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Quote:I've repeatedly asked Christians just what is this fulfillment that they've found through belief in god. The answers I've gotten are: he made us; loves us; we made us to worship him; we aren't going to die; god has an unspecified plan for either each us or for humanity as a whole.
I don't find any of those compelling reasons to get out of bed in the morning. In fact some of them are positively belittling, or depressing. Nor do I see any evidence that any of them are true.
Believers seem to have a limitless desire to feel "special," Jen.
Sam Harris summed it up best.
Quote:There is, in fact, no worldview more reprehensible in its arrogance than that of a religious believer: the creator of the universe takes an interest in me, approves of me, loves me, and will reward me after death; my current beliefs, drawn from scripture, will remain the best statement of the truth until the end of the world; everyone who disagrees with me will spend eternity in hell.
Quote:I've repeatedly asked Christians just what is this fulfillment that they've found through belief in god. The answers I've gotten are: he made us; loves us; we made us to worship him; we aren't going to die; god has an unspecified plan for either each us or for humanity as a whole.
I don't find any of those compelling reasons to get out of bed in the morning. In fact some of them are positively belittling, or depressing. Nor do I see any evidence that any of them are true.
Believers seem to have a limitless desire to feel "special," Jen.
Sam Harris summed it up best.
Quote:There is, in fact, no worldview more reprehensible in its arrogance than that of a religious believer: the creator of the universe takes an interest in me, approves of me, loves me, and will reward me after death; my current beliefs, drawn from scripture, will remain the best statement of the truth until the end of the world; everyone who disagrees with me will spend eternity in hell.
A-fucking-men
"I was thirsty for everything, but blood wasn't my style" - Live, "Voodoo Lady"
(December 19, 2014 at 7:06 am)Antikytherian95 Wrote:
I have a nagging skepticism about atheism since it leaves unexplained the most basic questions of our existence and the existence of all things.
Q- Where does the Universe come from?
Dogmatic atheist- We don't know
Q Why are we here?
Dogmatic atheist- We don't know
Q Is there any meaning to life?
Dogmatic atheist- We don't know but you can just make up an imaginary meaning in your brain (thus living a delusion)
Q Is there good and evil?
Dogmatic atheist (Dawkins)- There is no good and evil, we all dance to the tune of our DNA
Why then do we put "evil" people in jails? ("evil" is a religious word)
A truly honest Dogmatic atheist- We don't know
There are so many questions Ive asked atheists over the years, and their answers just seem illogical, and leave me even more skeptical about atheism.
Thoughts?
goddidit
Does that help?
Ages ago plagues were a mystery that was attributed to gods and demons. Today we have answers and cures. Tomorrow we will have answers to more mysteries.
We will we ever know anything about before the Big Bang? Probably not. It would seem to be one of those unknowable things, but most of us agree that god didn't didit.
By "meaning of life" I assume that you are questioning the whole life thing. 'Meaning' would require intent and intent would require intelligence and intelligence would ultimately lead to a god. IMHO I believe we are just lucky.
We do not put "evil" people in jail. We put those that are unwilling to play well within the social environment, which changes from culture to culture.
You make people miserable and there's nothing they can do about it, just like god.
-- Homer Simpson
God has no place within these walls, just as facts have no place within organized religion.
-- Superintendent Chalmers
Science is like a blabbermouth who ruins a movie by telling you how it ends. There are some things we don't want to know. Important things.
-- Ned Flanders
Once something's been approved by the government, it's no longer immoral.
-- The Rev Lovejoy
(December 19, 2014 at 7:06 am)Antikytherian95 Wrote: I have a nagging skepticism about atheism since it leaves unexplained the most basic questions of our existence and the existence of all things.
Q- Where does the Universe come from?
Dogmatic atheist- We don't know
It is not dogmatic. It is honesty and humilitiy.
Quote:Q Why are we here?
Dogmatic atheist- We don't know
Life's tenacity.
Quote:Q Is there any meaning to life?
Dogmatic atheist- We don't know but you can just make up an imaginary meaning in your brain (thus living a delusion)
Your equating an ultimate meaning to life to a personal meaning to life. Just because I know my meaning to life is subjective doesn't make it delusional. It's only delusional when I claim my subjective meaning to life is the ultimate meaning to life. That is what religious people often do.
Quote:Q Is there good and evil?
Dogmatic atheist (Dawkins)- There is no good and evil, we all dance to the tune of our DNA
No, there is good and evil.
Quote:Why then do we put "evil" people in jails? ("evil" is a religious word)
A truly honest Dogmatic atheist- We don't know
That is not a "truly honest dogmatic atheist" answer. People hurting other people is bad for our society. So we locked them up.
Quote:There are so many questions Ive asked atheists over the years, and their answers just seem illogical, and leave me even more skeptical about atheism.
(December 19, 2014 at 6:41 pm)Antikytherian95 Wrote: at the end of the day we all have a desire for fulfillment in this life, and I believe that's why atheism is such a minority belief system in our world,
If it helps, atheism is not a belief system. It is, simply, the negation of theism, 'not theism' or 'without theism'. The '-ism' part belongs to your side, not ours.
(December 19, 2014 at 6:41 pm)Antikytherian95 Wrote: it leaves one empty, because it has no answers for the most basic questions, and who wants to live an Empty existence,
Neither does theism have the answers you seek. Theists merely like to assert that it does, but it is an empty assertion, devoid of anything but wilful blindness even to make the attempt to look for answers. "It is a tale told by an idiot; full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
December 20, 2014 at 4:30 am (This post was last modified: December 20, 2014 at 4:31 am by Thumpalumpacus.)
(December 19, 2014 at 7:06 am)Antikytherian95 Wrote: There are so many questions Ive asked atheists over the years, and their answers just seem illogical, and leave me even more skeptical about atheism.
Thoughts?
You should probably study critical thinking a little more.
(December 19, 2014 at 7:21 am)Antikytherian95 Wrote: @ whateverist
So the logic is, we put people in jail, not for anything "evil" they have done, since "evil" doesn't exist,
its just so we, the "not-evil" people, feel "protected" to go on living meaningless lives that end in a hole in the ground.