cgannon64
BOB DYLAN'S ROCKIN OUT!
I think you'd prefer Socialism.
Just kidding. 
(See Sig
)
Could Calvinism Appeal to You?
- Thread starter Pangur Bán
- Start date
I think you'd prefer Socialism.
Just kidding. (See Sig
)Sultan Bhargash
Trickster Reincarnated
@Stapel- leukemia is the same word in English. No one would be able to sleep at night if we called it "blood cancer"...
Mojotronica
Expect Irony.
This is my belief:
Line up 100 soldiers and tell them that their next mission has a 99% fatality rate, and every single one of them will glance around the room and think, "too bad about all these other guys."
People tend to see themselves as the survivor, the winner, even when the odds are ridiculously against them. The success of gambling testifies to that truth. IMO, this is why a lot of folks in the low or middle tax brackets optimistically support regressive tax systems that benefit the wealthy. We all expect that we will get our big break, sooner or later.
My guess is the vast majority of Calvinists find solace in their belief that of all the people who have lived and died, they are amongst those who are worthy of heaven.
I think that enlightenment is really, really hard, and that all religion seeks enlightenment. Buddhists call it Nirvana. Christians call it Heaven. I think that the Calvinists are saying that enlightenment, if it exists, is found here on Earth. Only a few will ever achieve it -- but one major obstacle to doing so is this fixation on a "pie-in-the-sky" heaven, whose sole qualification is a statement of devotion and not being a terrible person in life.
It should be hard to attain transcendence, and involve surrendering pride and materialism. But it should be attainable.
However judgement is reserved for God. It is not for you or me to judge any other individual as worthy of heaven or not. Only that individual could possibly have an inkling.
A lot of it is how you TRULY see yourself. Think about it. Would YOU let you into heaven, despite all your petty lies, your selfish moments, your imperfections?
Then you can choose to wipe the slate of your past clean -- make amends w/ those you have wronged and forgive yourself for each wrong.
Then you have a clean slate. The Christians would call this being "born-again." Buddhists might call it the beginning of your meditation.
Going forward you must strive to be the best person you can be. You'll find that you are living in accord w/ many of the tenants of the Great religions.
Certain restrictions in the Bible, like the restriction against homosexuality, are more accurately restrictions against letting lust dominate your life, or exploiting a fellow human being. In many ways you'll TRANSCEND the morality of the old texts, because they are ancient and tied to the values of the humans who interpreted the wisdom they represent back then.
If you live a genuinely good, honest life, you may find enlightenment, and you will have wrestled the demon of your discontent into submission. You can never completely banish it, but you can control it.
By doing so, you will reap the reward of heaven EVEN IN LIFE. You will be able to face the after-life knowing that you lived a fulfilling life. That is heaven.
Line up 100 soldiers and tell them that their next mission has a 99% fatality rate, and every single one of them will glance around the room and think, "too bad about all these other guys."
People tend to see themselves as the survivor, the winner, even when the odds are ridiculously against them. The success of gambling testifies to that truth. IMO, this is why a lot of folks in the low or middle tax brackets optimistically support regressive tax systems that benefit the wealthy. We all expect that we will get our big break, sooner or later.
My guess is the vast majority of Calvinists find solace in their belief that of all the people who have lived and died, they are amongst those who are worthy of heaven.
I think that enlightenment is really, really hard, and that all religion seeks enlightenment. Buddhists call it Nirvana. Christians call it Heaven. I think that the Calvinists are saying that enlightenment, if it exists, is found here on Earth. Only a few will ever achieve it -- but one major obstacle to doing so is this fixation on a "pie-in-the-sky" heaven, whose sole qualification is a statement of devotion and not being a terrible person in life.
It should be hard to attain transcendence, and involve surrendering pride and materialism. But it should be attainable.
However judgement is reserved for God. It is not for you or me to judge any other individual as worthy of heaven or not. Only that individual could possibly have an inkling.
A lot of it is how you TRULY see yourself. Think about it. Would YOU let you into heaven, despite all your petty lies, your selfish moments, your imperfections?
Then you can choose to wipe the slate of your past clean -- make amends w/ those you have wronged and forgive yourself for each wrong.
Then you have a clean slate. The Christians would call this being "born-again." Buddhists might call it the beginning of your meditation.
Going forward you must strive to be the best person you can be. You'll find that you are living in accord w/ many of the tenants of the Great religions.
Certain restrictions in the Bible, like the restriction against homosexuality, are more accurately restrictions against letting lust dominate your life, or exploiting a fellow human being. In many ways you'll TRANSCEND the morality of the old texts, because they are ancient and tied to the values of the humans who interpreted the wisdom they represent back then.
If you live a genuinely good, honest life, you may find enlightenment, and you will have wrestled the demon of your discontent into submission. You can never completely banish it, but you can control it.
By doing so, you will reap the reward of heaven EVEN IN LIFE. You will be able to face the after-life knowing that you lived a fulfilling life. That is heaven.
Kublai-Khan
Prince
I believe that man is free to do evil, you can choose in wich way you will go too hell, that is our only freedom.
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