I would just like to say a big THANK YOU to all of those TTers out there who are dedicated to God and to helping others. These are the people who don't get angry or irritated easily and do not post or chat explicit content. These are the people who post on every Modding, Help and Tech Support thread to try and actually help the person. [standing ovation] I'd like to say thank you and keep going with it. You are doing a great thing for everybody in the community. [/standing ovation]

Is it still moral if I'm motivated solely by selfish interest and am merely enjoying that which I have in common with others?

No. At least I don't think so.

Why would that be wrong?

LOL!

You're right, BC.

Er, Ayn.

As long as you keep the two connected.

*Heavy wheezing* "I'm on the leader! The Force is strong in this one!"

Chuckling out loud...

@JJ ;)

Careful Monica, you're overstating it a bit... Is anything wrong in acting in your own interests and enjoying something you have in common with others? In doing something you enjoy and sharing that with the people you know who also enjoy it?

No harm, right? Maybe not the most noble thing, but no harm...

A person might also choose to be helpful and kind. Or another might choose to be a pain in the backside.

BCs example is kind of neutral, and could be morally good. Not bad. We all do that to some degree.

You are right Monica, in the fact that there are many good, caring people here. Great community.

Everything, anything good is divine.

Last edited: Saturday, January 07, 2006 at 5:10:17 PM

Well theres two views about this,

1. It's just a game

2. Its a community

If people think that it's just a game then there would be nothing wrong with playing purely for your enjoyment, after all thats what games are for.

But if you consider this a community, then it wouldnt be moral if the only reason you do it is for your enjoyment, and do nothing else. Other wise I don't see how you could count yourself in the community without giving something back.

@Monica yeah I thank those poeple too, TY capn! Lol jk. :P ;) Oh yeah Ty Monica ! B)

Heh Monica. I help others, but I am not one dedicated to God, no offense, for I am a Buddhist. But I do belive in peace and forgiveness. We all know everyone is good at heart though. Everyone cared about something, from their parents, to lover, or to even cigars hehe. Yes, we are all good in the inside.

Ok, first of all I would like to thank -z-, DanMac and LW for their total dedication to fostering this community. Uhhh...I am forgetting tons of people here...Someone please remind me of more people.

Lemme start a flame war with that! Lol jk no flaming plz :). Please dont get offended at the bellow :)

Ok first of every1 isnt good inside they might have some good morals but every1 isnt good, lets go threw Gods way of judgement (This is how it goes in my Gods way) Ok first off were not all good, inside we may have some moral, but that dosent make us good somewhere deep, ok this is the way my god judges, You do sumtin wrong right? Like lets say lie, humm then l8er on the years, you steel something (Can be anything mabey even candy lol) And then l8er on you (Say something wrong like God D** you know the word) and that by my god is called, BLASFAMY however you spell that. Anyways so then theres alot more things.... Iam sure all of you have done other sins beside steeling lieing and saying blasfamy, and another thing is, mabey you cheated in life by checkint out da answers on JIMMYS PAPER! You know it! So anyway by all that, that I said^ It means that alot of people (Yes even people that act nice) are lieing blasphamers, cheaters, and thiefs, so anyway that shows that your Not a good person! Even if you fo got some good stuff inside it aint gonna cover for the wrong (Kinda like a chioce once you take it its left there forever, unless by some wierd way you go back into the past and change it whcih I think is not very possible, althought it might be [I highly doubt it] )lol so anyway youve done wrong right? Well whos gonna forgive ya? Someones gotta take the consequencies (Kinda like a judge, lets say youve done bad things and your being ready too be sent too jail and a guy comes up and pays yo debt!) Well thats what god did he paid a price, were all sinners nons perfect and ya know that... So god came too earth and died for us! And my relegion believes that when you do something wrong you can ask god for forgivness, (why do you ask him) Cuz hes the one who paid the price for ya! ;) All you gotta do for forgivness is ask forgiveness and ask him in yo heart! So anyway... Thats how my belief goes and I believe its true! Its the only logical way (Thats what I think) So anyway there it goes too show were not all good, were all bad.. And need forgivness.. Just because we have something good in each one of us dosent patch up were bassically all bad sinners! B)

@AO I dont want too offend ya man your a kewl dude and all! I dont wnat you too get angry B)

You're both wrong. Men are born neither good nor bad. That's determined by the choices we make.

No Capn Jordon is right, we are all born into this world with sin. Are you saying that a child who is 1 knows the difference between right and wrong!? If so then why does every single child do wrong..

^ BAM! Said it all. :)

God, ethics and think tanks, does anyone else find this a strange mix? Is heaven the ultimate mod?

Connection: ThinkTanks takes up part of people's lives. ---> Our lives can make or break whether we get to heaven. ---> Therefore, how we behave in ThinkTanks can influence whether we get to heaven. God still sees you when you hide behind a computer screen.

^ What about when ure in ure room hidden in the closet! EATING STOLEN CANDY! Yes that too :) he sees everything! @no cool name, heaven is DA ALTUMIATE MOD! You prolly cant discribe it, not only is it wonderful you feel happy all the time as well! ;) By the way you posted twice :) B)

Last edited: Sunday, January 08, 2006 at 11:03:23 PM

Ooo this is fun! XD Anyone else have a comment, question or disagreement about God?

Can someone be moral without God? To keep things simple, I think so. The thing is there are differing views on what is moral. But even so, most people keep to a generally shared moral code that identifies an certain standard for acceptable behavior. Some of those rules may bend depending on the circumstances they are applied to, but for the most part they're pretty stable. Atheists, Buddists, Muslims, Agnostics and Christians all have a set of morals they live by which vary from culture to culture and by regions.

Now, does a person's morality make them acceptable to God? Well, in Christianity, the answer is no. That view holds that people are born into disobedience and are condemned the moment they have life regardless of what actions that have or have not committed. Its a matter of their base nature, which is to rebel and reject God and esteem themselves. Do we really have to teach children to lie or steal? Nope, we have to teach them the very opposite. God does the same thing, first through the Law of Moses, second through the teachings of Jesus and Paul, but it both cases we have to come to God for mercy and grace, acknowledging that we've failed and we're depending on Him to make things right within us. Once our relationship with God is restored, then we can take a stab at obeying His commands, but ultimately our "goodness" or righteousness is through Jesus Christ, not how well we follow a moral code.

Henry Cameron and Howard Roark be a watchin'....

^ Oh my, he lives.

Please, allow me to take the other side. I WANT TO be evil!

Last edited: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 at 4:55:24 PM

Now for my zinger!

I'm really starting to rethink the idea that Christians are supposed to uphold the moral climate of a nation. Personally, I don't think that's a Biblical view, but something that started way back whenever and hasn't stopped.

I've noticed that Christians tend to want to attach themselves to a moral issue, whatever that is and fight to defend it. Now I don't think there's a problem with that since every citizen has the right to fight for what they believe in, but I think what's happening is that Christians think it is their duty to fight for that moral.

I don't think this is what Jesus did.

Sure, he spoke about morals and godly living, but I think his aim was to show us how we were failing to meet those standards and show us our need for a savior. As Christians, we're supposed to spread the Gospel, the good news that Christ has come into the world to save sinners. Once the sinner repents, their morality will take care of itself.

Currently, it seems like Christians are more interested in promoting morality without conversion. I think its that misguided focus thats allowing for a moral decline in general. Instead of focusing on seeing people's lives changed, we're focusing more on PACs, legislation and judicial nominations. Sure, it might be a band-aid, but in the long term, a rule isn't going to have to same impact as a changed perspective.

- EOL -

For my moral code I just ask the question....
What would 44 do?

T raider

^hmm, good answer but I would go along the lines of "what would Hugo do" :P

WWFFD? WWHBD?

Might make for some interesting decisions.

@Rabban- I'm with you on that. Christianity teaches that man's ability to do good is tied with their relationship to God. No relationship, then man is unable. You can only legislate so far, then the heart issues come in. Good post.

@t raider

LOL

Careful....that compass is gonna get you a one-way ticket to Haities.

@ LGM: In the BIble, Cyrus didn't have much of a relationship with God, and seemingly, God worked through him as well.

Rabban, you've gone Lutheran.

I still havent figured out what this thread is about....some help please? 8o

It's about thanking the great TTers who do God's will in helping others and acting as role models.

Cool! Thanks lonewolf! ;)

I agree with B.C. Only our decisions in life will lead us to a life of good or bad. In a somewhat interesting thing in Buddhism is that whatever you do in your life, will affect your next "life". So if you did bad, you may not even be human in your next life, but if you are very good, you may become a human in your next life. Now I do not fully belive in this, but it does show us that your life must be cherished and guided wisely if you want to have a good life.

âIf we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.â

-AO

@ Memphis - ah, the King of Persia who helped rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem is a good example. He was used by God in many ways to benefit Israel. Good can come from people when God uses them.

I was thinking along the line of man's righteousness being as filthy rags, like in Isaiah 64.

@ Memphis - is that a good thing? ;)

Morality, thy name is Cadc! XD :P

@ rabban - depends on the Lutheran.

@ Memphis and Rabban- Lol XD

The onyl really true religion is that guy that actually existed and worte all those scriptures himself probably buddishm and then theres confusias teachings if you follow those teachings but there is no god cause basicly there owuldnt be hungaer and dtsrvation in the world why would he kill a child every 4 seocnds of starvation if there was one? Surely hw ould want hsi creations to live and then limit the other religions but there aint no god :)

And I help people out on real life but as I cant really see people on tt like face to face I find it kinda stupid to unless like we mingle and become mates after a while n stuff

I guess I will write my opinion here
I was raised in a middle class environment
But one without mandatory religious training
See my mom was already a young girl when her father converted to
hardcore southern baptist
"No smoking - drinkin' - cussin'... No dancing etc"
He was very strict and beat my mother and uncle for even the little mistakes
Consequently after years of being abused in the name of religion my mother was
deeply affected by this. We as children were encouraged to read the Bible
To ask questions. To form our own opinions and choose to learn about GOD or not

I have always had and have a deep indescribable feeling of belonging
Of being part of a something bigger than my ability to percieve
IMHO we are here to learn what it means to be human
To be a feeling - breathing entity. To learn on our own - compassion - forgiveness - love
In "A Conversation with GOD" (an excellant read btw) as in the Bible - GOD states quite
simply that we are all that he is - his image. Capable of greatness in every way
If you strip away all the pomp and ceremony of any organised religion you will see that all life is connected
That life is energy and energy is eternal. Our spirit is here to discover what it means to be human
And to make choices. To strive for the greater good thoughout your life
To contribute!

You know, I have read the Bible before, but that was long ago. The only thing I am frustrated by is that some believe that if you do not accpet Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will be destined to go to hell. I am not saying anything bad about being a Christian, it's just why I wonder why even some who are considered some of the best philosiphers and figures of the world, would be considered to go to hell because of one thing: Not considering Jesus Christ as their Savior. Would someone please verify to me why this is so? Thank you.

-AO