Tales of Everyday Life

[Brick]

It's funny because these days I'm pretty much the exact opposite, but have arrived at a similar conclusion.

I've accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and I do believe that thru his sacrifice that after I die I'll have eternal life in heaven.

I don't shout it from the rooftops, and I go out of my way to try not to get annoying about it (can't stand people who are annoying about their belief). If people ask me though, or if seems appropriate to bring up in the conversation, I'm proud to say it regardless of the consequences.

It's something I've admittedly gone back and forth on over my life, but awhile back it just clicked for me and I really haven't looked back since.

If I'm wrong about it, well I suppose the jokes on me and it wouldn't be the first thing I've been wrong about.

If I'm right... sweet, looking forward to eventually chillin in heaven.


Until then, I find there is really no point is really dwelling on it or worrying over it. You can't buy your way in with money or good deeds, belief is all that'll get you there. These days, I'm never worried that my belief will fade because I don't attach a bunch of weird conditions on it. It's not like, "if something bad happens that means I was wrong". I believe it, I've made my choice... what happens next is in the, "can't control that" bucket.


Poker analogy would be: I've pushed my chips all-in... and until the hand plays itself out I might as well enjoy my time in this casino of life.



(not trying to turn this into the religious thread, and I pinky promise I'm not gonna do some weird 180 on here where everything becomes about Jesus. Just felt appropriate to bring up in this particular post)

Huh. I had no idea. When did this happen?

 

[osubuckeye4]

Huh. I had no idea. When did this happen?

It's something I've flirted with the idea of since I was in grade school. I really never made a declaration one way or another though until a few years ago. I didn't really make a big deal about it on here, but I've had it come up in real life and I'm happy to say, "yes, I do believe Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior".

And let me be very clear... while I have embraced Christianity, I have all but detached myself from Catholicism.

I don't recognize the authority of the Pope or of any man-made church or religious institutions (doesn't mean I 'hate' churches... I'm sure many are filled with great people and there are plenty of awesome religious leaders. I've just seen enough corruption from ones I've attended to push me away from the overall idea)

Throughout my life I've done a lot of research on Jesus Christ and back in college I came to the conclusion that there is A LOT of evidence that suggests he walked the Earth. I realized that at some point I had to decide if I thought he was a fraud/liar, crazy person, or savior. For a very long time, I didn't really want to definitively decide. it was always, "well, I want to believe... but, I dunno..."

Eventually, I picked savior because it just makes sense to me. It's hard to explain.


And you know me, I'm not one of these, "Jesus is responsible for everything that happens to me, bad or good" people. I'm me, I'm accountable for myself and my actions and the few things that I can control. When it comes to my salvation though, I do believe Jesus Christ is our Savior and I do depend on his grace to get me to heaven after my mortal life has ended. That's all.

Feel free to laugh

 

[a-mart]

This encapsulates my approach pretty well. I think after we die, there is nothing. Just oblivion, we are gone. Some people find that to be crippling (guy on the left), I find it to be liberating (guy on the right). No higher purpose, no reunited with loved ones, nothing like that. So I just live a good life, 'cause this is what we get, and probably all we get.

When you die you get reborn as a poor kid in India. It is known

 

[a-mart]

There's a lot of uncertainty in our software / AI startup world right now, so thankfully we just got some good news regarding our funding which would keep my position secure for a while

 

[cmvideo75]

Huh. I had no idea. When did this happen?

All those Bryce Mitchell post fight interviews finally sunk in on OSU

 

[cmvideo75]

Well, I run all my medical stuff in the AI and its usually pretty accurate with all of my bloodwork etc. At the very least, it's helpful with giving suggestions on what I can do to help out a situation.

This is the biggest area where AI will help. Diagnosis. In a large portion of the podcasts I produce the doctors are talking about AI, specifically with diagnosing odd conditions. AI comes up with extremely accurate diagnoses almost instantly that doctors could take years to get to simply because AI can scan through 100 years of cases studies and imaging studies to find similar cases. Doctors don't have the capacity to do that.

 

[cmvideo75]

This encapsulates my approach pretty well. I think after we die, there is nothing. Just oblivion, we are gone. Some people find that to be crippling (guy on the left), I find it to be liberating (guy on the right). No higher purpose, no reunited with loved ones, nothing like that. So I just live a good life, 'cause this is what we get, and probably all we get.

I think there is something after death. I certainly don't think it is the religious answer though. Could be aliens. Could be another dimension lol. Maybe reincarnation. I don't know. I'm open to just about any idea other than the traditional Jesus-heaven answer. There is too much weird stuff that happens and really strange shit that has been caught on camera to not think there is something else going on that we are not in-tune with. Maybe there are all scientific answers that explain all the weird phenomena that we see. Who knows? But I can't say there is absolutely nothing at the end... if there is, so be it. I won't know lol. But I feel like something happens. I just don't care to stress about it. It's going to happen to everyone, we'll find out when we get there.

My real far out theory is we are engineered by something or someone. Not individually, but I mean as a species. We were created very scientifically and left to procreate on our own. The more anatomy and surgery content I produce the more I realize how mechanical your body actually is. We don't understand all of the systems operating in it, but you basically are a mechanical system with a motor, an electrical system, a computer that drive it all, filters, a gas tank which needs a specific fuel to keep going... the wrong fuel will muck up those systems and make you run like shit. There are a lot of parallels to how a lot of our technology like cars and machines work. Could our body be a super advanced form of this kind of engineering? It seems like a possibility to me. We're just a biological entity instead of a mechanical one. Now who created us and for what purpose? Who knows? I have a whole host of other theories on that lol.

 

[osubuckeye4]

All those Bryce Mitchell post fight interviews finally sunk in on OSU

Lol I don't know who that is, now I need to YouTube this

 

[LoneCowboy]

I can't believe that with all the coders and computer weinies on here that nobody has heard of Pascal's wager.

 

[bconcrete]

I can't believe that with all the coders and computer weinies on here that nobody has heard of Pascal's wager.

What makes you think we haven't, or that we're unaware of the many fallacies within Pascal's wager.

 

[osubuckeye4]

I think there is something after death. I certainly don't think it is the religious answer though. Could be aliens. Could be another dimension lol. Maybe reincarnation. I don't know. I'm open to just about any idea other than the traditional Jesus-heaven answer. There is too much weird stuff that happens and really strange shit that has been caught on camera to not think there is something else going on that we are not in-tune with. Maybe there are all scientific answers that explain all the weird phenomena that we see. Who knows? But I can't say there is absolutely nothing at the end... if there is, so be it. I won't know lol. But I feel like something happens. I just don't care to stress about it. It's going to happen to everyone, we'll find out when we get there.

My real far out theory is we are engineered by something or someone. Not individually, but I mean as a species. We were created very scientifically and left to procreate on our own. The more anatomy and surgery content I produce the more I realize how mechanical your body actually is. We don't understand all of the systems operating in it, but you basically are a mechanical system with a motor, an electrical system, a computer that drive it all, filters, a gas tank which needs a specific fuel to keep going... the wrong fuel will muck up those systems and make you run like shit. There are a lot of parallels to how a lot of our technology like cars and machines work. Could our body be a super advanced form of this kind of engineering? It seems like a possibility to me. We're just a biological entity instead of a mechanical one. Now who created us and for what purpose? Who knows? I have a whole host of other theories on that lol.

Here's where I'm at with all of this:

Unless you believe that vast amounts of corroborated and widely accepted recorded history from the Roman empire are a lie/fake (I suppose anything is possible), it's pretty universally agreed upon that someone named Jesus of Nazareth who claimed to be the Messiah/Son of God walked the Earth 2000'ish years ago, convinced a lot of people that his claims were legitimate, got a lot of people to buy into them, and was executed by Pontius Pilate.

It's not just, "well it's in the Bible, so it's true". There are numerous second and third hand written records (from Romans as well as Jews, even some from further away empires/lands) that acknowledge the life/existence/death by crucifixion of Christ.

Sources for the historicity of Jesus - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Where the debate sets in, is regarding if Jesus is who he said he was and, in particular, how much embellishment was baked into the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). It's also a matter of... how much 'telephone' was played with Jesus' messages/guidance?

I don't, and likely never will, have any answer to how reliable the gospels are and what parts are true and which parts are myth/lies/embellishment.

Some stuff, like the Sermon on the Mount, seems pretty likely/plausible. Other stuff, like walking on water, curing leprosy via laying of hands, or manipulating bread/turning water into wine seems.... less likely.

To be honest, I'm no longer really that interested in trying to get in the weeds on that stuff. If, someday we get the ability to view recorded memories (like 'the Animus' in Assassins Creed ) I'd definitely take a whirl back in time and be willing to see what actually happened and what was real/what was embellished. If it turns out Jesus was a complete fraud or a delusional madman that tricked a bunch of other delusional weirdos, I'll admit I was wrong.

Until then though, I'm inclined to believe that Jesus both existed and he was who he said he was.

It's not just 'hedging my bets'... it revolves more about the fact that the core things he asked us to do in exchange for salvation are all pretty standard things that non-scumbag people should already be doing. It wasn't, "build monuments in my name and give money to my descendants", it was just, "be kind to one another, try your best to live like I did (even though it's not possible to hit 100% on that and you should forgive yourself when you try your best but still fail), and if your kindness/being a good person causes others to ask why you're being so kind/good, tell them it's because it's what my Father wanted and that's your ticket to heaven".

I dunno, seems pretty reasonable to me and while I don't buy into EVERYTHING and get neurotic about following Biblical rules to the letter, I do buy into the central message and deep down I feel that's the way we as human being were intended to live our lives.

I also feel comfort in knowing that if I do my best to live a meaningful life and follow the basic teaching of Christ and spread the word (and again, this isn't some 'new OSU' thing that I'll be incorporating into everything going forward... I'm still me, I don't need to advertise my faith, if it comes up I'll mention it but it will likely rarely come up) that I'll have place secured for me in heaven after I die, which will eventually happen.


That's just my .02 on it, I'm not trying to impose my will or beliefs on everyone. I don't want to get into some huge argument where I tell people they are wrong because they disagree with me. Feel free to disagree and I get it. It took me quite a long time and a lot of doubt to finally get here.

It came up though, so I'm just being honest in the way I've chosen to approach things.

 

[osubuckeye4]

Lol I don't know who that is, now I need to YouTube this

Man, I feel like he had to have spent as much time practicing his spiritual wardrobe loadout speech as he did training for the fight.



Someone needs to make a Bryce Mitchell action figure and then start selling all the accessories as secondary purchases. You'd make bank! You got the sandals, the sword, the shield, the belt... can't forget your belt! (breastplate sold separately)

 

[Los Lobos]

I can't believe that with all the coders and computer weinies on here that nobody has heard of Pascal's Weiner.

Fixed***

 

[LoneCowboy]

I forgot my anniversary
AGAIN

she just reminded me last night hat our anniversary is today
and I forgot anyway

ded

 

[cmvideo75]

Here's where I'm at with all of this:

Unless you believe that vast amounts of corroborated and widely accepted recorded history from the Roman empire are a lie/fake (I suppose anything is possible), it's pretty universally agreed upon that someone named Jesus of Nazareth who claimed to be the Messiah/Son of God walked the Earth 2000'ish years ago, convinced a lot of people that his claims were legitimate, got a lot of people to buy into them, and was executed by Pontius Pilate.

It's not just, "well it's in the Bible, so it's true". There are numerous second and third hand written records (from Romans as well as Jews, even some from further away empires/lands) that acknowledge the life/existence/death by crucifixion of Christ.

Sources for the historicity of Jesus - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Where the debate sets in, is regarding if Jesus is who he said he was and, in particular, how much embellishment was baked into the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). It's also a matter of... how much 'telephone' was played with Jesus' messages/guidance?

I don't, and likely never will, have any answer to how reliable the gospels are and what parts are true and which parts are myth/lies/embellishment.

Some stuff, like the Sermon on the Mount, seems pretty likely/plausible. Other stuff, like walking on water, curing leprosy via laying of hands, or manipulating bread/turning water into wine seems.... less likely.

To be honest, I'm no longer really that interested in trying to get in the weeds on that stuff. If, someday we get the ability to view recorded memories (like 'the Animus' in Assassins Creed ) I'd definitely take a whirl back in time and be willing to see what actually happened and what was real/what was embellished. If it turns out Jesus was a complete fraud or a delusional madman that tricked a bunch of other delusional weirdos, I'll admit I was wrong.

Until then though, I'm inclined to believe that Jesus both existed and he was who he said he was.

It's not just 'hedging my bets'... it revolves more about the fact that the core things he asked us to do in exchange for salvation are all pretty standard things that non-scumbag people should already be doing. It wasn't, "build monuments in my name and give money to my descendants", it was just, "be kind to one another, try your best to live like I did (even though it's not possible to hit 100% on that and you should forgive yourself when you try your best but still fail), and if your kindness/being a good person causes others to ask why you're being so kind/good, tell them it's because it's what my Father wanted and that's your ticket to heaven".

I dunno, seems pretty reasonable to me and while I don't buy into EVERYTHING and get neurotic about following Biblical rules to the letter, I do buy into the central message and deep down I feel that's the way we as human being were intended to live our lives.

I also feel comfort in knowing that if I do my best to live a meaningful life and follow the basic teaching of Christ and spread the word (and again, this isn't some 'new OSU' thing that I'll be incorporating into everything going forward... I'm still me, I don't need to advertise my faith, if it comes up I'll mention it but it will likely rarely come up) that I'll have place secured for me in heaven after I die, which will eventually happen.


That's just my .02 on it, I'm not trying to impose my will or beliefs on everyone. I don't want to get into some huge argument where I tell people they are wrong because they disagree with me. Feel free to disagree and I get it. It took me quite a long time and a lot of doubt to finally get here.

It came up though, so I'm just being honest in the way I've chosen to approach things.

I think that is a reasonable way to look at it. It's the bible thumpers that I have a problem with. But people who are into to for the messaging and a moral way of living, all good by me. If that's what keeps you going and on the straight and narrow, no problem by me.

In regards to Jesus and the bible, like you mentioned I do believe he existed but to me there is a LOT of embellishment in his stories... plus they were all written a hundred years later. How can they possibly be accurate without embellishment? It's like me writing a book on Babe Ruth now. How can I possibly write an accurate account of his life after 100 years of Babe worship and when I didn't live in his era? It would all be second hand inflated accounts of his awesomeness.

And on a related topic, now I am not saying that I believe all the shit on Ancient Aliens, but if you do believe in any of the wilder stories in the bible, how can you possibly buy the explanation for them?? There has never been a sniff of evidence of anything spiritually supernatural happening other than these impossible to confirm and very unlikely stories in the Bible written by very biased authors. If the same exact events they describe happened right now in 2026 everyone would immediately assume it was aliens way before they went to any religious explanation.

 

[ABB]

This encapsulates my approach pretty well. I think after we die, there is nothing. Just oblivion, we are gone. Some people find that to be crippling (guy on the left), I find it to be liberating (guy on the right). No higher purpose, no reunited with loved ones, nothing like that. So I just live a good life, 'cause this is what we get, and probably all we get.

boy do I have a book to recommend to you that @Eranys recommended to me. An entirely different perspective, a pair of goggles that can change the way you see the world but doesn't force itself on you. you could easily say this is a buncha fantastical bullshit or you could easily say there may be something to this.

 

[ABB]

It's funny because these days I'm pretty much the exact opposite, but have arrived at a similar conclusion.

I've accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and I do believe that thru his sacrifice that after I die I'll have eternal life in heaven.

I don't shout it from the rooftops, and I go out of my way to try not to get annoying about it (can't stand people who are annoying about their belief). If people ask me though, or if seems appropriate to bring up in the conversation, I'm proud to say it regardless of the consequences.

It's something I've admittedly gone back and forth on over my life, but awhile back it just clicked for me and I really haven't looked back since.

If I'm wrong about it, well I suppose the jokes on me and it wouldn't be the first thing I've been wrong about.

If I'm right... sweet, looking forward to eventually chillin in heaven.


Until then, I find there is really no point is really dwelling on it or worrying over it. You can't buy your way in with money or good deeds, belief is all that'll get you there. These days, I'm never worried that my belief will fade because I don't attach a bunch of weird conditions on it. It's not like, "if something bad happens that means I was wrong". I believe it, I've made my choice... what happens next is in the, "can't control that" bucket.


Poker analogy would be: I've pushed my chips all-in... and until the hand plays itself out I might as well enjoy my time in this casino of life.



(not trying to turn this into the religious thread, and I pinky promise I'm not gonna do some weird 180 on here where everything becomes about Jesus. Just felt appropriate to bring up in this particular post)

I have my own theories about this and they don't lead me to believe it's false. They don't lead me to believe there's absolute truth in it either. But when I stand back and look at the non-extremist religious folks, they seem to live happy and productive lives. So, true or not many seem to find something very valuable in it.

 

[osubuckeye4]

I think that is a reasonable way to look at it. It's the bible thumpers that I have a problem with. But people who are into to for the messaging and a moral way of living, all good by me. If that's what keeps you going and on the straight and narrow, no problem by me.

In regards to Jesus and the bible, like you mentioned I do believe he existed but to me there is a LOT of embellishment in his stories... plus they were all written a hundred years later. How can they possibly be accurate without embellishment? It's like me writing a book on Babe Ruth now. How can I possibly write an accurate account of his life after 100 years of Babe worship and when I didn't live in his era? It would all be second hand inflated accounts of his awesomeness.

I can't stand Bible thumpers... that was one of the biggest hurdles for me to get over. How do I accept Jesus as my savior without also accepting a bunch of the crazy rhetoric that gets thrown around by others that are essentially speaking for him?

Distancing myself from organized religion helped a lot.

I really don't look outward anymore when it comes to this stuff, I'm not interested at all in someone else trying to 'Godsplain' what Jesus ACTUALLY meant. This is also one of the few times where I'm not looking to get into semantics and knitpick and find loopholes/technicalities.

For me, I've done enough digging/research to understand the basic teachings of Christ, and to me, they make sense and most of them are things that I've always felt to be higher truths (i.e. try to treat others how you want them to treat you, try to be good to one another, forgive yourself and forgive others when they make imperfect decisions from places of sincerity). I try to stick with that stuff, and not overcomplicate things by allowing outside influence to creep in.

It drives me crazy when people get all lawyer'y with the teachings of Jesus. The whole, "oh, so you believe in forgiveness and turning the other cheek, do you? So, I can just punch you in the face repeatedly until you die and you'll do nothin, right?!"

No... I'll defend myself. If you try to steal my wallet, I'll defend my property like anyone else would. Come on, these literal/hyperbolic interpretations are ridiculous.

Deep down just about all of us know right from wrong. There's no need to try to overcomplicate all of this, life is complicated enough already.

And on a related topic, now I am not saying that I believe all the shit on Ancient Aliens, but if you do believe in any of the wilder stories in the bible, how can you possibly buy the explanation for them?? There has never been a sniff of evidence of anything spiritually supernatural happening other than these impossible to confirm and very unlikely stories in the Bible written by very biased authors. If the same exact events they describe happened right now in 2026 everyone would immediately assume it was aliens way before they went to any religious explanation.

I don't get too bogged down in 'the Bible says'.. and I definitely don't take a lot of the stuff from the Bible literally (like Revelations or Noah's Ark).

For me, I just feel like there have always been things that I've been drawn to as being universally 'right'. Most of those things are based on guidance that Jesus preached. Maybe he was lying and he's the worlds greatest fraud, but... I dunno, I just have faith that he was speaking the truth and that all the stuff about heaven and salvation was also true.

That's all it is at the end of the day, right? Its just blind faith and acceptance.

And yes, I get the ridiculousness of me picking and choosing which parts I accept and which parts I roll my eyes at.

I think your Babe Ruth analogy is a good one. I don't get caught up in the legend of the Bambino and base my belief that he was a good player on the wildest stories of his exploits... but, I do accept that he was a really good baseball player for his era and that's good enough for me and I can roll with that.

 

[cmvideo75]

I can't stand Bible thumpers... that was one of the biggest hurdles for me to get over. How do I accept Jesus as my savior without also accepting a bunch of the crazy rhetoric that gets thrown around by others that are essentially speaking for him?

Distancing myself from organized religion helped a lot.

I really don't look outward anymore when it comes to this stuff, I'm not interested at all in someone else trying to 'Godsplain' what Jesus ACTUALLY meant. This is also one of the few times where I'm not looking to get into semantics and knitpick and find loopholes/technicalities.

For me, I've done enough digging/research to understand the basic teachings of Christ, and to me, they make sense and most of them are things that I've always felt to be higher truths (i.e. try to treat others how you want them to treat you, try to be good to one another, forgive yourself and forgive others when they make imperfect decisions from places of sincerity). I try to stick with that stuff, and not overcomplicate things by allowing outside influence to creep in.

It drives me crazy when people get all lawyer'y with the teachings of Jesus. The whole, "oh, so you believe in forgiveness and turning the other cheek, do you? So, I can just punch you in the face repeatedly until you die and you'll do nothin, right?!"

No... I'll defend myself. If you try to steal my wallet, I'll defend my property like anyone else would. Come on, these literal/hyperbolic interpretations are ridiculous.

Deep down just about all of us know right from wrong. There's no need to try to overcomplicate all of this, life is complicated enough already.




I don't get too bogged down in 'the Bible says'.. and I definitely don't take a lot of the stuff from the Bible literally (like Revelations or Noah's Ark).

For me, I just feel like there have always been things that I've been drawn to as being universally 'right'. Most of those things are based on guidance that Jesus preached. Maybe he was lying and he's the worlds greatest fraud, but... I dunno, I just have faith that he was speaking the truth and that all the stuff about heaven and salvation was also true.

That's all it is at the end of the day, right? Its just blind faith and acceptance.

And yes, I get the ridiculousness of me picking and choosing which parts I accept and which parts I roll my eyes at.

I think your Babe Ruth analogy is a good one. I don't get caught up in the legend of the Bambino and base my belief that he was a good player on the wildest stories of his exploits... but, I do accept that he was a really good baseball player for his era and that's good enough for me and I can roll with that.

Yeah, I mean Jesus could have just been the 'woke' guy back in the day. Preaching all the goody-goody stuff that the world needed to hear. But the world doesn't like woke people, so they killed him lol. Then to his followers he becomes a martyr and 'the son of god'. And they had good PR so here we are.

 

[osubuckeye4]

Yeah, I mean Jesus could have just been the 'woke' guy back in the day. Preaching all the goody-goody stuff that the world needed to hear. But the world doesn't like woke people, so they killed him lol. Then to his followers he becomes a martyr and 'the son of god'. And they had good PR so here we are.

Anything is possible.

Jesus could have been an alien representative from whatever alien race planted the seed for humanity, and he could have just been delivering a message on their behalf/following orders. The message he delivered might have had confusing portions that got jumbled up in translation and all of this could be some huge misunderstanding.

He could have been a deranged lunatic that happened to be really good at public speaking.

He could have been a grifter working some really weird grift where he got a bunch of people on board with a message, and never lived to see any kind of payday from it.

He could have been similar to Babe Ruth, in that, he was really good at preaching for his time/era... but, his followers went overboard in the years after his death trying to cement his legacy and elevate him over future generations of preachers.


Or, he could actually be God/the son of God that was sent down to die for our sins, and it could be that believing in that and trying to spread forth his teachings could result in your eternal salvation and a seat in a heaven.

Personally, I chose to believe he was telling the truth because deep down it feels like that's the truth to me.

I completely understand the part where others look deep down, see no possibility of that being the truth, and laugh at the idea.

I also get the part where it's really confusing and hard to decide because there is so much noise and distraction.

To each their own, and I've spent way more time on this than I ever intended! Let's get back to some tales of everyday life :)