Mini-Profile
I hate debates, but I love dialectics.
Feel free to ask me any question =)
http://kupax.com/view/full/16763_fffyj
^ A picture of “bleeding hearts,” a type of flower found in various places near here.
I believe in God. I am an engineer, and rationality means a lot to me. But I have looked over philosophical arguments for years and I can understand the points on both sides. I have had to reach the conclusion that any claim that God’s existence or non-existence is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt is irrational. But also irrelevant.
For if God did exist, why would it matter? The only situation in which God’s existence matters is if God has an impact on our lives. And if so, that difference should be noticeable indeed. This is similar to a philosophy of Instrumentalism. I put my faith in the truth, and I believe that the truth always brings good to people. No illusion, no false thing, nothing untrue could ever bring lasting and deep good impacts to a person’s life. And so I pursue what is true, and therefore what is good for a person. And in my life, that has been God.
This is empirical evidence, if you will, because I consider all the other attempts to make any claims about God’s existence and non-existence as falling far short of compelling to my reason. Instead, I observe everyone’s lives and see if there is a person who is happier than I am, because perhaps they know the truth better than I do. But for years, I have only seen that deep contentment in Christians, and now in myself.
1. The longing to be happy is a universal human experience, and it is good, not sinful.
2. We should never try to deny or resist our longing to be happy, as though it were a bad impulse. Instead, we should seek to intensify
this longing and nourish it with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction.
3. The deepest and most enduring happiness is found only in God. Not from God, but in God.
4. The happiness we find in God reaches its consummation when it is shared with others in the manifold ways of love.
5. To the extent that we try to abandon the pursuit of our own pleasure, we fail to honor God and love people. Or, to put it positively:
The pursuit of pleasure is a necessary part of all worship and virtue. That is:
The chief end of man is to glorify God *by* enjoying Him forever. - John Piper
”When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person, you know that a man can have no vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him; and you are torn by the thought of the unhappiness and night you cast, by the mere fact of living, in the hearts you encounter.” - Albert Camus
“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about…when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” - C.S. Lewis
“It is odd to watch with what feverish ardor the Americans pursue prosperity and how they are ever tormented by the shadowy suspicion that they may not have chosen the shortest route to get it… They clutch everything but hold nothing fast, and so lose grip as they hurry after some new delight.” - Author Unknown
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired and success achieved.” - Helen Keller
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” - Author Unknown
“Weakness of attitude produces weakness of character.” - Albert Einstein
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?” - Micah 6:8
“No. Men should die for lies. But the truth is too precious to die for.” - Terry Pratchett
“God does not ask us to do great things. He asks us to do small things with Great Love.”- Mother Teresa
“You don’t need to find yourself. You need to lose yourself. You need to have something which transcends yourself in order to make your life meaningful, and that’s impossible if you’re constantly referring to yourself as the be all and end all of your existance.” –Dr. Theodore Dalrymple
“Dishonest people conceal their faults from themselves as well as others, honest people know and confess them.” ~ Christian Bovee.
”Fiat justitia, et pereat mundus. [Let there be justice, though the world perish]” - Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor.
“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” - James 1:26-27
What hobbies are you into?
Empathy, Healing
What causes are you concerned about today?
Ignorance, Lies, Manipulation, Destruction, Sadism
Which religion (if any) do you follow?
Christian. My relationship with God is the most important one I have, and it causes me to want to try to share the joy I have from Him with others. Even if I am not outright talking about God, I try to demonstrate the effect He can have on your life.
DarkSnow has 35 Friends – Here are 30 of them
AKA
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