|
Notices |
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
11-30-2012, 11:31 AM | #1327 (permalink) |
Ahoy Fuckbag
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: In a pineapple under the sea
Posts: 3,540
Internets: 187030
|
|
Quote:
|
|
12-01-2012, 11:21 AM | #1328 (permalink) | |
Poor Sport
|
Quote:
| |
12-01-2012, 02:45 PM | #1331 (permalink) |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,113
Internets: 284753
|
I don't believe in god, but there is a stark difference between my conviction (or lack thereof) and Blonde's. Blonde is a more devout or staunch (or any other synonym) atheist than I am.
I say that atheists are their own savior because they are. They have saved themselves from the shackles and ignorance of religion. |
12-01-2012, 03:27 PM | #1332 (permalink) |
Spice Master
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 17,969
Internets: 278288
|
DH, your lack of religion likely stems from apathy about the god question. The rest of us actually care about whether or not what we believe is true. Simply because you care less about the god question doesn't mean that I'm somehow an extremist. In that light, everybody could subjectively call someone who is intensely interested in any subject more than themselves an "extremist."
The atheist experience, in my experience, comes decreasing waves of intensity depending on how much you care about truth (which you seem not to as much as myself or Repug), how indoctrinated you were as a child, and numerous other factors. It's frustrating to see the rather idiotic claims from those on this board calling atheism "what my personality is based off of" when it's extremely clear that I'm not nearly as "militant" as I used to be. Basically, no matter what "class" of atheism I am, you are always going to say I'm an extremist, because my stage of militant atheism has frozen in your mind and you are not being open-minded enough to see that I've actually become much more mild. Perhaps you should reflect on these words a bit. Fun fact: The full length of the Spanish Inquisition was a longer time period than the United States has been a country. |
Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing.
― Terence McKenna |
|
12-01-2012, 05:13 PM | #1333 (permalink) |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,113
Internets: 284753
|
You're not exactly far off in what you've said. Religion is basically a passion for something that also involves worship. While perhaps there is no worship with athiesm, there is certainly passion. One might even say, again, on a much smaller scale, an atheist worships themselves for being right, smarter, or more sophisticated than their religious unequals.
I care very much about the god question. The metaphysical is fascinating to me. The are two main differences between you and me. The first is that I want there to be a god and I want to believe, but you seem to want not to believe. It's like you don't want there to be a god. We are similar in that faith alone is not enough to sway us. At least not right now. So whereas neither of us have faith, I at least have hope. The second difference is merely that I'm not a Gaylord. |
12-01-2012, 06:55 PM | #1336 (permalink) | |
Poor Sport
|
Quote:
Personally I am incredibly glad there is no God controlling things, because what the ever loving fuck is an all powerful being doing during the holocaust? So I don't see why "hope" in god is some sort of positive thing. If there was a god, he would be the most negative, evil force in the universe. | |
12-01-2012, 11:35 PM | #1338 (permalink) | ||
Spice Master
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 17,969
Internets: 278288
|
Quote:
Quote:
So again, I ask you to think about certain things here. You want there to be a god, and you want to believe, what implications would that make for this god? Even if it wasn't the Christian god, or any kind of god that we have any knowledge of, what kind of deity would it have to be to put people through so much suffering, for tens and hundreds of thousands of years, disease, rape, starvation, dying of thirst, natural disasters, etc? With human existence being how it exists in reality, a god worth worship seems almost impossible. Even if he showed up, how would you justify worshiping one who clearly does such a terrible job? Don't you think about these things? | ||
Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing.
― Terence McKenna |
|||
12-02-2012, 12:35 AM | #1339 (permalink) |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,113
Internets: 284753
|
If there is a god or superior being, I don't suppose to understand its rationale for this world. I cannot explain why nature is such a brutal horror show or why civilized humans still face indescribable pain and suffering. There are so many questions that I can speculate about and come up with wild fantasies, but I cannot give any real answers. Actually, coming up with these fantasies is one of my favorite things to think about, but I doubt any of them are entirely original thoughts.
However, assuming there is a god, suffering in this life, no matter how severe, is really of no concern if we are treated to everlasting paradise after death. I don't know why this life is full of so much violence and suffering, but I suppose that if there is a god, his scope on this world is beyond anything I will ever have, and I simply cannot see the whole picture. This is starting to get a little too much like I'm preaching about god though. I have other fantasies that don't involve any gods as well. I just have a hard time placing any meaning or value on this life if there is no point to it, if there is no reason for it. |
12-02-2012, 01:22 AM | #1340 (permalink) | |
Spice Master
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 17,969
Internets: 278288
|
Why would you assume a creator or deity would have some "grand plan" for humans and be so terrible at understanding humanity and it's problems/sufferings?
Why would your worship something when you can do the job so much better, which I'm sure any kind-hearted all powerful person could? Why in the world would putting an entire species through unimaginable suffering justify eternal paradise afterwards? Why not just go straight to paradise? Quote:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism I don't want to seem like I'm preaching either. I just feel like I'm seeing you get about 90% of the way through a very logical process and just not following through on the last 10%. And that's why the emotional aspect of religion is so difficult to overcome. | |
Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing.
― Terence McKenna Last edited by Mr. Blonde; 12-02-2012 at 01:29 AM. |
||
12-02-2012, 12:56 PM | #1341 (permalink) |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,113
Internets: 284753
|
I've found in my life that I appreciate warm weather so much more in the spring after a cold, hard winter. By the dog days of summer, you take the heat for granted and some even complain about it. Maybe to fully appreciate paradise for eternity, you have to experience pain temporarily.
|
12-02-2012, 06:48 PM | #1342 (permalink) | |
Spice Master
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 17,969
Internets: 278288
|
Sure, maybe. But ultimately you're grasping at straws and hoping for some vindication of shitty life on Earth by a paradise afterwards, which I have already stated is the main reason people come around to religion. It comes down to you choosing to believe or hope in something simply because you want to believe/hope in that thing, rather than having any good reason to believe it is actually so.
Quote:
What I see to be the "problem" with this kind of professed (but not actual, in my opinion) atheism is that people who hold to the kind of perspective you have shown here end up very much becoming religious later in life. Whether after having children, a traumatic health event, or a family death, many people who still have hope for a deity end up becoming cemented to one at some point in their lives, through emotional processes, which is very unlikely to happen if you have firm, intellectual, and rational reasons for not believing in a deity. In my experience, people who don't come to atheism in this way are much more emotionally vulnerable to the traps of religion. I'm not trying to change your mind or tell you you're wrong. I just think that, as you get older and more family-oriented, and closer to death, if you aren't firm on your opinion of something, and convinced that it's the right opinion for very good reasons, it may be very easy for others to take advantage of you in the future. Con artists do this all the time. | |
Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing.
― Terence McKenna Last edited by Mr. Blonde; 12-02-2012 at 06:56 PM. |
||
12-02-2012, 08:22 PM | #1343 (permalink) |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,113
Internets: 284753
|
I face my own mortality every day. So yes, there is an emotional need for me to find meaning to this life and hope for something after death. While this does lead to my fascination with the meta, I also try to keep a logical mind about myself and search for scientific reasoning that can shed light on death.
Obviously one of the best ways to find evidence of what comes after death is to resuscitate someone who has been dead for awhile. We have a long way to go, but recently scientists were able to bring a dog back to life that had been dead for about three hours, which is pretty cool. Blood Swapping Reanimates Dead Dogs | Fox News I respect science and what it can do for humans in many ways. I also believe that science can prove existence after death without the need for god. Things like the eleven dimensions of string theory and the theory of infinite parallel universes have plenty of potential to allow for this. |
Last edited by Saint DH; 12-02-2012 at 08:29 PM. Reason: it was 3 hours not 15 minutes my bad |
|
12-02-2012, 09:03 PM | #1344 (permalink) |
Spice Master
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 17,969
Internets: 278288
|
[user banned for this post]
|
Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing.
― Terence McKenna Last edited by Mr. Blonde; 12-03-2012 at 02:04 AM. |
|
12-07-2012, 02:12 AM | #1346 (permalink) |
Spice Master
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 17,969
Internets: 278288
|
The caller in this episode is particularly dumb, but Matt drops the hammer in a real nice eloquent way about halfway through. Towards the end they go into the ego practice of admitting you're dumb or not. It's a great video, just watch it. |
Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing.
― Terence McKenna |
|
12-08-2012, 05:52 PM | #1347 (permalink) |
Spice Master
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 17,969
Internets: 278288
|
Recent experience in almost unwanted introspection (the best kind, i suppose) has made me really not want to pursue the very ego-driven practice of arguing/debating politics or religion, unless it is a belief that is causing overt harm to other people. Or I happen to be drunk. Otherwise, it's just not worth it, and I understand that many people simply need to believe in something like religion because the prospects of both a meaningless existence, and a final death are actually very terrifying.
That being said, I will always have a place in my heart for the logic contained in these little guilty pleasures. |
Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing.
― Terence McKenna |
|
12-10-2012, 12:15 PM | #1349 (permalink) |
Spice Master
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 17,969
Internets: 278288
|
what is a personal w
|
Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing.
― Terence McKenna |
|
Bookmarks |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|