RE: Um hi
June 1, 2015 at 2:57 am
(This post was last modified: June 1, 2015 at 3:00 am by robvalue.)
Heya welcome aboard, nice to meet you 
I'm very sorry to hear about all the pressure being put on you. That is totally unfair of them. It's also an indication of how bogus it is, that instead of evidence they provide forms of blackmail. If someone doesn't like and respect you for who you are, then they're not worthy of you. If they require you to pander to their delusions, then they have big problems and they are the ones creating the rift.
I'm sure you'll find lots of support here, as well as arguments to think about. Pascal's wager is ridiculous. Firstly, it assumes that pretending to believe in a religion is as good as actually believing it, and that the God involved will be either fooled or impressed by this. Belief is a state of mind not a choice, no one can force themselves to believe something. And of course the second reason it's such a stupid argument is that there are in fact an infinite number of possible gods, possible religions and possible afterlives that could be the real ones. Christianity is but one drop in the ocean. So even if you "pick" one religion, the chances of it being "right" are one in infinity.
And really, if that's the best argument they can put forward, it shows they are selling horse shit. I've never had to use Pascal's wager when I taught maths. Nor did I have to tell people they were going to burn forever if they didn't believe in Pythagorus' Theorem. I just give a simple, honest demonstration of why they should believe it.
I don't know if it will help, but I have a bit on my website about dealing with friends and family. Just some suggestions I've picked up through hearing lots of stories like this:
http://robvalue.wix.com/atheism#!dealing...iends/cm1s
I'm very sorry to hear about all the pressure being put on you. That is totally unfair of them. It's also an indication of how bogus it is, that instead of evidence they provide forms of blackmail. If someone doesn't like and respect you for who you are, then they're not worthy of you. If they require you to pander to their delusions, then they have big problems and they are the ones creating the rift.
I'm sure you'll find lots of support here, as well as arguments to think about. Pascal's wager is ridiculous. Firstly, it assumes that pretending to believe in a religion is as good as actually believing it, and that the God involved will be either fooled or impressed by this. Belief is a state of mind not a choice, no one can force themselves to believe something. And of course the second reason it's such a stupid argument is that there are in fact an infinite number of possible gods, possible religions and possible afterlives that could be the real ones. Christianity is but one drop in the ocean. So even if you "pick" one religion, the chances of it being "right" are one in infinity.
And really, if that's the best argument they can put forward, it shows they are selling horse shit. I've never had to use Pascal's wager when I taught maths. Nor did I have to tell people they were going to burn forever if they didn't believe in Pythagorus' Theorem. I just give a simple, honest demonstration of why they should believe it.
I don't know if it will help, but I have a bit on my website about dealing with friends and family. Just some suggestions I've picked up through hearing lots of stories like this:
http://robvalue.wix.com/atheism#!dealing...iends/cm1s
Feel free to send me a private message.
Please visit my website here! It's got lots of information about atheism/theism and support for new atheists.
Index of useful threads and discussions
Index of my best videos
Quickstart guide to the forum
Please visit my website here! It's got lots of information about atheism/theism and support for new atheists.
Index of useful threads and discussions
Index of my best videos
Quickstart guide to the forum
