16 Aug 2008, 8:36 pm
Anubis
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16 Aug 2008, 8:41 pm
16 Aug 2008, 8:59 pm
16 Aug 2008, 9:05 pm
16 Aug 2008, 9:17 pm
Anubis wrote:
skafather84 wrote:
Anubis wrote:
Religion can give people a sense of hope. It would be cruel to take that away, and leave people naked to the potentially dreadful thought of complete, utter death.
I would rather die in hope(even if it were false hope) than in despair.
I would rather die in hope(even if it were false hope) than in despair.
how about just quit worrying about the end of the sentence? it's gonna happen when it happens no matter what and it'll probably suck. enjoy life as best as you can in the mean time. bollocks to the gods you're here with humans. make the most of it. plan for the living, not the dead.
Why not plan for both? Live a good life, be happy in death. It gives people that feeling. You don't have to be a prude, either. Most christians don't live by the book. They say that Christianity is a religion for sinners, who are... forgiven... for their sins should they ask for it.
It's often hard to face mortality and the inevitability of death. Life is hard for most people, and if religion gives them hope and makes them more pleasant towards other people, then let it be so. There are various flavours of theists, just as there are various flavours of atheists. There are the bigots and the pacifists, the tolerant and the intolerant. Why do some atheists feel that they have a duty to rid the world of religion? Often the same pseudo-intellectuals who denounce religion as "intolerant" and irrational, and yet are intolerant and irrationally prejudiced against religion themselves, often towards believers who do nothing to force their religious beliefs down others' throats. What need is there to go on a crusade against religion? It's just sad, especially for teenagers who think that they have the answer to everything all wrapped up in a few beliefs, yet are sheep themselves.
On a lighter note, lulz.
That's what some radical atheists want, no doubt.
uh.....what? you put up a cartoon of all the stupid things people have done in the name of religion and just try and say that the atheists would do the same?
yeah...that's why there's so many atheist bombings and wars of the atheists rising up and crushing the poor christians, right?
oh wait...that doesn't happen.
it takes a person who believes in the afterlife to so easily cast off others into such an abyss.
16 Aug 2008, 9:34 pm
16 Aug 2008, 9:35 pm
Fnord wrote:
I'd rather have my delusions stripped away, exposing me to harsh reality, than live under the delusion that some intangible, all-knowing, and all-powerful being gives even a passing thought to my own existance for lack of anything better to do.
That's the thing, people are different, and they cope differently at similar, same or different situations, religion can serve as a psychological aid to people who are in distress, especially when it comes to death, in which case, I could say it could be seen as a form of therapy into handle a situation or going through a problem.
Who knows, maybe the delusional live happier than the miserable realistic
I am not a believer by the way.
16 Aug 2008, 9:44 pm
greenblue wrote:
Fnord wrote:
I'd rather have my delusions stripped away, exposing me to harsh reality, than live under the delusion that some intangible, all-knowing, and all-powerful being gives even a passing thought to my own existance for lack of anything better to do.
That's the thing, people are different, and they cope differently at similar, same or different situations, religion can serve as a psychological aid to people who are in distress, especially when it comes to death, in which case, I could say it could be seen as a form of therapy into handle a situation or going through a problem.
Who knows, maybe the delusional live happier than the misserable realistic
I am not a believer by the way.
The only issue here is that you are operating under the assumption that religion is false and debating whether it is appropriate as a delusion, which rather ignores another important possibility.
But, I'll play your game anyways. "Ignorance is bliss." And, research has shown that a certain level of self-delusion is required to remain sane. People with realistic outlooks on life end up spiraling into misery and depression.
16 Aug 2008, 9:45 pm
Anubis wrote:
That's what some radical atheists want, no doubt.
This is my idea of the single belief system I was talking about
16 Aug 2008, 10:14 pm
16 Aug 2008, 10:29 pm
16 Aug 2008, 10:45 pm
Orwell wrote:
The only issue here is that you are operating under the assumption that religion is false and debating whether it is appropriate as a delusion, which rather ignores another important possibility.
I used the term delusion from the poster I replied to, to respond in the same terms, however, he seemed to refer as delusion, a belief system in which lacks empirical evidence, we could question wether or not the term has actual value or not in this case. Me, I'd like to hear an opinion on that actually
Quote:
But, I'll play your game anyways. "Ignorance is bliss." And, research has shown that a certain level of self-delusion is required to remain sane. People with realistic outlooks on life end up spiraling into misery and depression.
Yes, it makes sense, the self-delusion or whatever it appears to be, faith? I believe it can be a cope mechanism, so psychological speaking, can be an advantage over the realistic one, although I don't think it would that accurate to generalize on this either, might depend on a number of different circumstances.
16 Aug 2008, 11:08 pm
greenblue wrote:
Orwell wrote:
The only issue here is that you are operating under the assumption that religion is false and debating whether it is appropriate as a delusion, which rather ignores another important possibility.
I used the term delusion from the poster I replied to, to respond in the same terms, however, he seemed to refer as delusion, a belief system in which lacks empirical evidence, we could question wether or not the term has actual value or not in this case. Me, I'd like to hear an opinion on that actually
Well, for me, one of the strongest points arguing to the veracity of the Christian faith was the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Given the circumstances surrounding Jesus' arrest and execution, the expected outcome would have been for his followers to scatter back to their homes, attempt to put together the scraps of their former lives, and never be heard from again. But instead, they joined together and established a new religion based on this seemingly humiliated and defeated man. They must have had good reason to believe that Jesus truly had been resurrected. Then of course, there are various arguments for theism, arguing for the existence of some deity, but not necessarily the specific Christian one. I won't bother to rehash them here, but I will say I was much amused when I tried to read Spinoza. All of his rather convoluted logical proofs whereby he essentially claimed "God, by definition, exists" were quite funny.
DentArthurDent
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17 Aug 2008, 12:24 am
Anubis
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17 Aug 2008, 7:35 am
17 Aug 2008, 8:12 am
