Things What Do Baffle Me, Like

[DAISHI]

Originally Posted by Hayden

Edit: You know, if he was still a member of this forum, this thread would be an absolute haven for doodo! and his ramblings.

This was the first thing I thought, but why? Was otherworldly conscience caused us to have the same thought simultaneously?

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by thestalkinghead

can you imagine going to church every week and living your life by a certain set of rules that may be all made up (its like subscription mmo's) you invest so much in something that the idea of loosing it is worse than doing it(even if it kinda sucks), and seeing other people not having to live by an unclear and contradictory set of rules is just annoying (like if WoW had a free version that was exactly the same as the paid version but in the paid one you have to log on and enter a worship hall for at least an hour each week and live by a different set of rules to keep your paid subscription) so they want you to join them so they don't feel like an idiot plus the chance it's true and they would have saved you from hell(this one can actually be hard to argue with) so in conclusion its about wanting other people to live by the rules they live by and (if they genuinely believe) also some soul saving.

The only thing that I would add to this is that people are afraid of death and disorder. Pretty much every religion has something to say on those subjects. The idea that death isn't the end is incredibly appealing, as well as the idea of some sort of structure to the universe. When people don't believe in a religion and say so openly, it sows the seed of doubt into a religious person's mind and for an instant, they see the universe as a big, unforgiving, chaotic, disordered place... and it's terrifying.

It's like that thing in Hitchhiker's Guide that shows how important you are in proportion to the Universe and drives everyone insane because they're so insignificant. With God, nobody's insignificant, a person can face the void because they've got a special all-powerful being looking over their shoulder every day.

Then again, I'm finding myself to be something of a utilitarian nihilist, so my viewpoint may be slightly too depressing.

Originally Posted by Vainamoinen

Solid historiolinguistic answer, YES! YES!! Marry me!!

Errr, I mean,

For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,
No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;
And shame it is, if a prest take keep,
A shiten shepherde and a clene sheep.


Chaucer still seemed to use the word quite freely at the end of the fourteenth century. But then again, the Canterbury Tales' aim at high literature is sometimes wonder- and purposefully off.

You have no idea how much I was stressing over that post. Linguistics isn't really my field, but I find it fascinating and do spend a lot of time learning about the origin of words in a historical context (since I like history).

And Chaucer... well, he was trying to write something that people who weren't monks would be able to read, I believe. So it stands to reason that he'd use the colloquial language. I sometimes wonder if the super educated people of the time thought of his work the same way people think of Twilight and the like today...

[thestalkinghead]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

The only thing that I would add to this is that people are afraid of death and disorder. Pretty much every religion has something to say on those subjects. The idea that death isn't the end is incredibly appealing, as well as the idea of some sort of structure to the universe. When people don't believe in a religion and say so openly, it sows the seed of doubt into a religious person's mind and for an instant, they see the universe as a big, unforgiving, chaotic, disordered place... and it's terrifying.

It's like that thing in Hitchhiker's Guide that shows how important you are in proportion to the Universe and drives everyone insane because they're so insignificant. With God, nobody's insignificant, a person can face the void because they've got a special all-powerful being looking over their shoulder every day.

Then again, I'm finding myself to be something of a utilitarian nihilist, so my viewpoint may be slightly too depressing.

i'm just agnostic about everything, i believe a god is possible but the matrix is possible as well or that i am a non corporeal entity living in a non-physical reality and i invented the physical world to keep my mind occupied, i don't know what will happen when i die, i assume i will just rot, but if i do go to an afterlife and i go to hell because i didn't pick the specific religion that god is associated with, that god is an ass hole and i would want to work for the underworld

[JordyLicht]

Well, the only thing that really buffles me is religion and the fact that there are still people who believe in that crap.

But, on a lighter note (and to steal from my hero George Carlin): It baffles me that if you cut two crumbs in half, you get two crumbs, instead of two half crumbs...

[DAISHI]

Try to respect people's faiths and refrain from call them 'crap'.

[JordyLicht]

Oh, excuse me. Let me refrain, I think religion is a load of crap. This is my humble opinion and please feel free to disagree with me.
I do invite anyone to discuss this subject though, since it's baffling to me why anyone would stand behind a unproven theory which has fueled most major wars, has a 'world leader' behind it who thinks homosexual people are evil and bad for society, tries to ignore the raping of children, is supposed to be based on love even though there's allegedly a place where you will burn and suffer for eternity if you do not pray to the right god or break any of the set rules. And this is just the Western idea of 'righteousness'.

So, again, I'm truly sorry.

[Scnew]

I find the idea of religion pretty baffling as well, but I generally don't call it "crap" because I don't want to be an a-hole about it. The type of atheist that wants to shove his non-beliefs down someone's throat just as much as the worst evangelical baffles me even more. YOU ARE EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE AGAINST. WTF.

[JordyLicht]

I don't want to shove anything in anybody's throat, except for some x-rated stuff I won't discuss here.
I don't care if someone believes in god, jesus, the flying spaghetti monster or ron howard; I'm just really, REALLY curious why some people can still be religious. And I'm open to all arguments.
I was raised Christian until I was 13 years old and thought to myself: Wait a minute... A dude living in a fish? People walking through the desert for 40 days? Raining frogs? Women being inferior to men?
So yeah, that wasn't for me. BUT, I can also see that there are people who hang on to religion and even gives them hope. This is exactly the spot where I get lost.
Maybe I'm waaaaay too down-to-earth to even begin to understand spiritual things, but still.. I'm curious.

[Chyron8472]

Christianity is not about religion (ie. following rules), it's about having a relationship with God. Christians believe that no one has any chance whatsoever of even coming close to being worthy of being in his presence, and that God sent Jesus (that is to say, a human incarnaction of Himself--the only human incarnation of Himself) to become a sacrifice for our sin, as Jesus himself was without sin.

This makes completely logical sense to me, and if you want me to go into it further, I can.

It's not about religion. No simple following of rules will do any good whatsoever. In fact, Jesus heavily chastised the religious leaders of his day because following the rules for its own sake was all they cared about.

[JordyLicht]

Yeah, this is what I was thought as well. Until I began asking for some proof. As a child I actually lived in fear sometimes because of this system. I was told jesus had died for my sins, so I didn't have to suffer for them, but still the notion of hell existed. There were times I was absolutely terrified because I had no clue what was a sin and what wasn't. These actually seem to change over time, though. A long time ago eating meat on a Friday was a sin.
Do you personally believe in a hell, as a literal place?
And I know it's called a 'belief', because you have to believe it, even if there are no facts.
But what is the use of christianity or any other belief system? What are the benefits of 'having a relationship' with god? Is it just so you can go to heaven?
I am pretty certain you don't need god, christianity or any religion to understand sin and to know the difference between right and wrong.
Would a person who has lived his life only doing good and helping others still go to 'hell' if he chose not to believe in any religion?

[corruptbiggins]

Originally Posted by St_Eddie

Your bafflement at being baffled baffles me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CreCter7AS8

[St_Eddie]

The Bafflement of a Paranoid Ego-Maniac

I recently completed 'Puzzle Agent 2' and was surprised to find that there is a character in it named Ed Davis (who happens to be referred to as a bit of a loony). Whilst my name is spelled Davies (with an e), I couldn't help but wonder whether this name was a "homage" to myself. My whole life I've had people misspell my surname without the 'e', it's not too hard to imagine a developer doing the same.

Sure, I know that sounds egotistical and self-absorbed (and heck, it probably is) but it seems like a very strange name to use for the game's setting considering (to the best of my knowledge) that Davis (and Davies) are names of Welsh origin.

Do the developers even read these forums? If so then why would one of them make a reference to myself? Why am I so self-obsessed and neurotic?

It's most likely a coincidence but honestly stranger things have happened.

[Jennifer]

To ease your nerves: Davis is a very common last name in the United States. I'm sure it's just a mere coincidence.

[thestalkinghead]

Originally Posted by Chyron8472

Christianity is not about religion (ie. following rules), it's about having a relationship with God. Christians believe that no one has any chance whatsoever of even coming close to being worthy of being in his presence, and that God sent Jesus (that is to say, a human incarnaction of Himself--the only human incarnation of Himself) to become a sacrifice for our sin, as Jesus himself was without sin.

This makes completely logical sense to me, and if you want me to go into it further, I can.

It's not about religion. No simple following of rules will do any good whatsoever. In fact, Jesus heavily chastised the religious leaders of his day because following the rules for its own sake was all they cared about.

why do you want a relationship with some one who thinks you are unworthy of his presence? is it just the fear of hell? or is there some other reason you would want to suck up to a god i would define as not a nice person

[St_Eddie]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

To ease your nerves: Davis is a very common last name in the United States. I'm sure it's just a mere coincidence.

I'm both relieved and slightly disappointed all at the same time.

[Chyron8472]

I'm not sure about the "vocal" tone of the questions being asked of me.

I don't know if they are actually serious questions by people with genuine interest in what my faith means to me with an intent to learn more about it. In a way, it sounds more like a jab than a question, but given the nature of written text, the "tone of voice" in those posts escapes me.


In other words, I don't know if you're actually seeking a relationship with God. If you are seeking, then great. I'll talk about it. If you're not, and you want me to explain why you shouldn't think me ridiculous, then this really isn't the place nor do I feel up to it.

[thestalkinghead]

Originally Posted by Chyron8472

I'm not sure about the "vocal" tone of the questions being asked of me.

I don't know if they are actually serious questions by people with genuine interest in what my faith means to me with an intent to learn more about it. In a way, it sounds more like a jab than a question, but given the nature of written text, the "tone of voice" in those posts escapes me.


In other words, I don't know if you're actually seeking a relationship with God. If you are seeking, then great. I'll talk about it. If you're not, and you want me to explain why you shouldn't think me ridiculous, then this really isn't the place.

basically i am asking "what's the point of being religious?"

[St_Eddie]

Religious debates rarely go anywhere good. Just saying is all...

[Chyron8472]

Originally Posted by thestalkinghead

basically i am asking "what's the point of being religious?"

As I said, there is no point to following the rules for their own sake.

And I defy the argument that people would do just fine on their own moral-compass-wise without God. Sure, there are people who are of sound conscience that have no belief, but I would bet that such people are unknowingly influenced toward having said conscience by others around them who do have faith.

Also, not to rubs anyone's nose in it, but it occurs to me the number of people on these forums (and elsewhere) who have belittled my faith, some even going so far as to call God my "imaginary friend" all the while they sit and wallow in their self pity and wish they were dead because life sucks so bad. I defy these people to prove to me how being without God has benefited them.

[St_Eddie]

Originally Posted by Chyron8472

As I said, there is no point to following the rules for their own sake.

And I defy the argument that people would do just fine on their own moral-compass-wise without God. Sure, there are people who are of sound conscience that have no belief, but I would bet that such people are unknowingly influenced toward having said conscience by others around them who do have faith.

Oh, bullshit! What absolute and utter bollocks. That's really quite offensive. My moral compass is incredibly strong and I'm not religious. I don't need to read a bible to know the difference between right and wrong, or how to treat others as I myself would like to be treated.

I have no problem with religious people but when they start to get all high and mighty about it then we've got a problem...