Thursday, July 05, 2012

What is best in life

Genghis Khan
The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth and see those dear to them bathed in tears, to ride their horses and clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.

This man conquered much of the world of his time.  His dna is scattered very wide.  But I think, of course that this statement is not only wrong, it is horrible and inhuman.

I am asking myself this question, What is best in Life? and I find that what is truly best in life is actually pretty simple.  The love of friends and family, security and met needs.  The best in life includes the ability to practice creativity, to do good work, to practice real rest, and to feel needed.

What is disturbing to me is that much of the world does not have this.  That much of the world actually has all it needs to have this, but creates desires and problems that keep it from experiencing this in order to sell things.  That we manufacture insecurity, needs, and problems to keep us from good work, and creativity and proper rest. And in living in this way we continue a cycle, and a structure that insures the unhappiness of billions of people.

I pray that we may learn to live differently, and to truly enjoy life, while providing for others liberation from a system, that prevents them from living differently and enjoying this precious gift.

rev

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

TO CRUSH YOUR ENEMIES, SEE THEM DRIVEN BEFORE YOU, AND TO HEAR THE LAMENTATION OF THE WOMEN

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David said...

A couple of lines of coke and a joint.

David said...

Ok, ok, maybe three thick lines of coke.

And two more joints.

David said...

The church stole my father. He's dead now, but I've only just realized what happened.

That's why I hate the church. It's an relationship that can never be and never will be repaired.

john jensen said...

Sorry David, your experience is unfortunately not uncommon.

john

David said...

The only consolation is to see the continuing slow death of the church in my country - that gladdens my heart.

David said...

And of course I'm going to Hell for eternity.

Fuck you God.

David said...

I guess the church is not equipped to deal with Attention Defecit Disorder. Not the joke type, disparaged in popular conversation.

David said...

"Christians have endless hope, not a hopeless end"

I laughed out loud at this one.

Apparently, the DSM explicity exempts religious beliefs as delusional. Otherwise, the great majority of humankind would be considered mentally ill!!

Doesn't that one fact lower your respect for psychiatry?

I didn't need religion to develop mental illness. But it really helped.

David said...

But it goes further than that.

The church stole almost all hope of a chance at a normal human relationship.

That is Hell.

Anonymous said...

so, how did the church do that David? I am not accusing you, just wondering. The church is often a machine that crushes people, it is also frequently a self perpetuating cult of personality.

We take steps to try and avoid those things, to give people opportunity to not be alone in their struggles, to encourage people in their growth as people. It might interest you to know there are two atheists that attend out church every week, as they feel the community and encouragement is good for them. I don't want to hurt people like you have been hurt.

rev

David said...

I've had a life of escaping emotional hell. I'm almost there.

The only hope for anyone dipping their toe in the waters of mental illness is self help.

And a joint.

David said...

Here is one example of why even associating with Christians is morally dubious. What effect does this shit, and it really is shit, have on children?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnMoAoV7Ozs&feature=player_embedded

john jensen said...

that is a powerful video, and shows the stupidity and injustice of that view of God. I do not believe that this is the correct, or biblical view of God though. There are a huge number of Christians that do not believe this either.

I will share this video however, as I think it confronts one of the most dangerous and appalling errors in Christian theology

rev

David said...

If there is no Hell to be saved from, what's the point of Christian belief?

Given the restrictions - e.g. no illegal drugs, no promiscuous sex, the constant weekly/regular re-inforcement of belief, and the general anti-intellectual vibe - why bother?

Thank God I'm an atheist!

David said...

Also, why does one have to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead?

Why not just look at the evidence?

It's called "faith" - pretending to know things you don't really know.