Theodicy.
I remember my secondary school principal explaining his anger about a student who asked for a swimming pool to be built within the school. The student was asking about what else the school can provide for him, and the principal got really mad because that was an indication of "selfishness", because "do not ask what the school can provide for you, ask instead what you can provide for the school". While this adage does bring forth the ideas of selflessness in this context, it wouldn't make sense in another. Say, a prospective student wishes to enroll in the school, but he gets this response instead. Would he still want to enroll in this school if he knew that he was supposed to do most of the "providing" instead of the school?
In scenario 1, the student wants more from the school, and hasn't taken into consideration that the school has already provided for him (a holistic education, good teachers, good studying environment, et cetera). But he still wants more, without giving, because he's a greedy piece of shit.
In scenario 2, the student is considering his options, and wonders if he should enter a school with a swimming pool or without a swimming pool. He hasn't benefited from this particular school yet, so he doesn't feel compelled to "give back" to the school.
What I'm trying to say is, it doesn't make sense to put money/effort into something that hasn't provided for you, or proven its worth to you.
That's probably why I'm not religious, because I don't see whatever fortune or blessed life I enjoy as a gift from god(s). Whatever I have is from my ancestors and my parents, and that's where I'm going to continue giving back to.
Besides, isn't it scary to believe in diving beings that have the power to give and take everything away from you? I don't want to feel so helpless, nor do I want to feel empowered by something that, in my world, doesn't exist. I'd rather not have to believe that some day, some divine being up there can suddenly strike my family dead, and take away all my material wealth, just to prove a point.
The Book of Job tried to explain the question "If God exists, why do the righteous still suffer?" While some argue that the book itself explains this question, it just opens an entire can of worms for me. Why would God even allow Satan to torture his loyal subject to prove a point? I always do this to my characters in game "I'm going to throw you into this shit hole, if you survive you're good and I'd reward you, but if you don't then too bad, it just means you weren't good enough".
It seems perverse to me that any sentient being can condone evil to prove a point.
That's why I prefer to stick to the ancient Chinese traditions, because what I've been provided with, I should provide back. What I haven't been provided with, I will not reciprocate.
I can't talk to my family about this though. We all need to believe in something more powerful than us, and although I don't think of myself as the centre of the universe, I don't see the need to pander to another hypothetical being's might.
Because if they do exist....suffering won't be rampant.
-- 9/25/2014 11:37:00 PM
Here's my homework (;
I don't do this often, but since I was asked to.........
20 facts about me
1) I like to drive alone late at night. I'm normally home-bound, but I don't need a destination, I just need to be alone in the car and on the road. I enjoy having complete control over something, and I can drive however fast/slow I want without nagging. I can end up reaching home way later than I normally would, and I won't regret the "wasted" time. Driving alone also gives you the "I'm driving, can't reply messages" card, and I can be left to my thoughts alone.
2) I hate those "Top 10 things you should........." lists. They are usually very general and tell me nothing about any particular type of people, except that I end up unsubscribing from people who post such stuff. They wouldn't have anything constructive to add to my life anyway.
3) I do enjoy going out, just not very often and not for too long a time. If I'm out for the day, I love getting home before sunset. I just don't like to be out after dark, especially with the wrong crowd.
4) I fucking hate this song "From a distance". It's an old song but somehow popular enough to be played on the radio in the morning frequently. It doesn't make sense on so many levels, it's fucking irritating and it gets stuck in my head and angers me to no end.
5) I'm very obstinate. Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I'm guilty of that, especially in games. It's a hopeless situation with no solution, but I still try anyway, hoping against hope that some good will come out of my insanity.
6) I hate crowds. Every time I'm caught in a crowd, or if I'm in a huge group of friends/acquaintances, I try to escape. I don't think there'd be any high quality conversation in such a huge group and it's better to cut my losses and get out ASAP.
7) I love and hate my phone. It is a wonderful piece of technology but I prefer real life interactions. It's a poor substitute, so I'd rather not touch it.
8) I don't like taking too many pictures. I was born and raised back when photography was an expensive hobby, requiring developing of films. I've always remembered the value of photographs and pictures from back then--that one should only take pictures of picture-worthy moments, because spamming away your film taking shitty/low-quality/pointless pictures while on holidays would just get you scolded. Alas, this value of photography has been lost on this generation. This is why I don't understand the whole "take picture of food" phenomenon.
9) I also don't understand this whole "been there, done that, bought the t-shirt, took a picture" phenomenon. When I travel, I do take pictures. I don't take pictures just because I want to prove that I've been there, but because I find something funny or meaningful. If I'm watching fireworks, I'd rather watch it with my really HD eyes. I don't wanna watch things through the eyes of my camera, no matter how great the specifications of the camera are.
10) I tend to be really faithful to my games and gaming consoles. I've played Runescape for 11 years now. My heart broke when my Gameboy Colour broke recently.
11) I am quite a hoarder. I know that I won't be trading with my link cable for gameboy anymore, because the 3DS XL doesn't need a link cable--it uses bluetooth/Wi-Fi. But I still can't bear to throw it away.
12) I do get quite miffed when people do stupid stuff like show me green/red colours and ask me to differentiate between them. I'm colour deficient, not colour blind, and I'm not an animal at the zoo for you to feed your curiosity on.
13) I can have really strong and abrasive views on things. I am quite a bigot, really. Like, when the ALS ice bucket craze was going, all I could think was "this is ridiculous, since when did charity degrade into a dare? And why are people going through all that trouble? Are you really helping, or just trying to better fit into your group of friends as "been there, done that".
14) As can be seen, I am quite a sociopath. I never see the need to fit in with people, I'm completely fine with going for meals myself, I'm self-sufficient in this sense.
15) I enjoy watching movies alone. I don't need to justify whether I like the movie or not, I can just have mindless fun watching that movie, or be moved at the end. It's my choice, and I don't have to put on a facade at the end of the movie to act like I wasn't affected.
16) I'm resistant to change. I usually like things the way they are, if not I'd just get the fuck out.
17) There are some really easy buttons to press to rile me. I don't enjoy being blackmailed, I will flip table and tear faces and completely give up relationships once given a blackmail/threat. If you're going to blackmail me, bear this in mind.
18) I'm a very private person. The things I say to someone is probably going to be for that person's ears/eyes only. I don't like too many people to know my stuff.
19) I am capable of crazy.
20) I tend to doze off in front of my computer. It's not that I'm busy with work, it's just that I need my afternoon naps since I'm still a growing boy.
OK done.
-- 9/16/2014 12:10:00 AM