My dad and best friend are republicans

[Robert Maxwell]

I'm not sure what you're getting at. What I mean is it makes people a better person by be more compassionate and so you're less likely to be prejudice and bias towards other people...and so be able to see the truth. It's like the candle light on the wall story.

Sorry, no.

I have plenty of compassion for my fellow human beings, and I don't believe in any deities at all. If the only thing that makes a person have compassion is the fear that they'll be tormented for all eternity otherwise, then I would suggest that such a person is, intellectually, a stunted and insensitive child with no conscience or independent thoughts of their own.

 

[Kemaiku]

 

[Squiggy]

People that has gone through hell...they all turn to religions. Take it from them... They speak from experience.

They all turn to religions ? That's of course wrong. Everyone with experience know that.

And I can tell you that right now that you are wrong from personal experience.

So you've personally experienced everyone who's been through hell?

 

[Paradon]

I'm not sure what you're getting at. What I mean is it makes people a better person by be more compassionate and so you're less likely to be prejudice and bias towards other people...and so be able to see the truth. It's like the candle light on the wall story.

Sorry, no.

I have plenty of compassion for my fellow human beings, and I don't believe in any deities at all. If the only thing that makes a person have compassion is the fear that they'll be tormented for all eternity otherwise, then I would suggest that such a person is, intellectually, a stunted and insensitive child with no conscience or independent thoughts of their own.

That's great and all, but people find it difficult to cope with death, illnesses and suffering. Everybody wonders why we have to suffer. It's not easy for anyone to understand when they're the one suffering or their love ones.

It never gets any easy for me! I've been through things that most people shouldn't have gone through and it still doesn't get any easier.

 

[RoJoHen]

How is any of that relevant?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I'm not sure what you're getting at. What I mean is it makes people a better person by be more compassionate and so you're less likely to be prejudice and bias towards other people...and so be able to see the truth. It's like the candle light on the wall story.

Sorry, no.

I have plenty of compassion for my fellow human beings, and I don't believe in any deities at all. If the only thing that makes a person have compassion is the fear that they'll be tormented for all eternity otherwise, then I would suggest that such a person is, intellectually, a stunted and insensitive child with no conscience or independent thoughts of their own.

That's great and all, but people find it difficult to cope with death, illnesses and suffering. Everybody wonders why we have to suffer. It's not easy for anyone to understand when they're the one suffering or their love ones.

It never gets any easy for me! I've been through things that most people shouldn't have gone through and it still doesn't get any easier.

We suffer because the universe is cold and uncaring, which is all the more reason to be decent to the people around you, and keep close to those you care about. In the end, we only have each other. Turning to a man in the sky takes the responsibility away from us and lets us place blame and judgment rather than actually trying to help one another.

You can argue that religion isn't used that way, but it is. It can be used for good or ill. But more important, the good and bad things that happen in the world are our responsibility. Bad things happen to good people, and bad people get away with their crimes. Life's not fair. I'm sure it's nice to think there's someone handing out final judgments after we die, but I believe that, again, takes the responsibility away from us to make each other accountable.

This life is the only one you get, so use it well.

 

[Squiggy]

I'm not sure what you're getting at. What I mean is it makes people a better person by be more compassionate and so you're less likely to be prejudice and bias towards other people...and so be able to see the truth. It's like the candle light on the wall story.

Sorry, no.

I have plenty of compassion for my fellow human beings, and I don't believe in any deities at all. If the only thing that makes a person have compassion is the fear that they'll be tormented for all eternity otherwise, then I would suggest that such a person is, intellectually, a stunted and insensitive child with no conscience or independent thoughts of their own.

That's great and all, but people find it difficult to cope with death, illnesses and suffering.

Yes. Things that are difficult to deal with are difficult. That's because we like happy things. It's not rocket science. Having God as a fallback doesn't make people impervious to bad feelings.

Everybody wonders why we have to suffer.

I don't. Shit happens. Some people wonder why God allows people to suffer. When you remove an all knowing, all loveing God from the equation it gets alot easier to figure out.

It's not easy for anyone to understand when they're the one suffering or their love ones.

This sentence makes no sense.

It never gets any easy for me! I've been through things that most people shouldn't have gone through and it still doesn't get any easier.

Congrats on dealing with things. I've dealt with some things too...everyone on Earth has. I got on with my life though. I fail to see what any of this has anything to do with the topic at hand though.

 

[Shaytan]

It never gets any easy for me! I've been through things that most people shouldn't have gone through and it still doesn't get any easier.

That's what life is for everyone, not only you.

 

[Roshi]

 

[Squiggy]

You're welcome.

 

[6079SmithW]

Can we just all agree that people are religious for many many reasons, and others are atheist for just as many reasons and not stereotype each other?

I'm agnostic, but have found merit in both camps. I just am not convinced either way. But I find baseless attacks from either side rather annoying.

I'm frightened by people like the couple I talked about earlier, who are so programmed by right-wing propaganda that they believe Obama is the anti-Christ and vote Republican without thinking about it.

But I'm just as frightened by atheists who feel the need to attack people's beliefs because they are angry with the politicians. Use logic to demonstrate that Republicans are not following Christian ethics (which shouldn't be hard at all), but don't tell people their beliefs are wrong or stupid. That won't suddenly get them on your side!

Pretty much all of this.

There are atheists who feel the need to rip into a religious person and their beliefs every time they encounter one and other atheists just want to live their lives without troubling anyone.

There are religious people who lash out at anything they see as irreligious or an affront to their faith and others just want to practice their faith in peace and privacy.

Can't we all just get along?

 

[Roshi]

You're welcome.

Props to you, man.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Troll ahoy.

Freaks ahoy! [chuckle]

Let's not have any of this, please.

Accusing someone of trolling is trolling, and is Warnable.

Paradon, if you're going to continue this discussion, stop being insulting to fellow posters, and please stop replying in non sequiturs-- that only serves to annoy people.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Are you sure you are thinking this thoroughly?

Yeah! Is there a problem with that?

Given your replies, I don't think you did.

I don't think the problem is me!

And therein, as the Bard would tell, lies the rub.

 

[Amaris]

I'm not sure what you're getting at. What I mean is it makes people a better person by be more compassionate and so you're less likely to be prejudice and bias towards other people...and so be able to see the truth. It's like the candle light on the wall story.

If you have a good heart filled with compassion and kindness, you will have it with or without religion. If you are a cruel and spiteful person, you will be so with or without religion.

I have the same love and compassion for people I had when I was a Christian (I'm an atheist). When I became a minister, the more I studied, the more I found that my faith was impeding that love and compassion. I couldn't reconcile a wicked and vicious god represented in those passages with my own sense of ethics, which were far superior in terms of humanity.

So I left the faith and never looked back. Not long after, religion was a curiosity rather than a belief, and I do not fear death, thought I do despise it's effects upon family and friends. I hold life to be sacred and precious, and I don't have, or need, a security blanket to tell me there's more to come once my eyes close and my heart beats for the last time.

 

[Awesome Possum]

A part of me is glad that life ends. The thought of living eternally is absolutely horrifying to him.

That said, I wish I could live as long as I wanted and in the condition I wanted. Then I could off myself when I got bored.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

So I left the faith and never looked back. Not long after, religion was a curiosity rather than a belief, and I do not fear death, thought I do despise it's effects upon family and friends. I hold life to be sacred and precious, and I don't have, or need, a security blanket to tell me there's more to come once my eyes close and my heart beats for the last time.

No, but you do have a security blanket.

You have a relationship with family and friends that allows you to cope with life.

People with faith have a relationship with their God (whether he exists or not) that allows them to cope with life.

Thus being atheist doesn't automatically make you more intellectual or a stronger individual, unless you are living alone with no contact with the rest of humanity, no television, computer, books, or any other way humans have to feel a sense of comfort.

 

[Paradon]

You're welcome.

So I left the faith and never looked back. Not long after, religion was a curiosity rather than a belief, and I do not fear death, thought I do despise it's effects upon family and friends. I hold life to be sacred and precious, and I don't have, or need, a security blanket to tell me there's more to come once my eyes close and my heart beats for the last time.

No, but you do have a security blanket.

You have a relationship with family and friends that allows you to cope with life.

People with faith have a relationship with their God (whether he exists or not) that allows them to cope with life.

Thus being atheist doesn't automatically make you more intellectual or a stronger individual, unless you are living alone with no contact with the rest of humanity, no television, computer, books, or any other way humans have to feel a sense of comfort.

So it makes you a better person because it helps you cope with the harshness of reality and help you see the truth and help you face the truth at the same time.

And...what doesn't kill will only make you stronger.

 

[Amaris]

No, but you do have a security blanket.

You have a relationship with family and friends that allows you to cope with life.

Friends? Yes.
Family? ...maybe. I tend to find that family is more the source of my stress and depression than they are anything else.

People with faith have a relationship with their God (whether he exists or not) that allows them to cope with life.

Thus being atheist doesn't automatically make you more intellectual or a stronger individual, unless you are living alone with no contact with the rest of humanity, no television, computer, books, or any other way humans have to feel a sense of comfort.

I don't think it makes me more intellectual or stronger in any particular sense. I'm just saying I don't need it as my security blanket. That's not a comment against others, and we all have our "sacred cows", as it were. I'm just pointing out to Paradon that religion does not a moral person make.

 

[Awesome Possum]

So I left the faith and never looked back. Not long after, religion was a curiosity rather than a belief, and I do not fear death, thought I do despise it's effects upon family and friends. I hold life to be sacred and precious, and I don't have, or need, a security blanket to tell me there's more to come once my eyes close and my heart beats for the last time.

No, but you do have a security blanket.

You have a relationship with family and friends that allows you to cope with life.

People with faith have a relationship with their God (whether he exists or not) that allows them to cope with life.

Thus being atheist doesn't automatically make you more intellectual or a stronger individual, unless you are living alone with no contact with the rest of humanity, no television, computer, books, or any other way humans have to feel a sense of comfort.

I'm pretty sure there is a major difference between relying on friends and family or relying on a being that may or may not exist. Especially given that you have never seen or heard anything from this being.