To My Fellow Atheists... (page 7)

sabastious

ARe you being truthful or just trying to make some point that I am not bright enough to get?

I don't understand the question, lol.

-Sab

sabastious

But I believe love is purely the result of empathy created in the brain, and life (as we know it, anyway), is a mixture of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, etc.

That's where you and I can agree. I attempt to live my life by the distinguishable laws of the universe and tip my hat to the ones that examine them (science).

-Sab

PSacramento

I don't understand the question, lol.

Your post seems to imply that you now believe in God.

sabastious

Your post seems to imply that you now believe in God.

Imply? Lol, the whole post was about why my belief in God is solidified. That's more direct than implication

-Sab

Anony Mous

@sabastious

I don't get why your belief in God is solidified by a flaw in your logic.

- You do not need a reason or a goal to live. The reason you live is because your parents had sex. This is done by all animals to sustain their race. You can have goals and reasons all you want but you are not guaranteed you can accomplish them. If God exists and he gives meaning to your life because your goals are accomplished through faith in him you cannot fail since if you fail one of them either your faith in God or God himself is flawed.

- If God exists but does not manifest himself does God really exist? He is basically the tree in the forest that falls with nobody around to hear it. Did the tree really fall? Until you can examine the state of the tree, you cannot prove it either way (makes me think about quantum physics). God is not examinable (he cannot be put to the test) and therefore something that cannot be examined cannot be proven to exist, only theorized about.

- Love (altruism) is not unique to humans. It is merely a survival instinct and symbiosis. If you can get a group together to kill an animal you'll be more likely to eat than doing it by yourself, therefore it is in the best interest of an animal to work together with another animal for survival and positive evolution of the race.

sabastious

You do not need a reason or a goal to live. The reason you live is because your parents had sex. This is done by all animals to sustain their race. You can have goals and reasons all you want but you are not guaranteed you can accomplish them. If God exists and he gives meaning to your life because your goals are accomplished through faith in him you cannot fail since if you fail one of them either your faith in God or God himself is flawed.

What an odd paraphrase of my points. No disrespect, but totally inaccurate. My point is once I stopped attaching myself to my reasons is when I felt like I saw God's face (metephorically).

Example:

Reasons to live (personal and incomplete list):

- Seeing that justice is served
- Being a good father
- Being a good husband
- Helping others without need for return

All of the above reasons are noble deeds and services, but no longer a reason for my existence. What if Justice is not served? What if chaos wins? (it does sometimes). What if I am a bad father or husband? (mine was, so it happens). What if I my wife or son is taken from me in death? What if I choose not to help someone underprivileged even though I can? You see how attaching YOURSELF to these scanarios of which, in part, could be counterintuitive?

Attaching anything other than the Gift of Life to my intrinsic worth as a person is a disservice to myself and anything I come into contact with. God gave us the breath of life and I won't dishonor His gift by attaching some external reason for recieving it. I take it as is and that gives me the ultimate power to be that good husband or father and I become a more capable to help for others and see justice served. I had it backwards for so long and it feels good to finally do the ole switcharoo.

-Sab

PSacramento

Imply? Lol, the whole post was about why my belief in God is solidified. That's more direct than implication

No one could be happier than I, well...except for God of course :)

PSacramento

- Love (altruism) is not unique to humans. It is merely a survival instinct and symbiosis. If you can get a group together to kill an animal you'll be more likely to eat than doing it by yourself, therefore it is in the best interest of an animal to work together with another animal for survival and positive evolution of the race.

That type of Love is NOT the love of God.

Tthat is, at best, a poor manifestation of it, a "selfish love".

Love has very little to do with "working together for the common good".

I have read a few of the views on love by evolutionary biologists like Dawkins and by materialists liek Dennet and Harris and sorry, they are so far off, they are in a different universe ;)

sabastious

No one could be happier than I, well...except for God of course :)

-Sab

tec

Happy for you too, Sab... though I for some reason am not the least bit surprised. And I know you're still growing in your faith, like the rest of us, and I don't think you'll be one to give yourself black and white ultimatum/doctrines. But rather be more open to learning and reflecting and growing.

Peace and love to you,

Tammy

To My Fellow Atheists...

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