Repentance vs. Let It Be?

Discussion in 'Philosophy' started by bkadoctaj, May 6, 2009.

  1. I was wondering what you all think about the following two philosophical viewpoints:

    1) If you truly repent and regret what you did, you will be forgiven by God for your sin/wrong.

    2) Live life without regrets.

    Can one hold both of these viewpoints at once? If so, give me an example. If not, explain your reasoning.

    My housemate, who I believe would call himself a born-again Christian, has argued that all sin is forgiven provided the sinner is truly repentant and sorry for the action. To me this sounds like an excuse not to live in the present, but rather to pre-rationalize future actions in the face of temptation and to erase mistakes from memory. I'd like to believe he is sincere in his belief but in reality it seems counter to my personal life experience.

    Thoughts, folks?
     

  2. Well, obviously you can't regret what you did, and also have no regrets... Does that make much sense?
    I think you can be sorry for something, but not regret it. And why would God want you to regret a mistake that you learned a lesson from afterwards? To regret is to wish it didn't happen, and if it didn't happen, your lesson would not have been learned. I'm not saying you always learn new knowledge from mistakes, I'm just saying that logic doesn't fit in with that situation... Unless God would rather us make no mistakes and live oblivious to right or wrong?

    So, no, its obviously not possible to regret something and also have no regrets..

    hmm. Unless you REGRET what you did in present tense, but then no longer regret it after you repented for it, therefore you wouldn't have a regret ... but only simply have regretted.
    (regret is a verb and a noun, and that is what i'm playing around with down here... hope that makes sense?)
     
  3. What you're saying makes sense to me. So you don't really think you can fully accept both of these ideas at once?

    I wonder if limbo is the name for being in the middle - i.e. understanding both perspectives and all their implications but not aligning with one or the other.

    It seems from my knowledge of the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran that one is supposed to have one's heart fully aligned with God, YHWH, or Allah.
     
  4. well at the end of my post, is where I noted the only way possible, in my opinion, to accept both views at once, aka not being neutral to either of them (or 'limbo' as you said).
     
  5. no, i dont think its possible.

    premeditated repentance, for things not even committed yet; is just an escape mechanism from reality. like you said, an escape from the present; instead a focus on the future, and rationalizing things that have yet to occur-- instead of focusing on the now, and realizing that even though your actions have consequences, you can learn from them.

    if you continually turn to "a higher power" for forgiveness, i personally dont think it is possible to truly understand the gravity of your actions; rather you are dumbing them down, and saying, "sorry God, I fucked up"

    instead of, "hey [name], dont do that again that will hurt"

    then again, you said life without regrets; would this be relevant and salient with the fact of learning from mistakes rather than hiding behind some premeditated forgiveness mechanism? (i.e Allah, God, etc).
     
  6. There is no sin great enough that God will not absolve
     
  7. Well, the interesting thing about all this, is that my housemate has remarkably good advice for his friends. I mean, it is true he focuses more on them than himself, unless he's talking with me haha (I'm just a digger i.e. introspective motherfucker). I just feel like he has pretty good morals as an individual. Like me, he's engaged, and I've never caught him in a lie. I feel like he is a committed individual.

    I don't feel he is "dumbed down". Actually, when we're high and we talk about God, he has a very clear viewpoint, even though it's a little dualistic for my taste.
     
  8. there is no denying that those that believe in their salvation through that path are good people, with morals and a set of ethics that are pretty damn impressive. its their thought process, and overall lack of rational thought (when in some arguments, didnt mean for that to come off as a grandiose generalization) that really get me. its either God or the highway....
     

  9. Just to share my perspective on that, I see "rational thinking" as just as big a box. Pandora's Box, but nonetheless an a priori box.
     
  10. word.

    there is a barrier that cant be surpassed, with the linguistics that we currently use. i mean everyone lives in their own world with their own opinions, to say that someone is wrong is utterly ignorant. to each their own :rolleyes:

    i just think that to say God did this, God did that, God hit me with a baseball bat; to every question thrown out.. is a cop out. but i could be wrong, who am i to say that God didnt do/create anything.
     

  11. I see the reason for remaining in limbo not to be a copout, but more, "if I don't choose a side, I remain centered and free from conflicting thoughts. I have my view, others have theirs."
     
  12. I dont understand why people do not believe in God
     
  13. #13 bkadoctaj, May 6, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: May 6, 2009
    Because then you feel forced in some sense (generally strong) to oppose the viewpoint that God does not exist. To me, God is a word, and words don't always distinguish reality the way we experience it (whatever it is) clearly enough for others to understand exactly how we mean them.

    Words and actions together are a better indicator to me.

    I have experienced cosmic unity, and that opened my mind to the possibility that there is a God. But in reality, I just found I could transcend duality by remaining centered and balanced like water, which flows downward freely and into the cracks.

    A water metaphor to illustrate? Try drinking water before you eat. Your stomach fills faster that way than if you eat first and let the water fill in the cracks of your stomach. Personal experience as an illustration.
     

  14. yeah most definately, it is a state and mindset that is more 'comfortable' and less stressful, because they know/think that because God made everything, he has the power to forgive everything.. and whatnot.

    but i prefer to have a challenge, and think things through... whether attributing it to God or attributing my mistakes to my stupidity and learn from it.

    its all a matter of preference, but the two most definately cannot work out together.
     
  15. Who gave you eye sight? Who created a sun so that your eyes have light to see?
     

  16. How are eyes separate from the reality or the context they are found in? If my eyes are a part of the unified reality, how can a creation not have a creator, and how can a creator not have a creation? Therefore, how can the creator (God) and the creation (me and my reality) not be One already, even before or after individual words and actions?
     
  17. Conjecture is no substitute for the truth
     

  18. One man's truth is another man's mystery.
     
  19. How is the truth different for any man?
     

  20. How is man different from his creator? That being said, how is man different from the reality he perceives himself to be in? Both have the same origin.
     

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