Blissful ignorance of religion: Why ******** it up?

[Siouxicide]

To me, knowing that there is no heaven or hell lets me fully enjoy the only form of life I believe I will ever have. Some people live their entire lives fearing punishment for their "sins", and I have the benefit of not being scared by such utter crap. So, for me, there is a big benefit.

[iKnighty]

I'd rather have knowledge than be ignorant and happy.

[Iggy The Balrog]

I'm sorry, but are there a group of Atheists out their actually converting people?

[Haru the demon]

Not every atheist is out there trying to convert people, you know. biggrin

[Andre LeFarr]

CrackaDoom

Who says I'm not happy?

I am more happy with nothing happening than I would be with spending eternity with a "god" that is vengeful, hypocritical and jelous, that inspires hate and bigotry in his followers, and who whos permits and enables some of the bloodiest acts in human history.

I never said YOU'RE not happy. I said that I AM happy.

Quote:

Look, if there's a God who's great and powerful and all-forgiving He'll forgive atheists too. Wouldn't he? And if there's not, what's the harm in acting the way we want and assuming it's good enough?

I'm not arguing against atheism, I'm arguing for religion. There is a difference.

I could have phrased that better, but you know what I mean.

Quote:

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance." - Socrates

Smart guy, but he still needs to justify himself. And since he's not here, you'll have to do the justifying for him.

Kikirini aka Miss Awesome

Not every atheist is out there trying to convert people, you know. biggrin

I know. I think I mentioned that I know in my original post, didn't I?

[The Seasick Sailor]

Andre LeFarr

Alright, the way I see it is... If the atheists are right, right? I don't think they are, but if they are... Then when you die, then you're dead, right? And there's nothing left, you're just dead.

So... How does it HELP to convert people from religion?

If being right provides no actual BENEFIT, then isn't it better to be happy than to be right? If believing it doesn't HURT anyone, why does it MATTER if they believe it?

Now, I'm not talking about arguing with people who start the argument... But why always jump on it if all they're doing is going to church?

Life is sort of meaningless, isn't it? So being wrong, if it doesn't HARM you, well... It doesn't HARM you. So why all the arguing about it?

Really, what I'm getting at here is why does truth actually MATTER?

Face: People just need a petty reason to b***h, that's all.

[The Seasick Sailor]

iKnighty

I'd rather have knowledge than be ignorant and happy.

I don't have any other choice. Once you realize these things, it's hard to erase them.

[Andre LeFarr]

Fictional Like Truth

Andre LeFarr

Alright, the way I see it is... If the atheists are right, right? I don't think they are, but if they are... Then when you die, then you're dead, right? And there's nothing left, you're just dead.

So... How does it HELP to convert people from religion?

If being right provides no actual BENEFIT, then isn't it better to be happy than to be right? If believing it doesn't HURT anyone, why does it MATTER if they believe it?

Now, I'm not talking about arguing with people who start the argument... But why always jump on it if all they're doing is going to church?

Life is sort of meaningless, isn't it? So being wrong, if it doesn't HARM you, well... It doesn't HARM you. So why all the arguing about it?

Really, what I'm getting at here is why does truth actually MATTER?

Face: People just need a petty reason to b***h, that's all.

Ah. That's not fun. =(

Quote:

I'd rather have knowledge than be ignorant and happy.

Any particular reason?

[Sadistika!]

Translation:

HI I'M IN ED AND I'VE NEVER HEARD OF PASCAL'S WAGER IN MY LIFE
I GUESS I'LL IGNORE THE FACT THAT IT'S A HUMONGOUS GODDAMN FALLACY

No wonder I stopped posting in ED.

[BellaBRUTAL]

It really doesn't make much of a difference, but I'd rather know that religion is complete bullshit than have to think it is real. Yeah, life is completely pointless if you're an atheist, but that doesn't mean you can't be happy during it. Yes, theres nothing going to happen to me after I die. Do I really give two shits? No.

Its better to know so that we can actually do something with our lives instead of spending hours every week praying and going to church for completely no reason.

[Andre LeFarr]

You're the second person who has brought that up. So let me restate the basis of my comments for you. I also PM'd you to clarify.

Pascal's wager is: If you believe in God, you go to heaven. So believe in God, because there if there is no God, then you haven't hurt anyone.

My opinion runs on the basis that there is no God, BUT that BECAUSE the supernatural does not exist, it doesn't matter if you're wrong, as long as you're happy. Basically, my theory is "Its better to be happy than right."

Now, as you seem to think I'm a pretentious twit, allow me to reinforce that with a Shakespeare quote.

"Put your comments into some frame, and start not so wildly from my affair."

[Andre LeFarr]

BellaBRUTAL

It really doesn't make much of a difference, but I'd rather know that religion is complete bullshit than have to think it is real. Yeah, life is completely pointless if you're an atheist, but that doesn't mean you can't be happy during it. Yes, theres nothing going to happen to me after I die. Do I really give two shits? No.

Its better to know so that we can actually do something with our lives instead of spending hours every week praying and going to church for completely no reason.

I'm not saying you're unhappy. I'm GLAD you're happy. Really, I am. I'm saying that other people might not be made happy by the same things. And the most important thing is that they ARE happy. If they find spending hours every week praying to a nonexistent God fulfilling, then they should do that.

[Siouxicide]

Andre LeFarr

You're the second person who has brought that up. So let me restate the basis of my comments for you. I also PM'd you to clarify.

Pascal's wager is: If you believe in God, you go to heaven. So believe in God, because there if there is no God, then you haven't hurt anyone.

My opinion runs on the basis that there is no God, BUT that BECAUSE the supernatural does not exist, it doesn't matter if you're wrong, as long as you're happy. Basically, my theory is "Its better to be happy than right."

Now, as you seem to think I'm a pretentious twit, allow me to reinforce that with a Shakespeare quote.

"Put your comments into some frame, and start not so wildly from my affair."

I don't know.. what if it was any other situation? Would you rather be happy not knowing that a local politician is embezzling funds, or would you rather the truth come out? Would you rather be happy in thinking that your husband or wife is faithful, or would you rather know the truth that while they're "staying late at the office" they're just boning their secretary? Would you rather your grandmother be happy in donating to a local charity every month, or would you rather let her know that it's a scam so she doesn't keep getting ripped off?

As strange as it may sound to you, people can actually learn and grow from bad experiences, and might be able to create a better life for themselves in the future if they're privy to some unsatisfying truths in the present. Realizing that religion isn't absolute truth may seem like a downer to you, but there might just be some redeeming qualities in learning how to be smart enough to smell a lie when it wafts in your direction.

[tea-tray in the sky]

Kaeje

The argument has nothing to do with decomposition, it's about why atheists want to kill Christian's happy buzz. And we definitely do, for sick sadistic reasons.

teehee..

[Dance Cracker Dance]

Anti-theism probably stirs up from the fact that most of the time Christianity brings up ignorance. Christians are trying to make America a theocracy, (Bush said he was assigned by God), and teach everyone that the world is 6000 years old. They want us all to pray to their God before school and pass laws that aren't fundamentally needed unless you believe for an irrational reason that its bad (A bunch of Neo-Cons want to ban pornography, and prostitution is already illegal). Again this isn't all Christians, but secularist are scared of the power Christians have in the U.S, I do not know if this is the feeling around the world.