(July 22, 2010 at 5:54 am)Super Cynic Wrote: Does this mean that, going by the definition that if you can't shake off the irrational fear of eternal punishment, you're not a true atheist, you're not a true atheist yourself? Can someone please clarify?May I also point out something here. I am not defending the concept of hell in the slightest, and I have great confidence in myself when I say it's load of 'balony'- but the idea of hell, heaven, religon etc is that it can't be proven by science, and, whatever science may say, it cannot disprove an afterlife, god etc. Now while this is obviously a cop-out, going on this basis, your scientific point, while true, may not convince a Christian.
For all intents and purposes, I am still an atheist. That I say it's irrational demonstrates that I don't actually believe it. It's like someone with OCD: they may repeatedly wash their hands to avert some disaster in their life, but that doesn't mean they actually believe it will avert a disaster; it's just a compulsion, as the name suggests.
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No, it can't be disproven, but the apparent end of consciousness at death puts the onus very much on the believer to prove that consciousness does continue.
'We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.' H.L. Mencken
'False religion' is the ultimate tautology.
'It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions.' Mark Twain
'I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.' Abraham Lincoln
'False religion' is the ultimate tautology.
'It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions.' Mark Twain
'I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.' Abraham Lincoln
