That's why you don't just do things for your own foolish enjoyment and pleasure.

Yeah you can work like crazy and gain enough money to buy a giant house, cars, and go on crazy vacations. Or. You can do something to benefit what's important to you.

Say you like philosophy. You can use your wealth or influence to maybe create a school or foundation to advance that interest. If you really care about it and you die and can't be around to see it and get admiration, boo hoo. Others will benefit from your work and maybe even think back and be like... man
That guy was cool. If that's so important.

A great read. My thoughts.

People want to be part of the majority. Depending on where you are, that's Christianity. Anyone can say they're anything and be accepted as that solely by the fact they said so. Not everyone lives by the main tenets of their own professed religion. This one being "Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul" and "Love others as you love yourself". A wonderful ideology. There would be much less suffering, strife, and war if this was adhered to by all.

Taking history at face value (did you witness it or any 'evidence' being discovered yourself? You can carve over a 5,000 year old artifact and guess what. It will carbon date the same.) I read Constantine (or others near him) witnessed miracles first hand one of which being Christians thrown into boiling oil yet being unharmed. Let's face it that's pretty cool and more than enough to make you think.

As far as the 'domination of thought and conduct' aspect that's one of the main criticisms of all religion. It's a control mechanism. It definitely is used as such by some however if the premise is true, there is a God and we are to live peacefully 'or else', well that would be that wouldn't it? Look at some factions of society, here and everywhere. The violence, animosity, and suffering. An atheist would note the positive benefits religion has for not just others but even them.

From my understanding Christianity is essentially the belief that the prophecized Messiah or 'redeemer' who allows us to make mistakes and sin or essentially 'just be human' without eternal damnation was in fact, Jesus Christ. Older religions do not believe this and that the Old Testament laws still apply. Some do believe in a Messiah/redeemer who will arrive and do this, simply that it was not Jesus.

All that aside I'm skeptic minded myself. I wouldn't say it's impossible the religious books we have today are not the original texts. Or that things weren't added or omitted.

Would you really want to preserve or prolong what is as you say, nothingness and futility though?

Watch "Tales from the Darkside - A Choice of Dreams" and/or "Twilight Zone - The Pool Guy", if you can. You'd like or at least appreciate them both I suspect.

Science is little more than observing with as one could assume you'd think, our limited animalesque senses to notice patterns and from there provable and repeatable events that then become scientific law. It is changing constantly. A while back the Earth was the center of the universe and flight was impossible. Ideas to the contrary would often get you ridiculed or imprisoned. In that sense faith is part of science in a way. You have faith in a theory, enough to work to prove it right.

That aside who knows maybe there are aliens. That'd be cool huh.

I've noticed most intelligent religious people have a certain line of thinking. Not quite this but I feel there are parallels. Imagine yourself as a rich, powerful, and happy man. Who's also wise. Now imagine a beautiful yet flawed woman. If you flaunt your wealth or power without first using wisdom to discern if this is really someone you want in your life, you could easily lose all three. I imagine a heaven as a place full of wise philosophers passing the time with debate and reason who are intellectually content. Or at least decent people. Wouldnt you?

Tend to agree with the poster who mentioned that logic applies more to advertising for the many as opposed to wisdom for the few.

Simplicity, let's face it we all want things done as easy as possible. That covers 'stupid' and 'lazy'.

And yes logic should have a 'point' so to speak. Clear, concise, useful, and of blatant utility. The 'mean' either benefit from it or do not.

I'd say it's more of having to reach the following three: the simple, the stubborn, and the uninformed.

Other forums got too political and depraved. Low brow I guess. Other than that to try and be around folks who really think and have something useful to say. Like how things used to be. A while back Id've said 'to be smarter' or to make wiser choices that will benefit me and whatever I'm doing at that moment. As religious as I've become I consider most of that much less important now. For me it's like seeing a blackboard with a complicated equation on it. You kind of just want to be able to understand it.

I just like smart people I guess.

Less eloquently put, yes you did hear the entire piece. That is to say every audible bit of it did reach your eardrums and your brain did process it.

Often people differentiate between hearing and listening.

You ask someone to hear something it's often a random sound. You ask someone to listen to something there's usually some message they wish you to receive. If theres a message to the piece, say the beginning alludes to self indulgence and the end conveys there is something greater to that. Perhaps not?