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Switch to Forum Live View What follows from Atheism
1 year ago  ::  Apr 24, 2012 - 7:51PM #1
Sparky_Spotty
Sparky_Spotty
Posts: 652
Ya I know I might catch heat by starting this thread, but, hey, its a free country.


So, what subsequent conclusions, feelings, attitudes, and outlooks MIGHT come as a result of coming to the position of being an atheist.


1. This life is all you have and its best to make the most of it. 

2. There is great beauty and wonder in life and the universe, in addition to pain and suffering. 


3. There is no fairness or justice in the universe. Great people die of cancer, lousy people live on. Humans however can strive to behave in a fair and just manner.


4. By our choices and actions we can make the world a better place.


5. Love and compassion are the remedies for a difficult and sometimes painful existence.           



         
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1 year ago  ::  Apr 24, 2012 - 8:01PM #2
wohali
wohali
Posts: 10,227

Sparky, I'm not an atheist and those are my positions..............
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1 year ago  ::  Apr 24, 2012 - 8:18PM #3
Ken
Ken
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Apr 24, 2012 -- 8:01PM, wohali wrote:


Sparky, I'm not an atheist and those are my positions..............



We're thinking of making you an honorary atheist.

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1 year ago  ::  Apr 24, 2012 - 8:19PM #4
wohali
wohali
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Ken, thank you!


One of the nicer things that I have been told lately.
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1 year ago  ::  Apr 24, 2012 - 8:51PM #5
farragut
farragut
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I suspect he would be an ornery atheist.
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1 year ago  ::  Apr 24, 2012 - 9:54PM #6
mountain_man
mountain_man
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Apr 24, 2012 -- 7:51PM, Sparky_Spotty wrote:

...1. This life is all you have and its best to make the most of it. ...


Along with that goes the acknowledgement that we are all in the same boat and all our lives would be that much better if we all helped each other. Not believing in an afterlife doesn't give us free reign to rape, pillage, and plunder - as some christians believe it would.

Dave - Just a Man in the Mountains.

I am a Humanist. I believe in a rational philosophy of life, informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by a desire to do good for its own sake and not by an expectation of a reward or fear of punishment in an afterlife.
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1 year ago  ::  Apr 25, 2012 - 12:30AM #7
chevy956
chevy956
Posts: 1,740

I might add that it can help folks understand that all we really have is each other.
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1 year ago  ::  Apr 25, 2012 - 11:06AM #8
Knowsnothing
Knowsnothing
Posts: 1,138

Apr 24, 2012 -- 7:51PM, Sparky_Spotty wrote:

Ya I know I might catch heat by starting this thread, but, hey, its a free country.


So, what subsequent conclusions, feelings, attitudes, and outlooks MIGHT come as a result of coming to the position of being an atheist.


1. This life is all you have and its best to make the most of it.



People with crappy lives might not be satisfied with that.  Any belief that promises something better, would seem like a better alternative.  There is also the fact that some actually change for the better as a result of religion in their life, regardless of it's validity as truth.


Apr 24, 2012 -- 7:51PM, Sparky_Spotty wrote:


2. There is great beauty and wonder in life and the universe, in addition to pain and suffering. 



Yup, everyone should come to accept that.

Apr 24, 2012 -- 7:51PM, Sparky_Spotty wrote:


3. There is no fairness or justice in the universe. Great people die of cancer, lousy people live on. Humans however can strive to behave in a fair and just manner.



That's the problem.  If there is no fairness or justice in the universe, then people can do as they please, along with the consequences, and then remember they are going to die anyways.  All I'm saying is that there is no pushing reason to behave in a fair and just manner, unless of course you want to avoid punishment in the here and now.


Apr 24, 2012 -- 7:51PM, Sparky_Spotty wrote:



4. By our choices and actions we can make the world a better place.



Sometimes.  Somethings, like Global Warming, seem out of our individual control.


Apr 24, 2012 -- 7:51PM, Sparky_Spotty wrote:



5. Love and compassion are the remedies for a difficult and sometimes painful existence.           



Yes, that's true.  However, sometimes that implies sacrifice, and some people may not be to keen on that.
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1 year ago  ::  Apr 25, 2012 - 1:37PM #9
Sparky_Spotty
Sparky_Spotty
Posts: 652


Apr 25, 2012 -- 11:06AM, Knowsnothing wrote:


People with crappy lives might not be satisfied with that.  Any belief that promises something better, would seem like a better alternative. 




Maybe?  But the cost is that we then trivialize this life for some imagined future superior life.


I mean why bother trying to make this life good for yourself, your children and your friends, this is just a stepping stone to the future afterlife bliss and doesn't really matter much.


To each his own I suppose, but I can't magically make myself believe in some sort of blissful afterlife when I have nothing to support that belief.


Apr 25, 2012 -- 11:06AM, Knowsnothing wrote:


There is also the fact that some actually change for the better as a result of religion in their life, regardless of it's validity as truth.




Aye, and some change for the worse, using religion to support discrimination against gays, murdering abortion doctors, enslaving africans etc.




That's the problem.  If there is no fairness or justice in the universe, then people can do as they please, along with the consequences, and then remember they are going to die anyways. 




But there ARE consequences. Don't minimize that.



All I'm saying is that there is no pushing reason to behave in a fair and just manner, unless of course you want to avoid punishment in the here and now.




Sure there are reasons to behave in a fair and just manner.


1. I for one have empathy and a concience that makes me feel bad when I do wrong.


2. If I do wrong odds are the law, or at least my close circle of aquantances will find out and I will suffer as a result.


Also, your statement just trades 1 thing for another.  Either humans are afraid of punishment in the here and now, or punishment after death. Whats the difference?


You're just trading one form of negative reinforcement with another.



Yes, that's true.  However, sometimes that implies sacrifice, and some people may not be to keen on that.




And its their loss. The point stands though, one does not need to be a theist to recognize or follow it.
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1 year ago  ::  Apr 25, 2012 - 1:45PM #10
wohali
wohali
Posts: 10,227

"People with crappy lives might not be satisfied with that.  Any belief that promises something better, would seem like a better alternative."


I have diabetes. I can pray and "believe" that some supernatural force will heal me, or I can exercise, take my medication and educate myself about my disease and work at improving my condition.


Which do you think will have the most effect?
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