Bull Riding, Base Jumping, Extreme Sports In General

[Hassan]

[quote name='Jesus_lol' post='1939572' date='Aug 3 2009, 03:54 AM']edit: to dinghysailor, if i didnt do the thing i wanted to do and didnt take risks, what life am i risking?[/quote]


bingo.


I don't take stupid risks but you've got to live. It's the only way you can appreciate anything.

I mean have you ever been out in rough seas while a thunder storm is coming in? Dengerous, but absolutly beautiful.

[Hassan]

[quote name='txdinghysailor' post='1939878' date='Aug 3 2009, 03:50 PM']and rock climb.[/quote]


Sweet. I've always wanted to get into that.

[Lilllabettt]

[quote name='txdinghysailor' post='1939841' date='Aug 3 2009, 05:23 PM']Well I love doing dangerous stuff to get the adrenaline going, so I guess I'm just a terrible sinner.... lol[/quote]


May I ask why you keep asking this question about extreme stuff?

You've asked it at least twice before that I can remember.

Me and some other people chime in with "well, there could be a problem with it."

And your response is, then, as now:

oh well, guess i'm a siinner then, har har har.

Is your conscience bothering you or something? Because you've already had this question answered from a bunch of different viewpoints. Why keep asking if you're getting the same answers and your response is just a shoulder shrug?

Just wondering.

[txdinghysailor]

[quote name='Hassan' post='1939888' date='Aug 3 2009, 06:02 PM']bingo.


I don't take stupid risks but you've got to live. It's the only way you can appreciate anything.

I mean have you ever been out in rough seas while a thunder storm is coming in? Dengerous, but absolutly beautiful.[/quote]

Dude I sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on a 295' square rigged sailboat. We had to sail through thunderstorms. Biggest one we had we got 40-50 knot winds and 20 ft seas.

And rock climbing is tons of fun, but be warned, you'll tear your fingers to shreds and there's a good chance you'll hurt your tendons and muscles in the fingers.

[Hassan]

[quote name='txdinghysailor' post='1939893' date='Aug 3 2009, 05:05 PM']Dude I sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on a 295' square rigged sailboat. We had to sail through thunderstorms. Biggest one we had we got 40-50 knot winds and 20 ft seas.[/quote]


Wow. I've never done anything like that. I've always enjoyed being out in rough seas but that might be a bit much.

[quote]And rock climbing is tons of fun, but be warned, you'll tear your fingers to shreds and there's a good chance you'll hurt your tendons and muscles in the fingers. [/quote]


Yeah. I know. But it still seems fun. I'd also really like to get back into repelling.

[txdinghysailor]

[quote name='Hassan' post='1939907' date='Aug 3 2009, 06:12 PM']Wow. I've never done anything like that. I've always enjoyed being out in rough seas but that might be a bit much.




Yeah. I know. But it still seems fun. I'd also really like to get back into repelling.[/quote]

What's even more fun is being out in a small sailboat, mine is 17' long, in big waves and big wind. If you get going fast enough you can plane, and then surf down the big waves. most amazing experience in the entire world.

[jumpfrog]

I've thought a lot about this too...I am a SCUBA diver, and I love to go down and look at fish and reefs.

SCUBA is safe enough, if you do all your checks etc...but it is still risky, and if anything goes wrong at 30 meters, you are in BIG trouble. Often the deadly things that go wrong are things that cannot be controlled, except by not putting yourself in that situation. I have had one close call (and that was at the surface). I have been at a resort where a young bride was killed on one of her first few dives. It is pretty sobering. Trust me, you don't really end up feeling "at least I'm going out doing something I love." That is a big lie that survivors comfort themselves with. The reality is you realize what a incredibly foolish person you are to have been reckless with your one and only life.

I think that the whole "living life to the fullest" can be a load of croutons, and a feeble excuse to go one living exactly how you choose. People taking potentially deadly risks for a rush or to be able to tell about their exciting experiences? I have been taught that we are saved in order to serve. How can we take a chance of cutting our service short by self-indulgent risky actions? Sure, driving a car can be dangerous, but driving is usually done for the thrill, but for nessecity.

Thrill-seeking is living for the pleasures of the world, I can't see that it is anything more than that, particularly when we love those things so much that we would take an exagerated risk on our lives for the sake of them.

For me, it doesn't add up. I am not so free to spend my life as I see fit, not now that I have been baptised. So I don't dive anymore, even though I really miss it.

Furthermore, many of these kinds of risky hobbies can be expensive...and is this kind of pleasure really an appropriate thing to spend a lot of money on? I could not justify this to myself, either. If I have that kind of money to throw around, there are probably better uses for it.

[rachael]

[quote name='jumpfrog' post='1940038' date='Aug 3 2009, 07:47 PM']I've thought a lot about this too...I am a SCUBA diver, and I love to go down and look at fish and reefs.

SCUBA is safe enough, if you do all your checks etc...but it is still risky, and if anything goes wrong at 30 meters, you are in BIG trouble. Often the deadly things that go wrong are things that cannot be controlled, except by not putting yourself in that situation. I have had one close call (and that was at the surface). I have been at a resort where a young bride was killed on one of her first few dives. It is pretty sobering. Trust me, you don't really end up feeling "at least I'm going out doing something I love." That is a big lie that survivors comfort themselves with. The reality is you realize what a incredibly foolish person you are to have been reckless with your one and only life.

I think that the whole "living life to the fullest" can be a load of croutons, and a feeble excuse to go one living exactly how you choose. People taking potentially deadly risks for a rush or to be able to tell about their exciting experiences? I have been taught that we are saved in order to serve. How can we take a chance of cutting our service short by self-indulgent risky actions? Sure, driving a car can be dangerous, but driving is usually done for the thrill, but for nessecity.

Thrill-seeking is living for the pleasures of the world, I can't see that it is anything more than that, particularly when we love those things so much that we would take an exagerated risk on our lives for the sake of them.

For me, it doesn't add up. I am not so free to spend my life as I see fit, not now that I have been baptised. So I don't dive anymore, even though I really miss it.

Furthermore, many of these kinds of risky hobbies can be expensive...and is this kind of pleasure really an appropriate thing to spend a lot of money on? I could not justify this to myself, either. If I have that kind of money to throw around, there are probably better uses for it.[/quote]
Yes, but what is truly wrong with living life to the fullest? What commandment is it going against? I have epilepsy and could die at any moment from a full-blown seizure...why shouldn't I live life to the fullest? What should I hoard my money for (this is assuming I've gotten all my other finances taken care of)?

[Sojourner]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1939747' date='Aug 3 2009, 02:06 PM']Picchick
You know, walking down the street can get you killed...is it a sin?

Terra Firma
Seriously?
The risk is, of course, much different. If you don't check your shoelaces before you go for a walk, the worst that might happen is a broken wrist (or maybe a hip). Not likely death.


[color="#0000FF"]Cmom
I think this depends on your neighborhood.[/color][/quote]
True. But, the difference, I think, is that one could be a matter of necessity (walking in a bad neighborhood to get to work) while the other is almost never necessary, outside the armed forces or some unfortunate air disaster in which leaping from a plane is safer than staying on it.

[quote name='jumpfrog' post='1940038' date='Aug 3 2009, 07:47 PM']I've thought a lot about this too...I am a SCUBA diver, and I love to go down and look at fish and reefs.

SCUBA is safe enough, if you do all your checks etc...but it is still risky, and if anything goes wrong at 30 meters, you are in BIG trouble. Often the deadly things that go wrong are things that cannot be controlled, except by not putting yourself in that situation. I have had one close call (and that was at the surface). I have been at a resort where a young bride was killed on one of her first few dives. It is pretty sobering. Trust me, you don't really end up feeling "at least I'm going out doing something I love." That is a big lie that survivors comfort themselves with. The reality is you realize what a incredibly foolish person you are to have been reckless with your one and only life.

I think that the whole "living life to the fullest" can be a load of croutons, and a feeble excuse to go one living exactly how you choose. People taking potentially deadly risks for a rush or to be able to tell about their exciting experiences? I have been taught that we are saved in order to serve. How can we take a chance of cutting our service short by self-indulgent risky actions? Sure, driving a car can be dangerous, but driving is usually done for the thrill, but for nessecity.

Thrill-seeking is living for the pleasures of the world, I can't see that it is anything more than that, particularly when we love those things so much that we would take an exagerated risk on our lives for the sake of them.

For me, it doesn't add up. I am not so free to spend my life as I see fit, not now that I have been baptised. So I don't dive anymore, even though I really miss it.

Furthermore, many of these kinds of risky hobbies can be expensive...and is this kind of pleasure really an appropriate thing to spend a lot of money on? I could not justify this to myself, either. If I have that kind of money to throw around, there are probably better uses for it.[/quote]
Thanks for this. A very eloquent and thoughtful answer.

[quote name='rachael' post='1940140' date='Aug 3 2009, 09:54 PM']Yes, but what is truly wrong with living life to the fullest? What commandment is it going against? I have epilepsy and could die at any moment from a full-blown seizure...why shouldn't I live life to the fullest? What should I hoard my money for (this is assuming I've gotten all my other finances taken care of)?[/quote]
Sorry to break it to you, but we're all pretty much in the same boat. Any of us could drop dead at any moment due to foreseeable or unforeseeable circumstances. That in and of itself does not absolve you of the responsibility for prudential management of the resources available to you -- your time, talent, and treasure. None of us know what tomorrow brings; we are responsible for how we handle what we know right now.

And who's to say that constantly seeking after the next big adrenaline rush is living life to the fullest? You're just skimming along the surface of life if that's what you're chasing.

I wasn't a thrill-seeker, per se, but when I was covering cops for a daily newspaper there was lots of fast-paced, adrenaline-rush-inducing stuff happening. That kind of lifestyle doesn't allow you to do much in the way of building meaningful relationships and experiencing the true depth and beauty of life.

And I don't think we have to choose between either spending money recklessly or hoarding it for the future. There are so many charitable options available that money could be used for.

[CatherineM]

I used to be a thrill seeker, and after I was almost killed, I have been forced to be somewhat more careful. Not that anyone would let me skydive, what with the crutch and all.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='jumpfrog' post='1940038' date='Aug 3 2009, 08:47 PM']Trust me, you don't really end up feeling "at least I'm going out doing something I love." That is a big lie that survivors comfort themselves with. The reality is you realize what a incredibly foolish person you are to have been reckless with your one and only life.[/quote]

That's your opinion. Why can't other scuba divers, skydivers, surfers, bungee jumpers, etc. feel differently? Those activities allow you to see and experience God's creation firsthand in ways you can't repeat through television or reading about them. We should always be thankful to God for the ability and opportunity to take part in these things, and go to Confession beforehand and if the praise goes to God, who are you or I to judge their motives?

Living life to the fullest is living in Christ... and there are as many different ways to do that as there are individuals and personalities.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='picchick' post='1939700' date='Aug 3 2009, 01:06 PM']I see nothing wrong with it. Everyone is different and everyone likes different things. I will someday go skydiving. Who knows. I like the thrills.

You know, walking down the street can get you killed...is it a sin?[/quote]

Friend of mine is an ER nurse... she's been skydiving almost 100 times now. I'd be scared as heck, but that's why it would be fun

[Norseman82]

[quote name='picchick' post='1939700' date='Aug 3 2009, 12:06 PM']You know, walking down the street can get you killed...is it a sin?[/quote]

OK, pop quiz everyone:

What is the leading cause of death?



(I'll check back tomorrow to see if anyone posted the correct answer).

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1939707' date='Aug 3 2009, 01:21 PM']Forget to check your skydiving rig, and it's a very different story.[/quote]

That's why on a skydiving run, literally everybody you talk with checks your gear, and each of them will double- or triple-check. They are crazy thorough. As my friend has said, it's basically impossible to jump without your rig being set up properly.

[quote name='Lilllabettt' post='1939741' date='Aug 3 2009, 02:58 PM']When I was in the convent, I was taught that it can be a sin against the fifth commandment to endanger your life for no good reason. I guess there's a debate about what is "no good reason."[/quote]

I don't think the question is whether a thrill is a good enough reason, but how much danger you are actually taking on. Extreme sports, at least when you participate in them properly, are very safe. It's much like riding a roller coaster... the danger is almost completely perceived. There is an element of risk, to be sure, but so many precautions are taken and those who value their life and the lives of others are not taking risks with checking equipment and all that.

Riding a motorcycle without a helmet, driving 30mph over the speed limit... these are more questionable than safely participating in an extreme sport.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Norseman82' post='1940203' date='Aug 4 2009, 12:35 AM']OK, pop quiz everyone:

What is the leading cause of death?[/quote]

That's easy... heart disease.