New theistic chew toys wanted!

[Ahriman]

As for athiesm, it is only one possible conclusion of applied skepticism. And it is interesting to see the various outward forms of belief resulting from all the different kinds of patches atheisticly inclined skeptics put over the "god shaped hole" in Man's heart.

Yeah, just no.

We all have human needs, and it is only your own bias and presumption that any of those needs are "god shaped".

Perhaps they are for you.  Perhaps your God exactly conforms to the shapes of your fears and needs.  If so, I suggest that YOU created your God to be that exact shape.

For me, your Christian God doesn't haven anything close to the correct "fit" for my human needs, if the the thing did exist.  Eternal life?  Boring and meaningless.  Comforting?  Not when the thing can't even prove its existence.  Provides meaning?  Not at all - I find meaning in life, people, and this moment.

WTF.......what's boring about eternal life? I mean yeah, if this present life lasted forever, that sure would be fucking boring. But living in eternity means you get to explore all kinds of different realms/worlds/dimensions/states of being, what's boring about that?

[Spongebob]

We all have human needs, and it is only your own bias and presumption that any of those needs are "god shaped".

Perhaps they are for you.  Perhaps your God exactly conforms to the shapes of your fears and needs.  If so, I suggest that YOU created your God to be that exact shape.

For me, your Christian God doesn't haven anything close to the correct "fit" for my human needs, if the the thing did exist.  Eternal life?  Boring and meaningless.  Comforting?  Not when the thing can't even prove its existence.  Provides meaning?  Not at all - I find meaning in life, people, and this moment.

See, this is where I can relate.  I still possess enough of my Christian knowledge and understanding that I can overlap that with rationalism and appreciate the similarities.  First you must understand that there is no one true Christianity.  It just doesn't exist.  My subjective experience of Christianity can fulfil many things in my life if I interpret it in the right way.  That's sort of where I got off the boat.  I was involved in a church that strongly opposed that kind of radical thinking and I was beginning to reject the ideologies that I just couldn't conform to (and those are legion).  So this led to spiritual experimentation and that just leads wherever it leads.  For me it was a winding path that eventually led to atheism.  But for those who still believe and have needs that are met by those beliefs, I can understand.

I practice meditation, but not with any religious subtext.  I find it extremely calming and satisfying and I can't explain why.  Younger me would have thought that was a waste of time and really, really boring.  I also find therapy to be an amazing experience.  In no way am I going to get dogmatic about it, but I recommend the two to anyone.  It may or may not be your thing.  There are aspects to religion that relate to this.

[The Grand Nudger]

I think you might want to do any exploring you hope to get done before you're dead Ahri.

[The Architect Of Fate]

LOL...I was thinking primarily of various strategies to tacitly infuse physical reduction with intangible concepts like functions and dispositions.

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WTF.......what's boring about eternal life? I mean yeah, if this present life lasted forever, that sure would be fucking boring. But living in eternity means you get to explore all kinds of different realms/worlds/dimensions/states of being, what's boring about that?

An existence without finality can only end in suffering

[Spongebob]

Maybe I'm nuts but I find life and experiences to be more interesting the older I get. When I was young it didn't take much to impress me, perhaps because I had so little experience. But as I age I'm open to more subtle and various experiences that I might have ignored as dull or boring when I was younger. I read books now that I could never have gotten through 30 years ago. My wife is more interesting now than when we first started dating. I finally started meditating a few years ago and find it deeply fulfilling. If only our bodies didn't rot, aging wouldn't be so bad.

[Angrboda]

As for athiesm, it is only one possible conclusion of applied skepticism. And it is interesting to see the various outward forms of belief resulting from all the different kinds of patches atheisticly inclined skeptics put over the "god shaped hole" in Man's heart.

Yeah, just no.

We all have human needs, and it is only your own bias and presumption that any of those needs are "god shaped".

Perhaps they are for you.  Perhaps your God exactly conforms to the shapes of your fears and needs.  If so, I suggest that YOU created your God to be that exact shape.

For me, your Christian God doesn't haven anything close to the correct "fit" for my human needs, if the the thing did exist.  Eternal life?  Boring and meaningless.  Comforting?  Not when the thing can't even prove its existence.  Provides meaning?  Not at all - I find meaning in life, people, and this moment.

The term god shaped hole may suggest things that don't exist and it may offend some, but I think there is a core to it that makes sense. In Japanese culture, the concept of wabi sabi is an aesthetic that acknowledges that things are always incomplete, imperfect, and unfinished. For better or worse, a god answers these "flaws" in reality by giving us an alternative in a perfect form that transcends the limitations of reality. A god provides things that a secular philosophy cannot, and such things are desirable; they're a reflection of our desire for the good. A god can provide answers to questions which we otherwise have to rest uncomfortably with. I think there are a lot of desirable things about a god.

And a god drives religion. People in atheists groups have speculated about how to infuse atheism with some of the ritual aspects which make being part of a religion desirable. Things like community, regular holidays/rituals, forms that people can cohere around, and so on. Generally we think the bad outweighs the good with respect to gods and religion, but there are good sides to them, and I think it would be an exaggeration to say that their absence doesn't in some sense leave a hole needing to be fulfilled. Look at nihilism and absurdism; would people willingly choose these if there were a verifiable alternative?

[Spongebob]

A god provides things that a secular philosophy cannot, and such things are desirable; they're a reflection of our desire for the good.  A god can provide answers to questions which we otherwise have to rest uncomfortably with.  I think there are a lot of desirable things about a god.

I really hate to hear people say this because I adamantly reject this notion.  There are certainly things that religion can fulfill but it's been my experience that for a person who is not religious, there simply is no "god-shaped" hole to fill.  There are holes, for sure, but they can be filled with many other aspects of life that leave nothing wanting.  So I believe there is an analogy where we speak about needs in our life, but I reject the idea that atheists are "missing out" on something that they might find fulfilling.  I've lived in both worlds and for me this is definitely not the case.

And a god drives religion.  People in atheists groups have speculated about how to infuse atheism with some of the ritual aspects which make being part of a religion desirable.  Things like community, regular holidays/rituals, forms that people can cohere around, and so on.  Generally we think the bad outweighs the good with respect to gods and religion, but there are good sides to them, and I think it would be an exaggeration to say that their absence doesn't in some sense leave a whole needing to be fulfilled.  Look at nihilism and absurdism; would people willingly choose these if there were a verifiable alternative?

Ugh!  Begone, this horrid idea!  Who really wants this?  I mean, socializing is great, but I simply don't need any analog to church or Bible study.  I played trivia last night with a group of people with which I have no other connection.  That fills a need for me but in no way does it relate to a church service.

[Neo-Scholastic]

The term god shaped hole may suggest things that don't exist and it may offend some, but I think there is a core to it that makes sense.  In Japanese culture, the concept of wabi sabi is an aesthetic that acknowledges that things are always incomplete, imperfect, and unfinished.   For better or worse, a god answers these "flaws" in reality by giving us an alternative in a perfect form that transcends the limitations of reality.  A god provides things that a secular philosophy cannot, and such things are desirable; they're a reflection of our desire for the good.  A god can provide answers to questions which we otherwise have to rest uncomfortably with.  I think there are a lot of desirable things about a god.

And a god drives religion.  People in atheists groups have speculated about how to infuse atheism with some of the ritual aspects which make being part of a religion desirable.  Things like community, regular holidays/rituals, forms that people can cohere around, and so on.  Generally we think the bad outweighs the good with respect to gods and religion, but there are good sides to them, and I think it would be an exaggeration to say that their absence doesn't in some sense leave a hole needing to be fulfilled.  Look at nihilism and absurdism; would people willingly choose these if there were a verifiable alternative?

That is one the most beautiful thing I've read on this forum...ever. Thank you.

[The Architect Of Fate]

The term god shaped hole may suggest things that don't exist and it may offend some, but I think there is a core to it that makes sense. In Japanese culture, the concept of wabi sabi is an aesthetic that acknowledges that things are always incomplete, imperfect, and unfinished. For better or worse, a god answers these "flaws" in reality by giving us an alternative in a perfect form that transcends the limitations of reality. A god provides things that a secular philosophy cannot, and such things are desirable; they're a reflection of our desire for the good. A god can provide answers to questions which we otherwise have to rest uncomfortably with. I think there are a lot of desirable things about a god.

And a god drives religion. People in atheists groups have speculated about how to infuse atheism with some of the ritual aspects which make being part of a religion desirable. Things like community, regular holidays/rituals, forms that people can cohere around, and so on. Generally we think the bad outweighs the good with respect to gods and religion, but there are good sides to them, and I think it would be an exaggeration to say that their absence doesn't in some sense leave a hole needing to be fulfilled. Look at nihilism and absurdism; would people willingly choose these if there were a verifiable alternative?

Just no 

Religion provides nothing and Atheism is missing nothing important

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That is one the most beautiful thing I've read on this forum...ever. Thank you.

You would think that

[Ahriman]

The term god shaped hole may suggest things that don't exist and it may offend some, but I think there is a core to it that makes sense. In Japanese culture, the concept of wabi sabi is an aesthetic that acknowledges that things are always incomplete, imperfect, and unfinished. For better or worse, a god answers these "flaws" in reality by giving us an alternative in a perfect form that transcends the limitations of reality. A god provides things that a secular philosophy cannot, and such things are desirable; they're a reflection of our desire for the good. A god can provide answers to questions which we otherwise have to rest uncomfortably with. I think there are a lot of desirable things about a god.

And a god drives religion. People in atheists groups have speculated about how to infuse atheism with some of the ritual aspects which make being part of a religion desirable. Things like community, regular holidays/rituals, forms that people can cohere around, and so on. Generally we think the bad outweighs the good with respect to gods and religion, but there are good sides to them, and I think it would be an exaggeration to say that their absence doesn't in some sense leave a hole needing to be fulfilled. Look at nihilism and absurdism; would people willingly choose these if there were a verifiable alternative?

Just no 

Religion provides nothing and Atheism is missing nothing important

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That is one the most beautiful thing I've read on this forum...ever. Thank you.

You would think that

Don't be so negative. Religion makes people happy, more often than not. It's only the relative few atheists who seem to have a problem with religion.