Honestly, i dont know if a god exists. i havent got a clue. but i want evidence before i will take a leap of blind faith. I am agnostic. have been fhe a while now. I am looking for the religion that i think best fits me. The reason is because i have looked at the world and i have realized what a terriable place it has become in the name of religion. But i havent had hope in something in a long time. And i can remember how happy i was when i had hope. (if anyone has any good ideas or sugestions im me, its in the profile)

Just, my ideas on deadh are.....diffrent. I have a theory that, when we are alive, our souls are in a "waiting room" of sorts. In this room is 2 doors. When you die, you must go through one of these two doors. one door, leads back to the room your in. But the other door does not. The other door leads to anouther room, with 2 more doors. And so on and so forth. This could explain reincarnation, heaven, hell, or really alot of the theories of where we go if you really want to think about it for a while.

i dont know what im talking about, im just a stupid idiot, and this is probally gunna get flamed, but i just felt like telling you all this idea.

I often hear people say "I believe that..." then say some stuff which basically seems to have been completely made up from scratch.

This has happened here today.

Duo - Why do you believe this? What evidence led you to create this hypothesis?



[This message has been edited by 256 (edited 05-22-2004).]

i just dont, in my mind, think that if god exists there would be such a huge mystery if what happens to us when we die. I thought, well, mabie the persons souls leave us forever when they want to move on. And for reincarnation they can come back if they want to. again, its just an idea that i have.

That isn't really an explanation, but it seems to boil down to: "I made it up and believe it becuase I want to."

I think this is something that you need to think out a bit more.

(Whoa, I sound like a complete asshole. but this is what I think, and I thought you should know).

isent that how most every religion started?

and, i said it was a theory i had, i didnt say i believe in it. i think it could be an answer. i agree that i need to think about it more, i want to think about alot of things alot more. but due to time restraints and haveing a life, i am unable to.

idont think you sound like an asshole, you just want to say what you think. thats what we are all here for

asshole....

So what? What's wrong with making up stuff and believing it because you want to? Personally, I think we need more fantasy, creativity, and imagination in the world.

Besides, didn't postmodern theory already expose rationality as a social construct, rather than The Ultimate Truth?

['Course, it also told us there is no truth.]

Duo, if you're interested in reading books, I might suggest that you check out some stuff by Alan Watts. He had graduate degrees in Christian theology (and was a minister in fact) but he wrote a great deal about Eastern religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, etc.). Many of his books contain ideas from various world religions and philosophies. He was also part of the counter-culture movement in the '60's and wrote about his spiritual experiences with LSD, mescaline, etc.

Books I recommend:

THE BOOK: On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

THE CULTURE OF COUNTER-CULTURE

THE WISDOM OF INSECURITY: A Message for an Age of Anxiety

THIS IS IT: And other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience

Despite the fact that he was an academic scholar, he wrote in a very easy, accessible (and humorous!) style. I've always been on a search for meaning and truth, and his books seem to give voice to the things I can't express.

Check him out!

quote:Originally posted by Duo:

I have a theory that, when we are alive, our souls are in a "waiting room" of sorts. In this room is 2 doors. When you die, you must go through one of these two doors. one door, leads back to the room your in. But the other door does not. The other door leads to anouther room, with 2 more doors. And so on and so forth. This could explain reincarnation, heaven, hell, or really alot of the theories of where we go if you really want to think about it for a while.



You're not a stupid idiot. I like what you wrote a lot.

I guess the way to go through the correct door is known as many things: Surrender to god, saying "yes" to the moment, finally confronting your deepest fear, etc.

Stepping through the correct door is terrifying to us because it's unknown, so we stick to what we know is reletively safe (The same old 1st door). But as we grow we become stronger, wiser and eventually we have the guts to take "The leap of faith". We step through the second door and all the answers are revealed.

Everything you need to know is already within you. You just need to search it out.



[This message has been edited by ---Beany--- (edited 05-22-2004).]

quote:Originally posted by Lolita:

So what? What's wrong with making up stuff and believing it because you want to? Personally, I think we need more fantasy, creativity, and imagination in the world.

Whoa, hold on here. Creativity and imagination is a good thing; believing things that you've made up to be true is a baaaad thing.

It's probably how we got into this whole religious mess in the first place.

And Beany, you're just creepy.

quote:Originally posted by Craftian:

Whoa, hold on here. Creativity and imagination is a good thing; believing things that you've made up to be true is a baaaad thing.

It's probably how we got into this whole religious mess in the first place.



Not necessarily. It all depends on how far you take your beliefs. If Duo starts killing people and blowing up buildings because of his afterlife theory, then, yes, that's a bad thing. But if he keeps it simply as "an idea," what's the harm in it?

No one has any idea why we're here or why *anything* is here. Existence is totally non-sensical. No one knows the WHY of existence (or if there is one), so in essence all beliefs about that "why" are non-sensical. It simply depends on how far you take it (i.e. I believe this, so everyone else must believe this as well). All beliefs can be turned into hatred and violence, even agnosticism.

quote:What's wrong with making up stuff and believing it because you want to?

Uh, have you ever thought about why we need something to believe at all? It is to fill a conceptual space in our minds - to explain reality as it is.

So to explain things, you have to look at what is there, and create a hypothesis based on the facts, then-

Wait...

This is a waste of my time.

Believe whatever you want.

Even if reality is nonsensical, why would you want to believe something that isn't true?

quote:Originally posted by 256:

Uh, have you ever thought about why we need something to believe at all? It is to fill a conceptual space in our minds - to explain reality as it is.

So to explain things, you have to look at what is there, and create a hypothesis based on the facts, then-

Wait...

This is a waste of my time.

Believe whatever you want.

Did you see my post in a previous thread where I simply said "Beliefs are overrated"? Apparently not.

quote:Originally posted by Craftian:

Even if reality is nonsensical, why would you want to believe something that isn't true?

I didn't say *I* wanted to believe in something that wasn't true. In most matters, I am quite skeptical.

Even on "Truth"....what is "Truth"?