Redemption

[1394]

I'm not religious, so sorry about the misleading title.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Red Dead?

 

[benson7]

I prefer Fortnite.

 

[Raasyvibe]

I'm not religious, so sorry about the misleading title.

Everyone craves some kind of justification of self. To perceive oneself as righteous, gives alot of energy and positivity in what we do. Redemption is certainly a way forward in achieving that.

Problem is, we're not very good at judging ourselves. The most atrocious human beings, believe in their hearts that they are right in what they do. Adolf Hitler is a great example. He never identified a fault within himself, he truly believed that fault lied with the Jewish people and eventually that lead to the holocaust. People who are wrong in themselves, never accept it. No-one wants to think of themselves negatively. It's much nicer to think someone else is at fault. This is the motive behind bullies, racists, homophobes, victimisers / whatever. They demonise and abuse other (usually innocent and vulnerable) groups, because it makes them feel right in themselves. They can't handle the blame to be within themselves. The outcome of this denial, can be responsible for horrific abuse and as history has shown, even exemplifiable genocidal attacks.

However I do believe genuine redemption is possible and important. Being able to identify your faults and doing whatever necessary to redeem yourself, creates changes within yourself and inspires a purer heart. To be truly pure at heart though, I do believe some kind of faith is necessary. It doesn't matter how moral or kind you are, if you have no hope and believe there's nothing, you'll have a very hard time mustering the energy to be complete and fulfil your potential as a spiritual being.

 

[Shambles]

^ If you do not believe in gods then there is no "completion" or fulfilment of spiritual potentiality. That in no way precludes "growth" as a person or self-improvement in general though. As a non-believer I am well aware that the relativity of my "good" and "bad" thoughts and actions are between me, myself and society. This can definitely get a tad murky historically which suggests they will continue to evolve over time. I see this as very positive as the overall movement seems to be in the "right" direction. We, as a species, strive to improve incrementally because we decide it is the right thing to do. Sometimes that goes horribly wrong cos people are idiots and sometimes a particularly noxious bunch get way too much power over less pushy idiots. Mostly the bog-standard idiot wins out though so the trend remains upward... albeit very wobbly sometimes

"Redemption" does have very religious connotations... but can be perfectly valid in a secular sense too. Did shitty things? Try to stop with them and do some decency. Does one negate the other? Only if somebody or something is keeping score and marking your card. That seems a tad trite - not say unlikely - to me so I just stick with the personal accountability thing. Doesn't matter how shitty any prior shitty things were, working to be less shitty towards oneself and others is a very achievable goal for most, and a very worthwhile one too.

 

[Raasyvibe]

That in no way precludes "growth" as a person or self-improvement in general though.

Absolutely. Many fantastic people I've met have a whole range of beliefs/disbeliefs.

But it's an important matter because faith just gives people hope and confidence to care and be at their best. When you have a good spirituality, you really do get put off by unhealthy habits and become very aspiring. It's so sad when someone you care about gets involved in the wrong things/wrong people, because - despite being a great person - they just can't find the hope or enthusiasm not to. That's why spirituality is important to me. It's not about converting people, or winning a theological argument... but giving those i care about, reason to be confident in themselves and shine as they should.

 

[Teen Age Riot]

Doing the right thing (cheers Spike) isn't something that requires a middleman to inspire it nor to justify it.

What inspires it can be many things ... but having faith in humanity first and foremost is the most powerful of motivations.

You don't need to have faith in anything metaphysical. You just need to be able to trust yourself and your own judgement skills. And to know and understand that we're all singing the same song, just in different ways.

 

[Teen Age Riot]

As for fulfilling your personal potential - Maslow (not a God) has this nailed imo. Realising/actualising etc. Once again, far more practical than any spiritual middleman. Practical ... sensible .... and individually focussed. Celebrating individualism and personal growth as an intrinsic and practical pathway to personal satisfaction, which on the whole has a knock-on positive affect on your fellow humans. A well developed you is more able to integrate and interact with those who seem even the farthest away from your own mindset.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Still trying to work out what the point of this thread is. All it consists of is a title with no other explanation.

I'm going to start a thread called 'Bollocks'..

 

[Teen Age Riot]

does a thread need to have an official function/point (if its not about drugs and therefore can't cause much 'harm' via its off topic-ness)?

however it started out, it's evolved into a kinda meta type thread where a number of folks are seemingly relatively happy to shoot the shit about the human condition blah blah blah

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

does a thread need to have an official function/point

Yes.

 

[Shambles]

^ You appear to be new to EADD...

It did (and kinda still does... if you have local mod eyes) have an OP with an actual question. The current version of the OP suggests that religious interpretations and discussions were not what they intended and didn't wish to go down that route. At least that is my interpretation.

Personally, I think a discussion of the concept of redemption without resorting to religious sentiments is an interesting idea and one worth pursuing. I'm sure there are many who regret certain decisions, actions, behaviour patterns and the like who may have a desire for some form of non-religious sense of redemption. In all honesty, the topic is universal enough to not really require much in the way of specifics unless anybody wishes to add personal stories.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

^ You appear to be new to EADD...

It did (and kinda still does... if you have local mod eyes) have an OP with an actual question. The current version of the OP suggests that religious interpretations and discussions were not what they intended and didn't wish to go down that route. At least that is my interpretation.

Personally, I think a discussion of the concept of redemption without resorting to religious sentiments is an interesting idea and one worth pursuing. I'm sure there are many who regret certain decisions, actions, behaviour patterns and the like who may have a desire for some form of non-religious sense of redemption. In all honesty, the topic is universal enough to not really require much in the way of specifics unless anybody wishes to add personal stories.

Yeh.

Nice picture of yer gonads in the bollocks thread Shambo...

 

[LoginNotSecure]

Firewire.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

First off, I'd like to apologise for derailing this thread last night (blame the vodka). Although I still don't know what the OP had in mind, I actually think this style of thread has some mileage for provoking non specific discussion around a random topic. It could be quite interesting to start a thread with a single word or concept and seeing how things develop from there.

Let's make EADD great again!

 

[invegauser]

Let's make EADD great again!

blasphemy! do not blame the vodka for sounding like trumples this time. just don't do it again.

just got done playing red dead redemption 1 again, beat the zombie content (undead nightmare) first time playing it. both are pretty fun. family is going to get the second one and we're going to kill some time farting around on it. have not heard about zombie content 2 yet.

@1394: some of us are beyond it, some of us deserve it, some of us can still save our bacon from the fire (i'm the very first one). sex can be redeemed, don't let one bad relationship ruin it for you like so many people do. if it's vengeance or retribution, dig two graves and what ever you do don't try to redeem yourself in the eyes of someone who you want approval from. taint worth tit.

that being said... decent bud i tried once by that name, rye whiskey by the same name i haven't tried yet and apparently Shambles junk defies gravity. hope he shares his secret cause i'm not looking forward to stepping on my sack when it starts to happen. slamming the gonads in the door isn't going to be fun either. they got a blue pill for the shaft but not for the bits and pieces. wtf?!

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Red Dead Redemption 2 is awesome mate. I've not played it myself, but I've watched my son on it - who's addicted to all things GTA, Call of Duty and Fortnight, and he's says it's his favourite ever game.

 

[Raasyvibe]

Just ignore FUBAR, folks. When the thread topic gets a bit sophisticated, he gets a little overwhelmed. Way out of his comfort zone talking about shitting in hedges, avocado's or peoples bollocks.

Excellent work also, Shambles. Upload a picture of your gravity-defying bollocks in another thread. That will keep him occupied for a long time. I see what you did there. Impressive.

As for fulfilling your personal potential

fulfil your potential as a spiritual being.

lol, no-one used the word "personal". You've swapped the words around to suit your answer! There's a huge difference between a personal potential and a spiritual potential:


Check this out. Being a bit martial arty farty myself years ago, always admired those Shaolin monks. They're spritual, but don't sit on their arses all day meditating... actually express their spirituality in physical form through training which to us seems insane. Some of the stunts these mere children can perform are mindblowing...

NSFW:

Now check out this awesomeness. This is a middle-aged woman, who still hasn't got over her childhood crushes on deviant characters like Marmalade Atkins and CatWoman... and thinks she knows too much to be concerned with any religious texts or beliefs...

NSFW:

while sat on me fat arse slugging ASDA vodka and diet orange crush while eating dried pitta cuz I can't muster thee energy to go and forage downstairs.

Nice move with the diet crush btw. I found on alcohol binges i'd always put on weight quickly. I put this down to the alcohol interfering with the metabolism, but actually i've realised it's all the sugar in the mixers and cider that is causing the insulin rises and weight gain. Anyway....

Can you spot the difference? Between the spiritual and spiritual-less?




To your credit though. As far as "personal" development goes... that is, self-development.... integrating with others, being able to listen to others, understand each others concerns, being empathetic and sensitive to each others needs... you have to be one of the most developed persons i have ever met. Far, far more than myself... who constantly gets it wrong, employs the wrong tact, upsets people without realising and has to be reprimanded time and time again for it... And you should be very proud of that, because there is a lot of grown-up, apparently "successful" individuals, who do not have those qualities at all *cough...OTW... cough cough...*

Personality wise, you're very much like Shambles. Highly, highly empathetic and sensitive to the needs of others, way more than the average person.... but your spiritual side is comparable to something like a boiled spud.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Fuck me. Who let Raasy out of his cage..?

 

[Tranced]

Shame they wouldn't give this and soy sauce up to save us all from manbearpig. Apparently we sacrificed the lives of third world children instead though, so quite a fortunate and joyous ending for the west after all.