RE: Do you ever doubt your atheism?
September 6, 2014 at 12:18 pm
(This post was last modified: September 6, 2014 at 12:43 pm by Mudhammam.)
(September 6, 2014 at 11:59 am)Chas Wrote: Well, except that that is not what modern cosmology says. Modern cosmology posits various hypotheses, that's just one set of them.That's why I refused to say it was in any sense absolutely fatal.
Quote:No, free will is not a purely religious idea. However, soul (dualism) and afterlife (also dualism) are damaging concepts. They cause people to do things that damage their one chance at life for a fairy tale.You and I both know that your generalization as a statement of logic that extends to all who believe in these concepts is flat out false, and no more preposterous than the claim that the denial of the soul or self, or ultimate purpose in the Universe, leads to insecurity, nihilism, and all sorts of other personal crises or societal ills. Both sentiments are the essence of dogma.
(September 6, 2014 at 11:53 am)whateverist Wrote: I think there are indeed non-religious sources for ideas such as soul. Free will is a quagmire of questionable use. Life after death? Sure it goes on, just not the one I've taken to calling mine.
I suppose it depends on how we define "religious". Would you consider dualism or panpsychism necessarily "religious" in some sense? Perhaps not, but it certainly isn't materialistic as I understand it. Free will may be a "quagmire of questionable use" but it's denial is no less messy when it comes to practicality. And life indeed, whether we mean individual or cosmic, only goes on for a time. Annihilation of all material existence, including all trace of human progress, is still the forthcoming reality if the current scientific hypotheses are correct. Whether or not death of either sort need effect our view of the world on a day-to-day basis is simply a matter of perspective though I certainly sympathize with those who find them hopelessly pessimistic.
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza