(March 15, 2010 at 2:09 pm)Watson Wrote: Why do I believe this? Well, personal accountability is the way the world has and always will work, I'd say. You are accountable for no one's actions and decisions but your own, to think otherwise seems foolish. You cannot control what people do, only what they know.(thanks for having that in your sig so long, tackattack!)
Accountability and punishment usually ends when the person is dead in the real world.
(March 15, 2010 at 2:09 pm)Watson Wrote: Is non-existance a form of Hell?
By your definition of hell, no.
(March 15, 2010 at 2:09 pm)Watson Wrote: Think about this for a moment. I hear a lot of atheists say "Well I wasn't aware I didn't exist before I was born, why would I care after I am dead?" Well, how do you know there is no such thing as conscious non-existance? Is it possible to have a conscious awareness of your own non-existance, or no?
No. If something has a consciousness, it therefore must exist, as you're applying at least one attribute to it. Something as incredibly complex as self-awareness is the product of chemical reactions in the brain, all of which would cease to function at the time of your death. If you want to argue for an everlasting soul or spirit, go ahead, but the evidence for such a prospect is highly dubious.
(March 15, 2010 at 2:09 pm)Watson Wrote: Another factor here is that existance, ultimately, is the best and brightest example of free will. So long as you exist, you have the opportunity to change, to learn, to grow and to d owhat you believe is right. So long as you exist, you can change your fate and your circumstances. Even if it's only your perception of said circumstances, you can thoroughly control your own outlook while still existing.
Free will is a vague term, as we can't change much of the universe around us and ourselves. Free will applies only to our actions, and is the product of a conscious mind, not solely of existence. An apple exists, but does it exhibit the same free will as you contend?
(March 15, 2010 at 2:09 pm)Watson Wrote: Not so while not exitsing. There is no possible way to change your 'outlook' on non-existance, because you have no outlook. You have no perception! There is nothing which can be changed, nothing which can be viewed differently. Free will is essentially obliteated.
You're reading too far into this. Non-existence is just that. You are not. You cannot have a perception, since there is no "you", much less any methods to perceive anything. Free will is entirely irrelevant to this conversation.
(March 15, 2010 at 2:09 pm)Watson Wrote: Maybe this would be better for a theism based forum, but...I think it's interesting, nonetheless. What do y'all think, regardless of belief in Hell or not?
I think the question wasn't worded very well. It's like saying "what does the air on the moon smell like?".
