Kassiana

Simple. They can be atheists because they're not you. Their experiences in life have led them to very different conclusions, just like the Muslims and Jains and Hindus and Buddhists, etc., out there.

regis

Gawen Quote: . . . Originally Posted by jaded_revenge
Would you prefer that when you turned on the taps, that the water coming out is spirit tears, and was being stored in your pipes by some magical wizard spell...?

Oh...*laffin*...I work in a Municipal Water Dept. I've GOT to remember this...

So, would that be the God of the Taps argument?


:devil1:

epepke

That's your perception.

I think it does. Not because you're stupid or anything, but because you haven't been around enough to have been exposed to how warm, alive, wonderful, and awesome except inasmuch as it derives from a Guy in the Clouds with a long white beard and a really big penis, or even some more transcendental concept of a deity.

Sorry about that, but I can't help but be a little satirical of this stuff. It's not your fault; you probably only know a half dozen ways of looking at the world, and they all probably involve God.

But to me, if anything, the common god-stories reduce the true awesomeness of the universe to trivial banality. Seriously. What do you get with God? Essentially some daddy figure, who made you special.

What can you get otherwise? Try this on for size. You are made out of star stuff. You are made out of stuff that was synthesized in stars, long ago. Everything that is you is connected, via quantum amplitudes, to everything else in the universe. You can look in any direction and see very close to the beginning of the universe.

None of this is connected with atheism in any way whatsoever. It's just true. And it's amazing. And it's not the reason I'm an atheist. I'm an atheist because I don't see any evidence for a deity or deities. But there's plenty else about the universe that seems numenous and awesome.

lunchblaze

I think these particles might be more interesting and wondrous than you give them credit for.

I Am Only An Egg

I think J. Huger put it best in his poem:

The day we learned that
The sun doesn't go around the Earth,
The sunset was still beautiful.

The day we learned that
Evil spirits don't make us ill,
The sick still suffered.

The day we learned that
Our hearts are not where we feel,
We were still in love.

Our world is not a conjurer's trick.
Knowing how it's done
Doesn't make the magic go away.

-J. Huger

Helo

Actually none of them do Im not a Christian

To me personally, science is one way of looking at events and interpreting what people see. That doesnt make it WRONG, it just makes it different. I think theres scientific explanations for ALMOST everything, Im a believer in the power of science but I also think that if you rely completely on science and discard any real real leaps of faith, your doing the exact same thing you hold a theist for doing, you just hold different ground.

Me personally? I get nothing from God and I want nothing from God. Me and him already squared off, I told him to stay on his side of the street and Ill stay on mine.

rationalOne

I can relate to that to an extent. It was really disappointed when the Force was explained away with Midi-chlorians in Episode I of Star Wars. The Force concept was better as a mystery.

On the other hand, I enjoy watching films and pretending that they are real; but then watching "behind the scenes" videos where they explain how the effects are done. One does not hurt the other.

In both art and nature, learning how things work is just another aspect of the beauty of the experience.

Queen of Swords

So tell me what "real real leaps of faith" you think people should make. For instance, let's say that you have a funny pain in your head that comes and goes. Should you assume that this is someone trying to make a psychic connection with you and should you start sending out thoughts? Or should you go and see a doctor instead, just in case you have a brain tumor?

"Real real leaps of faith" is bit vague. I'd like to know more about what these were before I considered making any.

Helo

Thats called gambling.

sourdough

on the contrary,without belief in afterlife to look forward to, you get to see this life as the most meaningful,precious thing you have,while religion seems to REDUCE the value of human life,
after all thats why many of those religious fanatics gladly kill themselves and others in hope they get to heaven faster
IF you KNEW this one life is all you have wouldnt you apreciate it more than anything?