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1298 points jgrahamc | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.405s | source
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hn_throwaway_99 ◴[] No.22879511[source]
Perhaps this is too philosophical, but for anyone who has dealt with someone with a long decline into dementia, it's very difficult for me to understand a belief in God after going through that (I certainly understand some people have the exact opposite reaction, so I'm in no way saying this belief is correct).

It's just difficult for me to envision a crueler God if that is indeed the case. A person who has died long before their body gives way, only to be a constant burden, with virtually no joy, and a constant reminder that your loved one is dead, yet still here.

In the worst cases I say unreservedly that it is a huge relief when the person's body finally joins their mind in death.

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hwc[dead post] ◴[] No.22879923[source]
If God exists, they are cruel and uncaring.
1. lpah4all ◴[] No.22880792[source]
The universe exists to give us the opportunity to be selfless caregivers for our fellow human beings or be callous or even predatory towards those we deem "other" or "lesser". This why we each are born with a sense of morality, however molded from culture to culture and manifest from person to person, except in the rare cases of people, like Lee, that have physical pathologies that hinder it.

The non-pathological of us each have the free will to choose to self-evolve ourselves during our lives towards greater compassion for all those around ourselves, or to selfishly gather as much material pleasure as we can for ourselves regardless of the cost to others, be it monetary, emotional, or physical.

We are all actively evolving ourselves every day of our lives, for better or worse, even if all it amounts to is repetitively strengthening one's already accepted habits and attitudes. The exception being when disease or tragedy takes away our ability to rationally choose, as happens with people such as Lee. That is where compassion from our fellow human beings is part of the potential we must each welcome, for such is the moral requirement of being a human being.

We have been given what is both a great gift and a great responsibility with our free will and the mind required to learn and wield it justly and for the benefit of the whole and not just some preferred sub-group.

God is not a white man (full-disclosure: white guy here); It didn't give us free will only to then take it back from us because that means we can become, for example, callous, self-serving, corrupt, power-seeking, hypocritical fake-Christian deceivers of men.

No. The polarity of our morality extends to whichever direction the person can imagine. That is why we are both treasured above all creation and capable of the most brutal of atrocities.

We are free to be good or evil and that means we are also free to not give a fuck.

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2. zuzuleinen ◴[] No.22887379[source]
Thank you for taking the time to write such a beautiful comment