I wish to feel superior to reality (atheism)

[BlackMason]

Also, I already realize that fantasy is not real. But the feelings of pleasure from fantasy (only in terms of electrical activity in the brain), that is real. Me feeling that I'm a superior god-like being is not real, but just the feeling itself in terms of brain activity is real.

Are you an anime fan by any chance?

Oh and by the way atheism=\=intelligence.

[Dystopia]

Also, I already realize that fantasy is not real. But the feelings of pleasure from fantasy (only in terms of electrical activity in the brain), that is real. Me feeling that I'm a superior god-like being is not real, but just the feeling itself in terms of brain activity is real.

Are you an anime fan by any chance?

Oh and by the way atheism=\=intelligence.

I'm pretty sure the quote is about being too attached to fantasy (gods, religions and afterlives, mysticism and spiritual activity). I'm an anime fan and I'm pretty attached to reality.

[Thumpalumpacus]

We all rub one out on occasion ... but we don't all post about it online.

[Cato]

We all rub one out on occasion ... but we don't all post about it online.

Ha! To me he sounded like he was in need of a good wank.

[Mister Agenda]

I wish to feel superior to reality by denying absolutely that there is anything out there greater than or beyond my own thoughts and intellect. All that matters to me is what is directly in front of me and what most suits my motives in any given situation. All that matters to me is being the smartest in the room and the quickest to make those I do not agree with (even though I have only the argument "didn't see it, didn't happen" in my arsenal) feel degraded and lesser than me. This is my morality - to beat everything I do not condone out of those around be because it bothers me to my core that they are not exactly like me. Admitting that there is a God would mean that I could never truly be this person because there would always be someone greater and this makes me feel deeply uncomfortable and unsatisfied with my own free-will, it disrupts the delusion of my own greatness. Feeling empowered and that I'm all great is the only thing that matters to me in life (compared to other people, and in comparison to myself and reality itself).

And here I thought Mozart Link's post woud not be beaten in this thread for assholish content.

[Rampant.A.I.]

I love it when theists try to pretend they're humble by being convinced they know all the secrets of the universe better than scientists in any field, and express it with the convenience modern science has given them by cracking open another ice cold cola and stuffing their maw with Doritos while posting about it on social media.

Because really, all someone is saying by accusing atheists of holding their beliefs as an effort to "become God" or whatever, is that they as an individual are God-like, and know the inner thought process of every other person than they do.

In psychology, we call that the illusion of asymmetric insight, though it's more of a delusion.

[Mozart Link]

Also, I already realize that fantasy is not real. But the feelings of pleasure from fantasy (only in terms of electrical activity in the brain), that is real. Me feeling that I'm a superior god-like being is not real, but just the feeling itself in terms of brain activity is real.

Are you an anime fan by any chance?

Oh and by the way atheism=\=intelligence.

Yes, this is perhaps the main (and maybe only reason) that I feel this way is because I am, in fact, an anime fan. I not only embrace the world of fantasy and anime and make it a part of me, but I also embrace the god-like characters I perceive as awesome and make them a part of me. I make them possess me and make them take over my own perceived personality and I literally become a god-like character (only in terms of how I feel about myself--I don't literally act or talk like these characters).

Our brain is just a bunch of neurons which means that it contains many, many different personalities besides our own. Now how you feel and perceive yourself right now would be your own default personality (your own life essence) that tends to stay with you on a daily basis. But if you were to, for example, feel like a different character from a movie, then your default personality (life essence) has been changed to that character. Your brain has temporarily abandoned its own perceived self and transformed into a different person. You are free to do this any time you want in order to make yourself feel like a mystical god-like superior fantasy character. You would now have the life essence of that character other than your own.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Personality is not quite so malleable. Pretending you're someone you're not doesn't make you that someone. Personality is a concatenation of many different things, amongst which experience ranks high in formative power.

[Dystopia]

Mozart Link, I am also an anime fan (as you can in fact see from my Roy Mustang avatar), however I think it's very important for us to distinguish clearly between fantasy and reality. When I watch anime, my mind gets into a world of dreams, fantasy and supernatural powers/events, but I turn those thoughts off as soon as I finish an episode. B sides, I don't even think the most important part of anime are supernatural unreal powers and fights, but the lessons, principles and ethical/moral values you can learn from series, many of them apply to real life. The same can happen with fantasy films, let's say Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings trilogy, many people wish they were true, but reality is a cold hearted bitch and doesn't care about what we want. It's ok to get into a fantasy wishful thinking world of dreams while watching anime or even playing video games, as long as you unplug it once you are treating real life affairs like I do. Moreover, I think anime supported my atheism and not the opposite, just consider Japan is a significantly atheist country and many manga writers or series producers/editors/directors are atheists too, and they can distinguish between the written stories of fantasy and real life.

When my brain matured and I started being more aware of reality, in a certain way I felt like you, I even got depressed when I realized we are just a bunch of chemicals and biological/psychological processes with a tiny, insignificant existence in the whole universe context. However, as time goes by, I get more relaxed thinking about it and it doesn't bother me anymore, I'm happy embracing reality, because Man should be able to face the truth, no matter how painful it may be. Maybe theists have a certain hope because they believe they'll go to heaven and be rewarded, but IMO the negative aspects of theism and religion fiercely outstand the good ones.

I hope this was helpful

[Welsh cake]

Yeah yeah, I wish I didn't HAVE to go to work on a Monday morning and get colds and abuse in the office.

Wishing doesn't make it so.