Quote from: af_newbie on March 06, 2019, 07:06:36 AM

I said, "if you must worship". I don't need to worship anything.

I cannot believe it. Are all religious folks so shallow to think only about themselves and their salvation?
It is all about you and your personal pleasure.

Why would you even think that someone would want to be good to others to satisfy their own personal whimsy?

You are good to others so that others feel good. That is what selflessness is all about.

Maybe religious people cannot become truly selfless that is why you don't understand or trust what I am talking about.

Maybe that is why you invent the supernatural to satisfy your pathological lack of empathy for human beings.

You need the supernatural because you lack connection with other, physical life.

I am afraid our nervous systems are wired differently that is why you do not truly trust and understand what I am saying.

Instead, you look for invalidation of my position elsewhere by inventing that reason to fit it into your worldview.

I am walking, talking Jesus or Budda compared to you guys.

You are wrong on that point af_newbie. Everyone worships something. Your only choice is what that worship is centered on and whether you are going to be aware of what you are worshipping.

Here is the entire speech by David Foster Wallace. It was dubbed by Time magazine the greatest commencement speech of all time and it highlights this issue well.

This Is Water - Full version-David Foster Wallace Commencement Speech
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI

Almost none of us are selfless. I certainly am not. Religious people are still people. Yes an individual who is religious only out of a concern or fear for his or her presumed future salvation is also engaged in a form of self-worship. We are a very self centered species and our religions institutions are not immune to our failings. Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, however, can with time and greater wisdom lead to doing the right thing for the right reasons.

Whether you are a walking, talking Jesus or Buddha compared to me I cannot say as I dont really know you or how you live your life. What I can say is that as I have grown wiser my eyes have opened to my own sin and moral failures. I do not consider myself a good person. I consider myself a sinner who genuinely strives to sin less so that I can become a better person. Given your claim that you dont know what sin means I recommend caution in comparing yourself to Jesus or Buddha.