Abramelin Posted June 1, 2021 #601 Share Posted June 1, 2021 God, he says, either wishes to take away evils, and is unable; or He is able, and is unwilling; or He is neither willing nor able, or He is both willing and able. If He is willing and is unable, He is feeble, which is not in accordance with the character of God; if He is able and unwilling, He is envious, which is equally at variance with God; if He is neither willing nor able, He is both envious and feeble, and therefore not God; if He is both willing and able, which alone is suitable to God, from what source then are evils? Or why does He not remove them? ~ Epicurus. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Walker Posted June 3, 2021 #602 Share Posted June 3, 2021 On 5/27/2021 at 10:36 AM, cormac mac airt said: Not so much as the study by Whitehouse, et al. evaluated records from 414 societies from 30 regions around the world that span the past 10,000 years of human history, making it the most comprehensive study to date negating your claim. That’s NOT how you framed it since you specifically said: So you DID present it as a statement of fact. It wasn’t. While religion was an important aspect of early civilizations it WAS NOT the sole driving force behind the origin of same. Actually not so much. cormac Now believe is true but its a statement of their beliefs not of a fact Despite the interesting research you sourced, the overwhelming modern academic opinion is that religions evolved from individual spiritual beliefs, which in turn evolved from humans need to explain the questions that arose in a self aware mind Religions gave the psychological effect of joining people with other- wise different backgrounds and th us enabling them to trust each other and work together The two probably evolved together given that, for a religion to evolve it requires a larger group of individuals who agree to believe the same thing. However, well before cities, humans demonstrated evidences of ritualised behaviour which forms the basis of religious practice eg native Australians have complex religious beliefs but never developed civilizations Ps I never said "sole" it was, however, almost certainly one of the prime drivers for major building constructions and projects like irrigation eg Stone henge and other ancient megaliths seemed to have combined several purposes such as a solar calendar, burial or meeting places but underneath was the religious one which, in those, days underlay EVERY aspect of human life There was no such thing as science or knowledge independent from faith/ belief Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Walker Posted June 3, 2021 #603 Share Posted June 3, 2021 On 6/2/2021 at 3:41 AM, Abramelin said: God, he says, either wishes to take away evils, and is unable; or He is able, and is unwilling; or He is neither willing nor able, or He is both willing and able. If He is willing and is unable, He is feeble, which is not in accordance with the character of God; if He is able and unwilling, He is envious, which is equally at variance with God; if He is neither willing nor able, He is both envious and feeble, and therefore not God; if He is both willing and able, which alone is suitable to God, from what source then are evils? Or why does He not remove them? ~ Epicurus. That is based on Epicurus's cultural understanding of the nature, attributes and motivations of a god, and of humanity's relationship with such an entity. If god could end evil (ie the purposefully destructive behaviour by humans) by ending human free will, he would be an evil person if he chose to end our free will. When we do evil it is always OUR responsibility, and WE are the only ones who can do anything about it. God can guide, educate teach, protect etc., but cant force anyone to be good . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docyabut2 Posted June 3, 2021 #604 Share Posted June 3, 2021 On 4/21/2021 at 8:57 AM, Crazy Horse said: Why not? It cant be any worse than that monster called hate that you cherish so much nowadays. it is said that a soul did not want to enter life cause a miscarriage:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freez1 Posted June 3, 2021 #605 Share Posted June 3, 2021 Perhaps GOD wasted time on you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abramelin Posted June 3, 2021 #606 Share Posted June 3, 2021 8 hours ago, Mr Walker said: That is based on Epicurus's cultural understanding of the nature, attributes and motivations of a god, and of humanity's relationship with such an entity. If god could end evil (ie the purposefully destructive behaviour by humans) by ending human free will, he would be an evil person if he chose to end our free will. When we do evil it is always OUR responsibility, and WE are the only ones who can do anything about it. God can guide, educate teach, protect etc., but cant force anyone to be good . And that is of course based on *your* understanding of god, man, nature and whatnot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Walker Posted June 6, 2021 #607 Share Posted June 6, 2021 (edited) On 6/3/2021 at 8:31 PM, Abramelin said: And that is of course based on *your* understanding of god, man, nature and whatnot. True, of course, but then I (and you) know far far more then Epicurus did Even children/teenagers today have a wider knowldge base of science, maths, psychology, history, ecology biology geography etc. and greater understanding of themselves and their world, than any of the ancients. Most adults know even more, and certainly anyone with advanced education, who reads a lot, will have an even greater knowledge and understanding . That's because we all benefit from , and build upon, the wisdom of those who came before us, and since the internet have access to almost everything ever learned or discovered by others However if you choose to disagree with our personal responsibility for our thoughts and actions, or for taking responsibility for the consequences of them. I would be happy to listen. It also depends on one's definition of evil The corona virus is not evil. An earthquake is not evil Evil requires intent and is a choice made by an aware being. If a wolf eats you it is not evil, but if you kill an innocent for profit, greed, or out of anger/lust, then it is evil. Edited June 6, 2021 by Mr Walker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyche101 Posted June 10, 2021 #608 Share Posted June 10, 2021 On 5/31/2021 at 12:05 AM, Crazy Horse said: That's not how I see it.. My beliefs, theories, and ideas do change whenever any new insight comes to light. Yet I still test those ideas for myself, and whatever works, is adopted. I don't turn away from new ideas, but must try them for myself. Therefore I have no conclusions, only one goal, to know GOD for Self. Do you think those hippies would admit to being fleeced? Don't you think they had a goal in mind? That's the predetermined conclusion right there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Horse Posted June 11, 2021 Author #609 Share Posted June 11, 2021 On 6/10/2021 at 4:03 AM, psyche101 said: Do you think those hippies would admit to being fleeced? Don't you think they had a goal in mind? That's the predetermined conclusion right there. I expect some would admit to being fleeced, yes, if they could be bothered to travel all the way to India, I am guessing that they are dedicated enough to be honest with themselves, and see the whole thing as a learning curve. And that's assuming that every single one of them never met with any guru, teacher, who had something to impart. And maybe they did have some conclusions and assumptions to begin with, but I was talking about myself having only one goal in life, to know GOD, and that having any conclusions was a blockage to THAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Walker Posted June 12, 2021 #610 Share Posted June 12, 2021 17 hours ago, Crazy Horse said: I expect some would admit to being fleeced, yes, if they could be bothered to travel all the way to India, I am guessing that they are dedicated enough to be honest with themselves, and see the whole thing as a learning curve. And that's assuming that every single one of them never met with any guru, teacher, who had something to impart. And maybe they did have some conclusions and assumptions to begin with, but I was talking about myself having only one goal in life, to know GOD, and that having any conclusions was a blockage to THAT. While the Beatles formally renounced their association with "The Maharishi" , for example, after allegations of sexual impropriety with Mia Farrow, the y always valued what the had learned from him, and reconciled on learning that the allegations were unfounded 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Horse Posted June 12, 2021 Author #611 Share Posted June 12, 2021 8 hours ago, Mr Walker said: While the Beatles formally renounced their association with "The Maharishi" , for example, after allegations of sexual impropriety with Mia Farrow, the y always valued what the had learned from him, and reconciled on learning that the allegations were unfounded Every situation, person and experience in life may be used to increase ones understanding of the world, and life. If, one is open and peaceful enough to realise the lesson. In fact, some of the greatest lessons are also the harshest. And some of the greatest lessons are the most beautiful. And some just leave you speechless... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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