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What is the point of atheism?
http://forum.hrwiki.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=800		 Page 6 of 6
Author:  Amorican [ Thu Jun 14, 2007 2:49 am ]
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sci-fi greg wrote:
Amorican wrote:
However, I do feel that many people have no ability or willingness to ever say "I was wrong" about anything. That might be human nature as well, but I don't like that quite so much.


But, in this sense, there is no way to say "I was wrong" because no one can really prove if there is a god or not until they die, at which point it's kind of hard to tell other people. But the "about anything" part, yeah, but not for this.


In this case, you are right. I was more commenting on arguments as a whole, not just specifically religion. Why do we argue about things when we know we can't change another person's mind? Because everybody likes to be right and still wants to convince everybody else of their rightness, no matter how much of a lost cause it might be.
Author:  Didymus [ Thu Jun 14, 2007 5:22 am ]
Post subject: 
Duecex2 wrote:
lol, christianity. And that's all I have to say about that.

In which case, you really don't have ANYTHING to say. This kind of post does not contribute to the conversation, and is therefore greatly discouraged. Don't do this again.
Author:  Choc-o-Lardiac Arrest [ Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:13 pm ]
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Don't know if this has been posted, but...
Image
I gotta look into its credibility, though.
Author:  Didymus [ Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:34 pm ]
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Wouldn't prove anything anyway. The chief difference between all these and Christ is quite simple: they are the stuff of legend, whereas Christ is a historical person attested by history. Simply saying, "This Jesus of Nazareth bears a striking resemblance to Balder of Norse mythology or Mitra of Persian legend," doesn't really do much to discredit the historical accounts.

But from my own not-so-extensive research, that pic looks very fake. My guess is that it's a half-way attempt to discredit the Christian faith by fabricating similar "facts" about these legendary gods.

Upon further reflection, I have to say, if there was any credibility to that pic's claims, then wouldn't that strike anyone as remarkable? Three different cultures, with three different legendary gods, and they all bear the same hallmarks and themes. Some people might take that as evidence that there's something there worth considering. Tolkien and Lewis were both under the impression that similar themes in mythology were evidence of a common truth, a common truth that culminates in the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth. So rather than taking the multitude of legends as evidence against the Christian faith, it might be otherwise understood as evidence for it.

Also, even though it is celebrated around that time, Jesus was not born on December 25.
Author:  Choc-o-Lardiac Arrest [ Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:16 pm ]
Post subject: 
Didymus wrote:
Upon further reflection, I have to say, if there was any credibility to that pic's claims, then wouldn't that strike anyone as remarkable? Three different cultures, with three different legendary gods, and they all bear the same hallmarks and themes. Some people might take that as evidence that there's something there worth considering. Tolkien and Lewis were both under the impression that similar themes in mythology were evidence of a common truth, a common truth that culminates in the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth. So rather than taking the multitude of legends as evidence against the Christian faith, it might be otherwise understood as evidence for it.
But what if it isnt Jesus of Nazareth? What if its some almighty space god named Galkorigon who's people took his legend and adapted it for us?

Quote:
Also, even though it is celebrated around that time, Jesus was not born on December 25.
isn't that the Jehova's Witness' way of thinking?
Author:  IantheGecko [ Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:20 pm ]
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JW's don't celebrate Christmas at all, or any holidays, because we can never know the true date of his birth, so why should we celebrate it on a day that could be wrong?
Author:  Choc-o-Lardiac Arrest [ Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:24 pm ]
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IantheGecko wrote:
JW's don't celebrate Christmas at all, or any holidays, because we can never know the true date of his birth, so why should we celebrate it on a day that could be wrong?
Thats what I said. Its their way of thinking that we can't be certain when anything having to do with Christ happened. I was just pointing out that that is JW's ways of thinking, wondering why he was saying that.
Author:  Didymus [ Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:26 pm ]
Post subject: 
Quote:
But what if it isnt Jesus of Nazareth? What if its some almighty space god named Galkorigon who's people took his legend and adapted it for us?

Then Galkorigon needs to reveal himself in history instead of simply hiding behind the legends. He needs to become a man and walk in real places on earth, and encounter real earth people in real life, as Jesus did.

But you see, that's the chief difference between Jesus of Nazareth and these other gods: they're all cloaked in legend. We have no idea when this Horus lived, or where he was born, or any real life people he encountered, and the same is true of these other gods. We know Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that he encountered Pontius Pilate, Herod Agripa, and Caiaphas, historical people of that time. We also know the place where he was crucified and raised from the dead. So what we have is legend taking human form and walking among us.

Choc-o-Lardiac Arrest wrote:
Thats what I said. Its their way of thinking that we can't be certain when anything having to do with Christ happened. I was just pointing out that that is JW's ways of thinking, wondering why he was saying that.

We can't be certain of when Jesus was born, but there's no reason not to celebrate his coming anyway. For us, Advent and Christmas are about the mystery of the Incarnation, which to us is something well worth celebrating. In a very real sense, something worth celebrating year round, but for convenience we have chosen to celebrate it at that time of year.

And I have little doubt that the way these days are chosen is to offer alternatives to various pagan holidays, but so what? We're not celebrating those festivals, but the Incarnation. So what's the problem?

Well, in the case of JW's, it's mostly because they don't acknowledge the Incarnation in its fullness anyway. But let's not get into that right now.
Author:  Choc-o-Lardiac Arrest [ Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:27 pm ]
Post subject: 
Didymus wrote:
Quote:
But what if it isnt Jesus of Nazareth? What if its some almighty space god named Galkorigon who's people took his legend and adapted it for us?

Then Galkorigon needs to reveal himself in history instead of simply hiding behind the legends. He needs to become a man and walk in real places on earth, and encounter real earth people in real life, as Jesus did.
But who's to say that wasn't Galkirongnoraknalgorikaronian?


Okay, im confused now.
Author:  IantheGecko [ Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:29 pm ]
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And Image.
Author:  Real Raamis [ Wed Jul 11, 2007 3:29 am ]
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I feel like I'm quoting a ton of people already, but I'm Muslim.
I think a lot of Atheists just want to live life to the fullest, not care about after it, or maybe they believe the whole non-resurrection thing.
Read the lyrics to Babylon A.D. by Cradle of Filth, or try to find what it's about, because it's basically not giving a crap about deity or any authority.
Author:  Pazoink [ Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:15 pm ]
Post subject:  My two quid (not cents. Wrong country for that.)
I'm a kind of an athiest. It's not that I actively oppose religions, it's just that I don't feel that they're right for me. I just enjoy living life by my own set of morals, not by rules set down by people (often) hundreds of years ago. Also, I just don't feel that life is restricted to good and bad, and that you will either end up with the 'good' thing (Heaven, Nibbana etc), or the 'bad' thing (Hell, or a rough equivalant).
It's not that I think anyone's beliefs are wrong, just that they're not for me. Sometimes beliefs can keep people's hope going for a long time. I believe in hope, kind of, or of good deeds coming back to you, rather than a God or something like that.
(So speaks, Pazoink, the agreeable semi-doormat.)
Author:  homerstarrun70fireboy [ Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:26 am ]
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Real Raamis wrote:
I feel like I'm quoting a ton of people already, but I'm Muslim.
I think a lot of Atheists just want to live life to the fullest, not care about after it, or maybe they believe the whole non-resurrection thing.
Read the lyrics to Babylon A.D. by Cradle of Filth, or try to find what it's about, because it's basically not giving a crap about deity or any authority.

You know, some of us athiests have logic behind why we don't believe in a higher deity. :rolleyes:
Author:  furrykef [ Tue Jul 17, 2007 3:33 am ]
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There's no doubt that some people are atheists just because they think it gives them a license to do what they want. But I don't think the majority of atheists are like that.

I'm not an atheist because of the way I want to live; I'm an atheist because I just don't have sufficient evidence for the existence of God. Neither do I have sufficient evidence to reject God completely. I admit the possibility that God may exist; I just don't particularly believe that he does. So I'm an agnostic atheist.

So, in a sense, I feel I'm not bound by any rules, because whose rules, exactly, should I be bound by? Why should I follow the rules of a deity I don't believe in? That doesn't make sense. Why should I believe in a deity merely because I should follow rules? That doesn't either. Why should I believe in a deity because of evidence I feel to be insufficient? Nope, doesn't make sense. So I don't see how I could be anything other than what I am now.

I do practice restraint in my behavior, though. I'm not always successful at it... nobody always is, of course. I don't do it because of fear of some deity, but because I want to. I don't really have any particular reason for caring about the best interests of other people, or about abstract things like the truth, but I do nonetheless.

- Kef
Author:  MikeMcG [ Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:12 am ]
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I'm very much like Furrykef. Although I wouldn't consider myself an agnostic atheist like Furrykef does, I recognize and agree with the possibility of their being a God but I do not believe there is one. Much like a religious person can't deny the existence of their higher power(s), I can't not deny the existence of a higher power.
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