My thoughts on the positive aspects of Christianity and letting go(d)

While I wait for this f*cking page to load so I can finish my homework, I was thinking about how Christian music is different than other types of music.

To start off, I used to be a Christian and listened to Demon Hunter, Pillar, Mercyme, etc. To this day, even though I think the lyrics for some of the blatantly Christian songs are stupid (DH is actually artistic and can relate it to anything), the melody is different from most other types of music - like there's more "soul" to it. Now I will say the newer generations are taking Christianity in its best direction and focusing on the attributes of Jesus (and it's showing in the music) instead of the same old bull you hear in church about satan ramming you in the ass when you get to hell. POD is prob my best example for what I mean.

Music is not the only difference I notice in Christians, I can usually tell who is and who isn't a Christian by their posture, eyes, etc. While at first this would make one think - "well, Christianity must be right if you notice these better aspects about people", but I think you can isolate the factors that make for these kinds of differences..

So I'm thinking there's two major ways of looking at life - taking control of your life (kind of like micromanaging), or letting go and trusting that shit works out (for Christians or any other religion it's about faith, for new agers and spiritualists you're trusting a more general "higher power"). I think the difference is more noticeable in Christians particularly because their god is clearly defined; there is no vagueness about it, and this gives them some anchor to hold onto.

Now completely stripping away the aspects of religion like what is really the right one or whatever, I wonder if we look instead at a utilitarian view (whatever works), which of these two ways of living is more effective? Or should they be completely balanced?

I think taking your focus off of your immediate situation reduces stress/anxiety and lets you see the bigger picture. To an extreme of course you'll be a bum under a bridge. But to sum it up I think there are nuggets of gold in the compost bin known as religion.

 

Compost is nutrients for the profane belly crawling creatures that work it until it becomes good fertilizer for the plant that will sustain higher orders of life and please us humans, a very perfect way to describe religion.

The stresses we have in life are nothing but our ego coming into conflict with changes. Our body, mind, and higher faculties have a lower aspect that when left uncontrolled bring terrible harm to us, it is our Lucifer if I'm to use Catholic terminology. There is no Devil unless we allow the nuclear energy within us to function without control.

Taking it easy is knowing that you will be ok regardless of the circumstance; your peace comes when you realize you are much more than what you see in the mirror, not when you neglect your responsibilities.

Religious music in itself is highly spiritual, and some Christmas songs are corny as HELL, but the message in 'Little Drummer Boy' is beautiful. If 'Go Down Moses' doesn't fill you with a certain passionate rage, you simply do not have a soul.

I love music that sounds like angels, or something ethereal, are singing. I get this from choirs singing, classical music, and musical tones that sounds like crying, be it a high pitch or the tears of a violin or weeping guitar. Chiptunes, 8-bit and 16-bit, music get me very hard as the sounds are so technically pure that i take each note as being directly from the voice of a being i cannot see. I've never understood why melodies in tune are nice to the ear, might have to do with conserving the energy from one note to another even. Esoteric Christianity states that the Archangels are numerated after certain major musical notes So plucking the right chord is invoking a greater being than yourself. Taken literally, what I just said is total hogwash, that's why it's esoteric

Now, these beings that sing to me are of my own mental creation and have no bearing on how I live my life or treat others. No dogma exists that is right for everyone. They are allegories that reflect a higher truth about the nature around us, not literal stories within themselves. There is nothing that's really supposed to be "mystical" about religion beyond the initial awe that strikes us in witnessing something greater than ourselves. Philosophy evolved into Physics and Mathematics, religion is utilitarian as otherwise it becomes a god within itself, and thus, an idol whore of babylon.

The Christian concept of God is initially a very simple one, the Father, and that does allow the members of this faith to sort of put aside certain soul-seeking questions by replacing them with a simple fact: God exists.

The true Christians will look a little deeper and see the simple personification cannot be what is real, there cannot be an equally evil force to God's goodness because that removes God's infinite power, what we can think of and imagine is so unimaginably limited that any conception we have on how the universe works cannot be held as enough of a conclusion for belief in any deity with a personality.

The one true God, the One that is the reason for All, does not want you to take time out of your day helping others to sing long scripted prayers. Prayer comes from within, when you're by yourself.

Faith is nothing more than optimism. Faith is NOT a blind belief in God.
Think of it like this: Jesus refused to test God's love for him when tested in the desert by satan. He refused to put God to the test. This is EXACTLY what people do when they live in a "God will take care of things" attitude and this is not at all Christian. This is what happens when Christians have no idea what their religion is trying to teach them.

You are your only salvation. It is not a coincidence or typo when the Bible states we are all children of God, The One has much more than only one Son.

It is far more important than men strive to become like the Christ of the Bible than it is to believe that a literal man named Jesus existed.

 

Interesting post Traditione. So you're saying that real peace comes when you acknowledge you're a part of "God", rather than thinking god will take care of you? I'm going to get pretty nonfactual here quoting people I hear on Coast to Coast AM but the people who survive near death experiences say pretty much the same thing; they're comfortable with life knowing there's nothing to fear in death.

The problem I have is 1) believing there actually is more than what I see in the mirror and 2) if there is a god or source, what purpose could there be for our existence?

What would you say is the point?

 

I think you need balance between taking control and letting go, but it's not necessarily a 50/50 type of balance. It's ever changing, depending on the circumstance. Letting go, at least for me, would not presume a higher power "taking over" -- it's more of a recognition, or acceptance that I cannot control everything. In the latter part, I'm not very "trusting that shit works out." Christians seem to have a patent on that.

 

I'm with you for the most part. But now I'm not sure if I explained what I mean well enough.

Maybe it's not so much that they trust that it works out, it's just that whatever happens isn't as much a concern to them as everyone else; they believe their kingdom is in heaven and aren't concerned with the earthly reality.

This matches with what I think tradition's saying. If you believe there's more than what the eye can see, you don't need to worry about materialism and all that.

This video by Stefan Molyneux (great anarchist/philosopher) made me think more along the lines of existentialism. I think it was in that video that he said something like "if you're not happy with life, if you require some belief in a higher being to keep you from being depressed, you're not addressing the reasons that would make you depressed in the first place".

So there are two ways of looking at it again: 1) you need to do whatever it is that makes you happy (existentialism) or 2) realize this is a fleeting experience and you are an eternal being.

 

There is nothing in life that

We are different aspects of God, you are the same being as the person sitting across from you, looking into your eyes. We're all gathering relativist information to add to the quantum reality as a way for the universe to better comprehend itself...Some people say this is our reason for existing.

Consider this for the questions you are having:

1) In the mirror is your outter reflection. You just see skin, without cutting deep within yourself you would never know you had organs. Look at light from the sun, it appears white, but is only so due to our own physical limitations and the mixture of all color wavelengths into a singular beam. What you see in the mirror is the part of you that is an animal.

You believe the world is round without ever having seen the curvature of the horizon yourself. You believe the sun will last for a certain amount of time longer. You believe you will not float away due to a mysterious force that keeps you planted firmly on the ground of this inorganic rock we call Earth that has mysteriously acquired organic material.

Our entire existence is based on faith, taking some potentially incorrect conclusions as truths so that we can direct our energies on living and taking care of other tasks than to be wound up in searching for a truth that we could not possibly discover with physical tools. The truths are ingrained in us from birth, it's all around us, the true scientist(observer of nature) is the one that observes the miracle of a plant emerging from a seed. All is in a constant state of transformation and what we see is only a glimpse of what is, allowing us to be further awed by reality when we dig deeper into the unkown.

2) If we knew why we were here, we'd be able to neglect that duty and would give up entirely if we had the choice to do so. We're pretty lazy creatures, and like all parts of nature, degenerate and waste energy if we do not actively desire to fight our lower most animal urges (The 7 Deadly Sins, wanton waste of limited energy). Some say our purpose is to observe nature and end our life without making much of a wave in the world in order to return to our previously pure form, more in touch with God. Other people claim that our purpose is to continue and spread life across the universe, as life is precious and we are sentient caretakers that must take up our mantle and do the work.

On one hand, not making much of a wave and sort of just coasting through life will limit the possibilities of sin, but also hinders the life you lead. Imagine all the people that were not helped with a difficult task because you didn't want to get involved? That's neglecting your job as a human, who has realized he is more capable than the animals around him, to take care of those that have not yet found solace in God's Truth.

On the other hand, if our purpose is to continue to spread and sustain precious life, we are going to be using more and more resources and the possibility to sin increases exponentially.

We either do nothing and risk neglecting our duties, or we do too much and put the sanctity of our duties at risk. The key to living a life is balancing the negative and positive aspects of God. There is an arm of severity and judgment as well as mercy and forgiveness on the symbolic personified body we call God.

Now, discovering whether or not killing is right or wrong depending on the situation is a very personal discovery. No commandment is plain and simple. We will never know what God deems as perfect, but through our observations can conclude that we must: conserve energy, treat our neighbors as we want to be treated, accept all people for who they are unless they desire to cause harm, spread the good word and help those who cannot help themselves. More than this, no human can actively claim they know the truth, which is very comforting in a way.

So, if that was too long, know that you will be saved if you live in a way that you forget your animal self and live for others, and in that sense you are MUCH more than what you see in the mirror, you are the work you have done. We will never know the intricacies of what we're supposed to do or how we're supposed to do it. That's for us to discover, and is a gift a higher power bestowed on us.

 

This is too deep for me to get involved with at the second but I just wanted to jump in and say I appreciate your avatar Nate. LOL.

 

I am a Christian and think most Christian music is totally lame. Listening to it does not give you brownie points with God and most of the Christian artists and producers are IMO in fact NOT Christians.

 

I don't really know where to start as regard this. It is all about personal philosophies, and at the same time it isn't, because Christianity has an uncompromisable standard. Ncz Nate has clearly and eloquently shed light on his own view with as much criticsm and also praise.

So, what can I say?

I will say despite the absurdity, and conversely, the high quality of uncompromisable Christian music standard, anybody is allowed to sing to God in a way that establishes spiritual and not commercial relationship with the Almighty.

 

Thanks Damilola and Alexis.

I guess that depends on what type of Christian music you're talking about. Blatantly Christian music is often lame because good art is not supposed to be so obvious.

Listen to Demon Hunter, it is probably the most artistically talented band in the Christian genre. My favorite song.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDMG82MSXhU (about gang life)

Although I'd say POD has more of the "soul" I'm talking about, listen to Southtown for instance.

I'm thinking it all boils down to self-righteousness in a way. When you're a Christian you don't have to walk on the eggshells of life, there is not much uncertainty.