Random thoughts

[Thomas Aquinas]

You know, it's always weird to me that people take religion for granted. I mean, a lot of people never even think about things beyond the day-to-day grind of life. I wonder how it is that people can run around all the time, doing what they do, and never try to think about WHY do anything in life.

 

I dunno, maybe I think about church and God and things more because I was a full-time missionary for my church for a while, but I mean don't you need some real direction in your life?

[00b3rN00b]

Capitalism/Consumerism gives us purpose. To consume and acquiesce as many goods and services as we can within our short lifespan is our goal. Boredom is our enemy. Society creates more devices which we create and consume to combat our boredom. Traditional values - like thriftiness, modesty, and self-restraint have been generally abandoned and replaced by greed (which is what drives captialism). Cultural symbols like Christmas and Easter have been commercialized to reflect our new views. Biblical "facts" about our world (earth center of universe, creationism, etc.) have been replaced by scientific "fact".

 

Is this new purpose any worse than the one given by Christianity? That depends on whether or not God exists. Better yet, I think it depends on whether or not you believe you are leading a more fufulling life with consumerism or christianity. It's not that you can't believe in both, it's just that our society is slowly replacing mainstream christian values with consumerist ones. We are at a point where there is a transition occouring, and many people (including myself) are trapped in some sort of limbo not knowing which one to believe.

 

If you really want to know what I mean, pick up a copy of Technopoly by Neil Postman or A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

[spiralstairs]

Brave New World is fantastic. I just started another book by him today.

 

Never read that Postman book, but I read "Teaching As A Subversive Activity" by him and it was really good.

 

I dont have anything to add to this really, oober said it all i think. consumerism has even invaded my religion and now on chanukah you give gifts every night. i think it's ridiculous.

 

just an observation of mine: many people do not seem to think of religion and how it relates to them personally. they think of it as this ambgious term, something that describes your person. like, its just another trait you inherited from your parents. just like the color of your eyes, or your nationality. i may be off on this but i think it's true of some people.

 

You know, it's always weird to me that people take religion for granted. I mean, a lot of people never even think about things beyond the day-to-day grind of life. I wonder how it is that people can run around all the time, doing what they do, and never try to think about WHY do anything in life.

 

agreed, this is just how things are now.

[00b3rN00b]

You know, it's always weird to me that people take religion for granted. I mean, a lot of people never even think about things beyond the day-to-day grind of life. I wonder how it is that people can run around all the time, doing what they do, and never try to think about WHY do anything in life.

 

I feel bad because I don't really want anything...I don't see the point in "getting ahead" if it is only going to cause me stress and gain me material things which I don't even want. I quit my job at the beginning of the semester to concentrate on school, and I have been slacking off on that (even though I will pass all of my classes it is going to put a nice dent in my 3.7 GPA, might hurt my grad school chances even though I will be graduating in only 3 years).

[appalachian_fox]

Eh, oob, it depends on what you want to do in grad school. Short of law or medicine or some similar specialized fields, the grad school looks mostly at your core curriculum and GRE or equivalent. I wouldn't slack off the next three years if you want to get into grad school...Think of undergrad as your stepping block and grad school as your reason to step up...but I wouldn't sweat it too much. Especially early on, that's easy to explain away. You're still early in your college career.

[00b3rN00b]

Heh, I meant in 3 years total, I am graduating this spring.

5 semesters, 125 credits down after Tuesday.

This is why I shouldn't be posting at 6 a.m. after getting no sleep...

[appalachian_fox]

Sorry, oob, my bad (do the kids still say that?), I re-read it and it made perfect sense on the second run. Sorry, Anything under 5 years is odd for my friends and I around here, 4 years is uncommon enough that it simply didn't register.

 

Unfortunately, I don't know how far that will get you with grad schools, but if you get in on an interview I'd definitely push it. Congratulations! Hopefully this will give you a purpose distinct from simple capitalist pursuit.

[duma]

don't you need some real direction in your life?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Your presumption is that people need religion to have direction.

[Thomas Aquinas]

Not so. People can have passions, things they love, they can have important or very important personal philosophies that guide them. These ideas can help them develop a core set of values and guidelines in how to treat one another.

 

The difference is that (and take into consideration that this is written by someone who believes in God and believes also in absolute truth) there are things that are eternal truths, whether you believe them or not. This is not to say that someone who believes in God has the right to walk around and say "you non-believers are all sinners and evil people", but instead eternal truths let me know that whether another person believes it or not, if they live a certain way/make certain decisions in life they will be happier than if they make other decisions.

 

Also, the other problem is this; any personal philosophy is simply that, a personal philosophy. It can improve and enhance a persons life (maybe), but it sheds no light on anything outside or beyond -this life-. As for me, I find it absolutely amazing that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me, and a Savior that came to Earth and died for me so that repent and truly CHANGE who I am. Beyond those little -this life- perks, I know that I can be with my family forever. That if anything ever happens to my future wife or children, I can be with them forever. That is what I mean when I say "real direction".