, 2014 See that key right next to your right pinky that has the word "enter" on it? If you use that a little more often, I would make a substantial bet that the amount of people who actually read your posts will go up dramatically.
Guest e Yer Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 Dear Repliers and readers: Thank you for the time to look and read my post. My point is that God has a purpose for everyone, including babies in Iraq deformed for the U.S.'s illegal use of Depleted Uranium Shells. Because many viewers of my writings have probably asked, where the justice for U.S. troops harming children and to be born children. I included the deformed babies in Iraq as a side issue because the main discussion at FDR is about caring for our young, specifically not spanking. The U.S. troops, many who may be parents went way beyond that and in this voluntary military of the U.S. and contributed to the maiming, killing, and the contaminating of the environment in Fallujah and Iraq. Shame on them. You can't use logic, philosophy, spin or twist it anyway you want to make what they did a moral contribution to society and the people they serve but in the end what the troops did in Fallujah and in Iraq is down right evil, sinful and they should have known better. God did not give man abilities so that he can do this kind of evil to the innocent and the to be born. All I can say for the U.S. troops is: may God have mercy on them for what they did. I know I've made some of you uncomfortable by telling you the truth but its about time people start doing this. This military murdering has been going on for too long.
dsayers Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 God has a purpose for everyone How do you know? This quote is an assertion of a truth claim with no way to substantiate it. God did not give man abilities so that he can do this kind of evil to the innocent and the to be born. God didn't stop it from happening. If he is all-powerful, this makes him culpable.
Guest e Yer Posted January 17, 2014 Posted January 17, 2014 Dear dsayer: We live on a planet that is revolving around the sun. Earth isn't the world or the center of the universe. There is infinity out there. Someone had to create all this. When you think about how amazing this is, anything is possible. I believe many people in the past have died, seen the other side and returned to life. This is where evidence, word of mouth, of a heaven and hell exists. I saw a taxi driver with a miniature shrine of Buddha on his dashboard. I respect others of other religions. In my personal life I've seen many miracles that people would just pass off as coincidences. The fact that people are recognizing the evils of government is a miracle. Prior to the internet, governments were really abusive, and oppressive and had their way. I'm a Christian and go to church because I find a lot of the scriptures mentioned in the sermons are truths and timeless. I'm 59 years old. I've seen a lot of life. When I contemplate the message behind scriptures and parables in the bible (reflecting back in my life) they make sense. God gives man choices, either serve him virtuously or be evil and self-serving. God turns all bad things that the devil gets man to do into good for those who believe. But the wages of sin is death. People must stop sinning and repent (offer retribution to God) if they wish to go to heaven. I picked up the curve on George W.'s Iraq invasion in the very early stages and knew it was all evil. I was surprised how so many American supported the invasion and the occupation of Iraq. I voted for Gore and Kerry. I told my son, "don't you dare enlist in the military, what this country is doing is a crime." I cringed every time I saw those yellow ribbon stickers or people saying "we don't support the war, but we support the troops." I never supported the troops and the war but it still happened. God wrote: Thou Shall not Kill. Jesus said: Live by the sword, die by the sword. Those were the warnings to man not to do this. This is God's way to stop it. But the U.S. citizens and troops didn't listen. God gives people the choice good or bad. Furthermore the way God will stop this type of slaughter of the innocents in the future by this country is, I believe, he will dissolve the U.S. Anarchy discussions are in fact an indirect way of preparing for that day and I believe is part of God's design. So in answer to your question, God will stop slaughter in the future (recall there was no Syrian or Iranian invasion). In the short run, though, he always gives man choices.
Dylan Lawrence Moore Posted January 17, 2014 Posted January 17, 2014 Omnidirectional thought-processing coherency does not make.
dsayers Posted January 17, 2014 Posted January 17, 2014 Someone had to create all this. The question remains, "How do you know?" Anything objective will do. God wrote: Thou Shall not Kill. Jesus said: Live by the sword, die by the sword. Those were the warnings to man not to do this. This is God's way to stop it... So in answer to your question, God will stop slaughter in the future (recall there was no Syrian or Iranian invasion). In the short run, though, he always gives man choices. This is the problem when people who believe faith is virtue transcend that paradigm by trying to coexist with the real world. You're saying that God did not stop the millions of people who have been killed by people because a cautionary tale was sufficient, but conflicts that are considered and not carried out are God intervening beyond said cautionary tale. You understand that this does not escape my previous accusation that this is monstrous as God is culpable. Not to mention that almost all of those millions of people killed by people were carried out in accordance with their belief in a specific god. I don't mean to be rude, but I was raised Christian. I've heard all of the propaganda. The post you were replying to but did not answer asked how do you know and pointed out were there a god, he'd be the single most sadistic figure in human history.
Pepin Posted January 17, 2014 Posted January 17, 2014 e Yer, what you are expressing is quite difficult to understand. I don't mean this to say the thoughts don't make sense in your head, but that is an issue in translating your ideas. I mean, I feel like I may know what you are saying, but I don't feel confident enough to make a rebuttal because I am likely to completely misunderstand or misconstrue your argument. I get this all the time, like I'll have this whole mess of reason and evidence in my head that I am quite sure is true, but I completely fail in presenting it others. Please don't take it as an insult because it is quite the opposite, I can see there is a lot of thought and reasoning going on behind the scenes, rather I just think you need some work in structuring ideas in your head and conveying them in a way that anyone could understand. I realize this response might be interpreted as annoying, but I think you should consume the links below. Even if you disagree with the conclusions, it provides a great foundation to forming your thoughts and making arguments. It'll make you far clearer as to what your beliefs are. It is like if you're interested in making movies, you'd likely watch a lot of good and bad movies to get an idea of how to present a story, how to frame a shot, how to makes things clear or ambiguous, and so on. The Meaning of Life Introduction to Philosophy Against The Gods Though supplemental, I'd recommend The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Rand has a vast number of arguments that address the nature of the purpose of man, and conveys it in such an elegant manner. Again, it isn't about agreeing with the arguments, but rather at gaining clarity in your own beliefs, and having great examples of how to express thought to mimic.
Kevin Beal Posted January 17, 2014 Posted January 17, 2014 Pepin, you linked in the wrong youtube playlist the on the second one. Although, perhaps unconsciously what you replaced it with may even be more apt. The intro to philosophy series is here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC1647D7F937DDE7A
dsayers Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 I watched the meaning of life series for the first time, so I'm glad it was linked. I think a believer would in fact benefit more from An Introduction to Philosophy first simply because in the Meaning of Life series, Stef talks about a few things as a given that An Intro to Philosophy makes the case for starting from first principles.
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