The Power of Positive Thinking

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Sarvis
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The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Sarvis » Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:17 pm

Anyone read this? My girlfriend is right now on my kindle, so I'm reading along too as a show of support and out of curiosity.

But... I really think it should have been titled: The Power of Believing in God. The guy who wrote it is a preacher or something (which is only casually mentioned in like chapter 3) and has made several claims of "faith healing" so far. Frequently he also "prescribes" bible reading or psalm repetition as cures for serious psychological issues. In fact, in a single conversation he diagnosed a person as "showing classic signs of a nervous breakdown" and completely healed him with one prayer and telling him to read the bible. (The symptoms sounded a lot more like clinical depression to me, but hey...)

There's also one point where he seriously contradicted himself. First he claimed that we need to be connected to God or we run out of energy, and then a few pages later wrote that the human body was designed to generate all the power it needs.

So, needless to say, to a non-Christian all this blunt-force religion is annoying. It's really putting me off the book. Oddly, he claims God guided him in writing this book... wouldn't you think God would help him write a book that wouldn't scare skeptical people away? Maybe be more subtle with his examples of how God helped?

All of that said, there seem to be some good ideas hidden behind all the God stuff. Replacing negative self-talk for one, finding quiet time and having peaceful ideas/places in mind to keep yourself calm, and getting into a productive rhythm with your job seems plausible at least. (The book was written a long time ago, getting in rhythm with a typewriter is plausible... but my computer is running a few gigahertz faster than I! ;) )

So I guess I just wanted to rant a little and see what other peoples' opinions were on this book if they had read it.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby kiryan » Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:28 pm

I believe in positive thinking, power of prayer and God. I believe the placebo effect is real... and there have been miracluoulous miracles that the logical explanation is the power of positive thinking or belief.

There is a difference between being lead by God to write a book, writing a book after beign inspired by God, God telling me to write a book and God writing a book through me.

If he's claiming God authored the book or that God told him to write a book... I'd be very cautious. The first 2 are routine and I think humble and generally truthful.

If he's claiming God ran out of power... or that his body ran out of power and couldn't channel God's power anymore... it doesn't sound legit.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Sarvis » Mon Feb 21, 2011 5:57 pm

kiryan wrote:I believe in positive thinking, power of prayer and God. I believe the placebo effect is real... and there have been miracluoulous miracles that the logical explanation is the power of positive thinking or belief.

There is a difference between being lead by God to write a book, writing a book after beign inspired by God, God telling me to write a book and God writing a book through me.

If he's claiming God authored the book or that God told him to write a book... I'd be very cautious. The first 2 are routine and I think humble and generally truthful.


He claims "We had a very earnest session of prayer, asking for guidance, and we put the project into God's hands." This is because he didn't feel he had enough ability to actually write the book. Great start to teach self-confidence, eh?

If he's claiming God ran out of power... or that his body ran out of power and couldn't channel God's power anymore... it doesn't sound legit.


No, he's claiming lacking a connection to God means you don't have a power source. He likened it to an alarm clock being plugged into the wall. If it's unplugged (not connected to God) it (you) will run out of energy.

Then he claims the body generates all the energy it needs.

So... yeah.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Kifle » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:06 pm

You can't mix religion and reality no matter how logical you are trying to be -- or not trying to be in this case. You just have to accept that there are stupid writers out there, and there is a public who will buy and disregard the logic because they need some type of empowerment. Your girlfriend obviously has some type of depression issues, but she is trying to make an effort to adjust them "naturally". I would just not read the book :)

As far as the book goes, well, what do you expect? Any self-help book will be idiotic. But, the function of the book is not supposed to be anything other than uplifting. It's not supposed to be logical, rational, truthful, or written well; it is, however, supposed to be functional and inspiring. These books obviously perform their function, and readers with an eye for the rest make fun of them and refuse to buy them. It's just the way of the world, and in this case, for the sake of you and your penis, I would suggest turning a blind eye and not even bringing any of this up to her :)
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby kiryan » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:15 pm

its funny kifle...

a belief, unproven, based on religious principles... is automatically just stupid.

a belief from a scientist is just a theory in process of being proven right.

--

There is a principle in christianity that nothing you do... is on your own power. Everything has been given to you including your life and your talents. To take these gifts then pass them off for your own glory is not allowed. whether its raising good kids, writing a best seller or winning the tour de france 7 times in a row. You can claim it to your glory or you can humbly attribute it to God's glory.

I'm reminded of the scene from fiddler on the roof. God thank you for this rain, I'm so glad I'm walking a muddy road to market leading my donkey who'se pulling this cart. I'm not sure why you are blessming me like this, but thank you. Its funny... and was probably meant to be just that, a comic bit, but for a Christian its a fairly good example of how we should be thinking.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Teflor Lyorian » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:18 pm

Kifle wrote:You can't mix religion and reality no matter how logical you are trying to be -- or not trying to be in this case. You just have to accept that there are stupid writers out there, and there is a public who will buy and disregard the logic because they need some type of empowerment. Your girlfriend obviously has some type of depression issues, but she is trying to make an effort to adjust them "naturally". I would just not read the book :)

As far as the book goes, well, what do you expect? Any self-help book will be idiotic. But, the function of the book is not supposed to be anything other than uplifting. It's not supposed to be logical, rational, truthful, or written well; it is, however, supposed to be functional and inspiring. These books obviously perform their function, and readers with an eye for the rest make fun of them and refuse to buy them. It's just the way of the world, and in this case, for the sake of you and your penis, I would suggest turning a blind eye and not even bringing any of this up to her :)

I agree with most of it. Sarvis, just play along!
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Sarvis » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:20 pm

kiryan wrote:a belief from a scientist is just a theory in process of being proven right.


Nope, a scientist seeks to DISPROVE his theories. If he cannot disprove them, he might start to think it's true.


There is a principle in christianity that nothing you do... is on your own power. Everything has been given to you including your life and your talents.


Then how do you justify the poor and the suffering? Typically you say they did not work hard enough, but since all they do is accredited to God then even the hardest working people should deserve no more than others.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Teflor Lyorian » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:22 pm

Kifle wrote:You can't mix religion and reality no matter how logical you are trying to be -- or not trying to be in this case.

How is it that religion can't mix with reality when it already does around the world? It practically shapes reality.

I'm honestly confused by the beef you have against "religion" and I'm not even sure how you define it.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Teflor Lyorian » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:23 pm

Sarvis wrote:
kiryan wrote:a belief from a scientist is just a theory in process of being proven right.


Nope, a scientist seeks to DISPROVE his theories. If he cannot disprove them, he might start to think it's true.

No, most scientists actively try to prove their theories and spend a lifetime doing so. When they can't, a lot of them just falsify data.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby kiryan » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:34 pm

My school of thought on that is that we are all unique. That means we need different situations to achieve the same result... not only that, there is a variety of things God wants done so not everyone is supposed to be doing the same thing the same way. Our experiences equip us to fulfill the purpose God intended us to fulfill. Some of us get to be rich, some of us need to be poor so we learn / don't destroy ourselves.

I believe whole heartedly that our lives are preparation to serve God's will... some of us fail in our training and/or fail to make those right decisions when we finally reach them. To make this personal, I for one am selfish.

If I hadn't been blessed with the talents I have, I would probably be in jail. If I hadn't met my wife, who is perfect for me in pretty much every way, I would be whoring it up like you can not imagine and probably divorced a dozen times. I think it would be fair to say that I would fail if I wasn't so blessed and I believe that is part of God's providence.

I continue to see God's hand in my life protecting me from bad results that I deserve... I'd like to think I'm just amazing, you may wish to think its just a really US social system, but in reality, its providence and probably planning.

Someday, I expect God to require something serious of me that I will have to make real sacrifice for. It may be missions work, it may be giving up the wealth he has given me, it may be simply raising our children to the best of my ability.. Maybe its feeding my neighbors (I stock pile food, toilet paper, dish soap etc). I just hope that I can overcome my flaws to be and do what is edifying to the Lord.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Kifle » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:36 pm

kiryan wrote:its funny kifle...

a belief, unproven, based on religious principles... is automatically just stupid.

a belief from a scientist is just a theory in process of being proven right.

--

There is a principle in christianity that nothing you do... is on your own power. Everything has been given to you including your life and your talents. To take these gifts then pass them off for your own glory is not allowed. whether its raising good kids, writing a best seller or winning the tour de france 7 times in a row. You can claim it to your glory or you can humbly attribute it to God's glory.

I'm reminded of the scene from fiddler on the roof. God thank you for this rain, I'm so glad I'm walking a muddy road to market leading my donkey who'se pulling this cart. I'm not sure why you are blessming me like this, but thank you. Its funny... and was probably meant to be just that, a comic bit, but for a Christian its a fairly good example of how we should be thinking.


So the talent of playing guitar was given to me rather than something I worked for for nearly 20 years? The talent of walking was given to me rather than something I worked for as a child? If this were so, why can't we do everything now that we "have the talent" for? And what about the people who've never had the chance to pick up a guitar? Does the Ethiopian child who will die at 7 have the talent to play the guitar as well as me? Well, if he never picks up the guitar, God is a very inefficient, ignorant prick who cares little about what he does and does it only to serve some self-assuring from time to time that he can do it. Either it's that or I worked damn hard to learn math, guitar, piano, and the host of other things I've devoted my time to learning.

See, this is one of those things that is impossible to disprove. I can say that god gave me the talent because I have the talent, but what about the guy that hasn't played guitar yet? Did god give him the talent or not? What if he tries for 20 years and can't. Do we say that god just didn't give him the talent? Do we say that he didn't work hard enough but god gave him the talent? Do we say that god gave everyone the talent but only those that work towards it hard enough see the talent? Any way you look at it, it is impossible to disprove the theory.

Now, science, lets take newtons laws of motion for an easy example. I can test and test and test and test, and I can work for the rest of my life testing his theory -- and he will always be right (for the most part). I can easily challenge every scientific theory, that is truly scientific, and prove it wrong if it is wrong. I can never, no matter how hard I try, disprove anything religion has said -- except that the earth revolves around the sun and other things science has proven wrong. Think of it, virtually every time the church has put forth some theory that IS disprovable, it has been disproved. They have a bad track record for being right about anything.

Now, as far as winning races and sporting events? Do you think god really gives two fucks if he is real? Seriously. Did god want the Green Bay Packers to win this year? What about all the Steelers that were praying just as hard? Are you saying the only reason the Packers won is because god gave them more talent or the right combination of talents? What about when the team that lost last year has the same exact player and coach make-up? They have the same talent, but they lost. So, not only is god a complete douche that predetermines who can and who cannot play the guitar, but he is also a fickle sports nut that arbitrarily back certain teams? I think you're off your rocker here. Also, why has Lil' Wayne ever won anything? He is a no talent shit stain that over produces his junk music to hide the fact that he has a voice suitable for silent movies. Also, he rhymes words with themselves to hide the fact that he is less creative than a coma victim that also has downs syndrome. Yet he has won grammies. How? Because God obviously wants lil wayne to win... Obviously.

Let me try this. God, thank you for giving lil' wayne all the talent in the world, yet giving me absolutely none. Thank you very much to put me in a world full of suffering. Thank you for making me hyperextend my knee when I was 15 which took me out of sports. Thank you so much for making me only 5'8". Thank you for letting the majority of the world's wealth fall into the hands of the most morally corrupt. Thank you for the icy rain today which makes shipping an absolute nightmare today. Thank you for giving my grandma cancer. And before you tell me these are all "tests" and challenges that make me a better person: I could have learned any lesson these things taught me in some other way. If I can teach fractions to a 9 yr old in multiple ways, an almighty god could probably find a better way to teach me that being shorter than the average male is ok as well. Seriously, your god is an incompetent asshole that does what he does to masturbate himself while his creations suffer endlessly. Where do I sign up?
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Corth » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:42 pm

I haven't read it.. and I'm also an atheist and doubt I would get anything from such a book. That being said, to each his own. A lot of people find comfort and enjoyment from their religious beliefs. Who am I to say that is somehow illegitimate?
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Sarvis » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:45 pm

kiryan wrote:it may be giving up the wealth he has given me



You mean like paying taxes?

Funny how you can give God credit for everything being the way it is, but spend all your time vilifying Democrats for what is apparently just enacting God's plan.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby kiryan » Mon Feb 21, 2011 6:50 pm

First, I personalyl don't put a lot of thoguht into this area... its masturbation play. You get caught up with all the reasons and justifications and really that doesn't matter at the end of the day because you should do what God wants you to do. I'm just explaining the mindset from whcih these quotes are comign from.

--

Now to defend the thinking... God doesn't give 2 flying fucks who wins the race. On the other hand, winning the race may help you develop character that allows you to fulfill some other purpose. winning the race may be a testimony to the world in some area. Winning the race may inspire someone in S Africa to become a runner instead of ending up a drug dealer. I don't claim that every action is part of God's master plan and certainly we all have free will to act as we desire. Lil Wayne may take his talent for singing (if you call it that) and use it to sing gangsta rap... instead of using it to sing gospel. In that sense, he's taken the talent given to him and used it for his own pleasure for his own glory.

Also, there is a princple that God doesn't do evil, but he can use evil for good. So when a mass murder strikes, that is evil... but God can use that evil event to further his purposes by perhaps making a pastor available to you in exactly the moment you'll be receptive to the Gospel.

As for you and the guitar, you could be a drooling idiot, you coudl've been born with no fingers. Maybe you werent' given natural guitar talent so you could learn to work hard. I don't know what talents God gave you or didn't give you or why, but I do know that I don't deserve what I have whether its intellect, money or even health while others were given far less. God does not promise equality of the body or life, but we are all equal in his eyes.

If you want to rack that up to simple biology you're free to do so. I see more.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Adriorn Darkcloak » Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:45 pm

Kifle,

I'm not going to try to convince you of anything, I'm just going to try to show you how I (a Catholic) sees alot of the things you mentioned in your post. That's all.

Kifle wrote:Did god want the Green Bay Packers to win this year? What about all the Steelers that were praying just as hard? Are you saying the only reason the Packers won is because god gave them more talent or the right combination of talents? What about when the team that lost last year has the same exact player and coach make-up? They have the same talent, but they lost. So, not only is god a complete douche that predetermines who can and who cannot play the guitar, but he is also a fickle sports nut that arbitrarily back certain teams? I think you're off your rocker here.


God doesn't care who wins. Only we do, and some people believe praying for sports or winning is important and useful. I find it sad.

Kifle wrote:Also, why has Lil' Wayne ever won anything? He is a no talent shit stain that over produces his junk music to hide the fact that he has a voice suitable for silent movies. Also, he rhymes words with themselves to hide the fact that he is less creative than a coma victim that also has downs syndrome. Yet he has won grammies. How? Because God obviously wants lil wayne to win... Obviously.


Let's say I was given a true calling (a talent) to teach and INFLUENCE children. I can use that talent for good, or I can use that talent for personal gain, be the "cool" teacher, etc., and not really do what I can do with that gift. Lil' Wayne is that person, as are alot of "ENTERTAINERS" out there. Singers, actors, athletes, etc. They have a chance to garner immense personal gain and "respect" in the eyes of thousands. They could use that opportunity to donate vast quantities to the poor, be actual spokesmen for humility, charity, education, etc, etc. Yet the vast majority do not, 1% do. I don't see it as the majority are getting a free ride in life. I see it as the minority will be welcome in the afterlife.

Kifle wrote:Let me try this. God, thank you for giving lil' wayne all the talent in the world, yet giving me absolutely none.


You haven't found your calling yet. Simple. It's not about having a talent for one thing, or 20. It's about finding the one thing you can best use to help others.

Kifle wrote:Thank you very much to put me in a world full of suffering.


...that we as men have created and allowed to continue. It's my responsibility to help those who are suffering, in whatever capacity I might best do it. If a 7 year old dies in Ethiopia without anyone ever knowing about it, it's because we as individuals aren't doing enough to help the truly poor in the world. My wife and I sponsor two children in the Philippines, and I give money to anyone asking for it at an intersection or whatnot. We also donate money to our parish.

Kifle wrote:Thank you for making me hyperextend my knee when I was 15 which took me out of sports.


...ending a part of your life that might have caused further pain, selfishness, etc. Who knows. I blew up my ankle playing soccer when I was 24. No more soccer for me, and I loved playing it. Nearly zero sadness.

Kifle wrote:Thank you for letting the majority of the world's wealth fall into the hands of the most morally corrupt.


See above part about entertainers and their responsibilities. With great power comes great responsibility...etc.

Kifle wrote:Thank you for the icy rain today which makes shipping an absolute nightmare today.


...which gave you an opportunity to do "x" instead.

Kifle wrote:Thank you for giving my grandma cancer.


Suffering the loss of a close relative (my grandfather) is very personal. I don't want to touch on this for only that reason. I could, but I don't want to say anything that might be seen as offensive or whatnot, even though it's not meant as such.

Kifle wrote:And before you tell me these are all "tests" and challenges that make me a better person: I could have learned any lesson these things taught me in some other way. If I can teach fractions to a 9 yr old in multiple ways, an almighty god could probably find a better way to teach me that being shorter than the average male is ok as well.


He's given you plenty of options just from your short list, and humility is a great quality to have if you choose to honor it. The "challenges" are just that, challenges. You can choose to take one on, or you can choose not to. You can choose to learn from either choice, or choose not to. That's the key.

Try reading the book Sarvis mentioned, maybe it might indeed give you a positive outlook. Even if you "improve" as a person by only 1% after reading the book, it IS positive growth in the end. I know you might try to refute some of the points I made. That's fine. Again, I ONLY tried showing how I would see those things you mentioned. You can call it simple or ignorant, naive or delusional. All that is fine. In the end, I'm happy, for the most part, and try helping others however I can. That's the reason I replied now actually, in the hopes of letting you see something in a better light, more positively, or whatever. My mother is the one who most influenced me throughout the years to see things in a positive light. It makes life better. Read the book chief, who knows.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Sarvis » Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:54 pm

Adriorn Darkcloak wrote:. Read the book chief, who knows.



Have you? What's your opinion on it...?

Just got to a new part that annoyed me:

"Prayer is the greatest power available to the individual in solving his personal problems. It's power astonishes me."

Prayer power is a manifestation of energy. Just as there exist scientific techniques for the release of atomic energy, so are there scientific procedures for the release of spiritual energy through the mechanism of prayer.



Ugh... so now praying is a scientific process? No wonder Christians are so clueless about how science works! If you want to claim prayer helps you or others then fine, but to claim it's scientific? Show me some studies, please.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Adriorn Darkcloak » Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:55 pm

Sarvis wrote:He claims "We had a very earnest session of prayer, asking for guidance, and we put the project into God's hands." This is because he didn't feel he had enough ability to actually write the book. Great start to teach self-confidence, eh?


Sarvis, I do the same thing every day when I go to work. I pray that I can have enough guidance, patience, and intelligence to go through the day's ordeals. It's not about self-confidence, I have a boat-load of that. It's about guidance, and humility in asking God to help me do what he would want, and not trying to be selfish and try to do it all myself for my own personal gain afterward. I think you're not seeing his point about guidance and humility.

Sarvis wrote:No, he's claiming lacking a connection to God means you don't have a power source. He likened it to an alarm clock being plugged into the wall. If it's unplugged (not connected to God) it (you) will run out of energy.

Then he claims the body generates all the energy it needs.

So... yeah.


The idea he's trying to get across is simple, man. Our body has 100 GJ of energy. But without the connection to god, that power won't be spent correctly, or in the best possible way. I understand his wording, I don't see either one as contradictory or whatnot. He might do it elsewhere in the book, who knows, but I didn't see either of those quotes or phrases as contradictory.

Just saw your post, and no, I only read little bits of it years ago when I worked at Borders. Not enough to critique it honestly. I meant for him to read it, not in the sense that I had read it. English read/read ftl. There's a business book that was pretty cool too, most of the same mentality also, but can't remember the name. But I know it was in the Business section...useless comment I know. :P
Last edited by Adriorn Darkcloak on Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby kiryan » Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:02 pm

Sarvis, religion is not science and science has defined itself such that it invalidates religion. Can you show me science's validity in terms of God's will? Does that make science invalid?

I would further point to the thousands of recorded miracles in modern times as well as those chronicled in the bible. There is the validity of prayer. There have been some scientific studies on prayer. one in recenty years uses MRIs to track brain activity and it shows some consitency between people in regions of the brain that are active during prayer when they self report "being in touch" with God. Science may someday prove that prayer has a very real and beneficial effect... regardless of whether God exists.

--

I just read like 1,000 pages in 5 differnet books that push a liberal agenda in the area of ethics. I learned a lot disagreed with most.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Kifle » Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:11 pm

Adriorn,

I don't want it to seem like I'm complaining about my life. I'm generally a happy guy with a great wife and three great kids. And I know it seems like I hate Christianity. I don't. I find that these things help people get through things regardless of whether or not I believe in it. To each there own. My parents are Christian, and that is fine. The only thing I have issue with is when it bleeds into my life or somebody makes some amazing claim that just simply isn't true. Is there a god? I have no idea. Can you prove there is a god scientifically, no. Again, that doesn't mean I think there is no god, that belief in a god is ridiculous, or that everything the church does is wrong. That simply means that I know that science and religion operate at entirely different levels. One operates on logic; the other operates on belief. To say otherwise deludes both logic and the christian faith. It also upsets me when somebody makes a claim that contradicts another made by the same person. Unfortunately, religion is, by necessity, guilty of this quite often. It is impossible to logically justify an omnipotent god. All that I ask is that those that try stop insulting my intelligence in their attempts to justify such things. Religion is belief. Science is belief nested in logic, experimentation, and the desire to understand life at a mechanical level. Science does not intend or attempt to qualify or quantify the world metaphysically. That is left to us idiots that got philosophy and theology degrees.

My stance is, god may or may not exist. God may or may not do things. Attempt to prove them logically to me, and I will argue with you. Allow them to touch your life personally without having to push the belief on me, and we can both be happy. You tell me that god has enriched your life, and I will smile, nod my head, and be happy for you. You tell me that god has enriched your life and that I should let him enrich my life as well, we will have words. That is just the simple truth of life.

Now, this may seem contradictory to my belief that evolution and other things that contradict religious belief should be taught in school; it doesn't. Science has a track record that accurately depicts and predicts natural phenomena. Religion doesn't. When religion does, I will agree with that aspect being taught in school. If you want to teach the history of religion in school, I will support that 100%. But, there is so much evidence that religious theory is absolutely contradictory to physical life that any attempt to justify the inception of such beliefs into a school program can only be considered irresponsible. Yes, the church has retracted certain beliefs, but how did they do so? Did they internally attempt to find the truth, or did they have to have it beaten into them by popular perception before they relinquished their beliefs so that they were still seen as relevant? Imagine if the church had held on to the belief that the sun revolved around the earth to this day. It would be very hard for anybody to believe anything they said. The church changes their mind as it suits their circumstance. They must remain relevant; therefore, when changing their mind suits their needs, they do so. If they can hold on to their challenged belief, they will until they can no longer sustain themselves by doing so. Those are just the facts.

Therefore, in the case of schools and religious theory, I will say keep them separate because they do not work towards finding physical truth, they look towards finding metaphysical truth. Schools teach physical truth. There is no need to mix or confuse the two.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Sarvis » Mon Feb 21, 2011 8:29 pm

Adriorn Darkcloak wrote:The idea he's trying to get across is simple, man. Our body has 100 GJ of energy. But without the connection to god, that power won't be spent correctly, or in the best possible way.


No, he said if you're not "plugged in" you don't get energy. Not that you spend it incorrectly. (Actually, he touched on that too in different parts...)

I understand his wording,


How? All you saw was my explanation of what he said... :P

Just saw your post, and no, I only read little bits of it years ago when I worked at Borders. Not enough to critique it honestly. I meant for him to read it, not in the sense that I had read it. English read/read ftl.


That wasn't meant to be a challenge, I was just curious what you thought of it...


There's a business book that was pretty cool too, most of the same mentality also, but can't remember the name. But I know it was in the Business section...useless comment I know. :P


Most of the same mentality as in "hitting you over the head with God?" Or just the positive thinking stuff? Becuase if it's the latter both me and the gf might like it better. (She's Christian, but doesn't like God being plastered all over stuff like some kind of marketing ploy...)

Any idea who wrote it or anything?
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Adriorn Darkcloak » Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:41 am

Sarvis wrote:How? All you saw was my explanation of what he said... :P


Yeah, just based on what you said I understood his point. Unless he goes further into contradiction, to me it meant not good enough without the true power connection...or whatever. A little poor analogy if anything.

Sarvis wrote:That wasn't meant to be a challenge, I was just curious what you thought of it...


Oh no, I know. But I really have no clue, been around 20 years almost. It was one of those 'The Leader in You' type of business book. I honestly have no clue, I went through a bunch while I was there, and was in charge of the Business section. It might have been more than one for all I remember. Carnegie maybe? Honestly no clue. Was really popular during the 92-94 years, maybe still is, no clue.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby kiryan » Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:18 pm

Kifle wrote:I don't want it to seem like I'm complaining about my life. I'm generally a happy guy with a great wife and three great kids. And I know it seems like I hate Christianity. I don't. I find that these things help people get through things regardless of whether or not I believe in it. To each there own. My parents are Christian, and that is fine. The only thing I have issue with is when it bleeds into my life or somebody makes some amazing claim that just simply isn't true.


How about when the homosexual agenda bleeds into my life? or the schools eco / green agenda bleeds into my life? To be Christian in America is to be continuously ridiculed and dismissed while you are required to accept unconditionally every principle of acadamia and by virtue of its predominant leftist composition, the left.
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Sarvis » Thu Mar 03, 2011 12:26 am

kiryan wrote:
Kifle wrote:I don't want it to seem like I'm complaining about my life. I'm generally a happy guy with a great wife and three great kids. And I know it seems like I hate Christianity. I don't. I find that these things help people get through things regardless of whether or not I believe in it. To each there own. My parents are Christian, and that is fine. The only thing I have issue with is when it bleeds into my life or somebody makes some amazing claim that just simply isn't true.


How about when the homosexual agenda bleeds into my life? or the schools eco / green agenda bleeds into my life? To be Christian in America is to be continuously ridiculed and dismissed while you are required to accept unconditionally every principle of acadamia and by virtue of its predominant leftist composition, the left.



:roll:
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Re: The Power of Positive Thinking

Postby Teflor Lyorian » Thu Mar 03, 2011 2:15 am

Kiryan, it's hard to get sympathy when you're the majority.
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