Thread: Why are you philosophic?

I really got into philsophical thinking after seeing Waking Life for the first time (sometime shortly after it came out on DVD). It really opened my eyes to whole world of ideas and it presents them in such a way so that they are equal. No philosophy is any better or worse than another.

That 98 minutes of film changed my life in ways I'm only beginning to understand.

Originally posted by AirRick101

For years, I thought I had it all in psychology and philosophy, yet after all those years, I have these flashes and insights telling me \"Nothing ever really changed. *You've seen a lot, but you're still at the place you started from.\" *Ever have that feeling?

I used to have the feeling of not getting anywhere...Mostly when I believed Darwin's stuff, and even more when I was a Christian. Now a month after I adopted this idea: http://www.newsforthesoul.com/icke-may9-2005.htm my life is an ever-changing experience which I've never been happier with. This has made more sense to me in the last month than all the searching I had done before it, in my entire life combined, and the effects are manifesting themselves for me. It's like I can design each day for myself now. But it's gotta be full-on. A positive thought smeared with background doubt will continue getting us nowhere. We have to *know* this stuff. It's working for me on an individual level, so there's no reason it won't work on a mass scale.

I've always thought alot. I think I really started getting into philosophy because I was being introduced to a lot of religious concepts that were intersting to me, I also was very interested in politics because my parents were too. I really started to think alot about religious ideas as I figured they were the most important thing to think about.

Then I came to a question about my religion that noone could answer to my satisfaction, and no matter how much I tried I couldn't find a justification for it. I think it was the question of if god knows everything and is all powerful, then how can we have free will if he designed us and our surroundings knowing that we would "choose" to sin. That made sin God's fault and pretty much voided all of my religious beliefs.

That launched me on a fury of thought to try to find out what was true, to try to find a philisophical belief structure that could give me the security I had before. I soon discovered that there were absolutely none, and could be none, and so I am now trapped in a never ending attempt to find explanations for existance, never finding confidence in one.

It isn't as bad as it sounds though. It is extremely interesting, maybe even entertaining to think about these things, so my position is more of a blessing than a curse.

I questioned my religon for the first time....I never looked back(I found that everything in my religon is justifible)

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(\\\"Belisarius\\\")</div>

I've always thought alot. *I think I really started getting into philosophy because I was being introduced to a lot of religious concepts that were intersting to me, I also was very interested in politics because my parents were too. *I really started to think alot about religious ideas as I figured they were the most important thing to think about.

Then I came to a question about my religion that noone could answer to my satisfaction, and no matter how much I tried I couldn't find a justification for it. *I think it was the question of if god knows everything and is all powerful, then how can we have free will if he designed us and our surroundings knowing that we would \"choose\" to sin. *That made sin God's fault and pretty much voided all of my religious beliefs.

That launched me on a fury of thought to try to find out what was true, to try to find a philisophical belief structure that could give me the security I had before. *I soon discovered that there were absolutely none, and could be none, and so I am now trapped in a never ending attempt to find explanations for existance, never finding confidence in one.

It isn't as bad as it sounds though. *It is extremely interesting, maybe even entertaining to think about these things, so my position is more of a blessing than a curse.[/b]

with free will there must come evil.God knew this and made us anyway because he loves us.Now all god has to do is destory evil and every thing will be good.

I started to question things in my life, philosophically when I was about 13...My parents had never raised me to be of any religion, but I started experimenting. I went to a baptist church, and became a member. By this, I mean I was cornered by the minister and asked that most omnious question, "Are you saved?"..."Well, uh..no.." I replied timidly. I was too scared to deny his forceful nature, so rather than tell him I didn't want to be saved or baptized, I just went along with it. After that, I realized that Christianity was not for me. Plus....The idea that there was a dude up in the air, above everyone (as they taught literal interpretations there) deciding shit for everything, making planets and universes, was totally absurd!
I finally realised that if there is a God, I am God, and that everyone else and every other living thing was God....And the only place I could recieve forgiveness from my sins was from myself. That seems most logical to me. Anyway, after that, Dad started having me read Carlos Castaneda, and having discussions about them. I guess It flourished from there...

You gotta see that ministers are on an agenda, and the gestapo feeling can get to people. They have the monopoly on the most sensitive subject to most people, eternal life! Frankly, I think "Are you saved?" is too shallow and overused question that many pastors use. They don't try to get to know people first. I think this opinion rubbed off on a rather good friend of mine...

I went to a Christian elementary school, and I always argued with my mom how Bible was the most important class, and she always said math. Even if this was from a Christian standpoint, I only say that to reflect how my priorities were set on knowing truth

Originally posted by eyeofgames


with free will there must come evil.God knew this and made us anyway because he loves us.Now all god has to do is destory evil and every thing will be good.

Why is it necessary that evil comes with free will? Isn't sin caused? Why didn't he just design the earth so that there would be no evil? Isn't good and evil just relative, even when you factor in God's point of view, which is just as subjective as ours?

I don't want to start a debate with you, but as far as I'm concerned the logical basis for christianity is nonexistant. Of course you can justify everything, even the most illogical proposition can be justified, but what you can't do is find a justification for believing in it. I could say there is a giant invisible tea cup orbiting around jupiter and justify it by explaining that it is perfectly transparent, and that it was built by a race of super-intelligent aliens who visited our solar system millions of years ago. Any objection to this theory can be reasoned around, just as any objection to christianity can be. The problem is there is absolutely no reason to believe in a giant invisible teacup in the first place, just as there is absolutely no reason to believe in chrsitianity in the first place.

humans at one time did not know evil but the whole graden of eden thing changed that.If we did not have free will to not choose evil that would make us ignorant meat puppets of god.I dont know about you but I dont want to be a meat puppet

Yeah that is what makes faith faith because you dont know every thing you just have to belive.Ah well if Im worng Ill just be rencarnated so what do I have to worry about?And if Im right well ....YES!!!!

I wont start a debate so whatever