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RE: My somewhat deconversion
April 19, 2012 at 2:23 pm
(April 19, 2012 at 12:40 am)teaearlgreyhot Wrote: Hello, I'm not sure if I'm an atheist yet There's a simple test: Do you believe in a god or gods?
If you answer "yes" you're a theist. If you answer "no" you're an atheist. If you answer "define god" you're an ignostic. If you answer "I don't care" you're an apatheist.
If you cannot answer the question at all, then you're simply indeterminate about your beliefs and there's no shame in that.
Quote:I don't find atheism very appealing.
Obviously. Atheism is the lack of belief of deities or rejection thereof. Its just a response to theistic claims. Atheism technically doesn't even qualify as an "ism", but that tells you nothing about what else you do believe in.
(April 19, 2012 at 11:44 am)teaearlgreyhot Wrote: Thanks everyone. I feel like I'm in a theism recovery 12 step program now. There's only one step - simply don't believe in god or gods anymore.
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RE: My somewhat deconversion
April 19, 2012 at 2:59 pm
teaearlygreyhot Wrote:It's just in all my years of training as Christian I was taught that atheists are really deluding themselves into thinking life has meaning I'm still having hard time not seeing that. If you have an article, book, or video, that might present what you think to be an airtight case for purpose and meaning in a naturalistic reality, then please share it.
I don't have any literature or videos for you, but here is my personal perspective on life's meaning. I see no purpose for my life outside of what I can assign. Therefore, it is up to me personally to discover what gives my life meaning, or to put it another way, to discover what makes me feel alive. As long as these things don't bring harm to others, that is what the pupose of my life is. To do the things that make my life feel fulfilled. For me, that is writing and raising a son.
Since an atheist can't fallback on the idea that a god has a plan for them, it is up to each individual atheist to assign meaning to their lives. It can seem like a daunting task at first, but it can be quite fulfilling.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
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RE: My somewhat deconversion
April 19, 2012 at 6:35 pm
(April 19, 2012 at 2:23 pm)Welsh cake Wrote: (April 19, 2012 at 12:40 am)teaearlgreyhot Wrote: Hello, I'm not sure if I'm an atheist yet There's a simple test: Do you believe in a god or gods?
If you answer "yes" you're a theist. If you answer "no" you're an atheist. If you answer "define god" you're an ignostic. If you answer "I don't care" you're an apatheist.
If you cannot answer the question at all, then you're simply indeterminate about your beliefs and there's no shame in that.
Quote:I don't find atheism very appealing.
Obviously. Atheism is the lack of belief of deities or rejection thereof. Its just a response to theistic claims. Atheism technically doesn't even qualify as an "ism", but that tells you nothing about what else you do believe in.
(April 19, 2012 at 11:44 am)teaearlgreyhot Wrote: Thanks everyone. I feel like I'm in a theism recovery 12 step program now. There's only one step - simply don't believe in god or gods anymore.
Thanks for correcting me on atheism. I guess what I meant was I don't find the implications of atheism very appealing but obviously I'll take the truth no matter how depressing.
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"The lord doesn't work in mysterious ways, but in ways that are indistinguishable from his nonexistence."
-- George Yorgo Veenhuyzen quoted by John W. Loftus in The End of Christianity (p. 103).
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RE: My somewhat deconversion
April 19, 2012 at 6:56 pm
(This post was last modified: April 19, 2012 at 6:57 pm by Paul the Human.)
I assume you mean the whole lack of an afterlife thing. It is not depressing once you fully grasp it. It is no different from before you lived. You are not aware of your non-existence, as there is no you.
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RE: My somewhat deconversion
April 19, 2012 at 7:05 pm
(April 19, 2012 at 6:56 pm)Paul the Human Wrote: I assume you mean the whole lack of an afterlife thing. It is not depressing once you fully grasp it. It is no different from before you lived. You are not aware of your non-existence, as there is no you.
Yes, mostly. Maybe I'll believe in the Final Anthropic Principle instead... 
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"The lord doesn't work in mysterious ways, but in ways that are indistinguishable from his nonexistence."
-- George Yorgo Veenhuyzen quoted by John W. Loftus in The End of Christianity (p. 103).
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RE: My somewhat deconversion
April 19, 2012 at 7:18 pm
Quote:I'd say I'm about 87.6 percent convinced it is false
So, what constitutes 12.4% of xtianity?
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RE: My somewhat deconversion
April 19, 2012 at 7:24 pm
(April 19, 2012 at 7:18 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Quote:I'd say I'm about 87.6 percent convinced it is false
So, what constitutes 12.4% of xtianity?
About 8.3 percent of just of needing to think about it some more and about 4.1 percent of made up statistics.
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"The lord doesn't work in mysterious ways, but in ways that are indistinguishable from his nonexistence."
-- George Yorgo Veenhuyzen quoted by John W. Loftus in The End of Christianity (p. 103).
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RE: My somewhat deconversion
April 19, 2012 at 8:39 pm
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RE: My somewhat deconversion
April 19, 2012 at 10:00 pm
(This post was last modified: April 19, 2012 at 10:02 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Well Faith, you may trust yourself to assign purpose to your own life, but I do not. I've been known to make terrible decisions. I may not be able to fall back on any god for purpose, but I've been letting empty soup cans handle that for me for quite some time now...and it's working out rather well.
(@Tea: would letting soup cans give my life purpose be any more or less effective than sourcing the same from an article, book, or video? How about god, in what way might a god differ from soup cans, articles, books, or videos as far as assigning purpose to my life is concerned?)
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!
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RE: My somewhat deconversion
April 19, 2012 at 10:47 pm
(This post was last modified: April 19, 2012 at 10:48 pm by Tea Earl Grey Hot.)
(April 19, 2012 at 10:00 pm)Rhythm Wrote: Well Faith, you may trust yourself to assign purpose to your own life, but I do not. I've been known to make terrible decisions. I may not be able to fall back on any god for purpose, but I've been letting empty soup cans handle that for me for quite some time now...and it's working out rather well.
(@Tea: would letting soup cans give my life purpose be any more or less effective than sourcing the same from an article, book, or video? How about god, in what way might a god differ from soup cans, articles, books, or videos as far as assigning purpose to my life is concerned?)
Hmm. I might be able to find meaning from alphabet soup!
Soup can is an inanimate object. It can't think, feel, or express it's self. God is said to be eternal and perfect and the creator of everything. Supposedly, God is meaning (not that he creates meaning). So, from a theist point of view, since God is meaning, and he created everything and supposedly has an ultimate purpose for everything, a person can only get meaning from him.
My ignore list
"The lord doesn't work in mysterious ways, but in ways that are indistinguishable from his nonexistence."
-- George Yorgo Veenhuyzen quoted by John W. Loftus in The End of Christianity (p. 103).
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