Isn't Ignorance Bliss?

[michel]

But in my experience, people who fall back on faith report, without exception, being strengthened in ways they never could on their own. When my ex-girlfriend died I was without a doubt strengthened. It was contrasted against the grief of an athiest friend who (ironically enough) lost her fiance a week later. She turned to alcohol, had some idiot dude move in with her, and completely lost control of her two kids. I never saw her again save she was in a drunken depressed stupor. Granted others fair much better on their own, my faith turned my life around for the better, while her lack thereof destroyed it.

I'm afraid, I'll tend to disagree there; coping with Death is a very personal and 'singular' event for any individual. I could in fact recount the story of my best friend who died ( I was a Christian at the time) I grieved greatly; his wife and daughter were horrified when I cried at finding out that he was dead - they were atheists.

 

[cardero]

Isn't Ignorance Bliss?
Not in accordance to the laws of our state it isn’t but when figuring out the day and time of our death, ignorance comes in quite handy.

 

[MdmSzdWhtGuy]

I'm impressed that, as a child of 9 or 10, you realized how totally illogical this reasoning was. Obviously, God would not be very just if He were to punish people for having had the misfortune to be born at the wrong time and in the wrong place. .

Thank you for what I perceive to have been a compliment, but spiritually speaking that ability to reason and deduce logically has been a huge burden to me. I want to beleive, I wish I could, I acknowledge how much easier my life would be if I could buy into the whole religion thing, but that same part of me which allowed/forced me to that conclusion at age 10(ish) has also not allowed me to accept the vast amount of other theological dogma which violates rationality.

If anyone knows a cure for this, and I ask this in all seriousness, I would love for them to point it out to me. I want to buy into Christianity, but for me personally, I would have to lay aside my ability to reason in order to do that.

I am thankful I was born with above average intellect, but in a spiritual sense, I don't know if it is worth it. If I could just buy into this stuff without examing it, I would no doubt be happier, albeit deluded. But delusion probably gets a bad rap. If a person beleives something false, but they are happy and not harming anyone else with that beleif, how is that a bad thing? My problem has always been 2 fold. I can't beleive it, no matter how much I try, and I don't think that these beliefs are NOT harmful to others. 9-11, Inquisition, etc. . .

B.

 

[Aqualung]

If anyone knows a cure for this, and I ask this in all seriousness, I would love for them to point it out to me. I want to buy into Christianity, but for me personally, I would have to lay aside my ability to reason in order to do that.

Well, some christian sects are more logical than others...

By they way, where the heck did you get your name?! IT seems like a random jumbling of letters, but I'm sure I'm missing something?

 

[MdmSzdWhtGuy]

LOL, re: name. It is a private joke. But I will let you in on it. It is short for Medium Sized White Guy.

When I was in college I was a bouncer. The group of guys I bounced with had worked together for a few years before I came along. The MdmSzdWhtGuy thing came about before I came along, but it was a famous story and goes like thus:

One of our buddies was a huge black guy we all called "Wolf". Killer cool nickname, real name was Jeff, but that is besides the point. Wolf was 6 feet 6 inches tall, around 300 lbs, but was so athletic even at that size he played shortstop on a big time softball team. Absolute monster of a man. Well, anyways, one night the OU wrestling team comes down to the bar, and the whole squad gets into a fight with the bouncers. Wrestlers are some very tough cats, and it was real tough going, so Wolf, who was not a bouncer, but a friend to many of them, decides he is going to help out.

In the melee, he threw 3 punches and knocked out 3 very tough guys. After the fight settles down (out in the parking lot) he began to walk back inside. As he was walking inside one of the larger wrestlers (still much smaller than Wolf) was walking beside Wolf and mouthing off to him. Rather than turning and facing the guy, Wolf, almost nonchalantly, elbows this wrestler in the side of the head, and drops him like a sack of potatoes.

A buddy of mine, who was bartending at the place and witnessed the event was reagalling myself, and a few compatriots with this story, when one of the listners asked him the following question. "Wasn't Wolf worried when this 220 lb wrestler stepped up to him?"

Bartender's reply "Wolf isn't to impressed by a medium sized white guy"

We all fell out laughing and the phrase stuck. Since I happen to be a medium sized white guy, and love that story so much, I adopted it for my screen name.

There ya have it.

B.

 

[Aqualung]

Oh, okay! Now it will be so much easier to figure out which letters go where. They just seemed so random, and therefore I coulnd't remember that strange order in them. Good story, though. Now I won't have to continually scroll up and down andthink, "okay, an m, a d, and another m. what comes next? etc..."

 

[Bennettresearch]

But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Matthew 19:30
​

I think that this speaks very well of the question. Surely, anyone who would condemn somone else for not being a believer like themselves would surely by last in heaven. A Christian should be helpful when it is needed and offer Jesus to someone but not push it or make it some kind of threat. If I were surrounded by people like that I would probably want to be an atheist. Surely Jesus would shine on me for being persecuted in His name. Anyone know of a tent revival meeting where I can get some of that fire and brimstone?

 

[Bennettresearch]

I'm sorry that not everyone wishes to believe stories pumped inot them from birth...
I'm sorry that not everyone wants to subject themselves to a religion which preaches brotherhood on sunday and practices it on no day,
I'm sorry that the disease hasn't quite spread that far yet,
I'm sorry that those of us who are uninfected by this disease haven't been 'saved'...
I'm so sorry.

Well Ernesto,

I am wondering just what religion you are talking about? I'm sorry you have had such negative experiences with it. Maybe some holier than thou (ugh) religious people mugged you when you were young but I must object to calling religion a disease or even a meme complex. In this country that allows an atheist to live their life, people have more choice now than ever. It is not something that is forced on them or even programmed into them. Old world viewpoints still abound in different parts of this country but they don't represent the majority.

 

[constantine]

Well, that was the point of the thread. Keep everybody ignorant, so nobody sins. Except I think you're still sinning if you go against what your concience says is right.

compared to all other creations of god, we are the most ignorant of any species that shares the planet.

and if you preach to others that theyre going to hell if they dont follow your beliefs,
then you should hope .... god believes .....ignorance is bliss.

 

[michel]

Well Ernesto,

I am wondering just what religion you are talking about? I'm sorry you have had such negative experiences with it. Maybe some holier than thou (ugh) religious people mugged you when you were young but I must object to calling religion a disease or even a meme complex. In this country that allows an atheist to live their life, people have more choice now than ever. It is not something that is forced on them or even programmed into them. Old world viewpoints still abound in different parts of this country but they don't represent the majority.

Ernesto,

I have to agree with Bennetresearch on this one; it does indeed sound as if your introduction to religion was not as good as it should have been; 'religion is a disease' is indeed a very sad way of seeing religion, and is a tad harsh, IMO.

Good post Bennetresearch.

compared to all other creations of god, we are the most ignorant of any species that shares the planet.

and if you preach to others that theyre going to hell if they dont follow your beliefs,
then you should hope .... god believes .....ignorance is bliss.

I agree with your first sentence (I don't know about 'most' but I agree we are certainly no where near 'the top'.)

"and if you preach to others that theyre going to hell if they dont follow your beliefs" - I must admit I am not sure what you answered, but from your tone, I think you mean "May God be merciful for your attitude" - if that is so, I agree wholeheartedly.

 

[Aqualung]

compared to all other creations of god, we are the most ignorant of any species that shares the planet.

and if you preach to others that theyre going to hell if they dont follow your beliefs,
then you should hope .... god believes .....ignorance is bliss.

I DON'T preach to others that if they don't follow my beleifs they will go to hell!!!

 

[angellous_evangellous]

Yes. Ignorance is bliss. But education brings freedom (Epictetus).

 

[michel]

I DON'T preach to others that if they don't follow my beleifs they will go to hell!!!

Good; neither do I.....

 

[Bennettresearch]

I DON'T preach to others that if they don't follow my beleifs they will go to hell!!!

Hi Aqualung,

Good RIGHT thinking! (ooh, I can see it now, they are all going to want to come into this thread and beat up on bennett again).

 

[michel]

Hi Aqualung,

Good RIGHT thinking! (ooh, I can see it now, they are all going to want to come into this thread and beat up on bennett again).

Why should 'they' want to do that ?

 

[Bennettresearch]

If anyone knows a cure for this, and I ask this in all seriousness, I would love for them to point it out to me. I want to buy into Christianity, but for me personally, I would have to lay aside my ability to reason in order to do that.

Hi whatever your name is,

The answer to this should be quite simple. Who says that the only way to study the Spirit is through religious dogma? When studying the Spirit, one is not supposed to put their intelligence on hold and go into a state of superstitious faith. If you looked hard enough you could find the Spirit and you could apply your reason and intelligence to it. I think that you would find that a lot of Christians don't live in the dark ages.

 

[Bennettresearch]

Why should 'they' want to do that ?

Hi Michel,

It has been my experience that if one calls themselves a conservative, someone always comes out of the woodwork to try and pound on you. :biglaugh: