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If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

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    #16
    Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

    I'd be dissapointed because (as the OP states we can all justify our own personal faith) but I'm sure I could turn around and say that my path has helped me get through life.

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      #17
      Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

      hmmm

      I don't know what the extreme opposite is of my religion. I believe in one god, one master, one creator etc. So is the opposite of that, that there is no god or that there are multiple gods?

      Anyways, it depends, it is still worth it because it made me into a decent human being who's supposed to care for others, but it's not worth it because it means I was wrong and and following falsehood. And I really don't like that. If anything I want to follow the truth.
      [4:82]

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        #18
        Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

        If I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. I decided what I believe based on what I knew and experienced. I was honest with myself. I let others believe what they will. Don't think that ultimately it will be a huge deal.
        I was Hadad2008 when I joined Feb 2008.
        I became Abdishtar this spring.
        Then, after the Great Crash, I was reborn as Spartacandream!

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          #19
          Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

          Originally posted by Juniper Raven View Post
          Because it fuels Personal Growth (keeping in mind that I believe in reincarnation), I would say, YES it is/was worth it.
          I would have to agree with her.
          Whether I'm right or wrong, doesn't matter. Because what I believed, has made me grow as a person. What I experience is spiritually intense, satisfying, and I do [not] regret forging my own spiritual path.
          Besides, if I'm wrong, I can try again in the next life. ;P Haha.

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            #20
            Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

            Look at it another way... if there are higher powers, and there is only one way, then why test us at all? I mean, if it matters so much, would you want to create something only to destroy it? It would be like having children, bringing them up to believe they could murder, thieve etc and get away with it, and then sit back and do nothing. Just watch them destroy their own lives and those around them. Any god or power who deliberately behaved like that wouldn't really be worth worshipping or following IMHO>

            So... if there is something after this, then I suspect that the choice we're given is just to help us make the best of life as we live it.

            And if I'm wrong, well sod it. I'm wrong.
            www.thewolfenhowlepress.com


            Phantom Turnips never die.... they just get stewed occasionally....

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              #21
              Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

              I totally concur with the overall consensus. I find it interesting that when asked this in a more interfaith environment, and the answers were pretty much the same--sure there were a couple of nay-sayers...but mostly, it was still worth it.

              ...which makes me wonder why people try convincing others that are secure in their religious path of its wrongness...

              I think that even if I spend my eternity burning in Hell, my life will have been worthy and worth it. And if a god is that petty (because, lets be honest, lots of gods can be quite petty, though one would have hoped better of a supreme ruler with the 3 O's), then I will happily party with the rest of human kind (because if God is that much of a dick, Satan's probably pretty cool).
              Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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                #22
                Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

                Originally posted by thalassa View Post

                ...which makes me wonder why people try convincing others that are secure in their religious path of its wrongness...
                If you take a moment to analyze the people who do this, you will find that they are driven to feel important. They have a need to feel special and one of the best ways to do that is to slur others with what they believe is popular truth.

                Send most of them on an evangelical mission to a place where they are in the minority without knowing if they will be safe, and they wouldn't have a word to say. Faith like that is only ego-deep.
                Giving is its own reward.

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                  #23
                  Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

                  Originally posted by thalassa View Post
                  I totally concur with the overall consensus. I find it interesting that when asked this in a more interfaith environment, and the answers were pretty much the same--sure there were a couple of nay-sayers...but mostly, it was still worth it.

                  ...which makes me wonder why people try convincing others that are secure in their religious path of its wrongness...
                  If you absolutely believe that someone is walking a clear path to self-destruction, you aren't going to speak up? Granted there are people that I'll wave at and cheer on in such instances but normally I frown on pointless suicides. People whose worldview mandates that certain paths are the only sane option will tend to try and draw other people to them. Or for some people we could just go for Old Testament laws where if God makes you aware that your neighbor is in error and you stand silent while your neighbor continues then your neighbor gets judged for being a screw-up and you get judged for not warning them of their error. If you do tell them and they continue than that's on their head but standing silent is frowned upon.

                  Other than that, I split hairs rather sharply in my earlier answer. You asked my opinion on absolute worst case scenario. Being wrong in absolute worst case scenario for me means re-interpreting reality into a cosmic horror beyond human imagination. There are other scenarios where my answer could potentially shift. I just don't really care to work through all the possible situations where my answer will or will not change.
                  life itself was a lightsaber in his hands; even in the face of treachery and death and hopes gone cold, he burned like a candle in the darkness. Like a star shining in the black eternity of space.

                  Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

                  "But those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun." Suddenly his voice sounded to Will very strong, and very Welsh. "At the very heart, that is. Other things, like humanity, and mercy, and charity, that most good men hold more precious than all else, they do not come first for the Light. Oh, sometimes they are there; often, indeed. But in the very long run the concern of you people is with the absolute good, ahead of all else..."

                  John Rowlands, The Grey King by Susan Cooper

                  "You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve", said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth; be content."

                  Aslan, Prince Caspian by CS Lewis


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                    #24
                    Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

                    I hope I'm wrong. Being right would be a great ego boost, but all the possibilities of the universe open up when we are wrong. Yep, Id rather be surprised

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                      #25
                      Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

                      My spirituality is one of the facets of my life that makes me a better person.

                      A resounding HELL YES.
                      No one tells the wind which way to blow.

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                        #26
                        Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

                        My personal path, however wrong it may be, has led me to be a wonderful human being, and I am so happy. And that's really what religion is all about.

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                          #27
                          Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

                          I remember shortly before looking for a new set of beliefs, the catalyst was finding out that so many religions (including my family's) condemned homosexuals. Which would mean condemning some of my best friends. I cried over this revelation for awhile and then finally said "if I'm going to be condemned for not hating homosexuality, then I'll happily burn in hell."

                          I think I still follow that mindset. I try my best not to harm, hate, or needlessly judge people. I live my life as best as I can, even though I don't truly believe there is any sort of reward/punishment after death. It's what has always felt right to me, and I honestly believe that everyone has a natural inclination not to hate anyone else for petty things like different lifestyles/beliefs until they are taught to do so. If I end up being wrong about that, and it is actually right to hate on others who are doing no harm and make their lives miserable by telling them they'll burn in hell if they don't change their actions or thoughts, then that's not a god I'd ever want to follow or worship anyway. I would happily take any sort of punishment when my crime was simply trying to be a decent human being to all those around me.

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                            #28
                            Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

                            Originally posted by perzephone View Post
                            It would be worth it in that I've managed to avoid a lot of the guilt and shame that seems to come built in with many religions. I've been able to live 'naturally', not watching my every move in hopes of some eternal reward or in hopes of avoiding eternal punishment.
                            this.

                            ps - Perz, I absolutely LOVE your avatar!
                            Allow me to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket. ~ Captain Jack Sparrow

                            sigpic

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                              #29
                              Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

                              Yes, I know I'm late on this discussion but I feel at peace with myself for the first time in my life. I used to be terrified of death, but this path has led me on a road filled with so much more peace than I thought I could ever attain.

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                                #30
                                Re: If you are wrong, was it still worth it?

                                Originally posted by thalassa View Post
                                ...which makes me wonder why people try convincing others that are secure in their religious path of its wrongness...
                                I read an article yesterday that attempts to explain this...

                                From: http://www.cracked.com/article_19468...you-think.html
                                We're Not Programmed to Seek "Truth," We're Programmed to "Win"
                                Read the rest to expand on that idea.....as uncomfortable it is for me to agree, I have to say there is at least SOME truth to this....
                                Allow me to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket. ~ Captain Jack Sparrow

                                sigpic

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