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Yellow Magic
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CloseI'm gonna come out and say this: I'm really jealous of religious people.
They have this belief that some sort of God is watching over them and is on THEIR side or whatever, and that when they die they can go to this eternal paradise thing. It's like some kind of forcefield that protects from society's evils ("oh, my life sucks now, but God has better plans for me!" or "oh these people are saying bad things about me/doing bad things to me but I know God will punish them one day!")
Meanwhile, I don't feel like I have anyone on my side, and there doesn't really seem to be much to life beyond death, to put it lightly. Shit stinks, man. Wish I never questioned my faith all those years ago.
They have this belief that some sort of God is watching over them and is on THEIR side or whatever, and that when they die they can go to this eternal paradise thing. It's like some kind of forcefield that protects from society's evils ("oh, my life sucks now, but God has better plans for me!" or "oh these people are saying bad things about me/doing bad things to me but I know God will punish them one day!")
Meanwhile, I don't feel like I have anyone on my side, and there doesn't really seem to be much to life beyond death, to put it lightly. Shit stinks, man. Wish I never questioned my faith all those years ago.
turkeyDawg
195
Hey, you at least don't have to worry about God flooding your hometown and sending you to Hell for masturbating or playing Pokemon.
(To be fair, most Christians don't care about those things anymore... but some do.)
(To be fair, most Christians don't care about those things anymore... but some do.)
This question actually goes for the both of you: Does that shit actually compare to knowing that if you're a good boy/girl you go to Heaven? It's been 12-ish years since I believed in God, but I faintly remember getting a kick out of abstaining from things that were forbidden by my religion...idk.
I have a lot of people on my Facebook feed regularly quoting from the Qur'an and stuff, and I am so freaking frustrated because they're probably a lot happier than I am in their peaceful little worlds >:(
I'm not claiming to be a genius or anything, but if you told me it was possible to decrease my IQ by x points or just remove my capacity for critical thinking entirely so I could delude myself into believing God is on my side, I'd go for it in a heartbeat.
(Yes, I went there. And no, I'm not apologising. Not this time.)
I have a lot of people on my Facebook feed regularly quoting from the Qur'an and stuff, and I am so freaking frustrated because they're probably a lot happier than I am in their peaceful little worlds >:(
I'm not claiming to be a genius or anything, but if you told me it was possible to decrease my IQ by x points or just remove my capacity for critical thinking entirely so I could delude myself into believing God is on my side, I'd go for it in a heartbeat.
(Yes, I went there. And no, I'm not apologising. Not this time.)
There is plenty of happiness to be found in the world even without belief in a higher being, you just have to find it yourself. You can aspire to greatness, find peace of mind, and fill yourself with the joys of the world. Perhaps blind faith makes that easier. But that doesn't mean it's exclusive, either.
The way I see it, finding happiness is largely a solo effort in spirit, though believing in God can also help in that spiritual sense. It all depends on how much you go down either road.
Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
The pursuit of selflessness is the greatest joy I've found in my life. Instead of focusing on what you can get out of the world, focus on what you can give back to the world. Take yourself out of the equation and it all becomes clear. People who are so selfish as to believe that suppressing others joy and rights and condemning them to an eternity of suffering so that they can get a cookie are, in my mind, the most disgusting people I've ever met. Ironic how their religion of love inspires everything but that.
I've tried speaking to others about this and they can't even conceive of separating themselves from their beliefs for even a moment to actually question their morals. It's a simple equation really:
How this applies to life: Instead of being self-centered and self-serving, you should exercise using only what is essential to life and express an eagerness to give excess to those around you. Now love (once you understand it and carry it within yourself) is a resource that cannot be quantitatively defined and is therefore of infinite supply. If someone's hurting or lonely, just having someone there for them is more than enough. This is something we can all spare as we are not losing anything from the exchange.
You don't need a book to prove that this exists, something that religion desperately seeks to accomplish. You can see it in nature. You can understand the functions of selflessness and balance by forces that possess no sentience yet coexist in give-and-take. I just finished reading "When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences" by Norman L. Geisler and Ronald Matthew Brooks, and I understood going in that any arguments for the "evidences" supporting theological dogma are inherently invalid. Here's what's being pushed as proof:
If you remove one piece of the equation that cannot logically be proven true and the whole damn thing falls apart, I'd have a hard time taking any other proofs of your religion seriously. Then they have the gull to say that open-mindedness is not only wrong, but illogical and that close-mindedness is the only truth and...
I've tried speaking to others about this and they can't even conceive of separating themselves from their beliefs for even a moment to actually question their morals. It's a simple equation really:
V = people
W = society
X = conflict
Y = you
Z = resources
W = Z/V+Y = X
W = X
Now we remove Y
W = Z/V
There's less to divide Z by, resulting in a greater W. Now, Y cannot be blamed for existing as Y had no control over its inclusion to the equation. Instead, by decreasing the weight of Y down to its basest value, we find a more favorable W.
W = society
X = conflict
Y = you
Z = resources
W = Z/V+Y = X
W = X
Now we remove Y
W = Z/V
There's less to divide Z by, resulting in a greater W. Now, Y cannot be blamed for existing as Y had no control over its inclusion to the equation. Instead, by decreasing the weight of Y down to its basest value, we find a more favorable W.
How this applies to life: Instead of being self-centered and self-serving, you should exercise using only what is essential to life and express an eagerness to give excess to those around you. Now love (once you understand it and carry it within yourself) is a resource that cannot be quantitatively defined and is therefore of infinite supply. If someone's hurting or lonely, just having someone there for them is more than enough. This is something we can all spare as we are not losing anything from the exchange.
You don't need a book to prove that this exists, something that religion desperately seeks to accomplish. You can see it in nature. You can understand the functions of selflessness and balance by forces that possess no sentience yet coexist in give-and-take. I just finished reading "When Skeptics Ask: A Handbook on Christian Evidences" by Norman L. Geisler and Ronald Matthew Brooks, and I understood going in that any arguments for the "evidences" supporting theological dogma are inherently invalid. Here's what's being pushed as proof:
How do we know that Christianity is infallibly true and is therefore the one true faith? Because of the Bible.
How do we know that the Bible is true? Because it's the word of God.
How do we know it's the true word of God? Because it was revealed by God and recorded by prophets who spoke directly to God.
How do we know that these prophets only wrote "truth"? Because God cannot err. (human hands writing human words = fallible)
How do we know that God cannot err? Because God is truth. (circular reasoning)
How do we know that God is real? Because of Jesus.
How do we know that God is real through Jesus? Because he's the Son of God.
How do we know that Jesus is the Son of God? Because of miracles.
How do we know that miracles truly occurred? Because of the Bible.
Loop ad infinitum.
That's not even going into the whole Christianity being a monotheistic religion that openly admits to a Trinity of separate but combined (how convenient) entities. God sent Himself to Earth to tell people about Himself who also rules in Heaven, then die on the cross while questioning why He would forsake Himself and rise from the dead to wipe away the sins of the world and allow salvation to those who follow the Him of Earth (tough shit for everyone before then). Two big questions:
1. God loves everyone, so why is it that he's forcing us to pick favorites (who's actually loved?) for Him?
2. God rules over all creation, including sin, so why did he have to kill himself (impossible giving the immortality of any true deity) to defeat it?
How do we know that the Bible is true? Because it's the word of God.
How do we know it's the true word of God? Because it was revealed by God and recorded by prophets who spoke directly to God.
How do we know that these prophets only wrote "truth"? Because God cannot err. (human hands writing human words = fallible)
How do we know that God cannot err? Because God is truth. (circular reasoning)
How do we know that God is real? Because of Jesus.
How do we know that God is real through Jesus? Because he's the Son of God.
How do we know that Jesus is the Son of God? Because of miracles.
How do we know that miracles truly occurred? Because of the Bible.
Loop ad infinitum.
That's not even going into the whole Christianity being a monotheistic religion that openly admits to a Trinity of separate but combined (how convenient) entities. God sent Himself to Earth to tell people about Himself who also rules in Heaven, then die on the cross while questioning why He would forsake Himself and rise from the dead to wipe away the sins of the world and allow salvation to those who follow the Him of Earth (tough shit for everyone before then). Two big questions:
1. God loves everyone, so why is it that he's forcing us to pick favorites (who's actually loved?) for Him?
2. God rules over all creation, including sin, so why did he have to kill himself (impossible giving the immortality of any true deity) to defeat it?
If you remove one piece of the equation that cannot logically be proven true and the whole damn thing falls apart, I'd have a hard time taking any other proofs of your religion seriously. Then they have the gull to say that open-mindedness is not only wrong, but illogical and that close-mindedness is the only truth and...
author=unityI find very little to be happy about these days, but I guess I just gotta try harder. No other options, really..
There is plenty of happiness to be found in the world even without belief in a higher being, you just have to find it yourself. You can aspire to greatness, find peace of mind, and fill yourself with the joys of the world. Perhaps blind faith makes that easier. But that doesn't mean it's exclusive, either.
author=zacheatscrackersI think if you take God out of the question, expecting any sort of lasting happiness is unreasonable. This is because, if one were to think rationally, one would realise that from some point in the future, one would become pure dirt - maybe ashes if they want to be cremated. If you can find any way to be happy about that outcome, more power to you. Personally, I don't see the silver lining, so the only way to be happy at any point is to be ignorant. Does ignorance = happiness?
The way I see it, finding happiness is largely a solo effort in spirit, though believing in God can also help in that spiritual sense. It all depends on how much you go down either road.
I mean, life in general is a bit of a drag anyway, but for some reason looking into the future when it'll be all over makes it worse.
Now if I were a believer, I would always be able to say that "From some point in the future, God will release me from this world and go to Heaven or whatever floats my boat". That would probably make me happy for life if I consciously though about it 24/7.
author=Yellow Magicauthor=unityI find very little to be happy about these days, but I guess I just gotta try harder. No other options, really..
There is plenty of happiness to be found in the world even without belief in a higher being, you just have to find it yourself. You can aspire to greatness, find peace of mind, and fill yourself with the joys of the world. Perhaps blind faith makes that easier. But that doesn't mean it's exclusive, either.
It's not about finding things to be happy about. That's the trick: If you tie your happiness to the fickle nature of the world and your place in it, you're going to be unhappy an awful lot, and your happiness will be in the hands of whatever happens. In other words, your happiness will be completely out of your control.
The mind is a tricky thing: It can twist the slightest misfortune into a spiral of depression. But the opposite can be achieved. It's not instant and it takes practice, but you can learn to enjoy even the most mundane parts of life. Failure, misfortune and setbacks are inevitable, but you can learn not to let them drag you down. Pain and sadness don't really come from the events themselves, but from the brain's interpretation of those events.
Let me put it in a way that relates to RMN users. If you build your happiness on the score your games get (or, hell, just the attention your games get), then you're letting people on the internet have control of your enjoyment. If you can learn to have joy from just making the game, then you are more in control of your happiness. If that makes any sense.
Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
author=unityauthor=Yellow MagicIt's not about finding things to be happy about. That's the trick: If you tie your happiness to the fickle nature of the world and your place in it, you're going to be unhappy an awful lot, and your happiness will be in the hands of whatever happens. In other words, your happiness will be completely out of your control.author=unityI find very little to be happy about these days, but I guess I just gotta try harder. No other options, really..
There is plenty of happiness to be found in the world even without belief in a higher being, you just have to find it yourself. You can aspire to greatness, find peace of mind, and fill yourself with the joys of the world. Perhaps blind faith makes that easier. But that doesn't mean it's exclusive, either.
The mind is a tricky thing: It can twist the slightest misfortune into a spiral of depression. But the opposite can be achieved. It's not instant and it takes practice, but you can learn to enjoy even the most mundane parts of life. Failure, misfortune and setbacks are inevitable, but you can learn not to let them drag you down. Pain and sadness don't really come from the events themselves, but from the brain's interpretation of those events.
Let me put it in a way that relates to RMN users. If you build your happiness on the score your games get (or, hell, just the attention your games get), then you're letting people on the internet have control of your enjoyment. If you can learn to have joy from just making the game, then you are more in control of your happiness. If that makes any sense.
It's like when a person I know says that she derives her worth from how much she earns. It's painful because there's so much more to life than off-color slips of paper with big numbers on them.
Let me put it in a way that relates to RMN users. If you build your happiness on the score your games get (or, hell, just the attention your games get), then you're letting people on the internet have control of your enjoyment. If you can learn to have joy from just making the game, then you are more in control of your happiness. If that makes any sense.If you're saying "happiness is a state of mind" then I agree with you, for sure. It's just that getting into that state of mind is difficult when you have no real catalyst for it.
Oops, did we get too serious for this topic again? Whoopsie! :DSee, that's another thing I don't like about the way things are: The way ~seriousness~ is frowned upon. Being silly and aloof is the way to go. Half the time it comes across like LALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU
author=InfectionFilesI'm not gonna lie: I'm a therapist's wet dream and nightmare rolled into one. The thought of telling a complete stranger my worries freaks me out, though: I feel certain that they wouldn't give two shits in reality.
I'm watching ya'll.
...
The only reason I complained was that I couldn't understand what you guys were talking about, and when I attempted to I wanted nothing more to do with it.
author=Yellow MagicBut... you are going to become DIRT no matter how hard you BELIEVE you are special. So I don't know what you are fretting about. Remember, you have truth on your side, and you know that THIS IS ALL THERE IS, and that is EMPOWERING and REVELATORY. Drink it in!author=unityI find very little to be happy about these days, but I guess I just gotta try harder. No other options, really..
There is plenty of happiness to be found in the world even without belief in a higher being, you just have to find it yourself. You can aspire to greatness, find peace of mind, and fill yourself with the joys of the world. Perhaps blind faith makes that easier. But that doesn't mean it's exclusive, either.author=zacheatscrackersI think if you take God out of the question, expecting any sort of lasting happiness is unreasonable. This is because, if one were to think rationally, one would realise that from some point in the future, one would become pure dirt - maybe ashes if they want to be cremated. If you can find any way to be happy about that outcome, more power to you. Personally, I don't see the silver lining, so the only way to be happy at any point is to be ignorant. Does ignorance = happiness?
The way I see it, finding happiness is largely a solo effort in spirit, though believing in God can also help in that spiritual sense. It all depends on how much you go down either road.
I mean, life in general is a bit of a drag anyway, but for some reason looking into the future when it'll be all over makes it worse.
Now if I were a believer, I would always be able to say that "From some point in the future, God will release me from this world and go to Heaven or whatever floats my boat". That would probably make me happy for life if I consciously though about it 24/7.
If you build your happiness on the score your games get (or, hell, just the attention your games get), then you're letting people on the internet have control of your enjoyment. If you can learn to have joy from just making the game, then you are more in control of your happiness.From the Helpfile of Proverbs, 1 Aremen 95
If you're saying "happiness is a state of mind" then I agree with you, for sure. It's just that getting into that state of mind is difficult when you have no real catalyst for it.
Yeah. I wish there was an easier way to enter that state, or some solid piece of advice I could give aside from "Notice when you become unhappy. Try to pinpoint what's causing it and ask 'Is this really worth being unhappy about?'"
author=Yellow MagicOops, did we get too serious for this topic again? Whoopsie! :D
See, that's another thing I don't like about the way things are: The way ~seriousness~ is frowned upon. Being silly and aloof is the way to go. Half the time it comes across like LALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU
I agree. We may be in the depths of the Whelp, Whelp forum, but this is "What are you thinking about?" not "Hey if you're thinking of something serious, could you add in some rubber chickens and kazoos so it's not so heavy?" Granted, I do shy away from this area if the subject gets controversial; I'm bad enough about arguing and it's not what I'm here for.
The secret to happiness is lowering your standards to the point where they're already met.
Besides, a state of perpetual happiness would be miserable.
Besides, a state of perpetual happiness would be miserable.
author=kentona
But... you are going to become DIRT no matter how hard you BELIEVE you are special. So I don't know what you are fretting about. Remember, you have truth on your side, and you know that THIS IS ALL THERE IS, and that is EMPOWERING and REVELATORY. Drink it in!
Damn straight!
author=kentonaIf you build your happiness on the score your games get (or, hell, just the attention your games get), then you're letting people on the internet have control of your enjoyment. If you can learn to have joy from just making the game, then you are more in control of your happiness.From the Helpfile of Proverbs, 1 Aremen 95
Praise be! :D
author=unity
Yeah. I wish there was an easier way to enter that state, or some solid piece of advice I could give aside from "Notice when you become unhappy. Try to pinpoint what's causing it and ask 'Is this really worth being unhappy about?'"
Yeah, in theory this kind of thinking should work. I'll try harder next time.
author=kentona
But... you are going to become DIRT no matter how hard you BELIEVE you are special. So I don't know what you are fretting about. Remember, you have truth on your side, and you know that THIS IS ALL THERE IS, and that is EMPOWERING and REVELATORY. Drink it in!
It doesn't make a difference what the truth is!
- Imagine a person named DAVE who believes in God and the afterlife.
- DAVE spends his days thinking he's going to go to Heaven (or at least, there's a very good chance). He is happy as a result
- DAVE gets shot dead by OJ Simpson
- DAVE is dead, but while he was alive he was happy
Compare with
- A person HAL who does NOT believe in God and the afterlife
- Is miserable because he lacks that *something to look forward to* feeling that DAVE has
- HAL gets fatally run over by Lewis Hamilton
- HAL is dead, but while he was alive he was miserable
who wins?
Of course, the whole "happiness is a state of mind" should play a part, and I'm not saying it doesn't. I think it's clear that DAVE has the advantage in this scenario over HAL.
