I am fairly sure that this would be the appropriate forum for general logic and viewpoints, but if not, please see to it that it gets to the right place. Just thought I would share some of my viewpoints, and compare them and how I've changed over time. So anyway, here goes:

Who are we, and why are we here? That is a question that I am sure we all ask ourselves at some point and time. Whether you know the answer or not, there is a purpose for your existence. No matter what your version of God is, be it the Big Bang Theory or a religion, someone or something has to be far greater than us to be able to piece together such an intricately woven web of destruction and pleasure. After all, are we not creations? Anything real or imaginary that takes on form is a creation, and therefore must have a creator. It is the way of the world; everything is in balance. Does every candle not cast a shadow, does every life not end in death? For every question there is an answer, and even though it may not always be apparent, there already is or will be a solution.

Sometimes when horrible things happen in our lives, we fail to see our blessings. Some may say that their entire lives have been nothing but pain and suffering, yet are the lessons learned and strength gained through those struggles not blessings? Those that think that their lives are not worth living should consider the fact that no matter what torment they undergo, there will be something just as equally wonderful happen, in either large or small doses. The trials we face and the choices we make have both rewards and punishments, and no matter how right you believe yourself to be, or how wrong you believe everyone else to be, everyone has a unique definition of right and wrong, therefore giving no human being the right to judge or stereotype anyone else. Besides, we are equal and in balance just like everything else. No matter if it is a reward or a punishment, we all get what we deserve; if we see it or not, it has happened, or it will with time and patience.

We are affected by every person that we come in contact with in our lives. It does not matter if it is a family member, or a person you pass on the street, there is a reason for it. Every time we cross the path of another, our minds generate some sort of thought or emotion, and we leave an impression, be it a life-altering difference or such a small difference that we do not even notice it. It is in this manner which we are able to learn and grow, and are all somehow connected as one being. You could hurt someone's feelings and push them over the edge, or you could make someone's day brighter and be their hero. We all have just as many enemies as allies. No one has any idea what anyone else is truly thinking or feeling, so we have no way of knowing just how important the decisions we make and our actions can be.

So, now that you have come in contact with me, I am going to leave my impression, be it big or small. If there is one thing I have to teach you, one lesson that you remember me by, let it be this:

There are feelings that, deny it or accept it, come from neither your heart nor your mind; such feelings can only come from the soul. There are those in life that are weak, and those that are strong, separated by one major difference. The strong have the patience to overcome all obstacles they are faced with, and although they may sometimes feel like quitting, giving in is never an option. They have the wisdom to see that their efforts are seen by someone in the world, and therefore do not go in vain. The weak have the selfishness to not care that their decisions affect everyone and everything, like a stone being cast into an ocean. They have the ignorance that blinds them from seeing the fruits and the consequences that their efforts have bore. Tell me, when everyone dies, is it all over? Could all the effort, all my effort in writing this, be for nothing? Everyone knows that there are questions in life that cannot be answered, which could only mean that there must be a solution that lies beyond life in order to balance it. The end of all life would defeat the whole reasoning of purpose and existence if there was not something beyond death.

If you believe that I am wrong or right, that is entirely your decision. Life and death, and the balance of all things; they are mandatory. Happiness and misery, what you choose to see and to blind yourself from, and your definition of right and wrong; they are all choices. Nothing matters more than life except for what you do with the time that you've been given.

My views as they stand now:

thenumberone: 'Happening for a reason' refers to destiny. Although I don't put a
huge emphasis on fate, I do believe that everything which happens does so with
reason. Not that the reason is significant, but that action spawns reaction. No
matter how large or small the reaction is, there is a reason why it happened;
the reason why would be the action which followed. Now that I am older, I do not
believe so much in destiny, but it does seem as though it may play a small part
in grand schemes which appear too deliberately linked to be sheer coincidence.
Even if there is a reason as to why something happens, sometimes those events
seem to fall perfectly into place with others that would otherwise have nothing
to do with the situation at all.

Later on in life, as I began to
think more logically and piece together information, I realized that most things
which at first seemed mysterious to me had very simple explanations. I began to
understand that, although there may not always be an evident solution to a
problem, it doesn't mean there isn't one; it could very well be that we have
simply yet to discover it. I do not believe that living beings have a soul or
'spirit' anymore, and the brain may in fact appear to be as if it were an
unprogrammed computer, but there is one major flaw with your logic. The human
brain does things which are beyond our control, and although our interactions
with the outside world shape our personalities, sometimes you are born into
being a certain way with no apparent reason. For instance, there doesn't seem to
be any known cause as to why a person is attracted to the same sex. There have
been recorded cases where children at very early ages find themselves attracted
to the same sex with no influence whatsoever. They have straight parents,
religious families, and are raised so that they have virtually no exposure to
such things as a child, but still they turn out to be homosexual. There could be
a simple and valid answer as to why, but still it is something that we have yet
to understand. It couldn't be instinct, because the natural instinct of a human
being is to reproduce, and obviously they have a brain that has developed
normally; so why? I find it highly improbable that spirits would be the
solution, but because there is no evidence to support what causes these
occurrences for a fact, there still remains a chance in a seemingly infinite
number of possibilities that it could still be.

Sometimes I feel like
selfishness can be linked to weakness, as it takes more effort than people
realize to commit to giving, especially when you give that which you need
yourself; it takes a strong person to be able to do without so that someone else
may benefit because they may need it more. Whether people see it or not, we all
rely on each other in some way to survive. You may work, but someone provides
the job. You may eat, but someone provides the food. You may purchase that food
with your own money, but someone had to create a currency system so that you
could do so. If everyone kept their works to themselves, it would leave the
human race serving no purpose. If you watch a match and drink a beer, you may
accomplish self-gratification, but still achieve nothing but that. In order for
you to obtain that self-fulfillment, someone had to brew the beer and organize
the match, regardless of whether it was a worthwhile accomplishment for them or
not. It takes a strong person to provide others with what they need to survive,
so that those very people may have the means to fulfill their own goals. As you
said, if everyone could co-operate, then we could find more answers, and make
life that much easier for others in the generations to come. The more you
understand, the more you can develop, and in sharing that knowledge we become
stronger as a whole. However, if we are selfish and keep that knowledge to
ourselves, then it serves no purpose but to make the individual satisfied, in
which we all become weaker and less capable of advancement as a whole.

In a universe where the purpose of our very existence is uncertain,
I don't know if there truly can be a wrong or right. In the instance of human
nature, we may act accordingly to what we perceive is satisfactory in terms of
morality, but we all have individual perspectives on what it means to be so.
That being said, just because we are unable to comprehend something as valid
does not make it invalid, as there could be an infinite number of solutions to
any one problem that is beyond our ability to reason. At some point in history,
it was proven that the Sun did not revolve around the Earth, but instead the
opposite. Although we can prove this, there is nothing to say that in the future
someone may come along who can disprove it. In the end, proof seems nothing more
than a widely accepted theory, as it is the only answer to questions we have as
of today. The possibilities of tomorrow are always as infinite as they are
unknown; our thirst for knowledge can never be quenched, because the only remedy
for that thirst is more knowledge.

I am only vegan in a sense that I
respect all life the same, and although I am by far perfect, I do all that I can
to use the least amount of resources possible when the sacrificing of life is
involved. If I had to defend myself or kill in order to eat, I would do so. If I
have to use products made from animals because I do not have the means to afford
otherwise, then it can't be helped. I know that by not eating meat I am actually
contributing to it being wasted, and that by eating plants I am still consuming
something which is alive, but the goal is to be a minimalist. Many plants can
die only to come alive again the next season and produce fruits; animals cannot.
A potato may extend its roots in search of nutrients, but it lacks the ability
to have emotions and the nervous system to feel pain. I do not mean to say that
its life is any less valuable, but the damage inflicted upon the life of
something living is far less when the said organism has no brain or is not fully
developed. In many cases, stopping life before it begins can actually aid in the
preservation of a population, which is why I am pro-abortion, and have no
problem eating eggs. To prevent something from living which never knew life in
the first place is minimal compared to taking the life of something which is
fully aware; you can't miss out on something you never even knew existed.
Therefore, instead of slaughtering animals for meat and population control, stop
life before conception and eat that which has a lower quality of life, so that
you can do the least amount of damage possible. Meat and other resources will
always be wasted whether or not I partake in their use, but by not using the
resources I would hope to set the example that they are not necessary in the
amount of which they are being produced. By wasting for the moment instead of
using, we can show that future amounts are not needed in such large quantities,
therefore lowering the risk of over-production on a much larger scale; supply
and demand, if you will.

And finally, on to love and theism. Everyone
needs love in order to survive. Maybe not personally, but love is a requirement
in order to keep all things in balance. You can't hate someone if you don't know
the meaning of love, and you can't love someone if you don't know what it is to
hate. Although I believe that this world has far more evil than good, both are
necessary in moderation. Without conflict, there can be no purpose. Without
sickness, there would be no need for medication; without death, we would not
appreciate life. Which leads me to your final statement: because balance is
necessary in everything, it is impossible to predict the specific nature of a
physically undefined being. Because we exist, we had to have been created, but
to know if that which created us is even a life-form for that matter is
impossible to predict. For the sake of argument, let's say that we could prove
we were created by a being of divine intelligence. Without any physical
attributes to define said divinity, it is impossible to know its nature. How
many beings are there that oversee our existence? Are they good or evil? Where
did they or it come from, and how do we know that the being or beings are not
the creation of an even larger being still? As far as my human mind can
comprehend, the only thing I would be willing to guess, is that our origin would
have to include some form of balance in its composure. I can't say that you are
wrong in stating that God is evil, but you also have no indication that it may
not be good as well.

Now, as you can imagine, my hands are getting
tired, so I'll wrap this up for now lol.