It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Pope Francis to sit down with 60 Minutes
Pope Francis will sit down with 60 Minutes next Sunday for a wide-ranging and exceedingly rare conversation from his Vatican guest house home. Norah O'Donnell...
Post Argument Now Debate Details +
Arguments
Sure we may good things but this is for our own selfish desires when we do good deeds we get a hit of dopamine, we only do anything good for that hit of dopamine,for ourselves too be happy, if being a sinful deed gave us more dopamine then a good deed then we would pick too do the sinful deed
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
I do not think it makes sense to talk about people as good or evil. Some people do good or evil deeds more often than others, but it does not make them better any more than a tree being taller than another tree makes it better. There are many dimensions to human organism, and good vs evil deeds are just one of the many - plus "good" and "evil" are highly subjective terms. Is a parent that spanks his child regularly, but as a result raises a very responsible and punctual woman, a good or an evil parent? I would not trust myself to make this judgement.
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
Lacking guidance doesn't mean automatic opposition; human nature isn't exactly binary. People can still make choices and exhibit a range of behaviors in the absence of specific guidance.
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
Is it good or evil to punch someone in the face because they said something you dislike? Well, without any societal guidance, you can try it and see where it leads. If you analyze the data impartially, you will very quickly come to understanding that punching people in the face is not exactly conducive to mutually beneficial interaction, and conclude that doing it is evil.
We constantly revise our understanding of "good" and "evil" from just our own experiences, without any direct societal input. I recently was screwed over by someone who I venerated, and I learned my lesson: when you have a serious issue with someone, it has to be brought up immediately, and letting it brew is not a viable option. In the past I would see confronting them over it early as somewhat evil: after all, they are a free individual, so who am I to tell them how to behave? But now my perception is different: when they interact with me, then their freedom is naturally bounded by my needs, and if those needs are not met, then confronting them about it and telling them, "If you keep doing it, we will have to go our separate ways. And if you want to continue this amazing relationship we are having, then please respect my boundaries". In fact, it is evil to not put the issue out there, as it is equivalent to a white lie, deception, manipulation.
We accumulate life experiences as we live that change our moral compass and our interpretation of various actions. Sometimes the societal guidance is involved; other times you might literally be wandering through a frozen desert alone and come to some epiphany.
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— Romans 5:12 (ESV)
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
Compared to a woman a man is inherently evil based on laws of nature. A woman produces one egg from that egg she may produce one child with limited exceptions made by law of nature or science. Men produce multiple large numbers of sperm and all, but one will die in the extension of human life by law of nature. This means all men inherit an evil of death when reproducing life itself the only exception is when a man is unable to sustain a sperm count.
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
The problem is hunting is not inherent to only men women hunt and animals, while eating meat or plants a form of lethal force is applied either way. Eating meat is no more immoral than eating vegetables and fruit. By eating vegetables and fruit we move seeds and to breed meat we also move seeds in the form of animal sperm and egg. The united state formed by your example is too large and does not represent only men as inherently evil.
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
Your little book contradicts itself at the very beginning. Adam was created in perfection, yet acted in an imperfect way... It takes some dark religious blinders to not see the contradiction here.
The Bible, the Quran and the Torah are the kind of fantasy books where there are plot holes, retcons and fifth walls at every corner, and it takes years of conditioning through sermons to teach one to accept all these contradictions and rationalize them away. Kind of like in the Soviet Union or Mao's China people would read the works of Marx, Lenin and Mao, and go, "Huh, in this sentence he says that in the ideal world everyone is wealthy; but in that sentence he says that being wealthy is unjust. Ah, whatever, this is the Chairman God Himself! I will never fully understand the depth of his argument."
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
It hardly even resembles the original works, so why should people believe in a set of books that humans gave changed si much because they didn't like the original. Who Wrote The Bible? This Is What The Actual Historical Evidence Says (allthatsinteresting.com) @RickeyHoltsclaw
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
Your never going to get a strait answer out of Rickey D being the more on troll that he is.
But it would be worth asking him for evidence. Like does he have a signed copy of the Bible?
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
This leads to my "Chaotic Good" alignment: people should mess around, experiment, do things that make no sense sometimes - in order to deepen their understanding of their organism's reaction to various stimuli and adjust their behaviors. In the ideal world populated by people like me, you would have crazy, but physically harmless, things happening all over the place: orgies on the street, hikes across continents, musical experiments violating the basics of musical theory... The exploration, the adventure is what it is all about.
The opposite to it is any kind of conservatism or collectivism. Religion, socialism, nationalism, tribalism - all this stuff telling the individual that his own mind is worthless and that he has to outsource his thinking to someone else, be it god, local community, society or humanity in general. You guys in my view are weak followers who sit in the audience, watching things happen and passively reacting to them. The actors on stage are us, people relentlessly pushing forward, taking risks, throwing traditions out the window and never looking back. And I want everyone to be an actor, not a member of the audience.
What say you?
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5 (ESV)
3) Conservatism - mind-body-soul is sustainable, peaceful, the elements of true contentment that will endure throughout eternity.
5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 (ESV
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
Your comment kind of puts you in the uncharitable of the two categories of people my philosophy outlines. I asked "What say you?", and you provided a few passages from a book that you did not write.
I will repeat my question: what say you?
You also misunderstood my philosophy, it seems. I do not promote hedonism. I do promote experimentation with hedonic pleasures, but hedonism as in engaging in them recklessly and thinking only about the pleasure in the moment runs against it.
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
Well, you did not really provide criticism of my philosophy; you just suggested a different philosophy. Your philosophy seems to put peace and contentment above joy and happiness. In my philosophy, contentment is the last thing you want: you want to constantly push yourself, put yourself in uncomfortable situations and learn something from them, for that is how you grow as an individual. If you are just content, sitting in a monastery and meditating all day, then you do not have much of a life, in my opinion.
I have seen no evidence presented by you, for that matter, that only through finding Jesus Christ, an individual from one specific religion, can one achieve peace and contentment. Does it imply that before Jesus existed no one lived in peace and contentment? Does it mean that in cultures where Christianity never took a strong foothold almost no one lives in peace and contentment?
By virtually all metrics the Japanese are the most peaceful and content humans on Earth, yet Christianity is very uncommon in Japan, with less than 1.5% following it. On the other hand, Christianity is VERY common in Russia (nearly half the population follows it), and if you ever go to Russia and look at the faces of those people, you will struggle to think of them as living in peace and contentment.
How do all these facts square with your claim?
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
Depends on your temperament. People who move the world forward are the ones who are never satisfied, who constantly set new goals and embark on new adventures. No Buddhist monk has ever changed the world, but countless explorers and inventors have.
If Japan's Eastern religions/spiritual movements demonstrably make for the highest levels of peace and contentment of all discovered, then does your statement about finding Jesus being the only means of it false? In fact, it does not appear to even be the best one. Traditionally Christian nations, such as the US, the UK or France, have populations far less peaceful and content than that of Japan.
It is possible that Christianity resonated with you somehow: again, everyone has a unique temperament, and perhaps yours aligns with its spirit. I am not sure why you assume that it would resonate with everyone else as well. And I strongly suspect that, while you seem satisfied with your life as a Christian, you simply do not know what you are missing by living a safe and peaceful life.
Eastern philosophies, too, promote achieving some sort of calm, balance, transcendence, where you stop craving material goods and physical and emotional sensations and are just okay with being. To me it seems like accepting mediocrity. Much like someone who wanted to become a scientist, but became discouraged with how hard science is and said, "Ah, whatever, I will just be an office clerk doing mindless work instead". It is giving up on yourself and your dreams.
I should add that, based on your description, your pre-Christian life was pretty abysmal. It was not at all the kind of life I am advocating for. I am not advocating for drinking alcohol endlessly, having sex with random women, hoarding money out of some insecurity. I am instead advocating for endless exploration of the world around you and yourself, without being dominated either by extraneous ideologies and other people's opinions, or your primal urges. It is a life in which you regularly put yourself in discomfort intentionally and see what happens. It has some similarities with stoicism, but, unlike stoicism, it does away with all collectivism and mysticism. I do not think that there is such a thing as "serving the society" or "collective good".
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
I was starting to enjoy this conversation - and here you go again with your dogmatism... No explanation, no justification, just "the Bible is true because it is true". It is always like this.
My theory that it is impossible to have a lengthy conversation with a deep religious believer without them slipping into dogmatism so far holds true. *sigh*
This kind of mental traps is one of the things my philosophy warns about. When you are caught in a loop caused by either external influence or your inner confusion, it is very hard to escape - and, in fact, you do not want to escape. You do not want to leave your comfortable cave and explore the wonderful world out there.
Oh well, I tried. See, Rickey, how difficult it is to preach? It never works!
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
You do know that is rickeyD right? I wonder where that preaching troll went. I had predicted that he will start to flood the forums again with religious preaching trash that he probably doesn't even believe in irl anyway. And he will continue. There will soon be dozens of his rubbish all over his forum by the end of the week.
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
With every word you say, you support my thesis. Complete inability to think and engage with arguments laying even slightly outside of your biblical comfort zone.
I said it before, and I will say it again: I would rather be tortured by ISIS daily, than live as a human being without the ability to critically think. Physical pain I can handle; the pain of being an ant in a hive with no autonomy or independence - that is true horror. And the most horrifying thing about it is the fact that I would not even see it as a problem.
Ever read Orwell's "1984"? How did you feel about the last scene? That is about how I feel about the idea of living your life.
Plato described how humans enjoy their limited wisdom, then grow wiser, look back and cannot believe they used to be so blind. At the time they think that their current state of mind is natural, but reflecting on it from the future makes it look terrifying.
What is the only thing worse than it? Never growing wiser to begin with. Thinking that your life is okay while in actuality even a slightly more enlightened version of you would rather die than live it.
I used to think that it is better to live in North Korea and be blind to the world outside, than to get to live in South Korea first, and then move back to North Korea: it is much easier to live a sucky life when you do not have an outside perspective, than when you do and realize how much better your life can be.
I was wrong. It is better to know how terrible your life is, for at least that gives you a target to move towards - than to think that your terrible life is okay.
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra
  Considerate: 100%  
  Substantial: 100%  
  Sentiment: Negative  
  Avg. Grade Level:   
  Sources:   
  Relevant (Beta): 100%  
  Learn More About Debra