uahphysics 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 This was an idea I had a while ago and I thought maybe you guys would enjoy discussing it.and*gasp*it has nothing to do with whether or not God exists.There are already too many threads for discussing that.My idea is: Regardless of your beliefs on God, whether or not you believe any afterlife exists, I think most people in the world(or maybe even everybody for that matter) could benefit a lot from learning and incorporating the teachings of Jesus Christ into their life. Link to post Share on other sites
Canada 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 This was an idea I had a while ago and I thought maybe you guys would enjoy discussing it.and*gasp*it has nothing to do with whether or not God exists.There are already too many threads for discussing that.My idea is: Regardless of your beliefs on God, whether or not you believe any afterlife exists, I think most people in the world(or maybe even everybody for that matter) could benefit a lot from learning and incorporating the teachings of Jesus Christ into their life.1) Try telling that to a homosexual2) If you need a book to tell you what your morals are I feel very sorry for you Link to post Share on other sites
DonkSlayer 1 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I think Jesus offers a fine philosophy on life regardless of whether you believe in his divinity or not. Link to post Share on other sites
LongLiveYorke 38 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Regardless of your beliefs on God, whether or not you believe any afterlife exists, I think most people in the world(or maybe even everybody for that matter) could benefit a lot from learning and incorporating the teachings of Jesus Christ into their life.As long as you read his teachings the way you would read Kant's or Nietzsche's and ignore the whole son of God stuff. Link to post Share on other sites
WrongWay 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Sure, Jesus is said to have taught some okay things.... like:Turn the other cheak.He free of sin throw the first stone.Don't look at another person with lust in your heart. That is the same as adultry.Divorce ONLY if the spouse commits adultry.... fortunatly, adultry is looking at another person lustfully.... so that is pretty much everyoe that isn't blind.If someone sues you and wants your shirt, give him your coat also.Don't try to be rich.Don't worry, be happy. "Don't be a farmer or worry about where your next meal is coming from. Don't be concerned with fashion."Oh, I love this one:Pray in secret When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. But, what about the teachings of Tao (Dao)?Be like water.... live in cooperation with nature, help things grow, help clean things up.Be like nature... Build your house on solid ground, be kind, be truthful, be fair, be focused on what you are doing.Be aware of what you are doing and what effects it will have.Rather than being a fixed teaching that fits the world as it was 2000 years ago, Taoism is a changing philosophy that teaches us how to live a happy and successful life. If there is a God and an afterlife, AND if Christianity has it right, then following Jesus is better.... but those are HUGE ifs.Absent God and afterlife, I think there are MUCH, MUCH better philosophies. Link to post Share on other sites
zzz 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Absent God and afterlife, I think there are MUCH, MUCH better philosophies.Lol, that doesn't make any sense to me. How is believing you will live 80yrs a better philosophy than believing in living forever? Have a nice day! Link to post Share on other sites
Canada 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Lol, that doesn't make any sense to me. How is believing you will live 80yrs a better philosophy than believing in living forever? Have a nice day!I have found something that I can agree on with Loismustdie. Adding zzz to my ignore list is an optomistic thing. Link to post Share on other sites
zzz 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I agree with the OP. However, I think that Buddha and Gandhi among others are equally good examples on how to live a happy life. Have a nice day! I have found something that I can agree on with Loismustdie. Adding zzz to my ignore list is an optomistic thing.Sorry that you are so easily annoyed. Have a nice day! Link to post Share on other sites
chrisuk_sw 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 My idea is: Regardless of your beliefs on God, whether or not you believe any afterlife exists, I think most people in the world(or maybe even everybody for that matter) could benefit a lot from learning and incorporating the teachings of Jesus Christ into their life.I don't think any right minded person would disagree with some of the way cool stuff that Jesus said: in Matthew 5, for example, he says:- blessed are the poor, mourners, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the peacemakers and the persecutedall good. But then he saysMatthew 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.He is coming to fulfill the law (OT law). Yowch. I'm not down with that, J-Boy. And in the next 2 passages he says you cannot change those laws. And what's up withMatthew 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.Matthew 5:30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.Those are teachings I don't believe benefit us. Do you think we should learn and incorporate all of the teachings or just some? Link to post Share on other sites
zzz 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I don't think any right minded person would disagree with some of the way cool stuff that Jesus said: in Matthew 5, for example, he says:- blessed are the poor, mourners, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the peacemakers and the persecutedall good. But then he saysMatthew 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.He is coming to fulfill the law (OT law). Yowch. I'm not down with that, J-Boy. And in the next 2 passages he says you cannot change those laws. And what's up withMatthew 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.Matthew 5:30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.Those are teachings I don't believe benefit us. Do you think we should learn and incorporate all of the teachings or just some?Very good point you brought up. I know people will disagree, but the fact is, Jesus was part human. He wasn't perfect. Have a nice day! Link to post Share on other sites
uahphysics 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Author Share Posted November 8, 2006 I don't think any right minded person would disagree with some of the way cool stuff that Jesus said: in Matthew 5, for example, he says:- blessed are the poor, mourners, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the peacemakers and the persecutedall good. But then he saysMatthew 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.He is coming to fulfill the law (OT law). Yowch. I'm not down with that, J-Boy. And in the next 2 passages he says you cannot change those laws. And what's up withMatthew 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.Matthew 5:30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.Those are teachings I don't believe benefit us. Do you think we should learn and incorporate all of the teachings or just some?You bring up some really good points, and I don't even pretend to have all the answers. I'm glad you brought up Matthew 5, because that's one of the biggest things I had in mind when I made this thread. Those last two passages you brought up, in all honesty, confuse the crap out of me. The one thing I've been able to come up with in my own mind(and I'm sure I'll catch a lot of flack for this) is that the passages stand to teach people about sacrificing worldy desire and temptation in order to keep your whole body and soul spiritually clean(which if you don't believe Jesus is the son of God and don't believe in an afterlife, these wouldn't really mean much to you) I think this message is a good one for Christians, and it can be applied to much larger aspects of human behavior, the biggest one in my mind being sexual desire.As far as your last question, I think using all of his teachings would be a little extreme, mainly because I don't try and convert people to Christianity, and some of his teachings deal explicitly with worship and how to keep your soul clean for the afterlife. I think Matthew 5 specifically contains a lot of great ideals that could benefit a lot of people greatly, regardless of their views on the afterlife, but obviously not all of the ideas(when presented solely as philosophy and not the basis of a religion so to speak) apply to all people. wow, that was very long-winded, sorry for that. I'd also like to thank you for bringing up some great points and making this into a somewhat interesting discussion. And thanks to everyone else who gave some great responses without reverting to attacks. Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 This was an idea I had a while ago and I thought maybe you guys would enjoy discussing it.and*gasp*it has nothing to do with whether or not God exists.There are already too many threads for discussing that.My idea is: Regardless of your beliefs on God, whether or not you believe any afterlife exists, I think most people in the world(or maybe even everybody for that matter) could benefit a lot from learning and incorporating the teachings of Jesus Christ into their life.um no.As long as you read his teachings the way you would read Kant's or Nietzsche's and ignore the whole son of God stuff.because of this. How can you believe anyone who is a huge liar? If Jesus isn't the son of God, he's a totally immoral person and shouldn't be followed at all. Everything he said would be totally worthless. Link to post Share on other sites
chrisuk_sw 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Those last two passages you brought up, in all honesty, confuse the crap out of me. The one thing I've been able to come up with in my own mind(and I'm sure I'll catch a lot of flack for this) is that the passages stand to teach people about sacrificing worldy desire and temptation in order to keep your whole body and soul spiritually clean... it can be applied to much larger aspects of human behavior, the biggest one in my mind being sexual desire. Matthew 5:30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.Ahhhh I see now what sins you get up to with your "right hand" Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I have found something that I can agree on with Loismustdie. Adding zzz to my ignore list is an optomistic thing.QFTVery good point you brought up. I know people will disagree, but the fact is, Jesus was part human. He wasn't perfect. Have a nice day!WTF!?!? You have no idea what you're talking about. Please let me in on the sins that he committed. Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites
zzz 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 um no.because of this. How can you believe anyone who is a huge liar? If Jesus isn't the son of God, he's a totally immoral person and shouldn't be followed at all. Everything he said would be totally worthless.Lol, That is one of the most ignorant statements I have ever heard. So if Jesus isn't the son of God then his philosophy is totally worthless? Have a nice day!QFTWTF!?!? You have no idea what you're talking about. Please let me in on the sins that he committed. Thanks.Lol, if you admit that he was part human then, logically, he would be part flawed. The bible doesn't really list his "sins". Only imperfect people have negative emotions like anger or sadness. Have a nice day! Link to post Share on other sites
solderz 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 If there is a God and an afterlife, AND if Christianity has it right, then following Jesus is better.... but those are HUGE ifs.Actually, I would disagree. The christians form of heaven is horrible. The boredom would drive me completely insane within a few short years i am sure. So for me it would be best to worship satan if Christianity has it right, since I would want to go to hell anyway, and I could have a lot more fun doing satanic orgies and such while I'm alive (couldn't actually kill anything since I do have ethics and would like others to avoid misery), but a good old fashioned orgy is always nice.Lol, That is one of the most ignorant statements I have ever heard. So if Jesus isn't the son of God then his philosophy is totally worthless? Have a nice day!Lol, if you admit that he was part human then, logically, he would be part flawed. The bible doesn't really list his "sins". Only imperfect people have negative emotions like anger or sadness. Have a nice day!Lol, imperfect person be you. Have a nice day! Link to post Share on other sites
zzz 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Lol, imperfect person be you. Have a nice day!Really? I didn't know that! Have a nice day! Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Lol, That is one of the most ignorant statements I have ever heard. So if Jesus isn't the son of God then his philosophy is totally worthless! Have a nice day!Lol, if you admit that he was part human then, logically, he would be part flawed. The bible doesn't really list his "sins". Only imperfect people have negative emotions like anger or sadness. Have a nice day!You are completely wrong. Except for the bolded part... that is correct. Link to post Share on other sites
zzz 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 You are completely wrong. Except for the bolded part... that is correct.Lol, Sorry, perfect people don't experience negative emotions. Have a nice day! Link to post Share on other sites
timwakefield 68 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 There are 2 ways to interpret Jesus saying that he is God's son: one is that he is the literal son of the Lord, born of immaculate conception. The other is that he was trying to say that EVERYBODY is a son of God in that God created the world and everything in it. Either way really I think it's certainly possible for people to apply Jesus's teachings to their own life in a non-religious way. But like other people have said, the same could be said about many many other religious and philosophical thinkers. I don't think that his teachings, viewed non-religiously, are stronger or more applicable than those of many others. Link to post Share on other sites
MDXS 0 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 because of this. How can you believe anyone who is a huge liar? If Jesus isn't the son of God, he's a totally immoral person and shouldn't be followed at all. Everything he said would be totally worthless.Surely the ideas can be considered on their own merit regardless of the source being a huge liar. No need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 There are 2 ways to interpret Jesus saying that he is God's son: one is that he is the literal son of the Lord, born of immaculate conception. The other is that he was trying to say that EVERYBODY is a son of God in that God created the world and everything in it. Either way really I think it's certainly possible for people to apply Jesus's teachings to their own life in a non-religious way. But like other people have said, the same could be said about many many other religious and philosophical thinkers. I don't think that his teachings, viewed non-religiously, are stronger or more applicable than those of many others.No other religious philosophical claimed to be God. I surely wouldn't personally consider following anything Bill Clinton or Mark Foley said I should. I would just laugh about it. Surely the ideas can be considered on their own merit regardless of the source being a huge liar. No need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.I understand what you're getting at... but I certainly disagree. I could not ever base my morals on a liar's opinions.Lol, Sorry, perfect people don't experience negative emotions. Have a nice day!What the crap are you talking about? If you're perfect then you don't experience life? Wow... do you even think before you type? The issue is what you do with your emotions when they happen. Emotions are not ever negative, but your response to said emotions is the only thing that matters. Link to post Share on other sites
zzz 0 Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Emotions are not ever negativeLol. So anger isn't negative, happiness isn't positive? Have a nice day! Link to post Share on other sites
brvheart 1,752 Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Lol. So anger isn't negative, happiness isn't positive? Have a nice day!correct. Anger can be good... and happiness can be bad. What if you killed someone and were happy, is that positive? What if people were selling items inside a church in order to get rich off of worshippers by ripping them off, would anger towards them be negative? Link to post Share on other sites
Loismustdie 0 Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 I have found something that I can agree on with Loismustdie. Adding zzz to my ignore list is an optomistic thing. Common ground, baby. Link to post Share on other sites
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