Why do things happen?

[Highlander999]

If there was a God and an after-life I wish he would damn well show himself, just to put my mind at ease

 

[Sureshot]

I can't say i'm completely comfortable with that Nigel,

I wouldn't rule out the possibility of after-life until i've got to it. Now you may claim that its my young mind tricking me, but I doubt I could ever live like this, because it makes achievements a lot less meaningful, and makes wrong-doings much more acceptable.

In my opinion, we should have an opinion on what happens but remember that no-one has ever truely come back to life to tell us

How does it make any achievement less meaningful?

Can you say that someone like Nelson Mandela's achievements would be useless if there is no after-life?

I don't see how you can attribute that to making achievements less meaningful and wrong-doings more acceptable. You've lost me, Si.

 

[jordox]

That is something I have said to my mum. It's amazing how are future is already decided yet we don't know what it's going to be.

Well that's kinda silly to claim. I don't know why you think it is amazing that we have futures. What makes you think that it is already decided? Or do you just like to think that?

 

[Highlander999]

How about this then Jordan. You can't change your future as it is destiny. For instance my exam results arrive next Thursday and they decided the next 4-6 years of my life. I can't change it no matter what I do as it is now set in stone

 

[manee]

I have found that people who cling to the belief of an afterlife without any sort of reasoning or philosophical thinking behind it are those who are unsatisfied by their own lives at this moment in time. This is not to say that these people are 'losers' or 'depressed' but sometimes that they are young and simply wish to life more and the brain extends this to wanting to live 'forever and ever and ever...[etc]". I probably do fit into this category, as I am scared greatly of death and the possibility of nothingness. This brings me on to my next point which is that people are scared of dying because they then lose control and cease to exist which can affect someone on multiple levels. You can no longer control your body, think, talk, live - even contemplate your existance, not least because there is no longer one.

Back on topic to 'why do things happen', I believe that on any sort of tangible scale, conscious decisions are just that, conscious and decided by the brain. However, what makes the brain decide these things could be due to a higher power or perhaps a natural 'order of life' which contains many factors. The main issue I have with a higher power is the widespread suffering which can go on through processes which are meant to be natural and harmless - natural disasters are the consequence of geographical processes as are diseases the consequence of biological events - but facets like a person being totally unattractive to the opposite sex, consequently not reproducing, not releasing sexual tension, living in a depression, seems quite specific and callous, if I may. It seems a biological error, but one which can not be quantified and it is these sorts of things which conflict my mind as it would seem only possible to have such suffering come as a result of a higher power and yet, such suffering disproves a loving God. Something like people being homosexual is a similar affliction as some can live in depression as a result of not coming out or some could live in hate of themselves.

No real point there, just sort of evolved into a rant.

 

[Sureshot]

It's probably a natural control that some people can't reproduce. Natural selection, if you will.

 

[manee]

Natural selection would surely remove those people.

 

[mukund_nadkarni]

You might want to have a look here.

Those are some quotes by Aristotle, some concerning the subject raised here.

According to him :All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion and desire.

However the one I personally can vouch for is this : The young have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations.

 

[Sureshot]

Natural selection would surely remove those people.

If they aren't reproducing then they effectively are. As they aren't passing on their genes.

 

[pal]

I don't think it's possible to believe in free will and believe in an omniscient God at the same time. If God knows everything, then he knows your future. So, even if you (the believer) have the illusion of being in control of some situation, your choice has already been mapped out.

This is also why I hesitate to believe in an afterlife (heaven/hell) or people who say that you have to belong to a certain religion to go to heaven. If God is truly just and merciful (of course, there are those who believe in wrathful/jealous Gods), then why in the world would he let people of certain religions be born despite him knowing that they're not going to belong to that 'special' religion (being the omniscient creature he is) that allows you a pass into heaven and still let them burn in hell?

I hope I made that point clearly, because it's the one that causes me the most doubts. For example, let's say that you have to be a Christian to get into heaven (I don't want to single it out, because there are other religions that believe similar things). There are about 4 billion people today who are not Christian. Now, God knows that they are going to live their lives as non-Christians before they are born (since he is all-powerful) and still lets them to born, fully knowing that they will then go to hell. It just doesn't make sense to me.

I think most things happen because of our conscious decisions and the things that happen out of our control happen because of the conscious decisions of other people. Let's say you walk out of the house and get hit by a bus. You had no choice in the matter, but the driver who was possibly drunk/tired/distracted did and some choice he made resulted in the accident. I guess it just goes back to the interconnected/interdependent nature of things.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

'There's a destiny that shapes our ends, rough-hew them as we will'.

Hamlet, Shakespeare.

(Haven't got a sodding clue what mine is though)!

 

[mukund_nadkarni]

Afterlife?
I think we'll never find out, there's no way to find out! But certainly there's no point in basing one's actions in the present upon afterlife!

Fate? If one believes in fate, I can't help but wonder why we should not lock ourselves in our bedroom and just wait for things to happen?!!

 

[ZoraxDoom]

I'm wondering what life would be like with no afterlife. With our brain not working, no thoughts or feelings, etc.
For people who get knocked out or in a coma or something, it's like a mere second for them from being knocked out till awakening, even though it could be years in real life. Similalrly, when we die, it will feel like no time at all till we open our eyes again, But will we open our eyes again? What will happen?

Eerie ay?

I think that when we die, we will eventually start life again as something else.

But this ties back to my earlier problem. How would we know we've started life again? How do we end up as someone? How come I see everything from my view and not others? Maybe I am but I don't know? etc...

 

[jordox]

How about this then Jordan. You can't change your future as it is destiny. For instance my exam results arrive next Thursday and they decided the next 4-6 years of my life. I can't change it no matter what I do as it is now set in stone

You can change your future. You can go out and kill someone right now and I would bet 100 bucks you future would be dramatically different.

Of course, things will only play out 1 way because (get this!) we can't live our lives 2 times.

Of course you can't change your education/exam results because you cant go back in time and do the exams again. I fail to see why people believe in destiny.

 

[Highlander999]

I'm wondering what life would be like with no afterlife. With our brain not working, no thoughts or feelings, etc.
For people who get knocked out or in a coma or something, it's like a mere second for them from being knocked out till awakening, even though it could be years in real life. Similalrly, when we die, it will feel like no time at all till we open our eyes again, But will we open our eyes again? What will happen?

Eerie ay?

I think that when we die, we will eventually start life again as something else.

But this ties back to my earlier problem. How would we know we've started life again? How do we end up as someone? How come I see everything from my view and not others? Maybe I am but I don't know? etc...

LOL, perhaps I was Genghis Khan. I wonder who Hitler is