Does God Suffer From Vanity?

traderob · Dec 29, 2006

Quote from volente_00:

Any of you believe in reincarnation ? Ever talk to someone and it was like you had met them before or known them a long time but you do not remember ever meeting them ?

Could it be when the bible is talking about eternal life it is referring to this. I have a theory that explains why some people suffer and some don't in their current life. In this everyone is always reborn after they die. But how you come back is determined by your acts in the life before. If you were good you get promoted to a better life on the next go around. If you were bad then you get punished for your next life. Those that fall in between end up with a taste of both sides which explains why bad things happen to good people.

That's original.
Except for Hinduism (1000 million members) and Buddhism - over a billion - which put this forward as a key belief.

ZZZzzzzzzz · Dec 29, 2006

The concept of reincarnation doesn't appeal to those who think that their major success or failures in this life is wholly a function of their past behaviors and thinking.

Most western cultures, especially Americans love the American dream that anyone can get rich, which runs counter to the theory of reincarnation which says that economic status is predestined based on past life.

By the way, I have read in some books that reincarnation was a common belief in the time of Christ, but that the early Catholic Church thought belief in reincarnation would make it more difficult to promote Christianity and keep the flock in check, so they removed it and replaced it with the concept of judgment day in order to be able to inspire fear of eternal hell on the basis of this one lifetime.

The difference basically being that you get only one chance (one life) in from the modern Christian point of view to reach God or go to Hell, where the belief in reincarnation is that you get unlimited lives to eventually get it right, visiting Heaven and Hell at various times upon death as a consequence of this life's actions, but only visiting for a period of time to then return to this earth to begin again to try to evolve spiritually higher and higher toward a goal of complete surrender and unity with God.

Quote from volente_00:

Any of you believe in reincarnation ? Ever talk to someone and it was like you had met them before or known them a long time but you do not remember ever meeting them ?

Could it be when the bible is talking about eternal life it is referring to this. I have a theory that explains why some people suffer and some don't in their current life. In this everyone is always reborn after they die. But how you come back is determined by your acts in the life before. If you were good you get promoted to a better life on the next go around. If you were bad then you get punished for your next life. Those that fall in between end up with a taste of both sides which explains why bad things happen to good people.

Free Thinker · Dec 29, 2006

Quote from volente_00:

You guys are a trip. I said I believe in a higher power. I am open to any form that this higher power may be and am not limiting myself to one religion's GOD.

of course you should know that this statement condems you to burn in hell if the fundamentalist christian version of God is the correct one.the christian god demands total worship.

"I am The Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." (Exodus 20:2-3 KJV)

ZZZzzzzzzz · Dec 29, 2006

Christian belief itself will damn no one to Hell or promote no one to Heaven.

God will decide...

Quote from vhehn:

of course you should know that this statement condems you to burn in hell if the fundamentalist christian version of God is the correct one.the christian god demands total worship.

"I am The Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." (Exodus 20:2-3 KJV)

james_bond_3rd · Dec 29, 2006

Quote from volente_00:

Any of you believe in reincarnation ? Ever talk to someone and it was like you had met them before or known them a long time but you do not remember ever meeting them ?

Could it be when the bible is talking about eternal life it is referring to this. I have a theory that explains why some people suffer and some don't in their current life. In this everyone is always reborn after they die. But how you come back is determined by your acts in the life before. If you were good you get promoted to a better life on the next go around. If you were bad then you get punished for your next life. Those that fall in between end up with a taste of both sides which explains why bad things happen to good people.

Is the total number of lives conserved? I think we would have a counting problem or some people who don't have a previous life.

FanOfFridays · Dec 29, 2006

Quote from ZZZzzzzzzz:

Christian belief itself will damn no one to Hell or promote no one to Heaven.

God will decide

Your God will decide about me?

What rubbish. What arrogance. What a crock of shit.

I wonder what your God is going to say about your suggestion that it would be funny to threaten a parent with the possibility of imminent pedophilic rape and murder of his kids, or that kids in pediatric cancer wards are there because of some mistake they made, or that hanging a 16 year old girl because she flirted with a 16 year old young man is morally defensible?

You sicken me.

volente_00 · Dec 29, 2006

Quote from james_bond_3rd:

Is the total number of lives conserved? I think we would have a counting problem or some people who don't have a previous life.

New life can be created and the offspring takes on the merged soul of the parents. So yes it is possible to have a person who did not have a previous life.

james_bond_3rd · Dec 30, 2006

Quote from volente_00:

New life can be created and the offspring takes on the merged soul of the parents. So yes it is possible to have a person who did not have a previous life.

The flip side of the question is, is everyone guaranteed an afterlife?

mirzyk · Dec 30, 2006

Quote from traderNik:

Your God will decide about me?

What rubbish. What arrogance. What a crock of shit.

I wonder what your God is going to say about your suggestion that it would be funny to threaten a parent with the possibility of imminent pedophilic rape and murder of his kids, or that kids in pediatric cancer wards are there because of some mistake they made, or that hanging a 16 year old girl because she flirted with a 16 year old young man is morally defensible?

You sicken me.

You sound just like Ramses, Pharoah, king of Egypt, who refused to humble himself before God's servant, Moses. Remember what happened to him?

Look, life is not fair. Everyone has freedom to choose to do right or wrong. You did not bring yourself into this world and you certainly won't have any say after you leave this world. There is only One who is sees, knows, and is in control of ALL things.

Drop the Ramses arrogance, for your own sake.

Mvic · Dec 30, 2006

After a lifetime of believing in a higher power of the Judeo Christian variety I acheived enlightenment this year and realized that those who hold such beliefs are completely delusional. If there even is a prime mover I doubt that he is omniscent or omnipotent and that his concern with the human race is nil. We are all we have got and that is enough. Thank god for reason :-)