Questioning Lessons, Success, Unlucky, Logic, and Atheists

 

“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”

-- Haruki Murakami

What are some important and generalizable life lessons?

Failure, perseverance, and success.

Is morality just obeying the law or something more spiritual?

Parents teach morality if they believe in parenting as part of a child’s upbringing. It can be more than spiritual. The law will also try to teach what parenting failed at. If the law fails, there is jail time in the offing.

Would you rely on science or spirituality to control important elements of the universe and life?

Science. Spirituality depends on belief. Science depends on facts. 

If you were able to go back in time and talk to a person who passed away, what would you say?

I’m sorry.

Bad things happen to me & I’m told that it’s because I attract it. But, when I’m all happy and in good energy and something bad happens, it’s then that my energy turns bad. Prior, I was all good, so how come I’ve attracted it?

Things don’t just happen. If something happens to you, it is something you did or didn’t do. Your life is what you make of it. You can play the “blame game” but the blame is all yours. You have allowed it to happen. You have attracted it by what you do or not, or the people you hang around with. You have allowed bad things to be attracted to you. Change your friends, what you do, and what you are. It is not an easy task.

What golden advice did you learn in your life?

Whatever happens to you, you allow it to happen.

“A person will only do what you allow them to do, be careful on what you allow”

-- Arisa Sharpe

Is success based on smart work or good luck?

Real “success” is based on smart work. Luck is based on nothing you have done, so try to repeat it, or explain it. You can’t because it happened by luck, not by anything you intended to do. Your “success” will be fleeting.

What type of friends are good for a helping hand?

I would look to “helping” friends. Is this another trick question?

When the cost of living becomes too high in your country, do you plan to migrate, temporarily, or wait for things to get better?

Wait. It doesn’t say much if your “patriotism” allows you to bolt when the road gets rough. As a citizen, it is your responsibility to find a way to make it better. I love the idiots who threaten to leave the country because of an incoming President. They threaten, but they never go, the cowards.

What made you happy recently?

A very short skirt around a pair of woman's shapely legs. I smiled.

What explanation would you offer to a friend about the meaning of suffering and evil in my personal life about the loss of my parents?

You need to grow up. Loss hits everybody. I lost both of my parents within two years of each other. I mourned the loss, and then I got back to life. Getting back to “life” is where we need to be. "Getting back to life" is an example for others to follow when they experience their own loss.

Is doubting a brain or heart thing?

A “brain” thing. It may affect the heart, however.

“Doubt as sin. — Christianity has done its utmost to close the circle and declared even doubt to be a sin. One is supposed to be cast into belief without reason, by a miracle, and from then on to swim in it as in the brightest and least ambiguous of elements: even a glance towards land, even the thought that one perhaps exists for something else as well as swimming, even the slightest impulse of our amphibious nature — is sin! And, notice that all this means that the foundation of belief and all reflection on its origin is likewise excluded as sinful. What is wanted are blindness and intoxication and an eternal song over the waves in which reason has drowned.”

-- Friedrich Nietzsche

What causes someone to be unlucky all their life (from childhood)? How can they fix it so they stop being unlucky forever and start having a lucky life like everyone else’s?

Luck is what you make of it. The cause is you, making bad decisions and choices. How to fix it? Start thinking before you make important decisions and choices.

Is it ethical to hurt somebody for their own good?

It is your “ethical” responsibility to hurt? If they are dying, probably. But is it “ethical” to hurt someone to satisfy your view of what, you think, is good for them? Who made you their guardian?

How can I increase my luck in life?

Think before you act. Yeah, it is a concept. 

Is learning from mistakes a sign of having greater wisdom?

Learning from mistakes is what we are “supposed” to do. Learning, in life, is the prime directive. If you make a mistake, don’t cry about it, learn from it. If we need to call learning, “wisdom,” then so be it. The trouble with this thought is that learning doesn’t make most people do things better, so the “wisdom” they’re supposed to glean from learning, is thrown out like dirty water.

Why do I always think about who was in my life, the people I loved, and who was a part of it?

It is your history, and you should be “learning” from it.

Is it appropriate to end a friendship with someone who holds conservative beliefs?

So, you are only going to be friends with socialists? It’s kind of limiting your “friend bucket” to one questionable belief. What if the “conservative” people are right? I think I’d leave my options open. I mean, you never know.

"One of the great tragedies of politics is that it can take people who in real life would be peaceful and loyal and loving friends and turn them into bitter enemies. I’m always struck by this when I see a political rally, with face-offs between backers and protesters. What exactly is gained by this? If you put these same people in a shopping mall or movie theater or restaurant, they would have every reason to get along and no reason to be screaming obscenities at each other."

-- Jeffrey A. Tucker

Can "there is no proof without evidence" be considered a valid logical statement?

Considering the proof is the evidence, one would be right in stating that this is a valid logical statement. If the evidence flies over to left field, one might be right in questioning the validity of the statement. Or, I could be totally wrong. It would not be the first time.

Why don't most people care if a billionaire is a vile and vindictive person these days?

People expect them to be that way. It is what it is.

Why should you do more for others than you do for yourself?

You shouldn’t. As the airline safety briefing says, “Put your oxygen mask on first, and then help the passenger next to you.” The airlines realized that they didn’t need two more dead people. Love of self should come before love for others. Once you are secure, you can try to help others.

Is it better to be kind or to be honest? Can you be both?

It is better to be both, kind and honest.

Why do people think I'm a stupid idiot?

You aren’t a stupid idiot. You can be stupid, or you can be an idiot. The two terms are similar. If people call you this, they are stupid idiots. I would ask them, “Do you realize that “stupid idiot” is redundant?” That will bring them up short. They will look at you like you said something they didn’t think of, and you did.

Can logic exist without evidence?

Yes, but logic will be looking for that evidence.

“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.”

-- Dale Carnegie

How would you respond to someone who claims that atheists are not true atheists?

If they are not true atheists they are probably agnostic (someone who is unsure if a god or gods exist).

Can atheists who are unsure of their beliefs find answers?

If they aren’t sure of their beliefs, they are, probably, agnostics.

Can arguments be based on emotion or are they always based on reason, logic, and evidence?

If you are in an argument, assume there is no reason, logic, or evidence. If there was a scrap of evidence, there would be no argument. A “discussion” is not based on emotion. A discussion is looking for a scrap of evidence.

When are Americans going to get tired of the shit?

We just elected Trump, again. Democrats helped to elect him. We are all tired of the shit.

Why do Americans put up with atheists?

Why do Americans put up with theists? We accept "opinions" that don’t risk the security of our nation. We are all Americans in this country and we, all of us, have the freedom to think and speak our minds. Theists nor atheists have any proof that they are correct in their beliefs. They have faith that they are right, but they have no proof.

 Why is honesty a choice for some people?

They have a problem dealing with, or accepting, the truth.

“It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.”

-- Noël Coward

Do atheists recognize the perceived absurdity of their beliefs?

Do theists? 

Why did I deserve this painful existence?

We are here to learn the lessons that life gives us. If you have a “painful existence” you have learned nothing from it. You need to recognize the lesson, learn from the lesson, and overcome the lesson. Denial only keeps the lesson hammering away at you.

Why do atheists make emotional arguments rather than logical ones?

The same can be said for theists. Both sides have no concrete proof to offer.

Are genius and moron two sides of a coin?

I’d like to agree with this, but the genius can be a moron. I have known brilliant people that have the manners of a moron. I think the parenting they got as children was lacking due to their intellect.

What is one thing that you have aspired to become in life and achieved it?

Master Sergeant.

Why, after all these years, do humans still feel like they're above every other species? Why have they still not understood that they're just another kind of animal?

Because we are above every other species. We think about space travel… and make it happen. We think about cities, cars, trains, planes, and the like, and we bring them to fruition. We think about advanced mathematics. We think about advanced medicine. We think above any other animal on this planet. We do this because we are frail and can be eaten at any moment by a predator. Our brains strive to protect us, because we are, otherwise, weak. We are simultaneously food and predator.

“There is some kind of a sweet innocence in being human- in not having to be just happy or just sad - in the nature of being able to be both broken and whole, at the same time.”

-- C. JoyBell C.

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch - it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either view any more right or wrong than the other. Opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form their own opinions, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint.

I fervently hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning those opinions offered. After twenty-three years of military intelligence, I believe that engaging each other in this manner, and in this arena, is a way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience... and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Following his service career, he spent 17 years working with the premier and world-renowned Western Institutional Review Board, helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. He also served 8 years on the Board of Directors for the Angela J. Bowen Foundation.

Ordained in 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As a weapon for his war on intolerance, he chose the pen. He wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's personal, spiritual path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony at: tolerantpastor@gmail.com