Atheism

My childhood memories were that all these people were sincere.

Any group that...

Thing is, groups by and for atheists are not interesting to me. I have searched atheist sites and even joined some, but never found any conversations there that I felt like were worth my time.

On a lot of things, I agree with you, edgar... but, I never checked out sites. I'm really not very aggressive on this. In other words, we have the same instincts.

I like to share this at every opportunity;

http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/beyond-belief-science-religion-reason-and-survival

Sam Harris's sessions are especially enjoyable.

We will always have the fundamentalists to contend with, in one form or another. The trick is to build a life in a fabric that allows them to pass through without disrupting your goals. Not always easy, but possible.

I take this as a task, and I'm not interested in tasks. However, I'm interested in your posts, eorl, and, as you know, edgar.

We'll see. I am not a searcher. I post on a2k re religion to keep apprised, and mostly ignore if I am apprised.

On to Sam Harris. I've heard the name and not paid attention.

I did join a group on meetup.com, I didn't end up going to any meets because they seemed a bit fanatic - or some of them did. I may go to one someday if the venue is an interesting one (the one for the physics lecture booked up fast!).

He's a neurobiologist and an interesting writer. I'm pretty sure your library has his books The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. I recommend them both.

All right, I suppose I'll make the drive. Now that I can see well, I am still slightly scared. All quite odd, as Im ordinarily ballsy.

Never mind me, let's look at Sam Harris.
In my case, manana.

Wonderful! I'm gonna chuckle about that for days.

I'm trying to remember the fellow from from Formosa. Father La Sage?

We had some great people for dinner... at the table. I just looked up Colonel John Graig, the guy who had the tv series, danger is my business.. and I see all these perplexed people who don't get his role in early diving history. I suppose I should post on his thread, but I just remember his stories. People on threads are saying they never saw it. I lived it all at our table.

Well, my childhood wasn't boring.

excuse me, colonel john d. craig

Iraq made me see things a lot differently. It made me question things that I never questioned before. It made my heart very hard. But then again, I was surrounded by a lot of people who were going through the same things and asking a lot of the same questions. Mostly "how could this happen" "why would anyone let this happen" and so on. I have never been a strong christian. My pastor would tell me I ask to many questions. But questions are good, they help you get to the bottom of things.

I think I hang on to the fact of a God and an afterlife because when I finally die, i don't want it to be the end. I would like to know there is something more after death. Fear of the unknown is a powerful thing.

Sure is. Thousands of years of religion depend upon it.

So my question to atheist is this: Do you not care what happens after you die? Any thoughts on what happens? Just dirt, dust and worms?

Well for myself, yeah that's what happens. Am I ok with it? Hell no! It sucks big time. Even worse, people I've loved whom I must accept also are simply dead

But no amount of wishful thinking is going to change that.

I once asked myself; if there was no god religion or afterlife, would we invent one? If we made it up, what would it look like? Every possible human construction loosely divided by geography? Yep.

I care very much. Many people tell me it's no big deal to be dead. But I don't want to be that way. I want to live. I do believe death is total and permanent.

Seed, have you got plenty of support around you? Frankly I am a little concerned about encouraging you dismantling any of your mental support structures at a time when you are dealing with such seriously heavy ****.