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07-16-2002, 02:00 PM | #31 |
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luvluv...my aunt believes Elvis is alive, I don't believe Elvis is alive...doesn't my position represent the truth to the best of our knowledge?
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07-16-2002, 02:06 PM | #32 | |
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I've not doubt that Christians can be good people and do good things. But wouldn't those people be good people if they were not Christian? |
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07-16-2002, 02:06 PM | #33 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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My life is living proof that the God I worship is one of great comfort.Sorry to burst your bubble. Quote:
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Doh! Another stereotype escaped. Quote:
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a)I do cherish every moment, even this one. b)I am a goal oriented person, therefore I achieve.The last thing I am is complacent or docile. Quote:
[ July 16, 2002: Message edited by: Odemus ]</p> |
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07-16-2002, 02:08 PM | #34 |
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Most Atheists are young, White, well educated and affluent. They don't need a supernatural source to offer them comfort. Other people do.
So there is nothing to offer by way of ideology alone because ideology alone is not what sustains them. |
07-16-2002, 02:10 PM | #35 |
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While it's true that atheism as such offers very little (since it is merely a lack of a belief), its advantage is that it opens up a realm of possible worldviews closed to theists.
Atheism may not by itself offer one a purpose in life, but worldviews that do not contain gods may recommend methods for creating a purpose in life that one will find fulfilling. Atheism allows a greater range of rationality that may help people navigate life more successfully, just as a map that is accurate is more useful than one which is misleading. Falsehoods may seem innocent and benign, but they can create unexpected problems at any time. As for dealing with the death of loved ones, I faced the death of my mother as an atheist, and while I was certainly saddened by her death, I found that dealing with the reality of it honestly and directly offered me dignity and a smooth emotional recovery. Does atheism have benefits? Sure! If one develops a personal philosophy of life that is positive. I think atheism opens up many wondrous possibilities. [ July 16, 2002: Message edited by: Eudaimonist ]</p> |
07-16-2002, 02:20 PM | #36 | |
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We wasted hundreds of years going backwards due to superstitions and utter bullshit when we could have been working on my flying car and medical techniques that would allow me to live long enough to really enjoy my flying car! |
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07-16-2002, 02:25 PM | #37 |
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Lady Shea
The point is, however unlikely it may seem to us, Elvis may very well be alive. It is not at all outside of the realm of possibility. What public opinion deems to be improbable has no bearing on what actually is. Atheism has no truth to offer, it only can add it's opinion of what is true to a caucophony of other opinions which may all ultimately be wrong. I think GeoTheo makes an excellent point that is probably underestimated by a lot of people on here: to a certain extent, atheism is a faith of the privilidged. People who don't know where their next meal is coming from cannot afford to abandon hope. I'm not poor but I did come from an area of poor families (most of my friends growing up lived in housing projects). I know something of the life that is lead by the poor and the destitute. I know lots of mothers who feel helpless to protect their children from the lure of the streets. Your logic, to be frank, can't do a single thing for them. It would destroy the basis which makes their lives livable. I'm not saying this because I believe that it offers firm grounds on which to believe (I believe in God because I believe His existence to be an actual fact), but I offer this as an explanation as to why the majority of people on this planet whose lives are unpredictable and often times degrading and burdensome will never turn in their hope for logic. People trying to raise 4 kids on a single minimum wage income in the heart of, say, Bed-stuy or Watts are always going to need hope more than logic. |
07-16-2002, 02:34 PM | #38 |
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I think being poor would make you NOT believe in a loving deity. Hell, I'd be asking myself all the time "Why aren't I blessed like those people" or "Why is God punishing me" or "Why do my children deserve hunger, I have faith".
I think it's a cop out to bring socioeconomic factors into this debate, that's a low blow appeal to emotion IMO. And yes, it is possible that Elvis is alive, but there is no reason to believe he is since he isn't interacting with the rest of us. I can't see Elvis, I can't hear him sing live, I can't call him up on the phone, I can't find anyone who knows his address...so logic dictates that the man is no longer among the living. |
07-16-2002, 02:44 PM | #39 |
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How does religion help poor people? It gives them false hope by feeding them a lie: just pray to God and everything will be alright. If anything, religion may even maintain poverty by telling people that this life is not important anyway, it’s the afterlife that really counts. What better way to keep poor people happy with their poverty? At least with atheism you have to face the problem head on.
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07-16-2002, 02:56 PM | #40 | |
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Luvluv,
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Sincerely, Goliath |
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