(March 27, 2009 at 3:04 pm)Edward Wrote: Let's say you are absolutely right. There is no God, there is nothing like a god (e.g., nature is not conscious, etc). All there is, is the material universe, and it exists for no reason--it just does. Plop. And we just happened to evolve the reason for which is no greater than that given a chaotic system and enough time, we were bound to. If that is the case, we can only live for our lives and the pleasure we can derive from them for the time we are here. There is nothing greater than pleasure and nothing worse than pain, unless the pain leads to a greater pleasure. We breed and reproduce for no reason other than instinct. We are not great--we are essentially as significant as the trees and grass. We come, we go. That's it.Truth is always better than a delusion. The fact that atheists have morals is evidence you do not need a God to know "right" from "wrong". The truth tells us about the vicious nature of the world we live in, not how we should act in it. A delusion only causes more delusion, and it will always result in pain and misery as people continue to delude themselves (just look at the disagreements between religions these days).[/quote]
If that's the case. If atheism is true. Then the best I can hope for is the delusion that God has planned me, intends something from my creation, has endowed me with gifts to use toward the fruition of my existence, and will be there in the end when I "come home."
If all I can have is the delusion, then all I can have is the delusion. You may have the truth, but what advantage does that give you in the end? You may see reality more clearly, but what do you gain for it? Better adaptation? What good is that in an atheistic universe? What good is truth if it brings only suffering?
(March 27, 2009 at 3:04 pm)Edward Wrote: Thus the best possible way, if you are right, is to learn the truth and then forget it and hope it never rears its ugly head again.No, the best thing is to learn the truth a then learn to cope with the truth. It's what we've been doing for thousands of years, and what we will continue to do. Just as the child learns to cope with the knowledge that fairies aren't real, we accept what science tells us about the universe, and try to use it to benefit mankind.
(March 27, 2009 at 3:04 pm)Edward Wrote: I know God exists, because I exist. I know the Father is there, because I am the Son. There can't be a Son without a Father. So, I am the proof I seek. And that's the place Jesus Christ was trying to get us all to. That is until we nailed him to a cross.Oh you are hilarious. You've gone from a "I think I'm an atheist" to a fundamentalist Christian in a matter of days. Well done! Your argument is the same as the "building implies builder therefore creation implies creator" argument of God. Yes, every son has a father, but how does that mean God was your father? You have absolutely no evidence and you simply want to find some comfort in a world that is hard to cope in.
To be honest, I don't think you ever were thinking "I might be an atheist". I think it was a deliberate ruse in order to get into our conversation. Your quick reversal to fundamentalism seems far too quick for any rational mind to cope with. You are weak-minded, and religion is the refuge of the weak. Of course, your welcome to stay, but do please try to come up with some proper arguments for God instead of the easily refutable bullshit you just spouted. I mean, come on, make it a little hard for us.
