Afterlife

[LastPoet]

I wonder if they really think that using scientific jargon, makes it more credible.

Hint: it doesn't.

[Alex K]

...using the term "scientific jargon" loosely

[Homeless Nutter]

[...]There's always Christ.

Uhm, no - there isn't.

[Alex K]

By the way, have any of you ever played Arxiv versus SnarXiv? It shows you a real preprint title from High Energy Physics or Field/String Theory, and a fake generated one, and you have to click which one you think is the real one. This is sometimes hard even for specialists, have fun!

http://snarxiv.org/vs-arxiv/

[Homeless Nutter]

What solace would you offer a grieving father whose son was killed by a drunk driver?   What promise of justice for the criminal the law could not prosecute?  We can explore what atheism has to offer.  What Ra and the ancient Egyptian text can offer.  There's always Christ.

Great questions.  I suppose I would console the father that he would see his son again.

I would say God holds all accounted for their actions with both justice and mercy. A lot would depend on the drunk driver whether he didn't think much about it and kept drinking, or if it devastated him and he suffered the rest of his life because of it.  Way too many variables.[...]

Oh, my - aren't you just brimful of yourself... Why don't you just tell the father to stop being a baby, since obviously there is no such thing as death in your opinion? You're not consoling the father - you're making yourself feel better, by diminishing the grieving person's loss - IN YOUR EYES. If the father is a christian - that's fine I suppose. But if you were talking to someone with different beliefs - you're just an uncaring, self-righteous asshole, trying to use someone else's tragedy to score some points with your imaginary friend. Kind of like a junkie saying "Don't worry about it - it's going to be fine. Here - have a toke on my crack-pipe". Only more despicable...

[chimp3]

I am reading Lawrence Krauss's book "Atom" right now. I recommend it to anyone who wants to be amazed and entertained at the tale of the birth of a single oxygen atom beginning at the first billisecond(?) of the Big Bang. The fact that physicists can describe in detail this event is awesome. Way better than the woo woo being spun by theists and pseudo-theists in this thread and beyond.

[Excited Penguin]

I am reading Lawrence Krauss's book "Atom" right now. I recommend it to anyone who wants to be amazed and entertained at the tale of the birth of a single oxygen atom beginning at the first billisecond(?) of the Big Bang. The fact that physicists can describe in detail this event is awesome. Way better than the woo woo being spun by theists and pseudo-theists in this thread and beyond.

I'm reading his Fear Of Physics right now. Very awesome.

[chimp3]

What solace would you offer a grieving father whose son was killed by a drunk driver?  

A sympathetic ear , an embrace , an offer to assist the grieving with material needs such as food during their grief struck days. A very therapeutic technique is to encourage the grieving to talk about the deceased. Ask questions about the deceased to get the discussion started. This father may need help navigating the funeral process. Start an online memorial fund to raise money for charity in the sons name. Approach the father about organ donation. Some find solace seeing their loved ones life and death give others the ability to live on. The list goes on and on.