A Question of Faith

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Gary Childress
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A Question of Faith

Post by Gary Childress »

What would you say is your overall belief in the course of human history? Putting aside for a moment potential finality in the Universe, do you think the world (meaning human civilization or whatever) is evolving in some direction (that it is getting better at something in some respect) or do you think the world is simply in a steady state, that it will always be more or less the same as it always has been? Or do you perhaps believe (Platonically perhaps) that it is DEVOLVING from something that was a better state into a worse one? Or how would you personally characterize human history and our prospects for the future?

Or perhaps to put it into other words, where would you rather be right now? Would you rather be living at some point in the past, present, future or would you rather not be at all? Or are you living in a fantasy world that seems to be serving you well at the moment?

My answer: I really don't know anymore what to think. Part of me wants to believe that my life still holds some things worth living for. The other part of me points out that there is probably very little evidence for that belief. Perhaps I am just a dead branch on the tree of evolution and that's it. Perhaps the grass really is greener somewhere else. But over here, in this part of the world, it's pretty dreary. I live out of habit but if I stopped existing tomorrow, I feel like I wouldn't really be missing out on anything special or worthwhile. If I had one wish, it would be for things to change for the better for me. But perhaps therein lies at least a part of the problem, that I have become a "me" and not an "us". Perhaps, in part due to the fact that I don't want to include others in my world of despair. And by not including others in my despair I only despair more.

I wish I had God in my world, but it's difficult to worship or praise God when one is in the deepest of despair because, in the end, the buck falls on God. If I am in despair then the buck stops with my creator. Why did God create so little hope in my life? What did I do to deserve it? Is God angry because I do not worship him? And if that is the case, then how can I worship a being who would destroy my life in order to gain my worship or else out of spite that I do not worship it? The more God destroys my life, the less I feel prone to worship it.
trokanmariel
Posts: 708
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2018 3:35 am

Re: A Question of Faith

Post by trokanmariel »

Gary Childress wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 12:37 pm What would you say is your overall belief in the course of human history? Putting aside for a moment potential finality in the Universe, do you think the world (meaning human civilization or whatever) is evolving in some direction (that it is getting better at something in some respect) or do you think the world is simply in a steady state, that it will always be more or less the same as it always has been? Or do you perhaps believe (Platonically perhaps) that it is DEVOLVING from something that was a better state into a worse one? Or how would you personally characterize human history and our prospects for the future?

Or perhaps to put it into other words, where would you rather be right now? Would you rather be living at some point in the past, present, future or would you rather not be at all? Or are you living in a fantasy world that seems to be serving you well at the moment?

My answer: I really don't know anymore what to think. Part of me wants to believe that my life still holds some things worth living for. The other part of me points out that there is probably very little evidence for that belief. Perhaps I am just a dead branch on the tree of evolution and that's it. Perhaps the grass really is greener somewhere else. But over here, in this part of the world, it's pretty dreary. I live out of habit but if I stopped existing tomorrow, I feel like I wouldn't really be missing out on anything special or worthwhile. If I had one wish, it would be for things to change for the better for me. But perhaps therein lies at least a part of the problem, that I have become a "me" and not an "us". Perhaps, in part due to the fact that I don't want to include others in my world of despair. And by not including others in my despair I only despair more.

I wish I had God in my world, but it's difficult to worship or praise God when one is in the deepest of despair because, in the end, the buck falls on God. If I am in despair then the buck stops with my creator. Why did God create so little hope in my life? What did I do to deserve it? Is God angry because I do not worship him? And if that is the case, then how can I worship a being who would destroy my life in order to gain my worship or else out of spite that I do not worship it? The more God destroys my life, the less I feel prone to worship it.

I have a conundrum myself: to recognise nationalism, and so the glamour aristocracy goes away, versus the data publication model needing glamour's logic.

It would appear, that the simple solution is to connect cynicism to the latter.
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