asphlex

Can't dance, can't groove and the ladies lost all respect. What's up with the decline of the once 'master race'?

I am wondering if I should convince a few people I know that they should kill themselves to avoid the obvious hopelessness of their futures. These are lazy, ignorant, barely literate teenagers who are getting far too old to be clinging to their unrealistic childhood fantasies of future superstardom. They refuse to hear talk about how difficult life is and they will no doubt end up in prison, dead, homeless and/or addicted to huffing glue and gasoline. Opinions?

WHY?

I am seeking something if not wholly convincing, at least vaguely plausible coming from a defense attorney. Something that might not free the individual, but keep them off death row.

Why did you select the one you did?

I am not speaking from one point of view or another, posing this inquiry as some sort of smug atomization of a personality type either irrationally hating or self-righteously idolizing children. I am curious to know what sort of people YOU believe hate children, whether you do or do not. Thank you for your consideration.

Of course this intentionally provocative question is basing 'God' on the many limited variants that the numerous holy books conjure up out of the innumerable religions that have formed around the concept of God, the angry, vengeful, peaceful savior that bestows gifts and miracles upon/banishes and condemns without any rationality other than some 'master plan' that plenty of deranged sociopaths have worked out for themselves as well without making sense to those it most directly impacts.

What my real question here should be (and I accept the futility of both the immediately religiously outraged and the snide, equal-and-opposite arrogance of the glad-handing atheists that will no doubt provide me with the bulk of my replies) is is the idea of God Itself something much larger and much greater than any human cult of belief could ever incorporate into a specific identity and attribute vague human laws to, such as applying a gender to something beyond such earth-bound considerations or a human temper or the groping, condescending arrogance so many of our religions promote. Could God Itself, in fact, be the very nuanced and all-encompassing characteristic of Imagination?

Let's face it: some people spend most of their lives moaning, lamenting things that might have been and only never were because they were too filled with fear and self-doubt to try anything. Does there come a point in life when everyone concerned, everyone involved with such a desperately needy, clinging, irritating individual would be better off if they finally just followed through with their aimless threats/cries for help (even though being the failures that they are they probably will even fail at ending everything)--for some person somewhere would suicide be the best option?

I understand that there certainly are people who pray every day, but Sunday is the day of rest. Does It need to hear an individual's repeated lament for something either self-serving or outright desperately greedy on the day selected to tune that sort of nonsense out. Is church on Sundays, in fact, outright blasphemy?

Try leaving it out with a note, or crushed up to an extent. To the sanitation department it remains a recepticle. Help!

By this is mean what horrendous event in our world will occur to cause enough believers to not so much lose faith, but to doubt their ingrained value systems and join to new declared messiah? Do you doubt that this will occur and why? Do you believe mass religions are formed differently than as the result of either brewing dissatisfaction with the status quo or revolutionary fervor to topple the powers that be? When do you think this might occur? Will this figure be an 'antichrist' (if you are unable to imagine a fully formed new faith being born out of catastrophe) or just a new charismatic leader with a new idea on the hows, the whys and the whens of an eternal vision? How many people might join such a faith under the conditions you set out and why?

I ask this question sincerely and respectfully and hope your answers are intended the same.

Thank you in advance--

Economically and Industrially, perhaps this is already the case (perhaps not), but militaristically and in overall leadship of global issues (China's present morality, or lack thereof, is not ultimately relevant--or is perhaps the firm basis of--their rapid rise to global dominance), in how many years do you believe China will essentially rule the world? And if not, why not? What do they lack and what do other nations have to keep them in check? What might be the consequences of their coming absolute supremacy?

By this I mean whether some fundamentalist religious-based nation--perhaps a majority population following some strick version of a faith; or with leaders blazed with an idea of absolute truth--and whether they might, in fact, hope to be attacked by nuclear weapons because, 1) they have no real allegiance to the living world we all exist in; 2) 2,000,000 people being declared martyrs (regardless of the individual victims' previous social, political or religious bent) could be used as an advantage in ralleying forces against a common enemy; and 3) After being decimated in such a manner, there really are no longer any justifiable rules of ethical conduct that the rest of the world would get bent out of shape over.

I mean this question obviously in regards to Islamic nations, as the concept of martyrism certainly plays a pivotal roles in fundamentalist political Islam, but this could also be applied to fundamentalist Judaism or Christianity related to political leadership.

By this is am interested in a rather broad answer, not merely yes or no; not in biblical quotations nor flat renunciations. I hope for details. By this I mean if, for example, you believe in a heaven and hell (or merely one), what is the atmosphere, what is the routine and how does one get there. Also, is memory cognizent in afterlife? Why do you believe this.

If you happen to not believe in an afterlife, I hope for more than merely a 'dirt in the ground' statement and would be interested in why you believe other theories are wrong.

Thank you in advance.

I do not mean this to be a smug or even an anti-death penalty question, but more of an inquiry into the limits of eye-for-an-eye justice and vengence. I have heard people claim that rapists should be executed and this does not seem to meet any criterion outside of a sheer and rageful revenge against someone who should definately be punished. To me it seems that being raped would be the appropriate punishment if revenge is all we are after and not actual justice.

Any comments, disagreements, even angry rants are certainly welcome.

Thank you in advance.

I ask this not even wholly in a religious sense--substitute a repeated personal desire that you endlessly wish for. Even substitute 'wish' as, fundamentally, there is little difference in the aspect of yearning and need and want. I phrased this as such with the intention of getting a diverse response based upon the potentially blaring note such a basic inquiry might inspire.

Of course, if you are religiously motivated to take this term literally, I heartily welcome your sincere responses.

Thank you in advance.

By this I am particularly interested in your views on the corruption of religious ideals as practiced by modern followers of organized faiths, but I am interested in any sort of answer in response. In regards to athiests or other non-believers, please take this question as a pure hypothetical, under the assumption that, oh well, that 99.9% certainty I always had because there was never any proof has just been shattered. Take a 'now what?' stance, please, as, again, this is ultimately a question of fantasy.

Thank you in advance for your responses.

By this is quite obviously mean to you, personally. I am interested in individual ethics, morality and convictions to guide these answers. I am not asking this with any set agenda (you may note that I do not say 'no agenda at all'); my interest has nothing to do with any preconceived bias towards my belief in a proper or correct answer in any way. I am only interested in what ideal different people might hold as being even more important than their own continued existence. Or, if there is none, I am interested to know why.

Thank you in advance.

I am asking less for whom you believe is most important to YOU, but to all of humanity, through influence, ideas, impact, et cetera. Of course, more interestingly, I am also interested in why you have chosen this specific figure.

I suggest that iconic religious leaders (to save space I will limit myself to Moses, Jesus and Mohammed, although other figures are certainly worth mentioning in regards to this inquiry) were actually political revolutionaries. Moses organized a group of followers to overthrow slavery and tyrannical rule of Egyptian Monarchy; Jesus did the same with the Roman monarchy; Mohammed versus the Holy Roman Empire. From this perspective (or, if you believe this spurious, please tell me why) are sacred texts really more like political doctrines to challenge an established rule, or do you believe politics have nothing to do with these figures assention(s) to cultural prominance? Why you believe as you do, of course, is really what I am seeking.

Thank you in advance.