Volconvo is a debate forum for the discussion of political, religious, and news-based topics.

Elijah · May 12, 2004, 02:36 pm

Do you believe in Luck? I don't. I have a better explanation. God blesses those he wishes to.

Impenitent · May 12, 2004, 05:57 pm

no victor believes in chance... Nietzsche

Autophage · May 12, 2004, 09:31 pm

IMHO it's the sum of every expectation of everyone, including 'expecting the unexpected'.

Suburbanite · May 12, 2004, 09:33 pm

Luck doesn't seem to have any governing rules so I would have to assume luck is the same thing as random happenings happening in your favor. Does Luck exist? Sure. Are people lucky? Sure. But is it a consistent fact-based logical rational force? Naw.

shunyadragon · May 13, 2004, 02:26 am

Quote:

Originally posted by Elijah,
Do you believe in Luck? I don't. I have a better explanation. God blesses those he wishes to.

Why do you feel God is selective?

I believe God blesses all equally.

shunyadragon · May 13, 2004, 02:29 am

Quote:

Originally posted by Elijah,
Do you believe in Luck? I don't. I have a better explanation. God blesses those he wishes to.

Relying on luck is spending your welfare check to buy lottery tickets.

Oh! and praying to win.

Autophage · May 13, 2004, 10:12 pm

Shunydragon, your lottery post reminds me of the Communist Lottery.
The state requires you to buy a ticket for a dollar.
Fortunately everyone wins!
Unfortunately, everyone wins 87 cents...

moondusk · May 14, 2004, 05:57 am

Autophage, nice one. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." :)

Anyway I don't know how to explain chance or luck. But I believe that there exists such occurrences, even thought I do not rely on them.

Maybe they are simply random happenings, or 'blessed' as to the believers. But again I think if there exists a God he'd bless all the same way. Or is it something like 'wait until your time comes'? Or is luck & chance an outcome of believing in yourself?

castille · May 14, 2004, 10:08 am

Well I believe in luck, but I think I can create my own luck.

Flip a coin 100 times. You'll get heads eventually.

The HARDER you try, the MORE you work, and BETTER you get at spotting opportunity, the luckier you get.

Most people look at successful people and say "oh they were just lucky". What they don't realise is the years of hard work and dedication.

5010 · May 14, 2004, 06:00 pm

I think of luck as something unpredictable by those who experience it. It is relative to the observer.

Example: To me, it is not a matter of chance when my plans to go camping include my dog. It is a matter of premeditated choice. However the dog, being oblivious to my plans, thinks it's her lucky day!

I think things that are "lucky" in my experience are just part of the mechanical execution of nature, initiated ultimately by the First Cause ("God"). Whether our blessings are the desired effect or a side effect is unclear, but I'll accept them either way!

GreatWyrm of Babylon · May 16, 2004, 08:38 pm

All humanity is mostly ignorant, we neither live long enough or have enough processing power to be otherwise. Luck is just a buzzword to cover what happens when we go into a situation without enough knowledge to get the job done.

Elijah · May 17, 2004, 03:49 pm

Shunydragon, I think God blesses those more if you bless God more. Think about it. If you had 2 friends. One hardly ever talked to you, never called you, never e-mailed you, and shoots down all your posts on volconvo, and still claims to be your friend. The other talks to you whenever they get a chance, calls you occasionally, e-mails you from time to time, and, even though you have opposing veiws, they are still not rude to you. Say you won tickets to disneyworld, or spots on a cruise(or whatever floats your boat) which one would you want to give one to. Hmmmm.

samsara15 · May 17, 2004, 03:55 pm

Obviously, luck exists. How can you believe in it or not believe in it? Can we influence events? Of course, but that is not luck. On the other hand, some events are out of our control; if a comet falls on our house and burns it down, there's not much we can to prevent it; If we inherit 20 acres of worthless land, but Wall-Mart decides to build on it, that is also out of our control.

GreatWyrm of Babylon · May 17, 2004, 06:07 pm

I dispute that luck exists, so please do not claim it is obvious. Claiming something is obvious is almost always used to cover shoddy reasoning.

shunyadragon · May 17, 2004, 07:54 pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Elijah,
Shunydragon, I think God blesses those more if you bless God more. Think about it. If you had 2 friends. One hardly ever talked to you, never called you, never e-mailed you, and shoots down all your posts on volconvo, and still claims to be your friend. The other talks to you whenever they get a chance, calls you occasionally, e-mails you from time to time, and, even though you have opposing veiws, they are still not rude to you. Say you won tickets to disneyworld, or spots on a cruise(or whatever floats your boat) which one would you want to give one to. Hmmmm.

If I was God I would have the compassion of the Earth and be with them all always even in death.

Mainly, because I created them and gave them the free will to defy my will. I would be the cause of their misery and suffering.

God is not the chess player with white pieces.
God is the sea and we are the fishes.

**Pooeypants** · May 17, 2004, 08:14 pm

Define luck.

May 17, 2004, 08:40 pm

i am quite lucky most of the time. i like to think it is because i am engaging in lessons that will aid me when i do things for 'god' later. god teaches me the lessons god requires me to use for god's service, but god spares me the hardship in most cases.

god is in some ways my travel agent and contracting agent, but god decides where i go and what i do. this is wonderful because there is nothing better to do than serve god and see what wonders god shows me, and god seems to pick up the tab for the whole operation or set me up pretty cozy much of the time. i am quite grateful for this.

of course this is my perception of what god is doing. god may be doing something entirely different. in such a case all god need do is say the word, help me clear a path, and i will do it.

GreatWyrm of Babylon · May 17, 2004, 10:49 pm

Now this is bad luck, I read this just after eating, and now I need to barf...
9 sentences where god is mentioned 13 times, kill me now.
BTW: Why did you place god in in quotes the first time, did you think we were unfamilar with the term?

May 17, 2004, 11:07 pm

i use the word god instead of any pronouns because the english language has no gender neutral pronoun that indicates an entity. saying "it" instead of "god" would only confuse you, so i simply said 'god'. if that bugs you make a new word and put it in circulation for me. or speak german.

i put the term god in quotes because of the confusion between my view of god and the traditional monotheistic view of god. while they are both referring to the same thing they refer to differently structured organizations and understandings of what god is.

most people assume god is a seperate entity with almighty power in another world called 'heaven' and that there is a corresponding 'hell' and a devil. my conceptualization of god is the living energy that fills and makes the universe and every living being. my consciousness, the consciousness of all life, and the consciousness of 'god' are one, but my perception is limited by my material chemical brain and senses. that is why i used quotes.

GreatWyrm of Babylon · May 18, 2004, 02:04 am

What monotheistic god? Are we talking about the religion that has jehovah, jesus, mary, and satan? Mono means one.

May 12, 2004, 02:36 pm	#1 (permalink) (top)
Elijah Sinister Minister Posts: 88	Do you believe in Luck? I don't. I have a better explanation. God blesses those he wishes to. Beware all you powers of darkness! For the rest of you...Call me Eli.

May 12, 2004, 05:57 pm	#2 (permalink) (top)
Impenitent Hot Lava Posts: 1,859	no victor believes in chance... Nietzsche "I really like this jacket, but the sleeves are much too long..." insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results...

May 14, 2004, 05:57 am	#8 (permalink) (top)
moondusk Molten Ash Posts: 40	Autophage, nice one. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." :) Anyway I don't know how to explain chance or luck. But I believe that there exists such occurrences, even thought I do not rely on them. Maybe they are simply random happenings, or 'blessed' as to the believers. But again I think if there exists a God he'd bless all the same way. Or is it something like 'wait until your time comes'? Or is luck & chance an outcome of believing in yourself? www.moondusk.com

May 14, 2004, 10:08 am	#9 (permalink) (top)
castille Citizen #21521 Posts: 2,599	Well I believe in luck, but I think I can create my own luck. Flip a coin 100 times. You'll get heads eventually. The HARDER you try, the MORE you work, and BETTER you get at spotting opportunity, the luckier you get. Most people look at successful people and say "oh they were just lucky". What they don't realise is the years of hard work and dedication. Ideological loyalty is the act of giving your soul to a vague concept, to be manipulated by people smarter than you.

May 14, 2004, 06:00 pm	#10 (permalink) (top)
5010 mostly harmless Location: USA Posts: 1,282	I think of luck as something unpredictable by those who experience it. It is relative to the observer. Example: To me, it is not a matter of chance when my plans to go camping include my dog. It is a matter of premeditated choice. However the dog, being oblivious to my plans, thinks it's her lucky day! I think things that are "lucky" in my experience are just part of the mechanical execution of nature, initiated ultimately by the First Cause ("God"). Whether our blessings are the desired effect or a side effect is unclear, but I'll accept them either way! - solo (my site)

May 12, 2004, 09:31 pm	#3 (permalink) (top)
Autophage Molten Ash Location: Washington, DC-ish Posts: 103	IMHO it's the sum of every expectation of everyone, including 'expecting the unexpected'.

May 12, 2004, 09:33 pm	#4 (permalink) (top)
Suburbanite BANNED Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,203	Luck doesn't seem to have any governing rules so I would have to assume luck is the same thing as random happenings happening in your favor. Does Luck exist? Sure. Are people lucky? Sure. But is it a consistent fact-based logical rational force? Naw.

May 13, 2004, 10:12 pm	#7 (permalink) (top)
Autophage Molten Ash Location: Washington, DC-ish Posts: 103	Shunydragon, your lottery post reminds me of the Communist Lottery. The state requires you to buy a ticket for a dollar. Fortunately everyone wins! Unfortunately, everyone wins 87 cents...

May 16, 2004, 08:38 pm	#11 (permalink) (top)
GreatWyrm of Babylon Avatar of Tiamut Location: Dallas, Texas (Irving) Posts: 848	All humanity is mostly ignorant, we neither live long enough or have enough processing power to be otherwise. Luck is just a buzzword to cover what happens when we go into a situation without enough knowledge to get the job done.

May 17, 2004, 03:49 pm	#12 (permalink) (top)
Elijah Sinister Minister Posts: 88	Shunydragon, I think God blesses those more if you bless God more. Think about it. If you had 2 friends. One hardly ever talked to you, never called you, never e-mailed you, and shoots down all your posts on volconvo, and still claims to be your friend. The other talks to you whenever they get a chance, calls you occasionally, e-mails you from time to time, and, even though you have opposing veiws, they are still not rude to you. Say you won tickets to disneyworld, or spots on a cruise(or whatever floats your boat) which one would you want to give one to. Hmmmm. Beware all you powers of darkness! For the rest of you...Call me Eli.

May 17, 2004, 03:55 pm	#13 (permalink) (top)
samsara15 Ch Latour 61 Location: Maryland Posts: 638	Obviously, luck exists. How can you believe in it or not believe in it? Can we influence events? Of course, but that is not luck. On the other hand, some events are out of our control; if a comet falls on our house and burns it down, there's not much we can to prevent it; If we inherit 20 acres of worthless land, but Wall-Mart decides to build on it, that is also out of our control. Economic Left/Right -8.88 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian –6.97

May 17, 2004, 06:07 pm	#14 (permalink) (top)
GreatWyrm of Babylon Avatar of Tiamut Location: Dallas, Texas (Irving) Posts: 848	I dispute that luck exists, so please do not claim it is obvious. Claiming something is obvious is almost always used to cover shoddy reasoning.

May 17, 2004, 08:14 pm	#16 (permalink) (top)
Pooeypants Neo Moderator Location: England Posts: 5,549	Define luck. War is Peace Freedom is Slavery Ignorance is strength Harness the power of Ingsoc, then you can capture someone killed the year before

May 17, 2004, 08:40 pm	#17 (permalink) (top)
Bob_Dobbs Guest Posts: n/a	i am quite lucky most of the time. i like to think it is because i am engaging in lessons that will aid me when i do things for 'god' later. god teaches me the lessons god requires me to use for god's service, but god spares me the hardship in most cases. god is in some ways my travel agent and contracting agent, but god decides where i go and what i do. this is wonderful because there is nothing better to do than serve god and see what wonders god shows me, and god seems to pick up the tab for the whole operation or set me up pretty cozy much of the time. i am quite grateful for this. of course this is my perception of what god is doing. god may be doing something entirely different. in such a case all god need do is say the word, help me clear a path, and i will do it.

May 17, 2004, 10:49 pm	#18 (permalink) (top)
GreatWyrm of Babylon Avatar of Tiamut Location: Dallas, Texas (Irving) Posts: 848	Now this is bad luck, I read this just after eating, and now I need to barf... 9 sentences where god is mentioned 13 times, kill me now. BTW: Why did you place god in in quotes the first time, did you think we were unfamilar with the term?

May 17, 2004, 11:07 pm	#19 (permalink) (top)
Bob_Dobbs Guest Posts: n/a	i use the word god instead of any pronouns because the english language has no gender neutral pronoun that indicates an entity. saying "it" instead of "god" would only confuse you, so i simply said 'god'. if that bugs you make a new word and put it in circulation for me. or speak german. i put the term god in quotes because of the confusion between my view of god and the traditional monotheistic view of god. while they are both referring to the same thing they refer to differently structured organizations and understandings of what god is. most people assume god is a seperate entity with almighty power in another world called 'heaven' and that there is a corresponding 'hell' and a devil. my conceptualization of god is the living energy that fills and makes the universe and every living being. my consciousness, the consciousness of all life, and the consciousness of 'god' are one, but my perception is limited by my material chemical brain and senses. that is why i used quotes.

May 18, 2004, 02:04 am	#20 (permalink) (top)
GreatWyrm of Babylon Avatar of Tiamut Location: Dallas, Texas (Irving) Posts: 848	What monotheistic god? Are we talking about the religion that has jehovah, jesus, mary, and satan? Mono means one.