There is a guy I work with, he turned 63 this year, great guy, hardest working person I have ever met in my life. But he is a real cynic, he is also very old fashioned, whatever you tell him is wrong, you can't teach him anything because he refuses to listen, he never asks for help, he demands it and if he doesn't get it he gets angry and stressed and claims he has to do everything by him self, but thats just him, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Poor guy has had a very hard life, about 12 years ago his wife died of cancer, he had to take care of her for 2 years before that. Lucky his daughter was old enough to look after her self, she never moved out of the house, I don't think she still has, about 3 months ago he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, I hate to say it because I love the guy, but he is going to die soon, he will never give up though, a comment I remember him saying was "Mate, its in my bones, if it keeps going I will be laying in a bed by the end of the year looking like jelly waiting to die, but not me mate, not me" he was talking about how it wasn't fair why did he have to work hard all his life for it to get to this point, to get to what point?
One thing that will always remain the same in him, is that he has a great heart he has always been there for others in their time of need and he is always there to help you even if you don't appreciate it at the time..
One thing that really angers me is that he has worked hard all his life, he has worked twice the life of the average person but now life won't cut him a fucking break, no no, two years away from retirement, here you go, cancer, you don't have any money? Its ok, we'll take your house as payment for the cancer treatment when you die your daughter gets nothing.
God works in mysteries way? Its not mysteries he's just a fucking asshole. In fact I no longer have faith, we are alone in this life and shit happens.
This is not a trolling attempt, but a serious question to RebelHeart:
Where is your God now?
Sad story, shit just happens I guess. As long as he doesn't regret what he did with his life, it's all ok though. He will most likely be remembered as a more than decent guy buy his co-workers and even more by his daughter.
Don't you guys usually say Jesus loves you no matter what? How do his beliefs make any difference? God is supposed to fogive him for not being a Christian anyway, isn't he?
There is the ol' reliable fallback for questions like this that never result in people questioning their faith. Really, people saying something like "we can't possibly understand God's plan" is no different than George Lucas explaining plot holes in his Starwars films by saying "well, uh, the force, ya know?"
I remember when a good friend of mine lost his dad in a workplace accident - just totally random. The priest at the funeral went on at length about 'god's will' and how we can't understand his plan but he needed this guy in heaven for some reason and we should accept that. All in all, he spent about 30 minutes talking about God and Jesus and about 5 minutes talking about the guy's dad. That was the moment my friend became an athiest.
But this is a sad story. I guess the good news is that he lived to be 63 (and possibly longer). I imagine the years from 60-something to 80-something are some of the less significant of a person's life and given the choice of which 20 years to chop off, those would be the ones.
It's all random; life is random. The shit cards you get dealt have absolutely nothing to do with what you do in life or karma or whatever. Being a good person will help you sleep well at night, will provide you with friends and/or family that cares about you, and perhaps stave off regret as you're lying in your deathbed. That should be enough. Imagine dying at 63 and thinking to yourself "nobody loves me, I'm a prick, and the world is a worse place for having hosted me." Now that'd suck.
There is the ol' reliable fallback for questions like this that never result in people questioning their faith. Really, people saying something like "we can't possibly understand God's plan" is no different than George Lucas explaining plot holes in his Starwars films by saying "well, uh, the force, ya know?"
I remember when a good friend of mine lost his dad in a workplace accident - just totally random. The priest at the funeral went on at length about 'god's will' and how we can't understand his plan but he needed this guy in heaven for some reason and we should accept that. All in all, he spent about 30 minutes talking about God and Jesus and about 5 minutes talking about the guy's dad. That was the moment my friend became an athiest.
But this is a sad story. I guess the good news is that he lived to be 63 (and possibly longer). I imagine the years from 60-something to 80-something are some of the less significant of a person's life and given the choice of which 20 years to chop off, those would be the ones.
It's all random; life is random. The shit cards you get dealt have absolutely nothing to do with what you do in life or karma or whatever. Being a good person will help you sleep well at night, will provide you with friends and/or family that cares about you, and perhaps stave off regret as you're lying in your deathbed. That should be enough. Imagine dying at 63 and thinking to yourself "nobody loves me, I'm a prick, and the world is a worse place for having hosted me." Now that'd suck.
hahah man... i agree on all points. Speaking of Starwars, did you catch the Family Guy spoof yesterday? It was good =o
Similar experience with the priest though... my grandfather died about 10 years back after battling luekemia for 4-5 years. Real shitty way to go btw. Priest pulled the same spiel and I wanted to strangle him.
Same thing with 9/11. Same shitbag priest (along with countless other douchebags nation wide) had no explanation why their God would allow it to happen, so they give the same answer.
The nail in the coffin with the dude was when my dad came down with cancer. Gave the same thing and after that, never even checked up to see how he was, even though my dad used to give thousands a year to that church. Not any more.
I definitely don't need religion to influence me to be a good person however.
On September 24 2007 23:56 Cpt Obvious wrote: This is not a trolling attempt, but a serious question to RebelHeart:
Where is your God now?
Sad story, shit just happens I guess. As long as he doesn't regret what he did with his life, it's all ok though. He will most likely be remembered as a more than decent guy buy his co-workers and even more by his daughter.
Why devote your life to work?
-Do you have a choice?
Why would God help him if he didnt seek his help. Why the hell are you blaming God for? and if we live in a parallel world and he was christian read the book of Job , you cannot know god's plans and what he will do for him which i guarantee its a LOT better, meh im tired of arguing about this on teamliquid anyways i will stop
On September 24 2007 23:56 Cpt Obvious wrote: This is not a trolling attempt, but a serious question to RebelHeart:
Where is your God now?
You Christian bashing is mediocre, it's not funny, just comes off as some lame angry nerd rant. Everytime. Seek consult, preferably from baal or boghot.
I'm sorry to hear that. Does he believe in God? I don't think it's a good idea to not have faith when something bad happens, because the whole purpose of believing in God is to help you in the hard situations.
Yeah because wondering why the fuck that guy gave you cancer after your own wife died years ago from the same disease when all he did was lead a good life and work hard (as far as we know anyway) is gonna make it A WHOLE LOT easier. Jesus, you are retarded. pun very well intended.
you judgmental pricks. if that shit would to happen to you there's no way in hell you will just accept it.
fuck god fuck atheism fuck the grand scheme of things is the people that made him suffer, people like you. you vain fools. i hope you pay x10 for every lie you spewed, for every person you stepped on, you robbed from, you mocked, for every deceit, for every failed promise, for every dream you crushed, for every hope you shattered, for ever...
On September 25 2007 07:00 xM(Z wrote: you judgmental pricks. if that shit would to happen to you there's no way in hell you will just accept it.
fuck god fuck atheism fuck the grand scheme of things is the people that made him suffer, people like you. you vain fools. i hope you pay x10 for every lie you spewed, for every person you stepped on, you robbed from, you mocked, for every deceit, for every failed promise, for every dream you crushed, for every hope you shattered, for ever...
Uhh, who are you referring to? FYI my uncle died of cancer last year, worked as a bus driver all his life. Christians don't just accept it we have to pray for them and do everything we can to help them find peace.
On September 25 2007 06:06 Cpt Obvious wrote: Yeah because wondering why the fuck that guy gave you cancer after your own wife died years ago from the same disease when all he did was lead a good life and work hard (as far as we know anyway) is gonna make it A WHOLE LOT easier. Jesus, you are retarded. pun very well intended.
Cant you speak normally? Jesus, you troll all forums insulting everyone You remind me of this kid
wtf dont blame god if he didnt even believe in him your arguments are pretty stupid imo
On September 25 2007 06:06 Cpt Obvious wrote: Yeah because wondering why the fuck that guy gave you cancer after your own wife died years ago from the same disease when all he did was lead a good life and work hard (as far as we know anyway) is gonna make it A WHOLE LOT easier. Jesus, you are retarded. pun very well intended.
I hope I don't go down like that, cursing God for my life.
Anyway, I don't think it would be so bad to go down like that. It sounds like this guy has worked all his life, but I wonder if hes had the chance to just stop and wonder, why? Why does he work so hard, get up every morning? He obviously does it, but I wonder if he knows why he does it. Now hes going to have a chance to take a break and think about these things.
Honestly, if I thought there was no purpose in doing what I do, I'd probably just kill myself. Its stupid to work every day for no reason. Everyone needs a time to think about these things, and it seems to me like soon he will get his.
The good part about having real struggles in life is that you get to learn more about yourself. To me this is better than dying suddenly, because you have time to reflect on yourself and your life.
Also, I find it ironic god is mentioned now. Its easy to have your little routine and beliefs, but when stuff happens, you begin to really ask the hard questions.
Cpt.Obvious your basically blaming it all and cursing against someone you dont believe exists -_- so you either believe God exist or your straight-up confused/crazy
On September 25 2007 07:00 xM(Z wrote: you judgmental pricks. if that shit would to happen to you there's no way in hell you will just accept it.
fuck god fuck atheism fuck the grand scheme of things is the people that made him suffer, people like you. you vain fools. i hope you pay x10 for every lie you spewed, for every person you stepped on, you robbed from, you mocked, for every deceit, for every failed promise, for every dream you crushed, for every hope you shattered, for ever...
Uhh, who are you referring to? FYI my uncle died of cancer last year, worked as a bus driver all his life. Christians don't just accept it we have to pray for them and do everything we can to help them find peace.
i covered you and your kin under the first fuck so don't worry. but i don't understand your last sentence. i'll try a translation/adaptation: christians don't just accept that your uncle died of cancer; christians pray for him and do everything they can to help him find peace. ?? i don't get it.
well well, multitude of people would be jumping on the guy as an example of a creature bent out of shape by capitalist society. or something of that sort.
On September 25 2007 07:00 xM(Z wrote: you judgmental pricks. if that shit would to happen to you there's no way in hell you will just accept it.
fuck god fuck atheism fuck the grand scheme of things is the people that made him suffer, people like you. you vain fools. i hope you pay x10 for every lie you spewed, for every person you stepped on, you robbed from, you mocked, for every deceit, for every failed promise, for every dream you crushed, for every hope you shattered, for ever...
Uhh, who are you referring to? FYI my uncle died of cancer last year, worked as a bus driver all his life. Christians don't just accept it we have to pray for them and do everything we can to help them find peace.
i covered you and your kin under the first fuck so don't worry. but i don't understand your last sentence. i'll try a translation/adaptation: christians don't just accept that your uncle died of cancer; christians pray for him and do everything they can to help him find peace. ?? i don't get it.
wtf Christians dont believe if we pray for someone he will go to heaven when he dies , i believe your confusing it with Catholicism
On September 25 2007 08:13 TesisMech wrote: Cpt.Obvious your basically blaming it all and cursing against someone you dont believe exists -_- so you either believe God exist or your straight-up confused/crazy
You don't understand at all. He is not "blaming" god.
On September 25 2007 05:30 RebelHeart wrote: I'm sorry to hear that. Does he believe in God? I don't think it's a good idea to not have faith when something bad happens, because the whole purpose of believing in God is to help you in the hard situations.
Are you fucking brainwashed or something?
"Oh, too bad he didn't have faith when he had cancer! He would've lived!"
Tsk tsk. Some people don't like the idea of blindly accepting in something that has not helped anybody ever..
Sorry to hear about your friend. I don't know what to tell you, I'm not really sure what to think about death.
My best friend died a month ago at the age of 19, I've known him ever since I can remember but for some reason I didn't feel anything. I just became worried about his family. It's the only direct experience that I've had with death, I don't know why I reacted the way I did. After a while I became bothered by my reaction, but then I just thought that he wouldn't want me to suffer because of his death so I just decided that instead of being sad I would remember the good times I've had with him.
I don't know if telling you this helps, but it's all I really know on the subject.
My intention was not to bring religion as an organisation into this, I never even mentioned whether he was religious or not, the fact of the matter is, if things like cancer, where we can do nothing to foresee and in most cases nothing to do to prevent or stop can happen, don't you stop for a moment and think why? Why is this happening, what is the reason behind this, if the person believes in an afterlife they will go there anyway, why would you have to take them earlier than their natural body clock says its time.
There is so much shit going on in the world, if there is a god why doesn't he do something good for once in the history of mankind to warrant even a belief in him.
By the way, whoever said if he isn't even Christian why expect anyway.. wow. So yeah, Christians don't suffer in their lives, ever.
What if he is Jewish or Muslim or Catholic? Does he deserve less of an answer as to why this is all happening?
there IS a CURE for cancer!!! LAETRILE! VITAMIN B17! selectively targets cancer cells to destroy them. Cancer is not a death sentence anymore, in fact, there has been a cure for it long ago. But American mainstream medicine will not have it. Thousands actually have to leave the US to other countries to get the treatment.
You may be skeptical, but if you're friend is worth anything to you, you might want to at least lend your ear to those hollering in the background claiming they have a cure.
Some resources: 1) " http://home.bluegrass.net/~jclark/b17_dosage.htm " easy reading and lots of info you can learn about cancer cures and what cancer actually is. *this site is not a blabber-on about how it's hopeless, and that we can do something, but you're eventually going to die" kind of site. Cancer cannot survive without lots of sugar, and an alkaline blood pH. Most people with illnesses, even common cold have low blood pH. thats one reason why soda and such is bad for you - it lowers your blood pH. 2) drfuhrman.com - nutritional therapist that completely cures diabetes. I recall that he has something on cancer as well 3) the book "World Without Cancer" - explains everything from the mechanisms to the politics of Vitamin b17 / Laetrile / natural cures.
I believe your friend can indeed get better without chemo worsening his body, and killing him even earlier. I wish the best for your friend, his family and you. But it's up to you to tell him there is a cure if he's ever going to get better.
But why trust a university or the NIH? I'm sure the good folks at alternativecancer.us are much more objective and accurate. What's that? The whole site is sponsored by a Laetrile producer who wants to sell it to you for $16 a day?!? And by "leave the US to other countries" you mean go to Mexico, because that's the only place the crackpot medicine can be produced?!?
The drug companies do dirty things to take advantage of patents and ban cheaper, generic versions, but if something actually works they find a way to make money off of it. Laetrile is not one of those things.
It is believed that the active anticancer ingredient in laetrile is cyanide
Laetrile has shown little anticancer effect in laboratory studies, animal studies, or human studies
The side effects of laetrile are like the symptoms of cyanide poisoning
This is like the guy on TV who claims some root in the rainforest will cure diabetes. OH WOW, MY PANCREAS JUST GOT REBOOTED FROM THIS ROOT THANKS KEVIN TREDEAU.
Edit: ololol I just read point #2 and it's about curing Diabetes. How ironic.
Actually, I've done a decent amount of reading on alternative medicine, and everything I've read does seem to indicate that keeping your body alkaline (high pH), avoiding sugar, and eating a very healthy diet of raw vegan food can do much to help cancer.
It makes a good bit of sense to me, given that cancer rates keep rising as people deviate further and further from healthy lifestyles. A healthy lifestyle should include good fresh organic food (raw preferably!), lots of exercise, and avoidance of toxins and unhealthy foods/drugs (processed sugar, trans fats, various toxic food additives such as aspartame and MSG.)
Everything sounds crazy until it is accepted into the mainstream. Gallileo sounded crazy at one time, now we take his ideas for granted and laugh at people who contradict what he discovered.
Still, I don't think there is any reason to pay 16 bucks a day for a cancer cure, Lol.
And, regarding the OP, I think it is really pretty low to use this story as a way to attack Christianity. Way out of line, and likewise with all the folks who jumped on the bandwagon.
As to the question in the title of the blog, "Why devote your life to work?" I say it depends. If you love your work, then love is the "why."
On the other hand, I think the vast majority of people do not love their work, and it is indeed a very sad thing that people devote their lives, or at least sacrifice much of their lives, to things they do not really care for (or often actively despise.) Certainly in this case it is better to choose something other than work. This very idea was the inspiration for my recent blog entitled "Relax."
Sad to waste life in unpleasant work, only to realize near death that you never lived.
On February 06 2008 12:23 nA.Inky wrote: Actually, I've done a decent amount of reading on alternative medicine, and everything I've read does seem to indicate that keeping your body alkaline (high pH), avoiding sugar, and eating a very healthy diet of raw vegan food can do much to help cancer.
It makes a good bit of sense to me, given that cancer rates keep rising as people deviate further and further from healthy lifestyles. A healthy lifestyle should include good fresh organic food (raw preferably!), lots of exercise, and avoidance of toxins and unhealthy foods/drugs (processed sugar, trans fats, various toxic food additives such as aspartame and MSG.)
Everything sounds crazy until it is accepted into the mainstream. Gallileo sounded crazy at one time, now we take his ideas for granted and laugh at people who contradict what he discovered.
Still, I don't think there is any reason to pay 16 bucks a day for a cancer cure, Lol.
Right, doing those things in your middle paragraph will go a long way to keeping yourself healthy and less likely to develop cancer and many other diseases, besides genetic problems. But most of those medicines, especially the homeopathic kind, are sold as "wonder drugs" that can somehow undo all the mistakes you've committed in your life. There are some natural cancer remedies that scientists are exploring such as capsaicin, but selling undeveloped and unproven sugar (or cyanide in this case) pills as "life saving" medicine is even less ethical than what the big drug companies do.
Galileo wasn't refuted upon on rigorous testing and meticulous peer review.
That is why I like living in Canada; cancer treatment is health care, and it's free. There is no reason why you should pay for that. We might have higher taxes, but the poor saps who wind up with needing bypass surgeries and such get fucked over in the end.
EPT
