As a Christian or Human... What is the point in living?

Morbid Title? Maybe. But it is my current thought process, which you non-theists are going to love as a reference.

I also wanted this under the ATS forum (not BTS), because i want answers from very strong anti-theists who frequent this board more than the others.

So... on with the story:

I am a Christian, in fact i feel that my faith is incredibly strong right now. The strongest it has ever been. I believe that God is my God and Jesus is MY Saviour and the Holy Spirit is there to guide me. In fact i not only believe it, but i KNOW it.

The flip side of the above statement is that amongst this massive faith walk i have been on, the last 18months have been atrocious. The powers at work against myself and my family have been unbelievable. Massive financial problems, court cases, internal family problems, deaths in the family etc etc. So much so that in the last month or so, i believe i have snapped.

I am depressed.

In fact i have done ALOT of research into depression, taken all the online tests etc. They have all concluded that i need to call emergency services immediately as i am a danger to myself. Mainly because the question "Have you thought of death or suicide?", well i have thought of death, but not seriously entertained the thought of suicide. Hence the purpose of this thread lol. I am certain i am incredibly depressed and will probably seek help soon. Tests helped confirm that, 2-5 normally mean deep depression... i am scoring perfect 10's.

Oh and although i have entertained the thought of death and the peace it could bring, i am certain i do not have the courage (or selfishness) to actually flirt with the idea of suicide. Just wanted to clear that up so that we don't feel we have to tip-toe through this thread. I will get help and/or continue putting up with the crap that comes at me.

[/rant]

Anyway... that is the backstory, now for the question.

As a Christian... What is the point in living?

If i know this earth is just for now, and that heaven is so much better. What is the point in hanging around and putting up with the filth that this sinful earth spews.

Now to a lesser extent, so i can get the other side of the story, so to speak. I also guess i can ask:

As a Human... What do you think is the point in living?

I know one good reason.
Because you cant prove 100% for sure there is a heaven. And if thats the case when you die your just gone. Then you might want to get as much out of the life, because there just might not be anything after this.


Unless you can prove there is a heaven enjoy the vacation.

To live is my guess. Just go out and enjoy life!

First of all, a good rule of thumb is not to rely on internet tests to decide what your life means.

Let me answer your question with another question.
What is the point in dying? What is the point in giving up everything that inherently makes you human. What is the point in never again taking long walks through the forest, or listening to the song birds, or taking in your first breath of fresh spring air, or getting up early to watch the sun rise on a crisp winter morning...?

God did not give you your life so that you could take it for granted. Live it for every moment and don't be afraid when the curtains go down, for it is the start of the next great journey.

I suggest that you read this too. Deus Caritas Est: God is Love

Originally posted by earth2
I know one good reason.
Because you cant prove 100% for sure there is a heaven.

Wouldn't be called Christian "Faith" then would it

I have already stated i KNOW God exists though. Has that already compromised the idea of "Faith".

Originally posted by TheB1ueSoldier
First of all, a good rule of thumb is not to rely on internet tests to decide what your life means.

Hehe... i didn't take the tests and then decide i was depressed. I already knew that, the tests just validated it. The tests are not used to decide what my life means, but when you do enough from valid sources it can, in turn, begin to paint a clear and accurate picture.

Originally posted by TheB1ueSoldierLet me answer your question with another question.
What is the point in dying? What is the point in giving up everything that inherently makes you human. What is the point in never again taking long walks through the forest, or listening to the song birds, or taking in your first breath of fresh spring air, or getting up early to watch the sun rise on a crisp winter morning...?

Well... as a Christian with the prospect of eternal Heaven, the earthly example of these are insignificant and inferior to the joy of the magnitude we are going to receive in Heaven.

The point of living i believe is the following:

In each life experience we have, we learn. we as spirits a long time ago.. thinking about life as linear decided as a mass conciousness to recarnate in a 3 dimentional physical exsistance and experience "life" as we know it now. however during the generations we found that negative influences occured and thought the generations fixed ways of thinking have entered our genetic structures and we now have "bagage" of our past hates loves, angers and all this is now stored within ourselves causing us to behave the way that we do now. We now are trying to clear these patterns in order to take ourselves our planet into the state that when we first begun but with a clariety of knowedge of how we overcome what we all had to face in order to attain a highter state of being.

So we are here to face our challenges that we set before we were born.. our live paths were agreed with our higher selves before we were born into this body and we have to now do our best to cope with situations that occur... always remembering to manifest positive outcomes for the future. or else we will self pitty ourselves and set off a chain of events that will keep getting worse and worse until we address the issues that we agreed to be challenged with from birth.

As a HUMAN regardless of what religion you are.

If you are a Christian, you know that even thinking of a suicide means that you are tempted by the demons.

The hardest thing of all is to be better. To fight all the temptations. The more you try, the harder the demons try.

We have a choice. I remember one rich man once said (on how to become rich): "The hardest way is the only way".

Easy ways we all know, they are available everywhere around us. The hardest way is the only REAL way.



[edit on 17-6-2007 by swimmer]

You live simply to have a persona and character to be in the next phase of your life. This life is simply another womb in which you are growing into the person you are.

You were a fetus in your mother's womb and birthed into another mother's (Earth) womb to continue growing.

Do fetuses consider being born dieing? No, they are just starting life.

I believe that everything can be easy! why should things be hard! we only test ourselves and these tests can be hard if we let our Ego get in the way.
Fighting tempations/more the demons try!!! the only reason people have demons around them is cus they are at a lower vibration and are able to see them or let them attach themselves to a "fearful" body. Sure if it is the case for christians to believe that if they think of suicide means they are tempted by demons again i ask you to think that you are fearful of death and fearful of demons, maybe your depressed. have depression whatever reasons for suicide, its internal. and if you get to negative then sure people will have entities to deal with cus they feed off your energy.

Its not until a person learns how to be positive and to them manifest their own positive creations and take advantage of the good things that they come across and be pro active and energised.

We have a choice. I remember one rich man once said (on how to become rich): "The hardest way is the only way".

- the hardest way is the only way... maybe he says that to everyone else so he remains rich!!!! lol. A person who loves themselves and life and doesnt "fear" for what they think or what they do if its something that doesnt put any harm onto anyone else is a person who is living a pure life! someone who doesnt have free will to even think cus they are fearful of what may happen need to deal with why they are thinking those thoughts before having someone say you will attact more demonds!...

The hardest thing of all is to be better. To fight all the temptations. The more you try, the harder the demons try. - The hardest thing is to look at our negative Ego and learn to live with our hearts learn.. our love and to reserve judgement. Learn how to let go of all the hate that is within us without needing to blame or get revenge! We do not need to fight temptations as if the temptation is love is pure is good... then have as much as you can without exhusting it.

Somewhere down the line we have been TOLD all these things by HIS-Story. and we have to start looking within for our own answers and our own truths! not his!

[edit on 17-6-2007 by swimmer]

SilentShadow,

If you are at the point that you are willing to end your life, you have reached the point where you are willing to fight for what you believe in because you have nothing left to lose. I realized this ten years ago.

Fight the good fight. Everything will be OK, you will see.

Interesting question.
"What is the point of living?"

Here is my question:

- Why does everything have to have a point?
Why cant we be a wondering bunch of pointless people.

Solomon even said everything is 'pointless'...

We are so obsessed with purpose and points, that if we reached our point - what would we have left. We go to heaven then what is our point? We will make up new points and sin again so we have another point.

This life is a game indeed. and not resisting the pointlessness of life helps you to get past a lot of things, and also lends itself to help creating your flexibility and creativity in life.

Peace

Dalen

Originally posted by Spoodily
SilentShadow,

If you are at the point that you are willing to end your life, you have reached the point where you are willing to fight for what you believe in because you have nothing left to lose. I realized this ten years ago.

Fight the good fight. Everything will be OK, you will see.

Sometimes it would be a nice thought that if everyone instead of thinking they had to fight thought that there was another way and did things peacefully there would be no one to stand and say i am willing to end my life and i have nothing left to lose and i will fight.

To kill is to kill.. Karma comes back on ourselves.. im still thinking about war and self defense...but if there was a way of stopping people as a whole to turn their thinking and realise that we do not need to fight! we need to change our ways of thinking, of being.. slowly.

Hope its not to late for us to change, before all those who do fight eachother kill those who wish to have peace.

sure if a good outcome comes from war and peace previles then we had to go through this state of being and thinking war and fighting is the solution, but in the future i hope we learn from all of this and realise that we do not need to even fight let alone get to the point of thinking we have nothing to loose.

if there is an ideology that fighting to the death for what you believe in takes over as the majority view point then we will only cause more destructiveness more judements when to change this world we all need to do positive things within it... if people on both sides all die.. maybe its time for humans to die out and move on spiritually somewhere else.

If people have nothing to live for this is spirit telling them that they are ready to leave this planet... or for the planet to change inorder for them to want to live on it.

Maybe we are comming to a time of change.

War has many outcomes...some being:

1: fights happen... peace comes out of it for a while until suppressed anger through generations wants revenge.

2: fights happen.. nothing changes for the better.. more fights happen

3: FIghts happen we learn that we need to stop fighting in order to progress and gain insight into our beings...

Originally posted by dAlen
Interesting question.
"What is the point of living?"

Here is my question:

- Why does everything have to have a point?
Why cant we be a wondering bunch of pointless people.

Solomon even said everything is 'pointless'...

We are so obsessed with purpose and points, that if we reached our point - what would we have left. We go to heaven then what is our point? We will make up new points and sin again so we have another point.

This life is a game indeed. and not resisting the pointlessness of life helps you to get past a lot of things, and also lends itself to help creating your flexibility and creativity in life.

Peace

Dalen

I agree live is a game... to create chaos gives us challenges.. makes us have emotions that are created in the physical body. The point is lol we have to learn to live with no points... just learn to Be after we have learnt how to get all this pointlessness out of our lives by dealing with our past issues.

As a eternal individual energy part of existence it self.

Your current goal in life is to obtain consciousness of your existence.

Invented concepts on this planet and in this reality are some times designed to trap souls in here and make them forget where they originate from.

Forget everything you know that's been taught to you from this system and this world's ideological perception of what life is and look to your innerself to know and find your true nature.

[edit on 17-6-2007 by selfless]

Originally posted by selfless
As a eternal individual energy part of existence it self.

Your current goal in life is to obtain consciousness of your existence.

Invented concepts on this planet and in this reality are some times designed to trap souls in here and make them forget where they originate from.

Forget everything you know that's been taught to you from this system and this world's ideological perception of what life is and look to your innerself to know and find your true nature.

[edit on 17-6-2007 by selfless]

Totally agree with you!!!! you said it perfectly! x

Hey Silent. Very brave of you to come here and post like this. You may or may not be aware that I lean towards the Buddhist perspective of live. I'm not here to preach my view point. You may also be aware that I have had an awful time in the Family Court over seven years now.

Consequently I am pretty chronically depressed myself. I know how it must feel for you that your whole world is crowding in. If you can, get your doctor to put you on Prozac. It wont solve your problems but it will help you cope and face them. Never be afraid to say you can't cope or ask for help.

About your question. What is the purpose of living...?

You're hurting terribly now, but if you die, you will deny others who value you. Your wife and your children. If you die they will feel unable to cope, so you are being tested to find the limits of your love for those who depend upon you my friend. You wouldn't hurt them would you ?

If there is a God, then God is surely testing you, but you know, part of that test is perhaps to find out if you have the humility to accept that you can't always cope and perhaps to learn if you can surrender yourself to trust in others and in God. Let go of pride. let go of trying to live up to the expectations of others.

Depression is a mild form of mental illness. It is when we lose perspective. The valleys can seem deeper, the darkness darker and the hills become impassible mountains. Remember this is an Illusion Shadow. Things are not really so bleak as they seem, but your mood is not allowing you the detachment to see a way through.

Your first duty is to take care of yourself.

look internally to do whatever you can to see the "light" find motivation within yourself to take you back to a happy place you once experienced in your life and know and believe as you do with faith that life can and will get better.

Speak with people who are positve who can inspire you to live.. to be happy and that make you smile.. small steps in just making you smile more and more each day. you know there will be ups and downs.. but know that things will change and get better. x

One funny thing, well not for all but i find it funny... Sometimes people need to experience depression and loneliness just because deep inside they want to experience it, like some people want love and friends.

So unless you plan to kill yourself, it's OK. Maybe your soul wants to tell you something, maybe you need to discover and learn something new with all the problems you created in front of you.

Well because if you commit suicide to face your troubles your bound to burn in hell, since Christan's don't believe in purgatory and petty-suicide is a sin, so its better to live in your case. Well its a sin in Christan eyes, but only God knows, so its your risk for doing it.

No more purgatory: vivirlatino.com...

Suicide is a BIG nono:
www.behindthebadge.net...
www.thercg.org...

Well if you see through the eyes of many scientists, basically OUR biggest goal in life, is to make sure our genes passes on to the next generation, and so that our offspring's are healthy and strong before we die. But, because of the complexity of our brain, and the development of "EMOTIONS" and "FEELINGS" we have more to love. Oh how FREUD would be proud!!

Me? I personally regardless of religion and science, the reason why I'm so compelled to live is because some don't have the luxury of living like I do. I also made up my mind along time ago, that I'm going to try and make a big difference it this world, how? I don't know but, I trying is better than not trying at all.

But if your curious about my religion, I'm catholic myself to the sense that I believe in Jesus and God, but I also incorporated eastern and a few new age beliefs since they all make sense, heck even add pagan beliefs. But one thing I hate are the people who do good deeds, because they believe it will help earn them a place in heaven or a better next life. It disgusts me...

p.s. What I said in the beginning is not my personal opinion, but its just Christian belief, and not mine.

[edit on 17-6-2007 by skyblueff0]

Well life's certainly a roller coaster at times that's for sure. There isn't a person on this planet that hasn't thought about death in general. The simple facts are that death is everyones final destination. It's a subject that people fear. Why fear something that you cannot change or have control over? Being depressed is a normal emotion your sad, your happy, your depressed. Of course your depressed all the crap falling in on you from all directions. Really though is suicide the answer because someone threw dog poo on your porch? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Your failures have some good outcome and you learn from your mistakes. Think of all the people that will be hurt. The only thing it will do is destroy the lives of the ones closest to you. You of course will gain nothing from it; except to sit and watch the grief and pain you have caused.

[edit on 17-6-2007 by sean]

[edit on 17-6-2007 by sean]