Point of View

My previous post, unfortunately, drew a couple of comments that were critical of the two systems of thought. That was not the reason I brought up the subject, but, in retrospect, I should have expected it.

Each of us has a unique point of view. All I want to do is try to understand the different points of view. Let's remember that each one is held by a living, breathing human being. Let's remember that each one is strongly held, and dear to the heart and mind of a person.

In this post, I am going to introduce two additional systems of thought, so I'm going to give each one a letter, so that I can refer to them all more easily in the posts to follow. The first system of thought from yesterday's post, I will call M, and the second one, S.

Now it happens that the first two comments said, basically, "I choose M." The third comment made fun of M, and the fourth comment told a joke at the expense of S. Now it happens that I love all of those who left a comment, and I recognize that each has a unique point of view. I don't think it is useful in any way to make fun of anyone else's point of view.

The third commenter phoned me right after hitting submit and asked me to remove xer comment. Xe realized that xer comment wasn't adequately respectful of other points of view. I invite xer to make another comment that simply claims xers choice of S over M, without poking any fun, if xe wishes to do so.

Now again in the spirit of understanding, rather than criticism or humorous disbelief, let me present two other systems of thought relative to the life questions.

Several students of mine when I was a professor held to this system of thought, which I will call C:

Q. Where did I come from?
A. A supreme being created you out of nothing, as a special creation.

Q. Why am I here?
A. You must worship your creator, live a good life, and accept the One sent by the creator as your personal savior.

Q. Where am I going?
A. After you die you will go on to eternal bliss if you have accepted the One, but if not, you will go on to eternal torment.

Another dear friend holds to a system of thought which I will call R:

Q. Where did I come from?
A. You have lived many lives before on this planet and are now again living here on Earth.

Q. Why am I here?
A. You are here to gain more experience as a living being and to see what kind of life you choose.

Q. Where am I going?
A. After you die, you will look over your life and learn from it while preparing to be born into another life.

These systems of thought are all quite different, and it can be interesting to compare and contrast them. For example, M, C, and R all hold that there is life after death, whereas S does not.

It is important to remember that each person holds on to their preferred system of thought quite firmly, and it is important to them. While we could get a great deal of enjoyment poking fun at other systems of thought, my purpose in this series of posts is to learn about them, accept that each has some believers, and above all, to be tolerant and detached.