Win Prizes Ask an Atheist II

[Gethelred]

Welcome to the Ask an Atheist thread II.

Previous part:

Win Prizes - Ask an Atheist - Shoe's on the other foot now!

Alright, we're going to have a change of tack. As I'm sure you can see, the thread title has been changed to Ask an Atheist. People who have a question to ask of the atheists who populate this thread - more than the christians do - should feel free to ask questions of them. If you've still got...

www.bigfooty.com

Standard board rules apply.

 

[Total Power]

Everything that theism provides is available to atheists - I can't think of a single thing theism has to offer me which isn't already at my fingertips. Some atheists even believe in reincarnation so an afterlife of sorts is on offer for those who have that bent.

There is nothing good that is done in the name of religion that could not also be done without it.

Religion does technically have benefits, but one could argue there are many ways to gain these benefits without the harms of religion.

 

[evolved2]

There is nothing good that is done in the name of religion that could not also be done without it.

Religion does technically have benefits, but one could argue there are many ways to gain these benefits without the harms of religion.

Organised religion provides a ready made package for people to easily get access to those ingredients, while atheism generally leads people on a more individualised path to find truth and meaning in the world.

I can respect the more intelligent forms of Christianity as well as the believers who seek knowledge beyond common fundie cliches. We don't see a lot of it anywhere unfortunately.

It's a shame because believers are essentially aware of their own search for truth and meaning, yet very few are willing to step beyond the limits and fear imposed by their priests to find some important answers in science, psychology, archaeology and the like.

It's amusing that so many are threatened by the theory of evolution and by logic; as seen on the other thread, some believers spend years thinking that 'you can't disprove god' and 'evolution is just a theory' are gotchas.

It's mindboggling that otherwise intelligent people like Dubsy can be so intellectually limited in that one area; it says a lot about ones faith if they're threatened by any knowledge that disproves an infallible bible. You simply don't have the truth if you're running scared of it.

 

[peetoo]

Atheism is a rejection of cult indoctrination.

There’s a school of thought that the rise of our current religious hierarchies has corrupted more purer spirituality which went before
Of course the religions portray what went before as barbarism, superstition and witchcraft, conveniently ignoring that these feature heavily in their own religions histories

 

[Gethelred]

is there such a thing as a life well lived?

Define precisely a life well lived.

Does it matter what we do?

It matters a tremendous amount, to us. We ascribe value to valueless things all the time.

To declare that person - who lived their lives to 34 in as wasteful a manner to you as you can conceive - as of less value than the person who lives to 80 is pretty rubbish if you ask me. You've not given me any pretext beyond alcoholism to discourage me against them.

Life is the point, and it's yours. It's not anyone else's, and we spend more than enough time judging ourselves without accommodating other people's aesthetic considerations.

 

[Total Power]

It's mindboggling that otherwise intelligent people like Dubsy can be so intellectually limited in that one area; it says a lot about ones faith if they're threatened by any knowledge that disproves an infallible bible. You simply don't have the truth if you're running scared of it.

I can only speak for myself when i was a believer. When topics of faith were brought up, MY OWN indoctrination created an unconscious barrier to critical thinking. Because I had been taught from a young age that some other perspectives were evil and that my mind was a battleground for the devil, I was unable to objectively understand other people's perspectives. It took a pretty major incident to break through that barrier, and then critical thinking crept in and tore it all down.

But let me say it's ALL about the emotions. They can compartmentalize the ugly stuff, or use the built in fail-safes they indoctrinate you with to explain the horrendous parts away.

But shocking admission here, i know it sucks but here it goes. And I still really miss the God they told me he was. I miss my loving heavenly father. The fact he isn't real and never was is gut wrenching.

Of course it was all lies and the God of the bible is awful.

I wish I had been born in an atheist family. Then I wouldn't have to mourn God.

Harsh reality. You can call me anything you want but i actually feel like ** that a big brother doesn't exist. Mostly cause my parents life been ** and i hoped there's a heaven where they can reap their rewards.

But i can't convince myself with lies, i tried and i failed as much as i would like to believe in it.

 

[western royboy]

I can only speak for myself when i was a believer. When topics of faith were brought up, MY OWN indoctrination created an unconscious barrier to critical thinking. Because I had been taught from a young age that some other perspectives were evil and that my mind was a battleground for the devil, I was unable to objectively understand other people's perspectives. It took a pretty major incident to break through that barrier, and then critical thinking crept in and tore it all down.

But let me say it's ALL about the emotions. They can compartmentalize the ugly stuff, or use the built in fail-safes they indoctrinate you with to explain the horrendous parts away.

But shocking admission here, i know it sucks but here it goes. And I still really miss the God they told me he was. I miss my loving heavenly father. The fact he isn't real and never was is gut wrenching.

Of course it was all lies and the God of the bible is awful.

I wish I had been born in an atheist family. Then I wouldn't have to mourn God.

Harsh reality. You can call me anything you want but i actually feel like ** that a big brother doesn't exist. Mostly cause my parents life been ** and i hoped there's a heaven where they can reap their rewards.

But i can't convince myself with lies, i tried and i failed as much as i would like to believe in it.

I look at the utterly destructive aspects of it - which is the majority.

The effects that it has on untold lives - thru unadulterated lies and beliefs based on lies.

Why are there no new Priests or Nuns?

So many gay people persecuted and shunned. Told they were “sinners” because of the way they were born.

Spreading homophobia through its schools.

I’ll leave out the effects on those of us that were abused by the ontologically changed perverts.

Any good done is not even close to the evil perpetrated.

Indoctrination is such a crime.

 

[Total Power]

So many gay people persecuted and shunned. Told they were “sinners” because of the way they were born.

I agree, but to be fair to them, we are all sinners according to their belief. Christianity states a liar is bad as a rapist or a homosexual. So in Christianity is not how or what you sin, it's mostly about repentance. There's no escape from this due to the nature of the curse. You either repent or risk going to hell.

 

[evolved2]

I agree, but to be fair to them, we are all sinners according to their belief. Christianity states a liar is bad as a rapist or a homosexual. So in Christianity is not how or what you sin, it's mostly about repentance. There's no escape from this due to the nature of the curse. You either repent or risk going to hell.

The church has a developed a weird hierarchy of sins that doesn't make a lot of logical sense. Homosexuality, transsexualism, and accepting the theory of evolution are worse sins than cheating on your wife in a lot of fundie churches.

I reckon some churches would bar you from leadership for not being a YEC.

 

[western royboy]

I agree, but to be fair to them, we are all sinners according to their belief. Christianity states a liar is bad as a rapist or a homosexual. So in Christianity is not how or what you sin, it's mostly about repentance. There's no escape from this due to the nature of the curse. You either repent or risk going to hell.

Don’t be fair to them - they prey on that -

I was raised a Catholic - I was educated to be a homophobe and a bigot

That is child abuse

 

[Total Power]

Don’t be fair to them - they prey on that -

I was raised a Catholic - I was educated to be a homophobe and a bigot

That is child abuse

I agree, s**t belief system but i mean to be FAIR (i mean consistently bad) to them, they believe a liar is as bad as a rapist. How does one justify that? the creator of the universe cannot take criticism, sends people straight to hell for challenging them. I never understood this.

First 4 commandments all about him

You shall have no other God's before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images. ... Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. ... Remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy. ..

 

[Total Power]

The church has a developed a weird hierarchy of sins that doesn't make a lot of logical sense. Homosexuality, transsexualism, and accepting the theory of evolution are worse sins than cheating on your wife in a lot of fundie churches.

I reckon some churches would bar you from leadership for not being a YEC.

Yep. The god stories invented by people give us insight into the workings of the ancient human mind. If a godlike force or being exists, it's currently beyond our comprehension.

But wait! It gets even better.... this paradisal afterlife VD speaks of is only for those overgrown space monkeys who spend a s**t ton of their time praising their creator. If you don't do that? Straight to hell.

 

[evolved2]

Yep. The god stories invented by people give us insight into the workings of the ancient human mind. If a godlike force or being exists, it's currently beyond our comprehension.

But wait! It gets even better.... this paradisal afterlife VD speaks of is only for those overgrown space monkeys who spend a s**t ton of their time praising their creator. If you don't do that? Straight to hell.

Worship was explain to me as being a human need, in that we were made with an innate need to worship something or someone; when we worship god, it fills that need with the right source. Otherwise we end up worshipping ourselves, materialism, sport teams, etc.

Taking that to it's final conclusion, god made us that way because his ego needs 7 billion puny humans telling him how great he is in order to be happy. That's ****ed up if you ask me.

I wonder if god drowned the rest of the world because Noah was the only one singing praise songs to satiate that insecure ego of his.

 

[peetoo]

Thou shalt not….indulge in logic or similar

 

[wannabewinner]

We are all afraid of dying. Don’t want to face our own or loved one’s mortality.

So, we come up with fairy tales to believe in that death is not final and absolute.

 

[evolved2]

We are all afraid of dying. Don’t want to face our own or loved one’s mortality.

So, we come up with fairy tales to believe in that death is not final and absolute.

There's more to it than death. Ever heard the term 'god of the gaps'? It applies to several aspects of life.

God fills the void in scientific knowledge, psychological needs, poor parenting, etc. That's why it's so difficult for theists to let go - their life is filled with a web of theistic nonsense, none of which stands up to scrutiny.

A world where we don't know, don't have all the answers, and are all alone is difficult for many people to accept. Atheism is the mature way of dealing with reality.

 

[wannabewinner]

There's more to it than death. Ever heard the term 'god of the gaps'? It applies to several aspects of life.

God fills the void in scientific knowledge, psychological needs, poor parenting, etc. That's why it's so difficult for theists to let go - their life is filled with a web of theistic nonsense, none of which stands up to scrutiny.

A world where we don't know, don't have all the answers, and are all alone is difficult for many people to accept. Atheism is the mature way of dealing with reality.

Absolutely. Think about witch burning around 1300s plague in Europe.

Turns out bacteria, viruses, lack of hygiene and sanitation caused the spread of diseases not “witches”.

 

[evolved2]

Absolutely. Think about witch burning around 1300s plague in Europe.

Turns out bacteria, viruses, lack of hygiene and sanitation caused the spread of diseases not “witches”.

They're still in the dark ages as far as mental health is concerned - maybe, just maybe there's more to it than demons, angels, and sin.

 

[Total Power]

They're still in the dark ages as far as mental health is concerned - maybe, just maybe there's more to it than demons, angels, and sin.

Essendon in the top 8. Proof of God

 

[evolved2]

Essendon in the top 8. Proof of God

A finals win would be stronger evidence than anything I've seen.

 

[Total Power]

A finals win would be stronger evidence than anything I've seen.

Grand-final victory means you will turn into a born again radical then.

I look forward to that.

Port are done, so go Dons.

Do it for the evolved one and his Lord.