The Big Questions

From: Breakpoint September 2, 1991

What are the right questions? Simple. Things like, What is truth? What is ultimately real? What are we living for?

Is our culture still looking for answers to these questions? If not, what trivial questions are we asking instead?
What methods, if any, are we using to test any answers

These questions are as big as a million dollars. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Prize_Problems

DDHv wrote:From: Breakpoint September 2, 1991

What are the right questions? Simple. Things like, What is truth? What is ultimately real? What are we living for?

Is our culture still looking for answers to these questions? If not, what trivial questions are we asking instead?
What methods, if any, are we using to test any answers

These are not questions that can be answered (you could throw "does God exist" on that pile too) in a way that allows for objective testing. Subjective testing is, of course, a different matter, but it's not like those answers are particularly useful outside of the head of the person finding them.

As for "Is our culture still looking for answers?" Dude, no culture in the history of this world has looked for answers to those questions. People within those cultures have, some more extensively than others, but cultures as a whole? Hell no. Not when there are more pressing matters (you are calling these "trivial" in your question there), like "Where do I get food and shelter" or "How do I make relationships work" to work out.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is one of the few management speak pop psychology theories that have lasted.
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=hier ... +by+maslow

This looks at firstly needing to breathe, then drink then eat - through shelter and then love finally ending up at questions like these.

For me it is - do the right thing - do unto others as you etc - karma - family first followed by friends, by country, by humanity, by all living things, by the environment.
Don't do anything that you wouldn't want to see reported in the paper tomorrow, and hope that others respect and love you.

DDHv wrote:From: Breakpoint September 2, 1991

What are the right questions? Simple. Things like, What is truth? What is ultimately real? What are we living for?

Is our culture still looking for answers to these questions? If not, what trivial questions are we asking instead?
What methods, if any, are we using to test any answers

The E wrote:These are not questions that can be answered (you could throw "does God exist" on that pile too) in a way that allows for objective testing. Subjective testing is, of course, a different matter, but it's not like those answers are particularly useful outside of the head of the person finding them.

As for "Is our culture still looking for answers?" Dude, no culture in the history of this world has looked for answers to those questions. People within those cultures have, some more extensively than others, but cultures as a whole? Hell no. Not when there are more pressing matters (you are calling these "trivial" in your question there), like "Where do I get food and shelter" or "How do I make relationships work" to work out.

"Does God Exist" is not "thrown" on the pile. It forms the "base" of the pile. Created looooong before Martin Heidegger's Dasein.

Many people continue to fail to see that "Does God Exist" is the most important question known to mankind, regardless of your beliefs. Whose answer will affect all of us (whether HE exists or not) and could affect all of us most drastically and fatally and, by the Grace of God, most profoundly, whether we believed in his existence beforehand, or not.

It is nothing short of insanity to fail to realize or stubbornly deny the most important question known to mankind regardless of your beliefs. It is the most important question a man can ask himself — because — "What if — HE DOES?"

cthia wrote:"Does God Exist" is not "thrown" on the pile. It forms the "base" of the pile. Created looooong before Martin Heidegger's Dasein.

Many people continue to fail to see that "Does God Exist" is the most important question known to mankind, regardless of your beliefs. Whose answer will effect all of us (whether HE exists or not) and could effect all of us most drastically and fatally and, by the Grace of God, most profoundly, whether we believed in his existence beforehand, or not.

In a very, very literal sense, it is NOT the "most important question". It's a question you can work on answering only after you have made sure that you have answered the questions of how you survive this day, this week, this month and this year in acceptable health. Finding an answer to "does god exist" is (or should be, anyway) at the bottom of a long list of questions a person absolutely must find answers to.

It is nothing short of insanity to fail to realize or stubbornly deny the most important question known to mankind regardless of your beliefs. It is the most important question a man can ask himself — because — "What if — HE DOES?"

See, the question is important to you because I assume you have the necessary leisure time to work on finding an answer. For others, figuring out how to put food on the table, or even how to continue having a table to place food on, is way more important in their day to day lives.

And even if you do have the leisure to contemplate the question of whether or not God exists, it really doesn't matter what sort of conclusion you come to. If a god truly does exist, and if all the rules you christians have made up about him are correct, then he will judge you based on how altruistic your actions are. Altruism doesn't require god, only the realization that giving to the community is better than taking from it.

But you know, do go ahead and call people who disagree with you on this insane. Must be nice to be living a life so free of hardship that you can spend time on trivialities like "does god exist".

The E wrote:

cthia wrote:"Does God Exist" is not "thrown" on the pile. It forms the "base" of the pile. Created looooong before Martin Heidegger's Dasein.

Many people continue to fail to see that "Does God Exist" is the most important question known to mankind, regardless of your beliefs. Whose answer will effect all of us (whether HE exists or not) and could effect all of us most drastically and fatally and, by the Grace of God, most profoundly, whether we believed in his existence beforehand, or not.

In a very, very literal sense, it is NOT the "most important question". It's a question you can work on answering only after you have made sure that you have answered the questions of how you survive this day, this week, this month and this year in acceptable health. Finding an answer to "does god exist" is (or should be, anyway) at the bottom of a long list of questions a person absolutely must find answers to.

It is nothing short of insanity to fail to realize or stubbornly deny the most important question known to mankind regardless of your beliefs. It is the most important question a man can ask himself — because — "What if — HE DOES?"

See, the question is important to you because I assume you have the necessary leisure time to work on finding an answer. For others, figuring out how to put food on the table, or even how to continue having a table to place food on, is way more important in their day to day lives.

And even if you do have the leisure to contemplate the question of whether or not God exists, it really doesn't matter what sort of conclusion you come to. If a god truly does exist, and if all the rules you christians have made up about him are correct, then he will judge you based on how altruistic your actions are. Altruism doesn't require god, only the realization that giving to the community is better than taking from it.

But you know, do go ahead and call people who disagree with you on this insane. Must be nice to be living a life so free of hardship that you can spend time on trivialities like "does god exist".

Most people already know how to put and continue to put food on the table and to maintain a roof over their heads. They work for it. Diligently. I'd hazard a guess that most people already know that intuitively. Evenso, that answer can certainly be found in...
2 Thessalonians 3:10: For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat."

Altruism is certainly important to a Christian at his or her core. However, altruism will not get them into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Even sinners and the hopelessly lost can be altruistic.

cthia wrote:Most people already know how to put and continue to put food on the table and to maintain a roof over their heads. They work for it. Diligently. I'd hazard a guess that most people already know that intuitively.

And once we are done working our 8 to 10 hours per day, have done all the other things an adult has to do each day, have taken care of our families and ourselves, most of us will spend the sparse time we have left in the day before we have to go to sleep to repeat the whole process again tomorrow doing things that are enjoyable to us. As you should know, for the vast majority of human beings, this means doing something that doesn't require a great deal of pondering on trivialities like "does god exist". There are, granted, a few who do find pleasure in this. But they are few and far between.

Get familiar with the Hierarchy of Needs. Then find a good reason why this trivial thing you call "the most important question" should be slotted higher than anything on it, and then come back to me.

The E wrote:

cthia wrote:Most people already know how to put and continue to put food on the table and to maintain a roof over their heads. They work for it. Diligently. I'd hazard a guess that most people already know that intuitively.

And once we are done working our 8 to 10 hours per day, have done all the other things an adult has to do each day, have taken care of our families and ourselves, most of us will spend the sparse time we have left in the day before we have to go to sleep to repeat the whole process again tomorrow doing things that are enjoyable to us. As you should know, for the vast majority of human beings, this means doing something that doesn't require a great deal of pondering on trivialities like "does god exist". There are, granted, a few who do find pleasure in this. But they are few and far between.

Get familiar with the Hierarchy of Needs. Then find a good reason why this trivial thing you call "the most important question" should be slotted higher than anything on it, and then come back to me.

No thanks. Been there. Done that.
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6469&hilit=god+exists

Committing oneself to a conversation with the insane is Intellectual Suicide and is itself, insane. Been there done that too.
SEE: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7904

Committing oneself to a conversation with the insane twice is double jeopardy and Insanity² which is simply... Insane.
Also, SEE: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=7904

I'm not feeling particularly insane or suicidal, today.


.

Was god a visiting alien? Think of the perspective point of view of the people of the time seeing UFO's. Perhaps a star in the sky or a chariot in the sky that crashes in the desert. Lightning bolts, etc... Magic etc... Giants, Titans and the Nephilim. Just stories or explaining the 'big' beings of the past?