Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Keepongoing]

Once in awhile you see church services from the States where everyone has their hands raised and look like they are on ecstacy. They all seem to be in a state of bliss.

I have heard that statistics state that regular church-goers are healthier and happier?

Of course, you have the really strange ones that stand on street corners, but overall don't they encourage a healhtier lifestyle, family values and a good moral compass?

I am not talking about Korea - that is a different story. I heard of two juicy girl bar onwers in Itaewan that attends church every Sunday. Also, when I taught businessmen, they would go to room salons on Saturday night and be in church twe next day.

[Green Tea]

My closest childhood friend met a girl in 10th grade who was really into all that "praise jesus because he loves you" sort of mumbo jumbo. As a result, my friend became a jesus freak too and started going to church several times a week and attended all sorts of bible camps and christian youth meetings. Before hooking up with her, he was a happy kid, kind of a tech fanatic who knew everything about computers and fixing motors and bikes. He used to talk about becoming a computer engineer and working for IBM or Microsoft. After breaking up with that girl he turned into a miserable alcoholic and druggie who refused to go to college and started working at a Wal-Mart. He still goes to church last I heard. But who knows, our friendship fell apart years ago.

So, is he happier being a christian? Maybe in his own mind, but he messed up his life and future because of it. The funny part is, when we were kids my parents used to always say "why can't you be more like him?". I'm glad I didn't go to church with him.

[Bulsajo]

You know who look the happiest? Those crazy mofos who drill holes in their skulls. If could just remember what the heck that was called I could find the pics on the internet...

Self-Trepanists, those folks.
Happy happy happy!
Does that make me want drill my own hole in my skull?
pass.




http://www.trepan.com/_index.html

[gang ah jee]

[laogaiguk]

SOme studies have shown they are "happier". But they are usually done by Christian groups, and they usually don't define "happier" too well either. Ofcourse, I am not saying they are false. Studies show in that the poor farmers of third world countries are actually "happier" than us Westerners, mostly because they don't know that there is a better life. Ignorance is bliss they say.

[Demophobe]

[Delirium's Brother]

The happiness factor comes from the ritual practice, and not from any particular belief system. You could set up your own rituals and they would do just fine, as long as you really treated them as rituals (and weren't just fucking around). The key elements are:

1. a metaphysics that differentiates between the sacred and the profane (it could be one of your own design, I imagine, but it would have to index the numinous for you), and
   
2. a set of rituals that invoke this schema (you could design them yourself, but they need to meaningfully invoke the ineffable), and
   
3. a faithful and continuous devotion to this ritual practice (this is the hard part).

I think you need all three (maybe you can get by with just 2 and 3).

[jlb]

What exactly is "happy?"

1. Lots of friends and family around?

2. Mass consumption?

3. A deeply religious being?

Who really knows? How to define? That's the problem with the question I think.

[SuperHero]

[Boodleheimer]

one of my friends worked for an NGO trying to help people recover from Hurricane Katrina. she said that the people who lost everything were doing okay, but the people who lost only a little (maybe a week's salary or a boat) were hopping mad. the reverends from the churches that were destroyed were very much at peace. they knew they were in God's hands.

but in re: your question, what exactly do you mean by 'christians'? are we talking evangelicals, Catholics, new-agers, what? people who are active in missions or people who believe but only go to church on Christmas and Easter? people who constantly talk about the Christ or people who keep it to themselves?

and who are you comparing them to? athiests? Buddhists? Jews? people who meditate are much healthier than people who don't-- a form of meditation is prayer.

[flakfizer]

[laogaiguk]

[cdninkorea]

[gang ah jee]

[djsmnc]

I think happy and well adjusted people are happier.

Real Christians should be negative Jew-haters who detest the fallen, crumbling world around them.

They should live in filthy shacks full of poor people who have taken refuge there and decided to subsist only on bare essentials; shunning worldly material possessions.