fiscal insanity...

[moralist]

7 hours ago, Brant Gaede said:

To which moralist would say, that's your government--and you.

Yes, I would say that. Government is Bob's god, and he has a need / hate relationship with it. This explains why he complains so much about being its victim... while in reality it was totally by his own free choice.

Greg

[moralist]

21 hours ago, KorbenDallas said:

Greg,

Some people when they choose not to believe in god they abandon morality, too.  Some become secular humanists for morality (it seems a lot of the liberal left exhibit this trait), and then you have subjective judgments based off of "injustices" that "happen."  These people become so lost in trying to determine morality, often taking the form of "what's fair and what's not fair."  Everyone starts pointing fingers at what becomes their authorities, their neighbor, their mother-in-law, their boss, that guy on the highway that cut them short in traffic, the sunrise, life itself.  But there's another option, one that doesn't derive morality from authority...

Objectivism.  (And I bet you knew I'd say that at some point )  I think Jefferson had a vague idea of this in his original draft for the Declaration.

But we are free to practice religion, or not practice it, and I think life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is a good starting point, one that pertains to the individual, and should help coexistence with others...

But there's another interpretation for life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness--one that people don't have to work to achieve these things, and unfortunately it seems this is becoming the idea of what America is today... and a bureaucracy reflecting that... government as authority...

 

Yeah... people think they are entitled to be given happiness when they are only entitled to pursue it... and ironically that's why they're so unhappy. Entitlement breeds ingratitude (one of the ugliest of human attributes)... and ingratitude breeds unhappiness... which breeds doing evil (an even uglier human attribute).

You know, there's a lot of meaning in your little picture of Corbin Dallas marveling at the air stone. He discovered that it needed him to take action by blowing on it for it to work. And to make everything else work, all that was needed was his love for Leeloo.

Well... that's this world.

All it needs is for us to love what's right enough to DO it.

 

Greg

 

[moralist]

18 hours ago, KorbenDallas said:

Apropos... from Brietbart: "Independence Day, RIP":  http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/07/02/independence-day-rip/
 

There are no longer enough Americans living in America. This fact explains why the government is what it is today... unconstitutional, corrupt and bankrupt... a literal expression of the vales of the political majority who have recreated it in their own image.

[Brant Gaede]

6 hours ago, moralist said:

You got that right, Brant.

I don't believe.

I know.

...and yes, I'm stuck on Him. "The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want..." While a nice little poetic phrase, it's actually a lot more than just that. It's a promise. A rock solid statement of fact. As long as I do what's morally right I'll never want for anything. So far that promise has worked flawlessly for 68 years, and there's no logical reason it won't continue to hold true for the rest of my life and beyond.

I'm actually not. I experience God through His Creation, but don't equate God as being nature.

A Pantheist would say "reality is God"... while I say "God created reality"... in that He conceived of, designed, created, and set into motion all of the laws governing the operation of physical and moral reality.

 

Greg

Ah. God is outside and not of the universe. You know Him but does He know you (or me)? I can understand (sorta) the osmotic gravitas Him to you but not the other way around. He must be--obviously be--the macro player in His existence. (Is there a Mrs. God?)

--Brant

[moralist]

2 hours ago, Brant Gaede said:

Ah. God is outside and not of the universe. You know Him but does He know you (or me)? I can understand (sorta) the osmotic gravitas Him to you but not the other way around. He must be--obviously be--the macro player in His existence. (Is there a Mrs. God?)

--Brant

Yes, exactly. Outside, and not of.

While I know God exists, I don't know God directly. However, I do know Him by personal experience of His moral laws. And over the years have come to love them as an expression of His good will towards me. 

And yes, as far as I know, God knows everything.

"Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? Yet not one of them has ever been forgotten in the presence of God. Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you are far more valuable than many sparrows."

It's worth considering the possibility that this world was created for us to enjoy our life in it as we learn how to become better people...

... but I wouldn't ever expect you or anyone else to take my or anyone else's word for it. No one should ever take for granted the truth of anything anyone else says unless they know it to be true for themselves by their own direct personal experience. So while I can tell you I know God exists by my own experience, It's God's job to make Himself known to you. Your own personal awareness has absolutely nothing to do with me. That's solely between you and What made you.

I can say this... God is NOT hiding.

If I were silent... the rocks would cry out! 

 

Greg

[Brant Gaede]

Axiomatic knowledge, Greg, doesn't exist. I call it axiomatic hope.

God cannot know everything and be outside it all too. I can only conclude he runs the "In and Out" hamburger chain.

But you have dealt with the weight of existence by transcending it with His help and your acceptance of Him. This is purely religious--a religion without a name.

--Brant

[moralist]

1 hour ago, Brant Gaede said:

God cannot know everything and be outside it all too. I can only conclude he runs the "In and Out" hamburger chain.

Ok. That's your view. It's like views on what electricity is. They're irrelevant compared to knowing what electricity does. Understanding how moral law operates is the only thing that matters, because moral choices are what determine how our lives unfold.

But you have dealt with the weight of existence by transcending it with His help and your acceptance of Him. This is purely religious--a religion without a name.

You may regard the following just as one man's totally subjective opinion:

Gratitude is the source of lasting happiness. And God wisely provides people with Himself as a source of gratitude for our own good, because happiness would be impossible without Him.

 

Greg

[Jonathan]

Apey love God and lectricity!

 

[moralist]

Not loving God directly, Jonathan...but I've learned to love what's right and that has set the course of my life.

Electricity is similar to God in that it is utterly absolute... and no one's subjective opinions or irrational emotions have the power to alter what it is or what it does. I just use it to buy my economic independence, and in that regard it has served me very well. When you learn how laws work, that understanding can work in your favor by providing you with all of your needs and wants in life... whether it's the moral laws of God, or the physical laws of electricity.

Greg