abaddon
Penultimate Amazing
Having done it once, would I do it again? Absolutely. Without any hesitation.
That's the only thing religion is good for.
I thought this question was answered on page 1...
The battle of believers vs non believers cannot be lost by the believer. They have all mighty god and the good book backing them up after all.
Non believers don't have a blinking thing backing them up except a bit of self confidence.
Roger Ramjets
Philosopher
Appalling. All you want is a little justice in the world, and they accuse you of supporting rape and murder!
But you shouldn't have been surprised. The principle of karma is that the intent and actions of an individual influence the future of that individual. Do good and good things will happen, do bad and bad things will happen to you.
You come in here talking about reincarnation etc. as if it's a fact, when you are just parroting whatever nonsense sounds good to you. Then when the flaws are pointed out you double down with even more nonsense like 'angels of karma'. Wikipedia says nothing about such things - did you just make it up? I wouldn't be surprised - theists make up stuff like that all the time.
The Bible rightfully lumps liars in with rapists and murders. More pain and suffering has been caused by lying than any other action. You may think spreading a few lies to comfort yourself is no great evil, but consider this:- Andrea Yates might not have killed her children if her head wasn't filled up with religious mumbo-jumbo. She needed psychological help, not having her delusions amplified by wacky religious beliefs.
Spreading lies is bad - even if you only do it to make yourself feel better. Some objections to them might not be 'accurate', but you still deserve what you got. And think yourself lucky that 'angels of karma' don't exist - or you might have gotten a lot worse!
dellarte
Illuminator
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2015
- Messages
- 4,220
Yet, from some, we get the sugarcoat birth of Buddha.
Cosmic Yak
Philosopher
These two are not the same thing.
That your world view inevitably means justifying horrifying crimes does not mean that some of the atheists here are completely negative and that their universes are meaningless, dark places.
It does bear repeating, because you clearly still haven't got it, that it is 'spiritual' people like you that accept suffering as both just and necessary. The non-spiritual (in your terms, at least) are disgusted by such things, and try to do something to prevent them. This, surely, shows positivity- it shows a belief that, by our own efforts, we can make the world a better place. If everyone followed your beliefs, nothing would ever change. Mother Teresa is a good example of this kind of thinking.
That people do not share your own idea of what constitutes a meaningful life, does not mean that their lives lack meaning. One of the things that irritates me most about so-called 'spiritual' people is their utter self-centredness. Spirituality, to my mind, should mean an acceptance and tolerance of diversity, and a lessening of ego-driven judgement and condemnation of those who live lives different from our own. It should not be used as a justification for sneering at others- because, if you were truly spiritual, you would realise there are no others. We are all one, right? Isn't that what you believe? Isn't that what most spiritual paths teach?
MarkCorrigan
Героям слава!
Why on earth would you think that a universe without purpose is pessimistic?
Lukraak_Sisser
Philosopher
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2009
- Messages
- 6,013
This.
I can live with bad things happening and will try to change as much as I can, but I'd be actually pessimistic if I knew all evils in the world happened on purpose. If such a puppet master were to exist it is our solemn duty to destroy it.
theprestige
Penultimate Amazing
I dunno about invariably, but a lot of atheists seem to be misanthropes, which is a form of pessimism.
Venom
Philosopher
One reason could be you feel compelled to do something in your allotted life that will outlast you. And if you don't, like most humans who've ever lived, you become just a statistic.
MarkCorrigan
Героям слава!
Except that you will have touched the lives of those around you, and you will be remembered for that.
My friend killed himself several years ago. In fact I'm ashamed to admit that I don't actually recall how many years ago it was. He wasn't a noted scientist, or an intrepid explorer. He wasn't a legislator or a hero. He wasn't an artist whose work reached millions or a businessman of great renown.
But he was my friend, and I loved him as a friend, and I will always remember him. I remember playing video games at his flat on an emulated gamecube. I remember him introducing me to Rick and Morty. I remember staying up watching a documentary about scientists building a device that could detect gravity waves from just after the big bang and talking about how science was amazing.
I talk about him to other people, including those who never met him because he had an impact on my life. He was a genuinely good person, who was so mentally ill that he couldn't cope anymore and he killed himself. But his friends and his family will remember him. We will have pictures of him, and things we can remember him by. He will live on in us. When we who knew him as friends die maybe his family will still talk about him. Still tell stories of how kind and funny he was, even to nieces and nephews who will never have known him. There will be a time when he is forgotten, as everyone who knew him dies. When even those who did not know him stop telling the story of his tragically short life, but he will have made a difference to us. To those who did know him. He enriched our lives with times of fun, and laughter and even sadness, and we will remember him.
Goodbye again Aidan. I still miss you.
I can only hope that my legacy will be half as good.
Foster Zygote
Dental Floss Tycoon
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2006
- Messages
- 22,097
Nobody said that life can't have a subjective purpose. What is being disputed is the idea that the universe has some objective purpose that is imposed on us. I don't think Mark or anyone else here objects to the definition of a personal purpose by anyone, as long as that purpose isn't to cause harm.
What percentage is " a lot", from what data are you pulling your conclusion from?
3point14
Pi
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2005
- Messages
- 23,073
This is a superb point, brilliantly made. Thank you.
Venom
Philosopher
Yes my point is the that's the only thing you can count on as an atheist. So for someone with a more transcendent view of the world, it's worth asking whether they aren't more optimistic about life on average. Look at some of the posters in this very thread who said they'd lie to a dying child in order to keep them comfortable.
Why does the "woULd U liE tO ComFURT DA DYING BABEY!?" routine only get pointed at atheists?
There's a... *pause for dramatic effect* dying child in front of you but he wants to hear how there isn't an afterlife or wants to hear about how he's going to be reincarnated or be told he's going to die and go to ******* Hogwarts or whatever.
There's a... *pause for dramatic effect* dying child in front of you but he wants to hear how there isn't an afterlife or wants to hear about how he's going to be reincarnated or be told he's going to die and go to ******* Hogwarts or whatever.
MarkCorrigan
Героям слава!
I suspect it is because to the fundamentally weak willed, death as an end is "horrible" whereas an afterlife is comforting. Despite the fact that the afterlife systems of pretty much all world religions are, in my view, even more horrifying. Especially those with a concept of hell.
A single data point.