Personally, I think not believing in an afterlife makes me value life on this earth more, not less. If there is an afterlife lasting eternity, jeez, life here on earth seems pretty insignificant in the grand scheme.
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Trust the snake.
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Personally, I think not believing in an afterlife makes me value life on this earth more, not less. If there is an afterlife lasting eternity, jeez, life here on earth seems pretty insignificant in the grand scheme.
That's Bunk.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
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Personally, I think not believing in an afterlife makes me value life on this earth more, not less. If there is an afterlife lasting eternity, jeez, life here on earth seems pretty insignificant in the grand scheme.
Sadly, I have to agree. Personally, I think this is why the Christian church has made some terrible mistakes:
-Environmentalism was never a priority because this earth was only a temporary home.
-Our goal should be to convert as many people as possible by whatever means possible - ends justify the means.
-Don't waste time on people who have rejected Christianity - they've sealed their fate, our time is better spent on others.
These are of course broad strokes, but this is what I've experienced in an evangelical north american context, and I know this way of thinking has caused a lot of damage and pain.
Fortunately, I think there is a shift away from that mentality today. Regarding the environment, look at how a translation from the 70's (NIV) translates Genesis 1:26-28 vs. a contemporary translation like The Message (emphases mine):
NIV:
Quote:
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
The Message:
Quote:
God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
Regarding our treatment of people - this is what really hurts. Jesus was harshest in the Bible to the religious elite, and often sought out the hurting and outcast to bless and heal. The church has been guilty of allowing that elitism to creep in, and that has negatively affected its ability to help others.
I think, too, that the church has allowed modern marketing techniques to come in, which do not value people, but results. Ultimately, Christians should be examples of unconditional love, not love with an ulterior motive.
That said, there are Christians and Christian organizations doing fantastic work. I have a friend involved with a local ministry which helps women who have been subject to sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. They help them leave the damaging situation they are in, and help them to rebuild their lives. I also know the founder of the ministry, and know that he has risked his life for these women (in dangerous situations with johns and pimps), and on the flip side, he has preached harsh words from the pulpit to an apathetic church. He's a good example of what I would imagine Jesus doing were he here today.
I have lost 3 people close to me in the last 6 months.
At no time did I feel the need to look to a higher being for explanation, comfort or purpose.
That being said, as I age I am less inclined to look down on those that feel the need to look to a higher being. If it gets them through the night who am I to question.
My only concern/issue with organized religion is alluded to by psyang. I can't stomach and have no time for the predatory practices as outlined below:
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
Corporal Jean-Marc H. BECHARD, 6 Aug 1993
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sliver
Just ignore me...I'm in a mood today.
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I'm reminded of Ann Druyan's touching tribute to her life with Sagan:
When my husband died, because he was so famous and known for not being a believer, many people would come up to me-it still sometimes happens-and ask me if Carl changed at the end and converted to a belief in an afterlife. They also frequently ask me if I think I will see him again. Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions. The tragedy was that we knew we would never see each other again. I don't ever expect to be reunited with Carl. But, the great thing is that when we were together, for nearly twenty years, we lived with a vivid appreciation of how brief and precious life is. We never trivialized the meaning of death by pretending it was anything other than a final parting. Every single moment that we were alive and we were together was miraculous-not miraculous in the sense of inexplicable or supernatural. We knew we were beneficiaries of chance. . . . That pure chance could be so generous and so kind. . . . That we could find each other, as Carl wrote so beautifully in Cosmos, you know, in the vastness of space and the immensity of time. . . . That we could be together for twenty years. That is something which sustains me and it’s much more meaningful. . . . The way he treated me and the way I treated him, the way we took care of each other and our family, while he lived. That is so much more important than the idea I will see him someday. I don't think I'll ever see Carl again. But I saw him. We saw each other. We found each other in the cosmos, and that was wonderful.
As meditators, we had prepared for this – how to move the energy up from the belly and into the heart and out through the head. I have never seen an expression as full of wonder as Lou's as he died. His hands were doing the water-flowing 21-form of tai chi. His eyes were wide open. I was holding in my arms the person I loved the most in the world, and talking to him as he died. His heart stopped. He wasn't afraid. I had gotten to walk with him to the end of the world. Life – so beautiful, painful and dazzling – does not get better than that. And death? I believe that the purpose of death is the release of love.
At the moment, I have only the greatest happiness and I am so proud of the way he lived and died, of his incredible power and grace.
I'm sure he will come to me in my dreams and will seem to be alive again. And I am suddenly standing here by myself stunned and grateful. How strange, exciting and miraculous that we can change each other so much, love each other so much through our words and music and our real lives.
I agree, but what does that have to do with being a Christian and why are you lumping everyone together? My faith would never lead me in that direction, none of Christ's teachings would.
i'm not lumping anyone together, wasn't talking about christians, there was a quote about muslim faith and to keep their eyes on the prize which is the afterlife.
