- if there's no God and no afterlife, what happens to us when we die?
- if there's no God, then where did we come from?
- so, you're just accident, are you?
I don't claim to know every family's personal details, but speaking for only myself, I'm fairly certain that my biological mother didn't trip one day and fall on top of my biological father, who just happened to have an erection at that precise moment. No, I'm thinking that they deliberately engaged in sex, and I was the result of that little meeting
- if this life is all there is, how is there any meaning in life?
In many ways, I create my own meaning, and the people I love and who love me, contribute to that meaning. And speaking of meaning, I often wonder, if I couldn't find meaning in this very short life, how I'd find it in an infinite life. But of course, that's just me being a smarty-pants, again ; )
- how do you know right from wrong?
The same way you do---that which seeks to avoid unnecessary harm to others is "good"; that which causes unnecessary harm to others is "bad".
- but there's nothing to say that I can't cause harm if I feel like, so, I guess I can do as I please, right?
Yes, you can do as you please. And in doing so, you risk going to jail, going to prison, or in the worst case scenario, death. Best of luck with that.
- okay, then....did you know that human consciousness can influence a glass of water?
Okay...and? So, what? Even if that were scientifically confirmed in a controlled setting, there is very little else to conclude from it. It certainly wouldn't prove the existence of invisible, conscious beings, nor would it prove that consciousness survives the death of the physical body.
(Author's note: I will be adding to this list of commonly-asked questions for us smarty-pants Atheists)
8 comments:
So this question happens to be one of the FAQ's? ;-)
"okay, then....did you know that human consciousness can influence a glass of water?"
how do you know right from wrong?
This one consistently blows my mind ... life morality rules/guides can be found in thousands of books and even movies ... to think that we ONLY have this one book (which - surprise - every major religion has it's own unique version) ... but worse than that - to think somehow as grown adults we STILL require 24/7/365 surveillance by some "deity" that is somehow noting our actions in some ledger for later reference ... it's just silly on it's face.
Besides ... we have Santa Claus - He sees us when we're sleeping, he know when we're awake ... he know if we've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake
What more does one need to "do the right thing"? <--Spike Lee quote ... not "god"
"So this question happens to be one of the FAQ's?" ~ L
When Theists exhaust all of their efforts using various apologetics to prove a "God", they often move right into what they view as the next best thing, which is trying to prove things like a "universal consciousness", "everything is connected", yadda, yadda, which are "New Age" concepts. As far as I'm considered, "New Age" is all of the loony, superstitious ideas, without all the baggage of religion.
But at the end of the day, the notion that the molecular makeup of water can be changed with "thought" is a red herring. Even if it was true, it doesn't prove gods or an afterlife.
"This one consistently blows my mind" ~ R. Hall
Mine, too. Their main contention is that we cannot know the difference between "right" 'n "wrong" because our own moral compass is based only on our own opinion, AKA, subjective, but yet, it never occurs to them that if there is "God" from which our morality comes, then his/her morality is based on nothing but his/her own opinion, *also*, subjective. 'Aint that a kicker?
“When Theists exhaust all of their efforts using various apologetics to prove a "God", they often move right into what they view as the next best thing, which is trying to prove things like a "universal consciousness", "everything is connected", yadda, yadda, which are "New Age" concepts.”
I actually thought most Theist (or better yet proper Christians) stayed away from anything having to with “New Age”, so I’m actually very surprised you’d say so.
“…that if there is "God" from which our morality comes, then his/her morality is based on nothing but his/her own opinion, *also*, subjective.”
If that’s the morality shown in the Bible (OT) I would put some question marks when it comes to proper morality.
"I actually thought most Theist (or better yet proper Christians) stayed away from anything having to with 'New Age'."
I don't know what you mean by "proper", but if, by chance, you mean fundamentalist, then true, they steer away from anything that's not biblical. And since "New Age" isn't biblical(things like "meditation" are seen as "evil"), those Theists wouldn't be counted in those I was referring to. It is more so liberal Theists..i.e..those Theists who cherry-pick the bible, who will use anything and everything to "prove" their version of "God" exists. I suppose I could have been more specific.
“It is more so liberal Theists..i.e..those Theists who cherry-pick the bible, who will use anything and everything to "prove" their version of "God" exists.”
I spoke to one last week (don’t know which category specifically). She said that since she was a “good” Christian, she was not allowed to investigate the “paranormal” stuff, although she was very curious about it. It left me with a big question mark. Free will (or is it free thinking?) obviously is not allowed.
Theists who cherry-pick the bible
This was the point i took the final step over to being an atheist (among other things - but this one really "gets"me)
The "Bible" was completely "cherry-picked by men since its inception - 1000 years from now, Stephen King's Dark Towers series could jest as easily be the new "real" religion ... f*ck all that noise :P
"This was the point i took the final step over to being an atheist (among other things - but this one really 'gets' me)" ~ R. Hall
Yes, once one wises-up and realizes that a book that contains wizards, demons, talking snakes, virgin births, walking cadavers, raining frogs, etc., probably shouldn't be taken at its face-value, AKA, literally, the next "logical" step is to start cherry-picking which passages are literal and which are "metaphorical".
Then a natural progression from there is to become a "Universalist"(been there; done that), probably the most liberal of the liberals, since, they believe that everyone is "saved" and that "all paths lead to the same God", yadda, yadda.
IOW, try to forget about the fact that the "Prince of Peace" spoke of no other subject more than "Hell", and he talked extensively about what lands a person there.
But....shhhhhh.....don't talk about it!!!!
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