(July 10, 2014 at 1:36 am)Wyrd of Gawd Wrote: The God character at that time was the Babylonian Emperor.

The following is offered without evidence, but I like to believe it, so I do.

Chimps and humans share common ancestry. At the time of our most recent common ancestor, chimp and human behavior were identical. They have subsequently diverged and probably neither's culture is what it was then, but let's pretend. Chimps today act like humans in the distant past.

Chimps are observed in troops. Let's call them tribes. Where there are overlap of tribe territories, there are interactions some of which are violent. It is observed that gangs of one tribe will attack and kill an isolated member of another tribe if opportunity affords itself. How might the attackee defend itself in such a situation? If he can convince the attacking group that it is not in their best interest to attack he escapes. For instance, a strategy might be to indicate that the potential victim has a posse just out of sight which is just itching to come to his rescue. This is a lie, but survival trumps 'Thou shalt not bear false witness.' When fabrication is the product, it is cheap to use the very best. So the out of sight posse rapidly includes the local badass/champion/superman who lives in the village and is going to put serious hurt on the attackers if they don't back off.

I don't find it surprising that the Babylonian Emperor was considered a god. Actually, I expect that the concept of the God Emperor is the logical extension of the imaginary village badass in an environment of violence and incomplete military intelligence ( the attacking gang doesn't know the village badass doesn't exist) described above. Until the Abrahamic liars inflated YHWH into the omni-everything we think of as a GOD today, I think that the concepts of warrior god and ultimate village badass were interchangeable.



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Considering that invocations of god in the OT stress the imagery of stomping over hill and dale - mountains underfoot with weapon at the ready - rushing to save "his people, his tribes". The myth of the village badass does seem to be in full swing


Captain Save-a-Ho. Cape and all.

(July 9, 2014 at 6:31 pm)Rabb Allah Wrote: All atheists believe in life after death

No we don't. You might do, but I certainly don't.

Don't put words into other people's mouths. You'll just end up making erroneous assumptions.

I have no good reason to think I'll live on after I die, because I've died. There is nothing physical, chemical or biological left to support my consciousness. I am nothing more than 'an arrangement'. I have for all intents and purposes, ceased to exist.

Transmigration of the soul (aka karmatic reincarnation) is also a silly belief, because its self-refuting. It hasn't defined a "ground state" or default form. So if a person is continually bad after being reborn and reborn, they'll keep re-emerging in lesser forms, until eventually degrading away to nothing. >.>

(July 10, 2014 at 12:27 pm)Welsh cake Wrote:

(July 9, 2014 at 6:31 pm)Rabb Allah Wrote: All atheists believe in life after death

No we don't. You might do, but I certainly don't.

Don't put words into other people's mouths. You'll just end up making erroneous assumptions.

I have no good reason to think I'll live on after I die, because I've died. There is nothing physical, chemical or biological left to support my consciousness. I am nothing more than 'an arrangement'. I have for all intents and purposes, ceased to exist.

Transmigration of the soul (aka karmatic reincarnation) is also a silly belief, because its self-refuting. It hasn't defined a "ground state" or default form. So if a person is continually bad after being reborn and reborn, they'll keep re-emerging in lesser forms, until eventually degrading away to nothing. >.>

I hope you know that I am playing with words and being metaphorical.

There is no such thin as "Karmatic Reincarnation" it is called Samsara. Also within Samsara nobody degrades away into nothing. Also I never said there is something chemical to support your consciousness after you die, I said the exact opposite. Your consciousness will cease being and ironically many Hindus believe this is what happens during death eventually. They think this is a reward like heaven.

(July 10, 2014 at 12:32 pm)Rabb Allah Wrote:

(July 10, 2014 at 12:27 pm)Welsh cake Wrote: No we don't. You might do, but I certainly don't.

Don't put words into other people's mouths. You'll just end up making erroneous assumptions.

I have no good reason to think I'll live on after I die, because I've died. There is nothing physical, chemical or biological left to support my consciousness. I am nothing more than 'an arrangement'. I have for all intents and purposes, ceased to exist.

Transmigration of the soul (aka karmatic reincarnation) is also a silly belief, because its self-refuting. It hasn't defined a "ground state" or default form. So if a person is continually bad after being reborn and reborn, they'll keep re-emerging in lesser forms, until eventually degrading away to nothing. >.>

I hope you know that I am playing with words and being metaphorical.

There is no such thin as "Karmatic Reincarnation" it is called Samsara. Also within Samsara nobody degrades away into nothing. Also I never said there is something chemical to support your consciousness after you die, I said the exact opposite. Your consciousness will cease being and ironically many Hindus believe this is what happens during death eventually. They think this is a reward like heaven.

I am an atheist...it's funny seeing though, that many atheists reject the life after death assumption because religious people believe in it. Don't think of your life as an entity, think of it as a process. Whatever gave you life was a process, your existence is a process as well, a chemical balance. The Universe is also a process.

I reject the concept of death in a similar way in which I reject the concept of nothing. If you go to any point in space, you find out that the space is never truly empty, and it has quantum fluctuations. "Nothing" is similar to "Death" in the way that it is a human invention. It's not out there...it doesn't exist.

There is always something and there is always a place where you can be. The place where you were born is just an example. I don't think that you can be anything other than alive...simply because the verb "to be" requires you to...be.

(July 10, 2014 at 6:55 pm)Ksa Wrote: I am an atheist...it's funny seeing though, that many atheists reject the life after death assumption because religious people believe in it. Don't think of your life as an entity, think of it as a process. Whatever gave you life was a process, your existence is a process as well, a chemical balance. The Universe is also a process.

I reject the concept of death in a similar way in which I reject the concept of nothing. If you go to any point in space, you find out that the space is never truly empty, and it has quantum fluctuations. "Nothing" is similar to "Death" in the way that it is a human invention. It's not out there...it doesn't exist.

There is always something and there is always a place where you can be. The place where you were born is just an example. I don't think that you can be anything other than alive...simply because the verb "to be" requires you to...be.

Life after death is a separate question from is there a god. That I grant you. But there's no evidence of life after death. Human consciousness is physically tied to the brain. Lose one, you lose the other.

The impossibility of nothing is a red herring. The atoms I was composed of won't disappear when I die, but they won't be functionally me either. Many things have come and gone to on to be other things: planets, mountains, stars, animals, trees. The atoms are still around but the shape and function are gone forever.

(July 10, 2014 at 9:00 pm)Jenny A Wrote:

(July 10, 2014 at 6:55 pm)Ksa Wrote: I am an atheist...it's funny seeing though, that many atheists reject the life after death assumption because religious people believe in it. Don't think of your life as an entity, think of it as a process. Whatever gave you life was a process, your existence is a process as well, a chemical balance. The Universe is also a process.

I reject the concept of death in a similar way in which I reject the concept of nothing. If you go to any point in space, you find out that the space is never truly empty, and it has quantum fluctuations. "Nothing" is similar to "Death" in the way that it is a human invention. It's not out there...it doesn't exist.

There is always something and there is always a place where you can be. The place where you were born is just an example. I don't think that you can be anything other than alive...simply because the verb "to be" requires you to...be.

Life after death is a separate question from is there a god. That I grant you. But there's no evidence of life after death. Human consciousness is physically tied to the brain. Lose one, you lose the other.

The impossibility of nothing is a red herring. The atoms I was composed of won't disappear when I die, but they won't be functionally me either. Many things have come and gone to on to be other things: planets, mountains, stars, animals, trees. The atoms are still around but the shape and function are gone forever.

O there is plenty lol. Before you were born how were you? Dead. And now you are? Alive.

It doesn't matter how you put it. The state of being before being born and after dying are identical.

(July 11, 2014 at 10:19 am)Ksa Wrote:

(July 10, 2014 at 9:00 pm)Jenny A Wrote: Life after death is a separate question from is there a god. That I grant you. But there's no evidence of life after death. Human consciousness is physically tied to the brain. Lose one, you lose the other.

The impossibility of nothing is a red herring. The atoms I was composed of won't disappear when I die, but they won't be functionally me either. Many things have come and gone to on to be other things: planets, mountains, stars, animals, trees. The atoms are still around but the shape and function are gone forever.

O there is plenty lol. Before you were born how were you? Dead. And now you are? Alive.

It doesn't matter how you put it. The state of being before being born and after dying are identical.

What the hell are you talking about?

(July 11, 2014 at 10:19 am)Ksa Wrote:

(July 10, 2014 at 9:00 pm)Jenny A Wrote: Life after death is a separate question from is there a god. That I grant you. But there's no evidence of life after death. Human consciousness is physically tied to the brain. Lose one, you lose the other.

The impossibility of nothing is a red herring. The atoms I was composed of won't disappear when I die, but they won't be functionally me either. Many things have come and gone to on to be other things: planets, mountains, stars, animals, trees. The atoms are still around but the shape and function are gone forever.

O there is plenty lol. Before you were born how were you? Dead. And now you are? Alive.

It doesn't matter how you put it. The state of being before being born and after dying are identical.

The state of being before conception and after death are indeed the same. But I wouldn't call life, life after death because there was no death. Death is transition from having been alive to not being alive. It's a one way street. First there wasn't a you, then there is, later there won't be. There won't be you again after that.

(July 11, 2014 at 10:28 am)Jenny A Wrote:

(July 11, 2014 at 10:19 am)Ksa Wrote: O there is plenty lol. Before you were born how were you? Dead. And now you are? Alive.

It doesn't matter how you put it. The state of being before being born and after dying are identical.

The state of being before conception and after death are indeed the same. But I wouldn't call life, life after death because there was no death. Death is transition from having been alive to not being alive. It's a one way street. First there wasn't a you, then there is, later there won't be. There won't be you again after that.

You flatter yourself too much by feeling so unique. It's my opinion. Person is a made up word by humans to relate to one another but what you are is actually a process.

You imagine me, as a chemical engineer, if I start naming my alkylation or gas phase processes as Alice or John, and once the reactions are over, the next time I do those same reactions I say that John and Alice are gone, I'll go insane pretty fast lol.

Your life is a result of a thermodynamically favored process that occurred and all I care to know is if that process is reproducible and sustainable. Besides, existence would be very limited if you could only experience it through one point of view don't you think?