RE: Atheism and the meaning of life - what drives you?
November 12, 2021 at 2:05 pm
(This post was last modified: November 12, 2021 at 2:15 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Many people believe many untrue things. Gods and god beliefs are free riders.
If good ideals, for example, are making a person happy, then it's the good ideal having the effect. Not any coincidentally attached superstition. We could peel it back again another layer by asking "what if a superstition is making a person happy?" Well, let's get specific - say..they have an object they believe to be imbued with magical powers which they touch three times before leaving their home. Ritual and routine are making them happy, not the totem or belief in it.
We see this playing out in disparate theological systems with shared ideological norms..and with the incredible variety of lucky charms.
If good ideals, for example, are making a person happy, then it's the good ideal having the effect. Not any coincidentally attached superstition. We could peel it back again another layer by asking "what if a superstition is making a person happy?" Well, let's get specific - say..they have an object they believe to be imbued with magical powers which they touch three times before leaving their home. Ritual and routine are making them happy, not the totem or belief in it.
We see this playing out in disparate theological systems with shared ideological norms..and with the incredible variety of lucky charms.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
