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Proposal: New Religion Based On Selflessness

Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

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I would like to announce a new religion - the 'Worship of Selflessness'.

It's not only complimentary with any existing beliefs, we are indeed, carefully and thoughtfully, encompassing the essence of every single one.

Two conditions must be accepted before joining though:

- you must stop asking your God for help and accept others are always more worthy

- you must never ask your God to, 'Save Me!', because that would of course be selfish and the antithesis of our new religion. Instead, you must duly plead with your God to save someone else.

They are no rewards.

Would have been a massive launch of our new religion, except that my agent is frantic about some, 'PR problem'...
 
Comfortably Numb said:
I would like to announce a new religion - the 'Worship of Selflessness'.

It's not only complimentary with any existing beliefs, we are indeed, carefully and thoughtfully, encompassing the essence of every single one.

Two conditions must be accepted before joining though:

- you must stop asking your God for help and accept others are always more worthy

- you must never ask your God to, 'Save Me!', because that would of course be selfish and the antithesis of our new religion. Instead, you must duly plead with your God to save someone else.

They are no rewards.

Would have been a massive launch of our new religion, except that my agent is frantic about some, 'PR problem'...
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So...a lot like Christianity is supposed to be?
 
Naughty_Felid said:
Just remove the god part - Humanist
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Absolutely not. It's a new religion.

Think about it... two people stand before the Pearly Gates, or whatever... alas, there's only one place available.

One pleads, 'Save Me!!! Me....!!!'.

The other proclaims, 'Save someone else, there are surely more worthy'.

Who gets through...

Join us... You get the bonus of being member number 1...!
 
PeteS said:
But every religion offers some reward apparently for it to be successful - 70 virgins etc. So you need to add some incentive for it to work. Just have to think of a reward in the afterlife which is selfless.
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Although it's arguably a bit risky, the incentive is *not* to ask for anything -'Don't spare me' - trusting this is the essence of religious teaching.
 
PeteS said:
Yep I've always wondered why religions have felt the need to offer a reward to followers.
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It's basic advertising / marketing ... Direct the rubes' attention away from the cost of the main purchase (life) and sweeten the deal with a bauble rewarding them for paying the price here and now ...
 
EnolaGaia said:
It's basic advertising / marketing ... Direct the rubes' attention away from the cost of the main purchase (life) and sweeten the deal with a bauble rewarding them for paying the price here and now ...
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I think the idea is to attract the selfish and nasty types with the promise of something wonderful and hence stop them being such a pain for everyone else. Unfortunately after a few centuries the whole thing falls apart and the nasty types take it over..
 
I am the Pastor of The First Church of Richard Dawkins The Conciliator. Join my congregation instead.
 
ramonmercado said:
I am the Pastor of The First Church of Richard Dawkins The Conciliator. Join my congregation instead.
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Dawkins isn't very conciliatory. Nice try, though.
 
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...But every religion offers some reward apparently for it to be successful - 70 virgins etc. ..

You could offer to give 35 of them to some one who may be more in need than you are.

INT21.
 
...The other proclaims, 'Save someone else, there are surely more worthy'. ..

Surely St Michael, or whoever is on gate duty, may ask ' then why did you bother coming here '?

INT21.
 
INT21 said:
...But every religion offers some reward apparently for it to be successful - 70 virgins etc. ..

You could offer to give 35 of them to some one who may be more in need than you are.

INT21.
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Wouldn't know what to do with the remaining 35 meself.
 
A young Jihadi arrives in Muslim Heaven; having just blown himself and a bus full of school kids to bits.

'Well, you made it'. says Allah

'Yep, so do I get my 70 virgins ?'

"Oh yes, says Allah "With arseholes like you blowing everyone up there are lots of them here who never go the chance to enjoy the pleasures of life. Just sign here and I'll send you group around to meet you'.

'Great' says the lad, scribbling his name down. 'I just can't wait to have sex with all those beautiful women'.

"Women !" said Allah, smiling. " Who said they were women ?".

INT21
 
I have received some gripes about one of the conditions for joining our Church, which aspires, 'The Essence of Selflessness'.

It's about that moment when being appraised, at the 'Pearly Gates', or any equivalent of a religion.

We proclaim... 'Don't save me, save someone else more worthy'...

The idea is, of course, that by doing so you have a massive advantage over those pleading, 'Save Me God, Save Me...'

However, some 'noisy negatives', are expressing reluctance: 'What happens if I ask God to save someone else instead... and he does'?

For sure, it's a chance we take, you have to decide...

[Keep the Faith - you know we are the ones who would get through] :cool:
 
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Spiritual - religious experiences decisions are intensely personal and generally based on life experiences and preferences. I'm an agnostics. Certain things seem fall in line with science (evolution, astronomy, earth sciences, physics), yet many mystery's remain. And I certainly don't rule out the supernatural. My exposer to Eastern philosophies, Christian - Jewish teaching, and cults (spiritualist, wild-eyes fundamentalist and worse) has been interesting yet frustrating. I've heard very good teaching from all but the cults. The Bible and the Buddhist truths really are loaded with great stuff, yet they are filled with platitudes and s unreachable goals (IMO). The dilemma to believe or not to believe, then what to believe?
Point of interest is that monks both Christian and Buddhist seem to reach a spiritual pinnacle of peace and selflessness at the expense of what most enjoy. Is the sacrifice worth it?
 
Frank Cross's (Bill Murray) final speech from Scrooged -

I'm not crazy. It's Christmas Eve.

It's the one night when we all act a little nicer.

We...we smile a little easier. We...we...share a little more.

For a couple of hours we are the people we always hoped we would be.

It's really a miracle because it happens every Christmas Eve.

And if you waste that miracle, you're gonna burn for it. I know.

You have to do something. You have to take a chance and get involved.

There are people that don't have enough to eat and who are cold.

You can go and greet these people.

Take an old blanket out to them or make a sandwich and say, "Here."

"l get it now."

And if you give, then it can happen, the miracle can happen to you.

Not just the poor and hungry, Everybody's gotta have this miracle!

It can happen tonight for you all!

If you believe in this pure thing,

the miracle will happen and you'll want it again tomorrow!

You won't say, "Christmas is once a year and it's a fraud." It's not!

It can happen every day! You've just got to want that feeling!

You'll want it every day! It can happen to you!

I believe in it now.

I believe it's gonna happen to me, now. I'm ready for it!

And it's great. It's a good feeling.

It's better than I've felt in a long time.

I'm ready.

Have a Merry Christmas. Everybody.
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