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My life is filled with purpose, it is just not handed down from on high.
Over the past couple of days I have pursued the design and initial test coding of a retro computing project. I have found it very purposeful, enjoyable, and fun. It is unlikely to evolve into anything that will serve anyone else's purposes apart maybe from allowing them to enjoy playing with the finished result, and maybe rekindling some of my low-level code optimization chops to the benefit of my actual employer. But you know, some people are so obsessed with Making a Difference that they can't see any value in such modest objectives, especially if they are not under the umbrella of some sort of claimed Grand Project.
Purpose and meaning are what people decide that they are. Non-god-related purpose does not have to involve being a lost shade, wandering the earth without objective, being 100% self absorbed at all times, having no positive character traits or aspirations for being a better person, and just Buying Stuff out of sheer boredom. People get caught up in things like that for reasons unrelated to god and sometimes in spite of believing in god.
My life also has purpose. I was referring to ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mink57
Do you REALLY believe, that life...in general... is some "accident"? That we're supposed to live, procreate and DIE...and that's IT?
You're one of the good ones, .sparrow. I've always admired your calm demeanor and friendly sweet disposition--something so rare in Christians when they are challenged.
I'm happy you are happy. If your belief in Jesus makes you a better person then I'm all for your belief in him. Cheers.
It is nice to see you acknowledge in agreement that believing in Jesus Christ has the righteous and loving power to change a person's life.
You could not say that without the Spirit of God, lest you choose to be divided.
It is nice to see you acknowledge in agreement that believing in Jesus Christ has the righteous and loving power to change a person's life.
You could not say that without the Spirit of God, lest you choose to be divided.
Only about 10% of my posts get read by any one reader here but I have said on dozens of occasions:
Life on this God-forsaken ball spinning through space is bad enough without something to get you through the day to day trials and tribulations. Use whatever means you have at your disposal to make it to safe harbor at the end of every treacherous grief-filled day whether it be sex, drugs, rock n' roll and yes, even Jesus. If belief in Jesus is your life-jacket then by all means believe in him.
Only about 10% of my posts get read by any one reader here but I have said on dozens of occasions:
Life on this God-forsaken ball spinning through space is bad enough without something to get you through the day to day trials and tribulations. Use whatever means you have at your disposal to make it to safe harbor at the end of every treacherous grief-filled day whether it be sex, drugs, rock n' roll and yes, even Jesus. If belief in Jesus is your life-jacket then by all means believe in him.
That's depressing in my opinion, which is just that - my opinion. I personally believe we're all in for some major surprises on the day we die.
Only about 10% of my posts get read by any one reader here but I have said on dozens of occasions:
Life on this God-forsaken ball spinning through space is bad enough without something to get you through the day to day trials and tribulations. Use whatever means you have at your disposal to make it to safe harbor at the end of every treacherous grief-filled day whether it be sex, drugs, rock n' roll and yes, even Jesus. If belief in Jesus is your life-jacket then by all means believe in him.
You can view me as a weak and foolish person needing props, if you want. You have no clue about all that was overcome in my life, and there was nothing weak or foolish about it.
Do you think it took weakness and foolishness to tell someone a severe wrong I did to them, and to reconcile. The only thing that propped me up in that was knowing it is the righteous thing to do, and to accept either the favorable or unfavorable consequence.
You have only proven that the words you spoke in the quoted from my previous post were only you giving lip service. And all you have is the divided and diminishing nature in what you speak. You can't call Jesus Christ a lie and a myth out of one side of your mouth and then claim to be happy for someone who believes in Jesus Christ out of the other side of your mouth.
Since your view of Jesus Christ is a mere life-jacket, consider Joseph whose coat his father gave him was returned to him ripped up and with blood stains on it. And it was Joseph's belief in what God showed him, that carried him through all he endured. In due time his scoffing brothers got their proof and evidence, that what Joseph shared came from God and saved their lives.
Last edited by chief scum; 12-27-2022 at 09:55 AM..
Sorry for the rambling. And nothing I said answered any of your questions. Or gave you any sort of good argument. But I guess it's just because I don't feel it's all that necessary. You're on your path and that's all there is to it. Who am I to tell you that you need to be on another path? If you don't think Jesus existed.... no-one can MAKE you believe anything until you have satisfied the questions for yourself. I think God prefers those who seek and seek and seek.... It's a good thing.
peace friend,
sparrow
This was a good, well-thought-out and well-written post, and I just wanted to give you a public ^5 for it.
For me personally.... let's say that everything you're saying is correct. There was no such person as Jesus.
I still believe what I believe. That the Creator has a plan for all humans. That we're here to learn. We are all one, in the sense that we are all creations of God, and God loves all and has all in the palm of His hand. This world isn't about "do good so you'll be blessed!" or "you evil sinners are going to hell!" It's about learning about the power of love and the ugly destructive nature of non-love. We're ALL learning it together. We ALL have free will. and every person's actions affect others in ways that echo for a very long time. The ONE bad decision of my great grandparents, for instance, set forth a domino effect of suffering and misery for a lot of my other relations. One act of abandonment (an act of non-love) caused much destruction. But there were also glimmers of hope and reconciliation as well. Some of the non-love was overcome with love here now on this plane of existance. The rest of the non-love will be overcome with love on the other side of this life. This is the case for pretty much everyone, I believe.
For me, the story of Jesus fits PERFECTLY like a jigsaw puzzle piece into the way that I view our existence. Just because there were similar stories before Jesus was said to be here on this earth, what if those stories were pointing TO Jesus. So Jesus would be recognized by many other peoples? It's just a thought.
It's difficult sometimes, to believe what I believe, only in the sense that it's hard to share it at times. Sometimes I feel like what I have to say will be seen as condescending and disrespectful of another person's path. So it's hard to put into words. For instance, if someone believed that once you die, that's it you are gone forever, with no consciousness.... that's their path. But secretly inside, I smile to myself because I believe that death is just door we walk through and I believe that God has some beautiful surprises for that person. Such as their loved ones being on the other side of that door.... even animals that they loved and lost in this lifetime. There. Waiting. Turning what they thought was reality (nothingness after death) and them being ok with that reality (nothingness after death), but then they get the surprise of their life. It's not a casual belief. It's not a frivolous belief. It's a belief that I would literally give my own life to defend (if for some bizarre reason that was necessary, not sure why it would be....). This is just how strongly I believe this .With my entire being. But if I were to try to tell that person these things, for me, it's just difficult to word. Because I truly do respect the fact that everyone has their own path to walk in this life. And no-one's path is better than anothers. We're all different and have unique life experiences. We're all going home via different ways and paths.
I normally wouldn't even respond to a thread such as this. But a lot of those 20 reasons were just someone putting all of "Christianity" under only ONE perspective OF Christianity. The whole "preying on the innocent" and "is cruel" and "produces sexual misery" "arrogance".... etc. Maybe if it was 20 reasons to abandon <insert a fundamentalist type> sect of Christianity. But it's just putting everything under the umbrella of Christianity and giving those reasons to abandon basically ALL of Christianity. I just thought it was ridiculous and narrow-minded and even a bit arrogant. So that's why I even replied.
Anyway..... My personal experiences.... are kind of just that, personal. I can't make anyone else understand MY story. I can share it, but I know it just won't mean as much to someone else as it does to me. And the things that were overcome in my life. The very difficult refining fires I've been through that burned off a lot of unnecessary fears/beliefs/thoughts that needed to be burned off. So much just.... tedious JUNK. To me, the meaning of life is simple, yet profound. But people muddy it up so much with just endless, mindless debate. They keep missing the main points. They keep bypassing the stuff that is so simple that even a child could understand. Kids are closer to God. The longer we're here, it seems the world wraps around us tighter and tighter until we forget our true home and the one who created us. We knew more when we were kids. I'm certain of it.
Sorry for the rambling. And nothing I said answered any of your questions. Or gave you any sort of good argument. But I guess it's just because I don't feel it's all that necessary. You're on your path and that's all there is to it. Who am I to tell you that you need to be on another path? If you don't think Jesus existed.... no-one can MAKE you believe anything until you have satisfied the questions for yourself. I think God prefers those who seek and seek and seek.... It's a good thing.
peace friend,
sparrow
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