A few Dawkins quotes to think about. (page 6)

PSacramento

Jeff,

Do you really beleive that ALL the universe is/has to offer is Pain, chaos and terror?

tec

If there is a God - his personality is painted all over the planet, indeed the universe, from the micro to the macro, and it is chaos, pain, terror - not love.

Hmm.

Makes you wonder how love ever got here in the first place.

Tammy

passwordprotected

and it is chaos, pain, terror - not love.

Wow. What was the reductionist's statement about atheists being cheerier than the death cultists?

The natural world is amoral. Anybody whose knowledge of natural history goes betond Walt Disney cannot help but realise that death from cold, starvation, infection and predation is the norm. Theists have all their work still to do if they are to convince us that there is any evidence of a loving god in the natural world.

The natural world is also fascinating and awe-inspiring. I find non-theists to be generally far more aware of the wonders of the world around us than the, "all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small...the good lord made them all" naivity of many religious people.

On your other point password, christinaity is, at its core, a religion of death. The idea that we were born in sin, condemned by our creator and deserving of death is dehumanising.

botchtowersociety

That is just one sort of Christianity, Cofty. A great many of us do not believe we are condemnded, or deserving of death.

I find the atheist's characterization, on this thread, of the Universe as a horrid place to be rather dehumanizing as well.

PSacramento

The natural world is amoral. Anybody whose knowledge of natural history goes betond Walt Disney cannot help but realise that death from cold, starvation, infection and predation is the norm. Theists have all their work still to do if they are to convince us that there is any evidence of a loving god in the natural world.

You seem to have a problem with the way the world is, why?

The natural world is also fascinating and awe-inspiring. I find non-theists to be generally far more aware of the wonders of the world around us than the, "all things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small...the good lord made them all" naivity of many religious people.

The universe is beyond awe-inspiring, nature is God's most amazing work, a precarious balance of give and take in a truly awesome circle of life.

On your other point password, christinaity is, at its core, a religion of death. The idea that we were born in sin, condemned by our creator and deserving of death is dehumanising.

The central tenant of Christianity is everlasting life, how does that make ir a religion of death ?

sabastious

The natural world is amoral.

Too absolute.

The natural world consists of amoral forces and moral forces. The moral forces, as far as I can tell, only come from humans. However, I have witnessed some risky behaviour of certain pack animals such as Africa's Wild Dogs. The peculiar thing about them, to me, is they will nurse an injured pack mate back to full health whereas many other species will not even consider such an action.

Wild Dogs are some of the most amazing pack hunters I have ever seen. Their tactics are astonishingly effective and intuitive. It takes a while for a novice hunter to become seasoned. The dogs seem to understand the time investment of each other and will put their lives on the line in the name of the Pack and it's values. They know, somewhere in their conscious mind, that their system is solid. They know that it's worth taking a position of vulnerability, which comes with some negative effects, for the sake of the "greater good" and that, to me, seems like the beginnings of a moral code.

-Sab

cofty

The universe is uncaring, how much evidence do we need - its is surely self-evident. Sadly there is no necessary connection between what is true and what is comforting.

We are the species with the big brains and the ability to make our lives full of purpose and meaning and the capacity to amaze oursleves constantly by the wonders of reality. What is dehumanising about that?

We don't have to believe that rainbows were invented as a sign to Noah to gasp in appreciation at their beauty.

When you say "A great many of us do not believe we are condemnded, or deserving of death." you are putting yourself a long way outside of biblical christianity. That's fine by me but lets not pretend its anything other than a 21st Century American, Johnny-come-lately, let's all feel good about ourselves, version of the gospel.

sabastious

We don't have to believe that rainbows were invented as a sign to Noah to gasp in appreciation at their beauty.

You are constantly attaching the idea of God to the stories you were told. I would recommend stopping that.

-Sab

A few Dawkins quotes to think about.

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