Who are We

[Nightshade]

Plus there has never been a religion that has survived as long and changed as many lives as Christianity.

There is a flaw in your argument here, for one thing Judaism is older than Christianity, centuries older if the assumption that Mose's Pharaoh was Ramses V is correct and its the oldest surviving branch of the Abrahamic religions, but there is an even older religion than Judaism that is still practiced today and that is Zoroastrianism. Now I have read theories that state that Zoroastrianism is in fact the original grain around which the Abrahamic religions were constructed, and while I neither believe it or know much about the religion fact remains it predates Christianity by approximately 9 centuries and is oldest existing religion.

[a lost weekend]

I believe (&, mind you, there seems to be enough [sufficient] evidence to support this claim) that we (as in: us) are not so different (biologically speaking) from other living organisms -- i.e. we are created biologically, not divinely.

[a lost weekend]

Blaze,
I am talking AC and BC which is After Christ and Before Christ. For the whole world to have this in their beliefs who are we to challenge it. Plus there has never been a religion that has survived as long and changed as many lives as Christianity. Like it or not the truth is there staring you in the face. There has been many over time who have tried to stop it and failed. There has got to be something to it don't you think.
Bruce

er...there appears to be some flaws in y'r arguments here, sonny. Firstly, not all countries abide by the a.d. (a.d. -- not a.c., dummy) & the b.c. & if they do, it is likely not out of belief in Christianity or Jesus (i.e. Asian buddhist or hindu countries) but, rather (& more probably) it is a result of conquest, or the enormous enslavement of other nations and peoples that good ol' Christianity has, throughout time, brought about.

[blazeofglory]

That who are we is a profound question and in point of fact this question can not be answered at all and we all busy ourselves with this question but it takes so much of us to arrive at the answer. The answer but never can be arrived at,

[blazeofglory]

We are seekers of truth.

[wilbur lim]

This is my perspective 'science is likewise intriguing,and it is inextricably linked with philosophy.Science had solve lots of mysteries which the Bible did not cited.Thereby,I believe Science is precise and we evolve from a cell,not from God.God might know what He had created on earth but the likelihhod is that He did not investigate Science,but humanity does it.'

[blazeofglory]

This is what I have always been asking myself and the rest of the world.

[Bruce Bradley]

Face it everyone, we all have our beliefs on where we came from. This has always been a topic of discussions and disputes through out time. To force your opinion on someone else is wrong. Everyone has a right to their own opinion.

Religion was established to control chaos in early times. It has survived all this time because of the world's fear of what would happen if there wasn't any rules to live by. Most laws are based on the basic religious rules that have been passed down through time. The major basis for religion is what happens when we die not how we were created. Scientific fact is just the opposite, because they have no idea about a soul and what happens after death.

I think it is much better to believe that you will live on after you die than just rot in the ground and become fertilizer. The truth is I don't want to go there and find out yet. It is also that we must face it is our destiny. Like I said, if we were all to live our lives in a religious manner the world would be a much better place to live.

We all have flaws so if we are indeed created in God's image, he must be flawed too. I guess if you want to believe in God this it explains evolution. It took time for him to get the right formula. Science still can't explain the very beginning of time. Regardless of what you believe the fact remains that no one will ever know the truth until you die. Wouldn't it be a shame if there is a heaven when you die and you missed out because you cast doubt on something that didn't ask for nothing but goodness in the world.

Our ancestors are ones who took their religions and forced it on others. The Muslims felt you have to kill infidels and the Crusades did the same. I do believe it is a sin to kill someone. The truth is simply this, without religion we would have mess on earth today. It gave the masses a reason to group together and live among each other.

If the numbers of people who think that religion should be abolished keep increasing then we truly will have hell on earth. If you think about the way things are going right now this could be the begining of Armageddon. There are still enough people on earth to prevent this but we get closer and closer everyday. What does it hurt to have a little faith in something you don't know about. Remember things can always get worse.

[NikolaiI]

er...there appears to be some flaws in y'r arguments here, sonny. Firstly, not all countries abide by the a.d. (a.d. -- not a.c., dummy) & the b.c. & if they do, it is likely not out of belief in Christianity or Jesus (i.e. Asian buddhist or hindu countries) but, rather (& more probably) it is a result of conquest, or the enormous enslavement of other nations and peoples that good ol' Christianity has, throughout time, brought about.

Nowadays in academic circles, the terms are usually C.E. and B.C.E. (common era and before common era), dating the same as A.D. and B.C.

[billyjack]

this is a very short video of the first man ever to ask the question this thread poses

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmIhQ2m_hts

[grotto]

We aren’t! “We” only exists when two or more agree and that existence is shaky at best.

Gotta love someone who quotes Frank Zappa! Made my day "so far" anyways!

[Buh4Bee]

Our ego is made up of this- but we are not a self; we're just a cluster of processes.

In coming to understand who we are, we need to understand the role that the ego plays in a conscious being. Nikolai, would you be so kind as to true to explain this idea further, quoted above. In my own study of Christianity, I am struggling to grasp this concept. I know I should read Nietzsche, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

this is a very short video of the first man ever to ask the question this thread poses

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmIhQ2m_hts

um, that was really funny.

[blazeofglory]

This is indeed a great question. I have asked myself a thousand and one time and yet I have never been able to answer this question. For all whether we are materialistically bent or spiritually inclined this question keeps on carrying us. It is very natural to know about us, and about the knowledge of our origin.

One question may crop up. Is there a particular purpose of our being here? If there is an objective or purpose then what caused that purpose. We become carried on tirelessly and interminably.

We do not know what holds us. Maybe you say the earth, and what holds the earth? The answer is space. Then what is space? Ether and what is ether in substance?


Only questions keep on stacking one after another infinitely.

If we are strong believers in God we may say it is God that created this world and he has a purpose. Then what created God? Is God desirous?

And what caused God to desire?

We can ask so many questions but there is no answer.

Till now millions and millions of questions were raised but we have not arrived at a single convincing answer.

And we take refuge in mysticism.

But anyway this asking job makes us a philosopher. Philosophy is just a route or a path, and there are a thousand and one path. But a path is a path that starts from one point and ends up at another.

[Michael T]

Here begins the first lesson.

Have no doubt the day will come when all religions die out, as they inevitably must. Only then, can mankind ultimately take responsibility for itself. Our purpose is whatever we, as mankind, make it. There is no 'reason' for us being here, we just are.

I don't have to give credence to the belief in a flat Earth just because the ignorance of my ancestors meant that they believed the Earth to be flat. They were wrong and I know better. There is no God of Lightning or God of Rain or God of War. My ancestors were wrong because they knew no better. The light of knowledge has illuminated the ignorance of the past.

The fact that for thousands of years people believed the Earth was at the centre of the universe is no reason for me to give that belief any credence or respect. I know better and the same goes for any belief in all those religions and outlandish ideas created to explain the unexplainable. The light of knowledge has illuminated the ignorance of the past.

The fact that for thousands of years people believed in gods is no reason for me to respect that belief, or give it any credence. I know better, because science has given me the answers, as has an understanding of history. It doesn't take much effort to break free from the shackles of the past and discover the history of all religions and see that they are all man-made stories, derived from ignorance, and later used to control the masses of the un-educated through the fear of damnation. The light of knowledge has illuminated the ignorance of the past.

Remember, religions came from human ignorance of scientific facts. Knowledge brings the death of religions and the birth of taking responsibility for ourselves. We no longer need a ‘made-up magic man in the sky’ to explain the concepts of nature or the concept of 'treating others as you would wish to be treated yourself in that situation'. The gods we created through ignorance are dead. We are our own masters and we are responsible for the direction humanity takes, and for the preservation of the planet we inhabit.

God is dead… Long live humanity. The light of knowledge has illuminated the ignorance of the past and shown us the way forward.

Amen.

[blazeofglory]

This question keeps on intriguing me, and I have never been been satisfied with the answer. There are biological answers and psychological ones and none of them could satisfiy me. I know the answer of who are we can never been found but I never cease questioning.

Of courese life is a mystery,and biological or philosophical answers cannot satisfy us. And spiritual answers are not based on reaons or somehthing that can satisfy us logically.

And it is something highly romanticiziing to keep on asking such questions.