What is the Reason Marilyn is here?

bodumene

bodumene

New Member
With retirement comes time to think about stuff. And so, when a reader of the "Ask Marilyn" column in the newspaper asked, "What is the reason we are here?" it got me thinking.

Now Marilyn vos Savant, who ostensibly is the smartest human being on earth (which is why we can ask her anything), responded, "... it depends on your spiritual beliefs. If you have a religion, it provides the answer.... If you don't believe a god exists, you can't believe a reason exists."

So does that mean there is no universal truth, only beliefs? And if so, then why are people so adamant about their beliefs, and will even kill or die for these somewhat arbitrary thoughts?


P.S. I remember someone saying, "Just because you believe it doesn't make it true."
 

What Marilyn said is just Marilyn's assessment. We all come up with our own. Apparently Marilyn is not a complete person in and of herself. If we look to others, like god/God, that means we are others/centered. We can find answers within, ones which work for us. There is no way of knowing anything for certain. Here's a quote I like:
Knows and Knows Not

He who knows not and knows not that he knows not is a fool; avoid him.
He who knows not and knows that he knows not is a student; teach him.
He who knows and knows not that he knows is asleep; wake him.
He who knows and knows that he knows is a wise man; follow him.

Attributions: Persian apothegm, Sanskrit Saying

I choose to see what others say, benefit from them if I can, and then find my own way. It works best for me.





​
 
What this Marilyn person says is the stupidest sentence I have read in ages.
'If you can't believe that God exists,you can't believe a reason exists' whaaaaaat?Total nonsense.
 

For those who believe in God, reason becomes a matter of going back to one's roots, the source as it were. It's such a difficult task to separate out, especially if one is raised that way. Sometimes even questioning the belief makes a person think they are risking damnation. It took me quite a while to have the courage to leave my first husband, who was verbally abusive and spent three times more money than we had. Divorce was a damnable sin. My reasoning process had to develop beyond the way I was raised. I felt like I was damned for quite some time after I left.
 
I think Marilyn uses the word reason to mean ' the reason why we exist', rather than the reasoning process. As she says, if we don't believe in God, then we can't believe that there is a reason for us being here'. Not that I agree with her.

But when someone is in an abusive relationship, their religion and church often does prevent them from escaping, such as in Catholicism divorce is prohibited. At that point its a matter of survival and it takes a lot of courage to get out.
 
I would not consider Marilyn the smartest person on earth! :D The word 'god' means different things to different people and when she gave that answer she was simply coming from her OWN beliefs ... hardly something called an ultimate truth...just because SHE believes it...
 
One of the things I realized is that sometimes thing just are. There isn't always a reason. Yes, we will believe what we will believe. In the long run it does not matter.
 
bodumene said:
With retirement comes time to think about stuff. And so, when a reader of the "Ask Marilyn" column in the newspaper asked, "What is the reason we are here?" it got me thinking.

Now Marilyn vos Savant, who ostensibly is the smartest human being on earth (which is why we can ask her anything), responded, "... it depends on your spiritual beliefs. If you have a religion, it provides the answer.... If you don't believe a god exists, you can't believe a reason exists."

So does that mean there is no universal truth, only beliefs? And if so, then why are people so adamant about their beliefs, and will even kill or die for these somewhat arbitrary thoughts?


P.S. I remember someone saying, "Just because you believe it doesn't make it true."
Click to expand...




This is a factual and most logical statement anyone can make: "P.S. I remember someone saying, "Just because you believe it doesn't make it true."


Belief in a "higher Power" is about faith, thus unprovable in any physical shape/form, thus essentially; a theory. This is not to say such a power does not exist, just that no physical evidence exists to support such an existence. The Bible, Quran, Torah are all works of literature presenting to it's readers the "Belief" of it's authors. One may argue as they will, but this fact is irrefutable. Having said such, Man (the species)has from his early existence searched for a reason for living, resulting in the search for a "Deity" thus giving meaning to life. This suggests man was born with the instincts to search for the meaning in life and ultimately a "Deity" We all are born with the "curiosity of life and it's meaning". The truth differs for all, for each will ultimately find his/her path in life; thus their own truth. There can be no "Universal Truth", for as each person's path differs, so does their truth. Truth, as all things in life, is subjective to the individual.
 
oakapple said:
What this Marilyn person says is the stupidest sentence I have read in ages.
'If you can't believe that God exists,you can't believe a reason exists' whaaaaaat?Total nonsense.
Click to expand...


Stupid you say??? What is the purpose of life without a "hereafter"? If there is no reward for good, punishment for bad and/or even a for reason living, then we may do what we wish, the strong survives and weak shall perish. How does the formation of civilization come about??
 
You can believe that there is no "hereafter" and that religions are the manufacture of man because he needed something larger to both blame and depend on for explanation of the unexplainable in life. Doesn't stop you from still believing in right and wrong and what is just and unjust and live accordingly. You can choose to look beyond yourself and do what you think is in the greater good without someone or some belief system telling you you should. And those who do tend to be committed to the welfare of others. Hopefully this is an enlightened evolution of our species.
 
CoMoJayne said:
You can believe that there is no "hereafter" and that religions are the manufacture of man because he needed something larger to both blame and depend on for explanation of the unexplainable in life. Doesn't stop you from still believing in right and wrong and what is just and unjust and live accordingly. You can choose to look beyond yourself and do what you think is in the greater good without someone or some belief system telling you you should. And those who do tend to be committed to the welfare of others. Hopefully this is an enlightened evolution of our species.
Click to expand...



Whilst what you are saying is some what true, man, by his very nature, is selfish and self serving. If you do not believe me, look at your surrounding world. Whilst enlightenment affords inner peace with one's self and his/her surrounding world, mankind, it's self, is more interested in the "ME", there in lies the problem of the species.
 
We are toddlers, newbies as species go. Intelligent, adaptable, capable, as most children are, of great selfishness, but also incredible acts of altruism. We have dangerous, lethal toys which we are far too immature to deal with appropriately. Our future is far from certain. Hopefully, we will manage to "grow up" without irreparably destroying our "home."
 
Hazy Davey said:
It's a catch22, there is no one answer, what you believe is your truth.
Click to expand...

Yep. Nothing can be proven. Those I love who have passed on talk to me. Am I nuts? Maybe. Are they really talking to me or is it my imagination? One or the other or neither. What I believe is that those we truly love who love us are always with us. If it turns out not to be true, so what? It comforts me to think it's true.
 
Phoenix said:
Yep. Nothing can be proven. Those I love who have passed on talk to me. Am I nuts? Maybe. Are they really talking to me or is it my imagination? One or the other or neither. What I believe is that those we truly love who love us are always with us. If it turns out not to be true, so what? It comforts me to think it's true.
Click to expand...


Here, here, Ms. Phoenix. To thine ownself be true, and it must follow, as the day the night, thou canst not be false to any man. William Shakespeare
May not be exact quote, but the message is the same none the less.
 
senile1 said:
Here, here, Ms. Phoenix. To thine ownself be true, and it must follow, as the day the night, thou canst not be false to any man. William Shakespeare
May not be exact quote, but the message is the same none the less.
Click to expand...


In some ways that's my motto. And I figure if anyone doesn't like me that way, they don't have to hang around.
 
Lots of interesting replies to my original post. But what I am really interested in knowing is whether there is truth that we can know, or only beliefs. I think that even what we regard as empirical evidence is really a construction and interpretation that we make of our sensory data. And I would presume that what some people regard as "revelation" similarly reflects activity in our brain.

"Truth" seems to change over time. At one time, people believed it was true that the sun revolved around the earth, and that the earth was flat. Even beliefs about divinity seem to change over time.

So why are people so crazy and combative about expressing or defending their beliefs, even killing for them, when it is entirely possible -- even plausible -- that they may not even be true?
 
Physical acceptance of that which is fact is easy, there is evidence to support it. You can say an apple is red because you see the color(or green, or yellow) , but the positive proof of a spiritual existence is not possible, because one cannot see it, does not mean it does not exist. You cannot see the wind, but you can feel it, you can see the reaction of it's contact with other physical objects. The human species, for the most part, is born with an instinct which suggests there is more to life than the physical world, this instinct suggest the existence of a "Higher Power", though not provable, and yes, cannot be disproven. One can theorize what they will, but a natural "drive" to find purpose of life exist in the species, this fact is irrefutable.
 
bodumene said:
Lots of interesting replies to my original post. But what I am really interested in knowing is whether there is truth that we can know, or only beliefs. I think that even what we regard as empirical evidence is really a construction and interpretation that we make of our sensory data. And I would presume that what some people regard as "revelation" similarly reflects activity in our brain.

"Truth" seems to change over time. At one time, people believed it was true that the sun revolved around the earth, and that the earth was flat. Even beliefs about divinity seem to change over time.

So why are people so crazy and combative about expressing or defending their beliefs, even killing for them, when it is entirely possible -- even plausible -- that they may not even be true?
Click to expand...

Great post!

How about even probable? The answers are not in the sky. People think and act the way they do because of the ideas that other people have put in their heads at an early age and the behaviors they observe in the people around them.
 
Phoenix said:
Yep. Nothing can be proven. Those I love who have passed on talk to me. Am I nuts? Maybe. Are they really talking to me or is it my imagination? One or the other or neither. What I believe is that those we truly love who love us are always with us. If it turns out not to be true, so what? It comforts me to think it's true.
Click to expand...

I am a total non-believer in anything spiritual, but I talk to my departed wife all the time. She truly is within me. Fifty eight years of shared thoughts are imprinted on my brain. I prefer her there rather than flying around in the sky somewhere.
 
Shalimar said:
We are toddlers, newbies as species go. Intelligent, adaptable, capable, as most children are, of great selfishness, but also incredible acts of altruism. We have dangerous, lethal toys which we are far too immature to deal with appropriately. Our future is far from certain. Hopefully, we will manage to "grow up" without irreparably destroying our "home."
Click to expand...

I am hoping that we are seeing the beginnings of that now. We would have "grown up" a long time ago without the stifling effects of religion.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top