Three reasons why it pays off to be an atheist, and one why it doesn't

Discussion in 'Religion Archives' started by greenberg, Nov 14, 2008.

  1. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    Not really a problem if there is no life after death, as most atheists believe.
     
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  3. Michael 歌舞伎 Valued Senior Member

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    good point IF your God is rational like YOU... I was thinking of a Trelane -like God... which may be closer to the truth

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    Last edited: Nov 16, 2008
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  5. Leo Volont Registered Senior Member

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    Beliefs can be founded or non-founded. Atheists here seem to be adopting a Page from Religion in assuming that Things are Exactly the way in which they have their Faith. But people need to be right about things, or their beliefs and faith are quite off to the side of it, no?

    Anyway, as regarding Atheists, they can be perfectly RIGHT about having no Life after Death and still SUFFER for Eternity. Think of this, that the LAST LIVING MOMENT of the Brain CREATES an ETERNAL MOMENT of PERCEPTIVE TIME for the Person... well maybe not Eternal, but a Subjectively VERY LONG Time. Just read a bit about NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES. These are from people who did not even die ALL THE WAY.

    What if the DEATH EXPERIENCE for immoral sonofbitch atheists is qualitatively VERY BAD. What if the DEATH FLASH presents SUBJECTIVELY a VERY PROTRACTED EXPERIENCE of, well, VINDICTIVE GET-YOU-BACK- YOU-EVIL- ASSHOLE... where you experience again and again and again the moral repurcussions of having lived a greedy amoral existence.

     
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  7. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Even if there's no life after death, there MUST be punishment for those who don't believe in your absurdity.
    Perhaps your last eternal moment will be the realization you wasted so much time, effort, emotion, etc in desperate, futile absurdity & influenced others to waste their lives hassling people.
    Perhaps a million things but either the brain dies or it doesn't & we live on or we don't. If the brain dies & there's no soul to live on, there's nothing to suffer.
    I've read more than a bit about NDEs & found nothing to indicate any possibility of your scenario.
    What if a million things. What if it's evil immoral theists who go to hell? What if your mirror finally shows the true you?
    Some atheists may or may not have faith concerning some things. Being atheist doesn't make 1 perfect. There is absolutely no faith involved in lacking a belief in your callous cruel shameless sadistic amoral abusive absurd god.
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    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 16, 2008
  8. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    Not a problem if you're a moral atheist.
     
  9. OilIsMastery Banned Banned

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    According to Pascal's Wager, there is no payoff.
     
  10. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    Pascal's wager is flawed. One reason is that it assumes you lose nothing by believing in a God who doesn't exist. Many would argue that in fact you are then spending lots of time and effort worrying about something that isn't real - which most people would put down as a negative.

    Thus, Pascal's wager, properly evaluated, leads to two "wins" and two "losses", not 3 wins and 1 loss as commonly described.
     
  11. OilIsMastery Banned Banned

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    Science is guilty of worrying about things that aren't real too (e.g. plate tectonics, peak oil, anthropogenic global warming, etc). And religion doesn't have to be that way. The only time I waste on religion is defending the First Cause and "Big Bang" cosmology even though I'm beginning to have grave doubts about Big Bang cosmology. However I see plate tectonics preachers and oil salesmen waste more time on meaningless words than Muslims at prayer. And I hear atheists preaching more than theists.

    Can you say more please?
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2008
  12. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Pascal's wager is just plain stupid. No 1 with much sense needs the why of that explained.
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  13. swarm Registered Senior Member

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    Xtians make up 76.5 - 78.5% of the general population and 80% of the prison population.

    Atheists make up 9% of the general population and 0.21% of the prison population.

    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html and report from Denise Golumbaski Fed. Bureau of Prisons)

    Xtians are over represented in the criminal population.

    Atheists are very under represented in the criminal population.

    Xtians like you Leo.
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2008
  14. swarm Registered Senior Member

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    Pascal's wager is just a matter of cowardice.
     
  15. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    Doesn't that assume that all atheists are "out"?


    http://volokh.com/posts/1144075320.shtml
     
  16. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    Only the specific numbers, not the general observation.

    It's demographically biased, though, by race, family income, and mother's education.
     
  17. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    So if there are no atheists in politics, does that say anything about the inability of athiests to govern?
     
  18. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    You're heading off on your usual tangent here. You're off topic.

    I thought you knew what Pascal's wager was. Are you asking me to explain it to you?
     
  19. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    In the US, it says quite a bit about the inability of professed atheists to get elected.

    What that has to do with the ability to govern, I leave to you. I've noticed even the dictator of Korea has found deity to be a very handy concept for those in his line of work.
     
  20. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    And the low percentage of professed atheists in prison? What does that tell you?
     
  21. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    1. Atheists are good people who don't commit many crimes.

    OR

    2. Atheists turn to god when they go to prison.

    OR

    3. Atheists in prison pretend to be theists.

    OR

    ...?
     
  22. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    All of the above

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    http://law.jrank.org/pages/12108/Moral-Religious-Influences-Practicing-religion-in-prison.html
     
  23. StrangerInAStrangeLand SubQuantum Mechanic Valued Senior Member

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    Give me a damn break from absurdity.
    Inmates who "turn to religion" weren't atheists.
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