Dear God, why is my life so hard?

Lucian

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Pretty much... 😑

 

MrE

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Hello Lucian

Why do you think your life is so hard? To what do you attribute this?

And about that book.....

If someone was to recommend a "self-help" book to you, would reading it help? Would reading it help at all, if you never implemented any of the principles?
 

MrE

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Sorry- I should have introduced myself. You can call me Al.

A man walks down the street, he says,
"Why am I soft in the middle now?
Why am I soft in the middle?
The rest of my life is so hard
I need a photo-opportunity,
I want a shot at redemption
Don't wanna end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard"


 

Lucian

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Hello Lucian

Why do you think your life is so hard? To what do you attribute this?

And about that book.....

If someone was to recommend a "self-help" book to you, would reading it help? Would reading it help at all, if you never implemented any of the principles?
Because I have numerous problems all the time.
I did implement its principles. They failed. How do you think I became a dystheist? :rolleyes:
 

MrE

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Because I have numerous problems all the time.
I did implement its principles. They failed. How do you think I became a dystheist? :rolleyes:

Oh- interesting.

Never attribute to God, those things that you are responsible for.
 

Can't think of a name

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Because I have numerous problems all the time.
I did implement its principles. They failed. How do you think I became a dystheist? :rolleyes:
I have numerous problems all the time too, and I dare say more than you do. But I know God exists and that's good enough for me. It's not God's fault you are a dystheist, whatever flavour of atheism that is.
 

Lucian

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Never attribute to God, those things that you are responsible for.
He's responsible for everything because He created me against my desire.
 

Frankj

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He's responsible for everything because He created me against my desire.
What did you desire before you were created?
 

MrE

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It's not God's fault you are a dystheist, whatever flavour of atheism that is.

Dystheism is not atheism, per se. It's the belief that says-- God must be (at least at times) malevolent in nature, to cause or permit some of the things that happen.

It's not crazy. It's just short-sighted.
 

Lucian

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What did you desire before you were created?
Nothing, because I didn't exist, so I couldn't have desires.

Now comes the part where you ask me how could God have asked me whether I wanted to exist if I didn't exist at that time. I can't think of a way in which He could have done that, but He is omniscient, so He knew my future and He knew that I would not desire to exist in the future, thus Him creating me, while having said knowledge about my future desire of nonexistence, makes Him malevolent.

Imagine someone who is in a deep sleep, no dreams, no pain, no suffering. You wake them up by pouring cold water on them and then immediately proceed to let your employee torture them. And then you tell them that if they don't love you and obey you while they're being tortured, you will send them to be tortured even worse for eternity.

That's what God does.
 

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Dystheism is not atheism, per se. It's the belief that says-- God must be (at least at times) malevolent in nature, to cause or permit some of the things that happen.

It's not crazy. It's just short-sighted.
So he believes that there is a God but that God is malevolent. Ask him if anything good exists.
 

Frankj

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Nothing, because I didn't exist, so I couldn't have desires.

Now comes the part where you ask me how could God have asked me whether I wanted to exist if I didn't exist at that time. I can't think of a way in which He could have done that, but He is omniscient, so He knew my future and He knew that I would not desire to exist in the future, thus Him creating me, while having said knowledge about my future desire of nonexistence, makes Him malevolent.

Imagine someone who is in a deep sleep, no dreams, no pain, no suffering. You wake them up by pouring cold water on them and then immediately proceed to let your employee torture them. And then you tell them that if they don't love you and obey you while they're being tortured, you will send them to be tortured even worse for eternity.

That's what God does.
You might find some answers to your problems by meditating on the deepest meanings of Proverbs 18:21

Proverbs contains the secrets of living a successful life, for Christians, Seculars or others equally.
 

MrE

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So he believes that there is a God but that God is malevolent. Ask him if anything good exists.

Ask him yourself.

It’s a fair point worthy of discussion.
An angle on- “if God is good, why do bad things happen?” or “Why do bad things happen to good people?” (Charlie Kirk)
 

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Ask him yourself.

It’s a fair point worthy of discussion.
An angle on- “if God is good, why do bad things happen?” or “Why do bad things happen to good people?” (Charlie Kirk)
He's obviously not interested in talking to me because he responded to you after I wrote to him and he still hasn't responded to me.
 

MrE

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He's obviously not interested in talking to me because he responded to you after I wrote to him and he still hasn't responded to me.

in a way his attitude reminds me of yours both of you somehow think your situation is God‘s fault and not at all of your own making.
 

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in a way his attitude reminds me of yours both of you somehow think your situation is God‘s fault and not at all of your own making.
Yeah, because praying to God for Him is obviously selfish. Or something. I might not be anything like this other guy because he has no experience of God and I do.
 

Lucian

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I have numerous problems all the time too, and I dare say more than you do. But I know God exists and that's good enough for me.
Why is it enough for you? I'm not following. To me, it's akin to a slave saying: "I know that I have a miserable life due to my master having enslaved me, but I know that my master exists and that's good enough for me". Do explain to me how that is rational, but I can't understand it.
It's not God's fault you are a dystheist, whatever flavour of atheism that is.
I'm not an atheist, but I also don't think that it is the atheists' fault for not believing in God. They just don't find the evidence convincing. One can't choose what one is convinced of. It's impossible to convince yourself of something your brain refuses to acknowledge as convincing.
 

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Life is hard but there will be a solution God will give it. God will help humanity ebtray each other Gods does not betray. Good will come in the end.
 

tango

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Nothing, because I didn't exist, so I couldn't have desires.

Now comes the part where you ask me how could God have asked me whether I wanted to exist if I didn't exist at that time. I can't think of a way in which He could have done that, but He is omniscient, so He knew my future and He knew that I would not desire to exist in the future, thus Him creating me, while having said knowledge about my future desire of nonexistence, makes Him malevolent.

Imagine someone who is in a deep sleep, no dreams, no pain, no suffering. You wake them up by pouring cold water on them and then immediately proceed to let your employee torture them. And then you tell them that if they don't love you and obey you while they're being tortured, you will send them to be tortured even worse for eternity.

That's what God does.

If your desires are supposed to be the final arbiter of what is right then you're trying to make yourself into God.
 

Lucian

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If your desires are supposed to be the final arbiter of what is right then you're trying to make yourself into God.
How do you define God? Cause, from what you're saying, it seems to me like you define God as someone who is allowed to make His desires the final arbiter of reality. That sounds like universal-level dictatorship.
 
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