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RE: Would you as an atheist EVER do this?
November 29, 2017 at 6:22 pm
I don't think anyone short of a sociopath would do that to someone who's dying
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
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RE: Would you as an atheist EVER do this?
November 29, 2017 at 6:27 pm
(This post was last modified: November 29, 2017 at 6:27 pm by Cyberman.)
I know one guy who would sell your meat to you while you're dying.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
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RE: Would you as an atheist EVER do this?
November 29, 2017 at 11:14 pm
(This post was last modified: November 29, 2017 at 11:29 pm by Succubus.)
(November 29, 2017 at 10:11 am)Alexmahone Wrote: Suppose you have a religious person with a terminal illness. Would you as an atheist EVER try to convince him/her that there's no heaven or afterlife? I wouldn't! (Although I have a strong suspicion Dawkins would.  )
Is this some new trolling tactic, wait till one gets the hammer then another takes his place? Mind you, points for getting Dawkins name right.
It's amazing 'science' always seems to 'find' whatever it is funded for, and never the oppsite. Drich.
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RE: Would you as an atheist EVER do this?
November 30, 2017 at 1:56 am
I remember my old pastor and his lack of prudence. Every time a person died, the church would get packed for the funeral with the family and friends of the deceased, and many of them weren’t church members. The pastor would use the pulpit to explain heaven, hell, and eternal salvation vs eternal damnation. He would follow with an invitation to the front of the church for anyone wanting to accept the god into their hearts (convert).  Nothing was ever said about the deceased. All we ever got was a sermon about heaven and hell.
No. I wouldn’t do that. Let the dying and their families say their goodbyes and shush. Don’t be selfish.
"Hipster is what happens when young hot people do what old ladies do." -Exian
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RE: Would you as an atheist EVER do this?
November 30, 2017 at 6:55 am
(November 30, 2017 at 1:56 am)J a c k Wrote: I remember my old pastor and his lack of prudence. Every time a person died, the church would get packed for the funeral with the family and friends of the deceased, and many of them weren’t church members. The pastor would use the pulpit to explain heaven, hell, and eternal salvation vs eternal damnation. He would follow with an invitation to the front of the church for anyone wanting to accept the god into their hearts (convert). Nothing was ever said about the deceased. All we ever got was a sermon about heaven and hell.
No. I wouldn’t do that. Let the dying and their families say their goodbyes and shush. Don’t be selfish.
I said in a prior post that my older brother pissed me off using our Granddad's funeral to preach at me.
My mom's priest pretty much did the same fucking thing at her memorial. Both "You better find God before it is too late."
All I could think was, "Hey assholes, is this about our loved one, or is this an add campaign?"
The worst part in both cases is I had to keep my mouth shut, but I did feel like punching both of them.
Look, I get it, talk about God, talk about my loved one sure, but DON'T SELL.
For example.
Ok, "Jane is in heaven now."
Not ok, "You better find God now. Look what happened to your loved one."
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RE: Would you as an atheist EVER do this?
November 30, 2017 at 7:02 am
Since, in this hypothetical, they're about to die anyways, I don't see any point in trying to convince them that they've based their life around a lie; not much life left anyways to live without their safety blanket.
BTW, this reminds me of this:
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool." - Richard P. Feynman
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RE: Would you as an atheist EVER do this?
November 30, 2017 at 9:04 am
I work as a nurse. I am heading in to work right now. Will be caring for terminally ill patients in tandem with a hospice service. I would never dissuade anyone from anything which gives them comfort. I believe their religious ideas are illusions. So is the morphine that tricks them into believing their source of pain is gone for an hour or two. I don't think Dawkins would run around arguing with terminally people. That's ridiculous.
God thinks it's fun to confuse primates. Larsen's God!
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RE: Would you as an atheist EVER do this?
December 4, 2017 at 2:06 pm
(November 29, 2017 at 10:11 am)Alexmahone Wrote: Suppose you have a religious person with a terminal illness. Would you as an atheist EVER try to convince him/her that there's no heaven or afterlife? I wouldn't! (Although I have a strong suspicion Dawkins would. )
I'm all for stopping theists from believing in bullshit, but I think trying to convert them as they face death is a bit cruel! Bit late in the game for that, so a no from me.
You are currently experiencing a lucky and very brief window of awareness, sandwiched in between two periods of timeless and utter nothingness. So why not make the most of it, and stop wasting your life away trying to convince other people that there is something else? The reality is obvious.
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RE: Would you as an atheist EVER do this?
December 5, 2017 at 2:15 am
(November 29, 2017 at 10:11 am)Alexmahone Wrote: Suppose you have a religious person with a terminal illness. Would you as an atheist EVER try to convince him/her that there's no heaven or afterlife? I wouldn't! (Although I have a strong suspicion Dawkins would. )
My aunt Clare died few months short of 100 and was a firm atheist all of her life and was totally coherent until her end.
The last time I spoke with her, which was a few months before she died, and knew she was dying, she said "Oh I'll soon be seeing Esther(her twin) again".
I said , "But auntie, you always said you are an atheist", to which she just laughed and said in her immaculate style, "I was just extracting the urine".
{It should be noted that her 'born again son' was also on the room.}
In answer to your question, I may try and convince a dying believer that there is no hell, if I saw they were agonising.
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RE: Would you as an atheist EVER do this?
December 5, 2017 at 3:15 am
The only theists I ever talk to about any of this stuff are the ones on this forum.
I see most of us are this way.
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