I am writing this in response to a comment that is posted on one of my posts “Belief and Self.”
The comment was talking about the Relativism vs. Moralism. Both parties debate that they both are correct, but the author intervenes this debate by bringing up God and the Bible to show that neither one of them is correct with some personal insights. The author also mentioned that the absolute truth is found within God, and as humans, we have both good and bad days, but in asking God for forgiveness, we are forgiven. Granted, temptation is everywhere because of our powerful thoughts that can traverse and see both real and imaginative things anytime and anywhere. If by asking God for forgiveness, then repeatedly does the same thing, hm…….. that could be a little bit strange concept huh? You see the point that I am heading to. Overall, it is a great comment and thanks to that author for sharing that.
I am a strong believer that life is what you make it. It has nothing to do with whether or not how people or you label yourself as a relativist or a moralist or in between. It is what we believe that defines us whether it is true or not. There are always good and bad sides to each thing. You can’t really say that one thing is absolute bad or vice versa. But the point is, creating a life that you want, a life that runs parallel with your own belief and ready to take criticism as part of life experience and learning, is what this is all about. No body is perfect, and we all make mistakes. What I encourage you to do is to face your authentic self, be realistic to yourself by understanding clearly who you really are, and what belief systems that supports that “you.” You can be just about anything! Yes, I mean anything. Christian, atheist, relativist, moralist, even criminal, whatever you want to call yourself. But one thing to keep in mind is that, be whatever you want to be, but make sure that you are happy to be one of those and anything that you do would not go against self, for if you are one thing and believe in another thing, it’s nothing different than living a double life.
I am trying to make the post not sound really Bible or God related, or trigger that comment, but rather what you, as another human being, believe in. During any discussion, I personally don’t like people bring up the Bible to defend their opinions because if this is the case, the whole country’s law will be like Utah’s law that mostly is based on Mormonism. Sadly, between Democrats and Republicans, we tend to tie those parties to a particular religion. Furthermore, labeling yourself to me is just a waste of time. So what if there’s an absolute truth? Decades by decades, there’s only scripture that says there’s one ultimate truth – God. What would this apply to other countries? What would India think about their God? What would Japan think about Buddha? Etc. If anything besides Christianity’s God is evil or not true, why those countries are even in the world? Why those countries don’t get destroyed like Sodom? Because of Satan? And one of these days, the end of the world will come? … I can’t even imagine thinking of this because to me, it’s totally not making any sense. To sum it up, if you are born in America, chances are that you are a Christian and believe in Christianity’s God, but if you are born in Asia, chances are that you are a Buddhist. No one has proven any of these Gods do exist. Trust me, each country’s God has its own story. But compared to gravity, radio waves, etc. that we cannot see, scientists have revealed that. Newton even cared to know why apple fell.
It’s none of anyone’s business to judge anyone’s belief, but some tend to lean toward that way anyway. If you think that in Christianity you find the truth that you want, regardless it defines you or not, then go for it. On the other hand, if you think that you are being yourself enough and believe in things that you believe in, then go for it. There’s nothing to feel guilty or bad about. As long as you are happy the way you are and what you believe, that’s all it matters the most. We cannot change anyone. We cannot put something in someone’s head and expect that he or she will believe in whatever we believe. Some readers might find this post is not agreeable because they have their own beliefs that are completely different than mine. Personally, I think the journey of self-discovery matters the most in each individual’s life more than spirituality. It is the importance about how you feel comfortable about being “you,” and how much you love “you.” This, I may call, an absolute truth.
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The comment was talking about the Relativism vs. Moralism. Both parties debate that they both are correct, but the author intervenes this debate by bringing up God and the Bible to show that neither one of them is correct with some personal insights. The author also mentioned that the absolute truth is found within God, and as humans, we have both good and bad days, but in asking God for forgiveness, we are forgiven. Granted, temptation is everywhere because of our powerful thoughts that can traverse and see both real and imaginative things anytime and anywhere. If by asking God for forgiveness, then repeatedly does the same thing, hm…….. that could be a little bit strange concept huh? You see the point that I am heading to. Overall, it is a great comment and thanks to that author for sharing that.
I am a strong believer that life is what you make it. It has nothing to do with whether or not how people or you label yourself as a relativist or a moralist or in between. It is what we believe that defines us whether it is true or not. There are always good and bad sides to each thing. You can’t really say that one thing is absolute bad or vice versa. But the point is, creating a life that you want, a life that runs parallel with your own belief and ready to take criticism as part of life experience and learning, is what this is all about. No body is perfect, and we all make mistakes. What I encourage you to do is to face your authentic self, be realistic to yourself by understanding clearly who you really are, and what belief systems that supports that “you.” You can be just about anything! Yes, I mean anything. Christian, atheist, relativist, moralist, even criminal, whatever you want to call yourself. But one thing to keep in mind is that, be whatever you want to be, but make sure that you are happy to be one of those and anything that you do would not go against self, for if you are one thing and believe in another thing, it’s nothing different than living a double life.
I am trying to make the post not sound really Bible or God related, or trigger that comment, but rather what you, as another human being, believe in. During any discussion, I personally don’t like people bring up the Bible to defend their opinions because if this is the case, the whole country’s law will be like Utah’s law that mostly is based on Mormonism. Sadly, between Democrats and Republicans, we tend to tie those parties to a particular religion. Furthermore, labeling yourself to me is just a waste of time. So what if there’s an absolute truth? Decades by decades, there’s only scripture that says there’s one ultimate truth – God. What would this apply to other countries? What would India think about their God? What would Japan think about Buddha? Etc. If anything besides Christianity’s God is evil or not true, why those countries are even in the world? Why those countries don’t get destroyed like Sodom? Because of Satan? And one of these days, the end of the world will come? … I can’t even imagine thinking of this because to me, it’s totally not making any sense. To sum it up, if you are born in America, chances are that you are a Christian and believe in Christianity’s God, but if you are born in Asia, chances are that you are a Buddhist. No one has proven any of these Gods do exist. Trust me, each country’s God has its own story. But compared to gravity, radio waves, etc. that we cannot see, scientists have revealed that. Newton even cared to know why apple fell.
It’s none of anyone’s business to judge anyone’s belief, but some tend to lean toward that way anyway. If you think that in Christianity you find the truth that you want, regardless it defines you or not, then go for it. On the other hand, if you think that you are being yourself enough and believe in things that you believe in, then go for it. There’s nothing to feel guilty or bad about. As long as you are happy the way you are and what you believe, that’s all it matters the most. We cannot change anyone. We cannot put something in someone’s head and expect that he or she will believe in whatever we believe. Some readers might find this post is not agreeable because they have their own beliefs that are completely different than mine. Personally, I think the journey of self-discovery matters the most in each individual’s life more than spirituality. It is the importance about how you feel comfortable about being “you,” and how much you love “you.” This, I may call, an absolute truth.
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hala sumakit yata ang ulo ko.. i have to read this again...
Hi,
I enjoyed reading this latest blog. You make some valid points in reference to my previous comments about your post “Belief and Self”. I really look forward to continued discussion about several things you mentioned, whether it is via this forum, or off-line.
First, I would like to say that the main reason for my initial reply was that in your “Belief and Self” post you made reference to God, Christ, Jesus, Christianity, church, and the Bible some 20+ times. I totally respect your desire to “make the post not sound really Bible or God related”. However, again, with all do respect, how else is one expected to adequately (and without consternation) reply to this particular train of thought and at the same time honor your request when you said: “I personally don’t like people bring up the Bible to defend their opinions because if this is the case, the whole country’s law will be like Utah’s law that mostly is based on Mormonism”? Respectfully, your comments sound a little contradictory to me.
Again, please understand that my comments in defense of the Bible were based in reply to your comments that you: “had made a mess…of your life” by investigating Christianity. Please know that I respect your comments…as this is your blog, but at the outset, I would like to ask, is one free here to truly express their thoughts, opinions, regardless of whether or not they decide to reference the Bible, the Koran, the teachings of Buddah, etc? Or is this a closed forum, where one is expected to conform and always agree with the blogger, and only comment within certain prescribed guidelines? I look forward to your reply on this.
Now, my response to some of your comments…I don’t completely disagree with you that “life is what you make it, and that it has nothing to do with whether or not how people or you label yourself as a relativist or a moralist”. No doubt,we humans have a tendency to want to label others. The point I was making earlier, however, is that no matter what, every single one of us has a belief system that we operate on/with. The so called “labels” that philosophers have attached to the way we humans gravitate our thoughts in one direction or another are mere explanations of those belief systems. I do not see these descriptions as labels at all, but rather categorizations of how human beings tend to approach the core value systems of our life.
This is a nuanced explanation, and I am confident that all the great thinkers who have gone before us, especially many of the great Greek philosophers would agree. To clarify, the point I was previously trying to make is that 1) at our core, every single one of us holds to some belief system, whether we want to admit to or not (my discussion on moralism vs. relativism was used merely as a point of reference, or as an example) , 2)the variety of belief systems that men have subscribed to over the ages have all pretty much been failures (history bares this out), 3)millions of people have died as a result of wars waged because of differences in these belief systems, while others have died at the hands of dictators (think Hitler, Pol Pot) who thought they had all the answers and were right and, 4) God, the one who said he made everything, came down to earth and commented…guess what, we got it all wrong.
So, yes I absolutely agree with your comment…”it is what we believe that defines us whether it is true or not”. The problem is that many have gone before us believing in a lie…like Hitler who said the world would be much better off if everyone was blue-eyed, blonde and German, or Pol Pot who claimed that it was the intellectuals who were causing the problems in Cambodia—so he had them all killed off.
Again, I am not saying that we should not be free to believe the way we want, "whether it is true or not". However, I think you would agree that the problem arises when another person’s belief system begins to infringe upon ours.
Yes, facing our authentic self is very important!! Who doesn’t want to be themselves??? The problem is that sometimes this is a lot easier said than done. Life can be complicated, and unfortunately we don’t always get our way on everything. We have family, jobs, friends that we have to navigate our way through on a daily basis. For example, I might want to come out to friends and family, but I know that if I do there might be certain consequences. My question to you, is what does it really mean to face your authentic self? And, honestly, have you always been true to yourself?
Can’t argue with you on your statement: “But one thing to keep in mind is that, be whatever you want to be, but make sure that you are happy to be one of those and anything that you do would not go against self, for if you are one thing and believe in another thing, its nothing different than living a double life”. Honestly, though, aren’t we not all in this situation? Who among us on this planet does not live some sort of a double life everyday? Who among us does not have a public persona as well as a private persona? Isn’t this part of the human condition?
I’m not trying to make excuses for myself (cause yes, I often do one thing and say another), or the human race for that matter. I’m merely stating fact that we humans possess a sort of splitness in our personalities. We often talk a good talk, but rarely back it up with actions. As someone once said, “Actions speak louder than words”.
As a Christian (ooops, hope I am allowed to mention that word), God tells me that I am born a sinner, with many flaws, and that as long as I am on this planet I will make mistakes. At the same time, God tells me that yes, he does forgive me of my mistakes….that he doesn’t give up on me. Just like a parent doesn’t give up on their child who continually makes mistakes. You still love them no matter what. I say this is no strange concept, but, rather it’s a wonderful thing called LOVE.
Although I have the love of my parents and God, I admit that sometimes I forget my heritage and do those things I know I should not. Don’t we all do this? Yes, this may sound hypocritical, but, again, I am a mere mortal. I pick myself up, ask for forgiveness, and try to do better the next time. Cause, I know that my parents, and my God have forgiven me, and still love me. Do we not all ask this from our friends and colleagues when we make a mistake? Do we not all ask for and desire mercy when we do something wrong? Do we not all want and need second chances, or even 3rd, 4th, 5th, chances?
I do take a bit of umbrage to the statement “So what if there’s an absolute truth?” Please pardon me for saying this, but this certainly does sound like a relativistic statement! To me, an absolute truth makes all the difference in the world. Without absolutes, there would be no life on this planet…for example, at this very moment this little planet we call earth is spinning around the sun at precisely 1,000 mph, at precisely a certain distance from the sun, at a precise angle…all without which we would either burn up or freeze in a matter of minutes. God, the creator of the universe, says he is the author of all of this and is absolute truth. I say, therefore, is it better to believe in God. Or, please forgive me for being facitious, should I put my faith in someone like Hilter, Pol Pot, or the current leader of North Korea who routinely oppresses his people on a daily basis?
You are so right to say: “We cannot put something in someone’s head and expect that he or she will believe in whatever we believe”. But, as fellow human beings, do we not have an obligation to at least hear each other out, to discuss things in a Civil matter, without blasting each other because they believe one way or another?
I cannot speak for what other countries believe in with regard to their faith or religion. China is mostly Buddhist, along with the rest of Asia. But, interestingly, Christianity is undergoing an explosion in growth in Asia, and around the world. People are abandoning Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, etc. for something more meaningful.
Yes, we should love ourselves! But, I say let us also love each other, and be kind to each other…for the journey of self-discovery leads to a dead end street.
To quote Helen Keller:
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even be touched --they must be felt with the heart.
Respectfully,
J. Lan Tucker
Lan, first of, please don't think that the statement that I made about not bringing up the Bible during discussion is targeting your comment, but rather in real life discussion. Also, when I said I am trying not to make this post sound like Bible or God related, I meant this post not the previous post or your comment. I appreciate you taking your time putting down your thoughts on the posts that I wrote. As an author, nothing is worse than writing something and getting no feedback from readers. So yes, readers are not robots that have to agree with whatever I said. This blog is built mainly and purely based on my personal experience and observation in life. I never expect others to see things like I do. Otherwise, I would take readers’ request and write something that they request. But I cannot do that because I never personally experience those things that they have been through or subjects that they are interested in.
With this post, I am "sort of" trying to make it become another new post, rather than triggering your comment or my previous post. The reason beyond that is because your comment prompted/inspired me to write something about self-discovery and absolute truth. Like I said "If you think that in Christianity you find the truth that you want, regardless it defines you or not, then go for it." I respect your belief and nothing really is personal here. But if you think that Christianity is growing in Asia, um.... you have to personally experience that. I hate to say this, but Christians go over to Cambodia, and only poor people become Christians just for the sake of food, clothes, etc. that are provided by Christians. The question is that, if they don't provide food and clothes, would they want to be one? The blame goes back to our government that doesn't have enough funds to help citizens. Buddhism also doesn’t go around and share the so-called Gospel. Even Mormon has been banned by our government awhile ago for going and knocking at people’s houses. Overall, I just don't think any religions out there are making sense to me anymore. But if one does make sense to you, that's great. We, as human, somehow need something to believe in and to rely on no matter it is spiritual related or simply based on our own experience.
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