The Philosophy Thread (Take Two)

[Garneta]

Yeah, I second that, Jonnie. Just to hang out with him under no pressure, would've been pretty neat.

People seem these days to see him as being so holy and all that (it seems to me a lot of times that many of them [from the way they talk] see him as being not really as being the son of god, but above god) that they forget that underneath it all, he was just a guy trying his best to do what he thought was right.

[Ciararavenblaze]

hey, if he was the son of God, then he WAS half human. I'm tellin' ya...

I bet you the man scrapped as a kid just as much as the other boys did. I bet you! of course, he grew out of it (as most men do), I'm sure of that too... but...

well, I'm also sure that his Godly half and human half conflicted CONSTANTLY. poor guy.

[Ruby Falls]

One thing that amazes me about Jesus was His strength. Very few people could survive what he was put through.

[Ciararavenblaze]

definitely.

have any of you ever seen Waking Life? I strongly suggest you do, and then report back to me in here--it's a PERFECT movie for this thread.

[Ruby Falls]

Has anybody else ever wondered why "damn" and "hell" are less offensive compared to "fuck" or "shit"? It seems like it ought to be the other way around.

[Ciararavenblaze]

when putting it into context of "damning someone to hell", you'd think so.

I personally, though, think that to deem a word offensive is... what's the point?

[Jonmisc]

As I understand it, "fuck" and "shit" are more offensive (these days, at least) because they refer to bodily functions. I don't know of any sources to cite to back that up, though; if I remember to, I'll try to look it up when I get back home.

[Ciararavenblaze]

that's what I was told too... but I don't understand why bodily functions are considered offensive, either--it's something that every human and animal does. why the shame?

on a side note, I read somewhere that humans are the only species that will find a place to have privacy in order to have sex. and apparently, this is NOT due to, say, religious shame--rather it's just... ingrained in us for some reason to go somewhere private to do it.

[Ruby Falls]

Purgatory: what do you think?

[Ciararavenblaze]

Purgatory? yeah... I DEFINITELY like that concept a WHOLE lot better than "oops, you screwed up and you didn't even know it. you're goin' to HELL!"

I love the idea of working off your sins before you get to go to Heaven way more. it just seems so much more fair.

[Garneta]

So, about the whole dying thing...I think that the reason I don't cry about death (I didn't even cry when either of my grandmas died) is that it's final. That's that, it's over, kaput, it's a wrap, etc...Nothing I can do to change it, so why cry about it?

I did cry at Jim's great grandma's funeral...but it wasn't because she'd died. As bad as this sounds on my part...I didn't care about that (It's not like I didn't like her or anything, but it's like I said...it was over). It's just that the way everyone else was acting (like Jim's brother, for example...he was crying) just made me so uncomfortable that I started crying a bit myself.

Hm..don't really know where I was going with this post. Er...I guess; how do you guys react to death?

[Ruby Falls]

Honestly? I'm terrified of death. I know it's irrational, I know I'm Christian, and I know it's gonna happpen. Still, it's something I worry about a lot. It's the facing the unknown I don't like. Maybe if I had an idea of what happens after life I wouldn't be so scared. However, that would kind of ruin the idea of death, wouldn't it? Thankfully I have great friends that talk me out of my "holy crap, I'm gonna die" panic attacks. Rational people are good to have as friends.

[Ciararavenblaze]

I'm far more scared of how I'm going to die than I am of actually dying, to be honest...

I once wrote, "death is not the end of the book, it's the end of a chapter." that's how I feel about death ITSELF (though I did use to get terrified of it too when I was young) but dying is a different story. I'm scared of dying, because I'm scared of going in any way but peacefully and in my sleep, but I'm not scared of death.

[Garneta]

Actually, that's kinda how I am too Cyndi. I don't want it to be painful. If I somehow had the chance to know beforehand when and how I'd die, I would certainly turn it down...I don't wanna know. And one other thing...I want to be remembered. I'm more scared of not being remembered than I am of being gone.

[Ciararavenblaze]

we all (or at least, a lot of us) seem to want to, in some way, leave our mark on the world. a legacy of some kind. why do you think this is?

[Ruby Falls]

I think it's because death seems so final. We want to be remembered for doing something while we were alive. While I don't really care if I make a huge impact on the world, I want to make a difference for the better, no matter how small. I want to write the Great American Cult Novel, help save the environment, and/or make an impact on my community.

It's so ironic that so many people are remembered BECAUSE of their deaths. Think about it. Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr., Bobby Kennedy, Janis Joplin...
None of them would be nearly as famous if they were still alive or lead long lives.

[Ciararavenblaze]

even Kurt Cobain is remembered more for being dead (and the mysteries/controversies surrounding his death) than he is for strictly his music.

why do people (especially famous people) get bigger props in death than in life? think about people like... well... everybody. Kurt Cobain, Aaliyah, Left Eye from TLC... you get the idea.

[Ruby Falls]

Death is great press. People pay far more attention to a star that's destroying their live than a star that has a happy, successful career. Following that rule shows that death makes people most interested in celebrities. If Marilyn Monroe were still alive, she would be another Elizabeth Taylor. Successful in her time, but now a washed out, retired old woman. If JFK had lived to serve his term(s) as President, I doubt that he'd be revered as the great President he is today. Yes, he did some great things, but people don't seem to acknowledge that he had faults. People don't want to speak ill of the dead. As a result, we overglorify those that have passed away.

As sick as it sounds, we're all more interested in death than life.

[Ciararavenblaze]

I once heard someone refer to the type of Christians who protest Marilyn Manson shows (etc.) and say "you'll go to hell!" as Satanists... since they believe in the power of Satan and in hell, even if they say they're Christians.

does this make any sense to you guys?

[Ruby Falls]

I can see where the idea comes from, but it's not true. Christians acknowledge that Satan has power. If he didn't the world wouldn't be so screwed up and there would be no Adam and Eve story to tell. In some ways Satanism can be called a Christian denomination because they typically worship the Christian devil. However, Christians and Satanists are different. Christians pray to God for salvation from the devil.