atheism and children

[robvalue]

I agree with what Alex said. Nature seems very cruel to humans and animals. Painfully so. But nature has no intent or purpose, it's just "what happens".

I suppose religion is partly trying to make sense of this, by saying the suffering has some sort of purpose.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

I agree with what Alex said. Nature seems very cruel to humans and animals. Painfully so. But nature has no intent or purpose, it's just "what happens".

I suppose religion is partly trying to make sense of this, by saying the suffering has some sort of purpose.

Seeing patterns where there are none is a very well documented human trait.

[robvalue]

Indeed!

It often comes down to the "argument from the unacceptable".

I find it unnactable that all this suffering is going on with no reason behind it. Therefor, there is a reason behind it.

I find it unacceptable that I stop living after I die. Therefor, I carry on living.

I find it unacceptable that there is no objective standard of morality. Therefor there is an objective standard of morality.

I find it unacceptable that our lives have no inherent purpose. Therefor they do have a purpose.

[Alex K]

The Ten Commandments can be summed up in that one word, sacred. Your life is sacred, your work is sacred, your time is sacred, family is sacred, marriage is sacred, your property is sacred and so is your neighbors.

How about "not stoning people and not raping women from other tribes is sacred"? Oops, no, we're all for that, aren't we? You're letting the ten commandments say whatever feels good, in your "summary", don't kid yourself thinking that you are actually following the spirit of that book, that's preposterous.

[ErGingerbreadMandude]

I find it unacceptable that we can't generate nuclear energy from Poop. Therefore we can generate nuclear energy from Poop.

[Alex K]

I find it unacceptable that we can't generate nuclear energy from Poop. Therefore we can generate nuclear energy from Poop.

You have to find it offensive, too, then you're all set!

[Longhorn]

The Ten Commandments can be summed up in that one word, sacred. Your life is sacred, your work is sacred, your time is sacred, family is sacred, marriage is sacred, your property is sacred and so is your neighbors.

How about "not stoning people and not raping women from other tribes is sacred"? Oops, no, we're all for that, aren't we? You're letting the ten commandments say whatever feels good, in your "summary", don't kid yourself thinking that you are actually following the spirit of that book, that's preposterous.

I think you need to read buy my guide for interpreting scripture

[abaris]

The Ten Commandments can be summed up in that one word, sacred. Your life is sacred, your work is sacred, your time is sacred, family is sacred, marriage is sacred, your property is sacred and so is your neighbors.

I would sum them up differently. The attempt at some kind of primitive law giving to an otherwise lawless and half nomadic society. That's how I always understood them. At least when I was no longer a child. You actually have to compare them to what other societies in the same region at the same time already had written down to get to the primitive part. Entirely human with not too broad a horizon and certainly not something you would expect from a superior being.

[Whateverist]

Wow.  Tinkerbell never need worry with this crowd on hand.

[Clueless Morgan]

We think something as sacred as human life should come from a place that is equally as sacred - the lovemaking between husband and wife, where a human being can come into this world through love, literally.

You're saying human life should come from a loving sexual act, so what does that say about a human life conceived during a violent one?

You can "should" all you want, but the fact of the matter is that some percentage of human life will be conceived through a sex act that is completely devoid of any "sacredness" or notion of "lovemaking" - even when the sex act is taking place between a husband and a wife.  Marital rape is a thing.

I know you have tried to disassociate the act of conception from the worth of the person conceived, but you cannot deny that the sentiment that you are expressing here strongly implies that human lives that are conceived though anything other than your definition of "sacred lovemaking" are lesser and that is bullshit.

We don't think masturbating into a jar and then having a stranger join sperm and egg together on a petri dish in a medical office, is the proper context for such a sacred thing as the beginning of new human life to take place.

What does the manner of ones' conception have to do with anything?  Do you think that being an IVF baby will have some lasting physical, emotional or social consequences on that person?  If so, why?  And what's the data you are using the support this notion?  If not, then what the hell does the "sacredness" of the conception method matter to anything?