Life is a test

[dennycrumpets]

Genuinely don't mean to be offensive, but I must have read a different Quran and hadiths. Are we talking about the same scripture with around 200 exhortations to bloody violence? Sure, the prophet had his spiritual phase, but as soon as he could assemble an army, he embarked on a pretty dizzying quest of slaughter and enslavement. His promises of an afterlife were simply the sexual fantasies of your average desert-dwelling marauder who quite fancied the idea of silks and goblets and 72 virgins whose hymens regrow every night. Considering Aisha was 9 when she was defiled by the prophet, I'm guessing that's 72 nine year olds.

Anyway, Islam would not be first stop for spiritual enlightenment.

Schopenhauer was a pretty unpleasant character, by all accounts, but I think he got it right. I don't think life is a test, we're all prisoners of The Will: the clawing, grasping, consuming, killing, and totally blind urge that the universe has to live - continue - survive. All our most basic instincts mirror it, and they're powerful enough to frequently overtake reason.

 

[Robi]

I smoked pot,I never do,use to like edibles, Im not an atheist, sure be easy to be,but in this altered state,I hear god,guess cause I fried so many times.I was having a political argument, I heard my innerself,god,say be quiet and leave.Wow,getting stoned once every month maybe is kind of cool.

 

[notsmokeymcpot42088]

God is written very black and white.

IDK about life being a full "Pass or fail" test with one end being eternal damnation. That said I will say my prayers and eat my vitamins. Some great christian role model told me that but it slips my mind

The Quran and Bible both give slavery a solid thumbs up. Lots of other fcked up stuff too --- again I say avoid literal interpretation.

Actually do whatever you want just dont portray us all that way

"Schopenhauer was a pretty unpleasant character, by all accounts, but I think he got it right. I don't think life is a test, we're all prisoners of The Will: the clawing, grasping, consuming, killing, and totally blind urge that the universe has to live - continue - survive. All our most basic instincts mirror it, and they're powerful enough to frequently overtake reason."

Leaves things like altruism and the human conscience itself kind of unaddressed.

By which I mean I tend to agree in large but what is "Reason" in your context?

If you mean morals and ethics etc; I argue that the 'reasoning' is the part that is almost uniquely human. (That is short selling animals I'll just say it). 'Self reflection may be uniquely human though

 

[Kellsee]

This may sound crazy but just hear me out…

Dopamine is not just a pleasure juice.
It is a prediction and motivation signal. It whispers “this matters so come closer”. And since God was intentional with what He created then the reward system is not accidental….it is purposeful. I can’t remember if it was St Augustine or Aquinas but one of them said that desire itself is not sinful. It is teleological…aimed at fulfillment.

So since we are relational beings then a relational nervous system is coherent with that design. But the reward system does not force behavior. It biases motivation. This allows us to make choices, develop morally and form habits
But drugs can hijack this system by disrupting someone’s dopamine baseline. So this means that a system designed for attachment, meaning and communion can be exploited by chemicals, power dynamics, shame regulation and social exclusion. From a theological perspective this doesn’t reflect a flawed design but a very vulnerable one.

Humans are created with infinite desire because they are oriented toward infinite fulfillment. In Confessions St Augustine wrote
that the human heart is restless until it rests in God. Neurobiologically the reward system keeps seeking. It updates your expectations. But it does not allow permanent satiation. This perpetual seeking could reflect a design toward transcendence or just simply an adaptive survival circuitry or maybe even both. It depends on your worldview. I believe in God. So imo the reward system exists so humans can move toward what gives life…biologically and spiritually. It is not a trap. It is a guidance system.

So since heaven is the final state of redeemed humanity then Im thinking maybe this implies that in heaven we will finally get a perfected reward system. I don’t mean anesthesia. I mean no distortion…no compulsion….no misdirected attachment….no scarcity anxiety. It would be like the intellect finally seeing the ultimate truth. The will finally at rest in ultimate good. Desire is fulfilled without annihilation. I’m not saying the reward system would be hyperstimulated. I’m saying it would be fully satisfied. With no craving loop….no dopamine deficit state…..no compulsive seeking. The seeking system would finally reach its telos. For the rest of eternity.

I’m being speculative of course but I still can’t help but imagine how great that would be.