"There are thousands of different religions in the world, each with their own, mutually incompatible moral codes, and each one claiming supernatural sanction. They can't all be right..." Exactly
yeah, but if you decide on what kinds of evidence would suggest one is right rather than another, you'll find that they all have the same kind of evidence to support them.
so, if they can't all be right... and they all have the same kind of evidence... that goes a long way towards showing that they are all very likely wrong.
"The truth is that, lacking belief in an afterlife, atheists have a far stronger reason to care about this life, and to want this world to be the fairest and best place it can possibly be."
What most people forget is that many religions will forgive horrible things if you did it for the support of their religion, or just because you "repent". Althiests don't have that easy out. Yes, there are going to be the psychopaths who just don't care about hurting others, but I don't know that it's disproportional between religious and the non-religious.
(disclaimer: after talks with my boss (a scientist) about how his beliefs (judiasm) and his job can be reconciled (he said that he believes God created the universe with rules, and he's just trying to understand and document what those rules are), I've decided that I'm open to there being evidence of some higher power that creates/influences/etc ... but I refuse to worship it, as it's responsible for way too many horrible things that are done in its name)
"They think that everyone is talking about them when the 90% of the world couldn't care less that they even exist."
I'm sure people have more important matters to think about then atheists (including atheists), so where are you getting this notion that atheists are paranoid..?
Most of the Bible was written in 700 AD by a group of people with a vested interest.
When was the last time you saw something, ANYTHING that was written 700 years after the fact that turned out to be dead-on accurate??
When was the last time you saw something, ANYTHING, written by several people with a vested interest in one particular outcome or position that was not in many ways overly generous to that position? At least using the most generous interpretation of the truth.
Look at the Bible in the right context: as one of Man's first serious attempts at writing down his own history. remember that it was a much more mystical, less scientific time. Read it from that perspective.
I don't care that you exist as an atheist. I believe it is your right to make such a choice just as it is mine to be religious. I'm here not to say I care about you just that I think some of those that speak for you make the wrong assumption that somehow being just as bigoted as some religions is somehow advantageous to your circle.
What is a spirit? How do you know you have one? How do you know that this thing leaves your body? All of our thoughts, fears, joys, intelligence, in fact, everything that we are, is a product of our brains, not a product of some sort of ectoplasm. So does this spirit take our brain along with it when it leaves your body? I think if you ask any coroner they'll be glad to tell you that after death, your brain is still intact in your body.
So, once again, what is a spirit? Sounds like silly ghost beliefs to me.
Wow, I'm glad you're here, 'cause I've had this nagging question. So, you're assigned a soul (or "spirit") at the moment of conception, amiright? Monozygotic twins--they result from the splitting of a fertilized egg. Now, does each co-twin wind up with only half a soul, or does one of the co-twins get assigned an additional soul? If it's the latter case, which one gets to keep the original soul? I mean, how is that decided? And if the soul splits, is it 50/50 exactly, or can one twin wind up on the short end o the soul? Is that how you get the "evil twin" that we hear about all the time? And don't even get me started on MZ triplets or quads--yipes. Somebody's getting shortchanged in the soul department there, doncha think? So, help me out with this, Kthxbai.
Umm...I'm not sure what you're getting at, but the Bible is neither stunningly accurate (historically or otherwise), nor is it the "first serious attempts at [Man] writing down his own history".
The Bhagavad Ghita, for instance, was written long before the Bible was. It is a remarkable tome of knowledge and philosophy, possessing such applicable and practical wisdom that it is frequently called the "Manual for Mankind".
Plus, if you're not completely uninformed on the topic of ancient literature, you should be well aware that the stories in the Bible, like the virgin birth, the flood, adam and eve and the snake, etc, are *all* versions of common stories that exist across cultures and religions. All most all the stories in the Bible are just various adaptations of stories from other ancient texts, which in turn are based off of spoken epics and stories from before the time of written language.
I mean seriously, you can learn most of this in a basic World Literature class. For example, just read The Epic of Gilgamesh, a story that existed long before the Bible did, and you'll find remarkable similarities between the two.
The people in the East, particularly in India, China and to a lesser extent parts of the Middle East, had developed written histories and ancient moral story-lessons *centuries* before anyone had even heard of "Jesus".
PengelJan 25, 2012Buried
"There are thousands of different religions in the world, each with their own, mutually incompatible moral codes, and each one claiming supernatural sanction. They can't all be right..." Exactly
codestJan 25, 2012Buried
Nor must one of them be right.
rsmongeJan 25, 2012Buried
yeah, but if you decide on what kinds of evidence would suggest one is right rather than another, you'll find that they all have the same kind of evidence to support them.
so, if they can't all be right... and they all have the same kind of evidence... that goes a long way towards showing that they are all very likely wrong.
particleman420Jan 25, 2012Buried
it's too bad that it's so long that the people that actually need to read it, wont.
jhourcleJan 25, 2012Buried
I think I can pull out the most important quote:
"The truth is that, lacking belief in an afterlife, atheists have a far stronger reason to care about this life, and to want this world to be the fairest and best place it can possibly be."
What most people forget is that many religions will forgive horrible things if you did it for the support of their religion, or just because you "repent". Althiests don't have that easy out. Yes, there are going to be the psychopaths who just don't care about hurting others, but I don't know that it's disproportional between religious and the non-religious.
(disclaimer: after talks with my boss (a scientist) about how his beliefs (judiasm) and his job can be reconciled (he said that he believes God created the universe with rules, and he's just trying to understand and document what those rules are), I've decided that I'm open to there being evidence of some higher power that creates/influences/etc ... but I refuse to worship it, as it's responsible for way too many horrible things that are done in its name)
ncmusicJan 25, 2012Buried
Atheists have nothing to prove, anyone of them trying to prove a negative is an idiot.
neotechniJan 25, 2012Buried
"No one ever said they did."
Yes they do.
neverstandstillJan 25, 2012Buried
“When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion”
particleman420Jan 25, 2012Buried
"I've decided that I'm open to there being evidence of some higher power that creates/influences/etc"
someone believing in it isnt evidence of it though. no matter how nice or smart they are.
clitniblr036Jan 25, 2012Buried
"They think that everyone is talking about them when the 90% of the world couldn't care less that they even exist."
I'm sure people have more important matters to think about then atheists (including atheists), so where are you getting this notion that atheists are paranoid..?
jqp123Jan 25, 2012Buried
"...when the 90% of the world couldn't care less that they even exist."
Since you took the time to come here and talk about them, you're obviously not part of the 90%.
dissidentJan 25, 2012Buried
live and let live.
gkiltzJan 25, 2012Buried
Most of the Bible was written in 700 AD by a group of people with a vested interest.
When was the last time you saw something, ANYTHING that was written 700 years after the fact that turned out to be dead-on accurate??
When was the last time you saw something, ANYTHING, written by several people with a vested interest in one particular outcome or position that was not in many ways overly generous to that position? At least using the most generous interpretation of the truth.
Look at the Bible in the right context: as one of Man's first serious attempts at writing down his own history. remember that it was a much more mystical, less scientific time. Read it from that perspective.
starfishsystemsJan 25, 2012Buried
What a beautiful, lucid piece of writing. I love seeing good sense written with such care!
gt777Jan 25, 2012Buried
oh please! all religious people were born atheists before they became religious!! they know what atheists want and think!
stephenterringtonJan 25, 2012Buried
This does not prove that none are right. Either one is right, or none are right, and there is no real way of proving which one, if any, is right.
tribbledotJan 25, 2012Buried
I don't care that you exist as an atheist. I believe it is your right to make such a choice just as it is mine to be religious. I'm here not to say I care about you just that I think some of those that speak for you make the wrong assumption that somehow being just as bigoted as some religions is somehow advantageous to your circle.
flpflpflpJan 25, 2012Buried
What is a spirit? How do you know you have one? How do you know that this thing leaves your body? All of our thoughts, fears, joys, intelligence, in fact, everything that we are, is a product of our brains, not a product of some sort of ectoplasm. So does this spirit take our brain along with it when it leaves your body? I think if you ask any coroner they'll be glad to tell you that after death, your brain is still intact in your body.
So, once again, what is a spirit? Sounds like silly ghost beliefs to me.
NoGodzJan 25, 2012Buried
Wow, I'm glad you're here, 'cause I've had this nagging question. So, you're assigned a soul (or "spirit") at the moment of conception, amiright? Monozygotic twins--they result from the splitting of a fertilized egg. Now, does each co-twin wind up with only half a soul, or does one of the co-twins get assigned an additional soul? If it's the latter case, which one gets to keep the original soul? I mean, how is that decided? And if the soul splits, is it 50/50 exactly, or can one twin wind up on the short end o the soul? Is that how you get the "evil twin" that we hear about all the time? And don't even get me started on MZ triplets or quads--yipes. Somebody's getting shortchanged in the soul department there, doncha think? So, help me out with this, Kthxbai.
isaac7719Jan 26, 2012Buried
Umm...I'm not sure what you're getting at, but the Bible is neither stunningly accurate (historically or otherwise), nor is it the "first serious attempts at [Man] writing down his own history".
The Bhagavad Ghita, for instance, was written long before the Bible was. It is a remarkable tome of knowledge and philosophy, possessing such applicable and practical wisdom that it is frequently called the "Manual for Mankind".
Plus, if you're not completely uninformed on the topic of ancient literature, you should be well aware that the stories in the Bible, like the virgin birth, the flood, adam and eve and the snake, etc, are *all* versions of common stories that exist across cultures and religions. All most all the stories in the Bible are just various adaptations of stories from other ancient texts, which in turn are based off of spoken epics and stories from before the time of written language.
I mean seriously, you can learn most of this in a basic World Literature class. For example, just read The Epic of Gilgamesh, a story that existed long before the Bible did, and you'll find remarkable similarities between the two.
The people in the East, particularly in India, China and to a lesser extent parts of the Middle East, had developed written histories and ancient moral story-lessons *centuries* before anyone had even heard of "Jesus".