4 ms·

That’s why he said “religious constructs” and not “religions”. I believe religious systems are useful, but I agree with the parent that concepts like the afterl

That’s why he said “religious constructs” and not “religions”. I believe religious systems are useful, but I agree with the parent that concepts like the afterlife are absurd concepts used to alleviate existential dread. Maybe this utility means it isn’t absurd, but I would say that many religions don’t have the concept of an afterlife, so other less-absurd concepts may provide the same functionality without the same cognitive distortions.

thinkingemote 4y ago
Some might view something as a mystery that another views as an absurdity. I think a mystery is more interesting and less ... (Edits: hmm I don't know what the word is.)
- brutusborn 4y ago
  In this case I think that the mystery of life requires something to avoid existential angst, and some people use the afterlife as that something. Other religions (like Buddhism) might view the entire question of “what is this?” as absurd, and so use methods like meditation to help alleviate the angst, thus avoiding absurd beliefs. TLDR: the mystery isn’t the absurdity but our reaction to it might be absurd.
  - feanaro 4y ago
    Buddhism has plenty of "absurd" beliefs of this sort. If anything, the delineation of "absurd" is anything but simple.
    - brutusborn 4y ago
      Yeah some sects can get whacky. I think the core Buddhist tenets are pretty much absurdity free but I agree that it’s not simple to determine. Are there any beliefs in particular you were thinking of?
      - feanaro 4y ago
        The six realms of existence, hungry ghosts (pretas), siddhi, sacca-kiriya, the cosmic buddhas, the Pure Lands...
dfadgasfdads 4y ago
As you're portraying believing in the hereafter as a cope for existential dread, you could say the opposite. The disbeliever tries to ridicule the concept of an afterlife as to allievate the dread of being held accountable for their deeds on the day of judgement which would likely lead them to an eternal and painful hell. In Islam, it's very clearly mentioned that each individual will be judged according to their deeds. There are two destinations possible paradise or hellfire. Other religions that came before have often tried to tone down this reality by either removing accountability like Chrisitanity with the concept of Jesus (peace be upon him) having died for our sins or by simply removing the concept of an afterlife all together. The Quran clearly tells us that many prophets were sent in the past with revelation but as time passed on they were falsified by people. In light of this, one could easily see how polytheistic religions came about. In the end Islam is the last religion and it was intended to be preserved which makes it unlike any other religion in the world today. It has one book there a no multiple different versions. It is perfectly constructed and there are 0 inconsistencies and errors. No arab linguist can deny that. Allah sent the previous prophets specifically for their nations however the last prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was sent for all mankind until the end of times. Give the quran a read. https://quran.com https://quran.com Do some research on the topic. YouTube is a great ressource for this. Make your own opinion. In light of this, I still want to invite you to become muslim. Islam answers all the questions Chrisitanity and other religions couldn't. Most importantly it will save you in the hereafter. I'd suggest putting your hand on a hot stove (not too hot) and ponder. Do you really want something like this for yourself and for eternity?
- brutusborn 4y ago
  I respect your passion and faith but I think you are very mistaken. I tried to read some of the Quran but couldn’t find anything that spoke to me. Can you recommend any good sections or translations? Maybe the parts that make you so certain of the afterlife? I will criticise one of your points since it seems fairly objective. Aren’t there many versions of Quran and countless hadiths? https://answering-islam.org/Green/seven.htm https://answering-islam.org/Green/seven.htm
  - erenyeager 4y ago
feanaro 4y ago
If you take a step back, it is a great and profoundly absurd mystery that there is existence at all. So given this background absurdity, how do you even delineate what's absurd and what's not, when it comes to concepts relating to the nature of existence itself? It's certainly fashionable to attempt putting everything in terms such as "cognitive distortions", but it's not clear it's sound reasoning when it comes to things like this. And I say this as a rather staunch irreligious person.
- brutusborn 4y ago
  What kind of concepts would be hard to delineate? I like the Zen approach to mystery, which is to accept it and resist the temptation to rationalize the mystery away. Thus no absurd concepts are needed, since concepts are not needed. (I’m relatively new to Zen so I may be off the mark a bit here, but I think I got the essence correct)

thinkingemote 4y ago

Some might view something as a mystery that another views as an absurdity. I think a mystery is more interesting and less ... (Edits: hmm I don't know what the word is.)

brutusborn 4y ago
In this case I think that the mystery of life requires something to avoid existential angst, and some people use the afterlife as that something. Other religions (like Buddhism) might view the entire question of “what is this?” as absurd, and so use methods like meditation to help alleviate the angst, thus avoiding absurd beliefs. TLDR: the mystery isn’t the absurdity but our reaction to it might be absurd.
- feanaro 4y ago
  Buddhism has plenty of "absurd" beliefs of this sort. If anything, the delineation of "absurd" is anything but simple.
  - brutusborn 4y ago
    Yeah some sects can get whacky. I think the core Buddhist tenets are pretty much absurdity free but I agree that it’s not simple to determine. Are there any beliefs in particular you were thinking of?
    - feanaro 4y ago
      The six realms of existence, hungry ghosts (pretas), siddhi, sacca-kiriya, the cosmic buddhas, the Pure Lands...

dfadgasfdads 4y ago

As you're portraying believing in the hereafter as a cope for existential dread, you could say the opposite. The disbeliever tries to ridicule the concept of an afterlife as to allievate the dread of being held accountable for their deeds on the day of judgement which would likely lead them to an eternal and painful hell. In Islam, it's very clearly mentioned that each individual will be judged according to their deeds. There are two destinations possible paradise or hellfire. Other religions that came before have often tried to tone down this reality by either removing accountability like Chrisitanity with the concept of Jesus (peace be upon him) having died for our sins or by simply removing the concept of an afterlife all together. The Quran clearly tells us that many prophets were sent in the past with revelation but as time passed on they were falsified by people. In light of this, one could easily see how polytheistic religions came about. In the end Islam is the last religion and it was intended to be preserved which makes it unlike any other religion in the world today. It has one book there a no multiple different versions. It is perfectly constructed and there are 0 inconsistencies and errors. No arab linguist can deny that. Allah sent the previous prophets specifically for their nations however the last prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was sent for all mankind until the end of times. Give the quran a read. https://quran.com https://quran.com Do some research on the topic. YouTube is a great ressource for this. Make your own opinion. In light of this, I still want to invite you to become muslim. Islam answers all the questions Chrisitanity and other religions couldn't. Most importantly it will save you in the hereafter. I'd suggest putting your hand on a hot stove (not too hot) and ponder. Do you really want something like this for yourself and for eternity?

brutusborn 4y ago
I respect your passion and faith but I think you are very mistaken. I tried to read some of the Quran but couldn’t find anything that spoke to me. Can you recommend any good sections or translations? Maybe the parts that make you so certain of the afterlife? I will criticise one of your points since it seems fairly objective. Aren’t there many versions of Quran and countless hadiths? https://answering-islam.org/Green/seven.htm https://answering-islam.org/Green/seven.htm
- erenyeager 4y ago

feanaro 4y ago

If you take a step back, it is a great and profoundly absurd mystery that there is existence at all. So given this background absurdity, how do you even delineate what's absurd and what's not, when it comes to concepts relating to the nature of existence itself? It's certainly fashionable to attempt putting everything in terms such as "cognitive distortions", but it's not clear it's sound reasoning when it comes to things like this. And I say this as a rather staunch irreligious person.

brutusborn 4y ago
What kind of concepts would be hard to delineate? I like the Zen approach to mystery, which is to accept it and resist the temptation to rationalize the mystery away. Thus no absurd concepts are needed, since concepts are not needed. (I’m relatively new to Zen so I may be off the mark a bit here, but I think I got the essence correct)