Atheism

I study many fields outside of the natural sciences including sociology! Do not get me wrong because human ethology in particular, strives to pay attention to data from all disciplines that are rooted in natural science.

I do not claim to be a specialist, only a generalist.

I rely on the specialist to share their findings and I try to use these findings to further my understanding of human behavior!

why god never got a PhD:

1. He had only one major publication.
2. It was written in Aramaic, not in English.
3. It has no references.
4. It wasn't even published in a refereed journal.
5. There are serious doubts he wrote it himself.
6. It may be true that he created the world, but what has he done since
then?
7. His cooperative efforts have been quite limited.
8. The Scientific community has had a hard time replicating his results.
9. He unlawfully performed not only Animal, but *Human* testing.
10. When one experiment went awry, he tried to cover it by drowning his
subjects.
11. When subjects didn't behave as predicted, he deleted them from
the sample.
12. He rarely came to class, just told his students to read the book.
13. Some say he had his son to teach the class.
14. He expelled his first two students for learning.
15. Although there were only 10 requirements, most of his students
failed his tests.
16. His office hours were infrequent and usually held on a mountain top.

I'm somewhat wary of posting on this thread, but I don't think my thoughts require a thread of their own and this does fall under the heading of life as an atheist.

As many of us here are, the past few days found me thinking about death and dying. As an atheist, or earth-centered spiritualist, or whatever I am, I don't have a formal algorithm for processing the death of a loved one. I don't believe in heaven or hell, and I'm glad of that. I can't see how either of those concepts are comforting. I do believe in a hereafter, of sorts, in that I think the time spent in life affects change to all those we come in contact with and all those who come after. I never met my great-grandparents or beyond, but I have no doubt that they are a large part of who I am as a person and no doubt that I will be a large part of my great-grandchildren should some be born some day.

Both of my parents and a few other people I'm close to are deceased, but I can't say that their passing brings the kind of sorrow that I hear expressed by some others. Maybe that's because I'm happy to have the experiences I have with people while they are here to share them. I'm happy to have memories of events that I witnessed - these things all make me smile, even after a loved one has passed.

This isn't to say that I don't sometimes wish I could pick up the phone and hear my mother's voice. I would love for that to happen. But I do hear her voice - she speaks to me and is present to me all the time. She and all who came before her and everyone who has ever taught me anything are who I am. I feel blessed for my life - not in a god sense - but for having the opportunity to share with and learn from some pretty wonderful human beings. Hopefully, some of the things they taught me gets passed down to those who follow.

Good post, and, besides that, I agree with your views.

Now you know what some Christians feel. The feelings are same.... Only a particular belief is different.

Good post, JPB. As you probably know, all my siblings are christians, and they are always praying for me, and also try to convert me back to their fold.

During our last sibling brunch, I told my sister to not waste her time trying to convert me, and it made her cry.

It's one of those issues between family members that will never be resolved. They believe I will not share the afterlife with them.

If you are making them cry at a family meal ci. I imagine they will be pleased you won't be sharing the afterlife with them.

Are all the epithets that have been directed at Christians on these threads applicable to your siblings?

Can you not bring yourself to humour them a little if you are resigned to being unable to convert them to your way of thinking which you ought to be by this stage and in the face of such evidence?

No, no, and no. I will remain true to myself regardless of family or friends.

That may be hard for you to comprehend, but my life is mine to live in the best way I believe is honest.

If one feels that hurting family to further their own selfish "honesty" then so be it. What harm is there in having someone pray for you even though you don't accept it. Do you refuse other gifts that have a more tangible and earthly value?

They will pray for me regardless of what I say. You really don't understand christians, do you? We don't base our love for each other through material gifts.

I had a conversation about this with my mother two years ago. A good friend of mine---"Diva" to many A2K people---had suddenly died of a blood clot. My mother, a theologically liberal but devout Protestant, tried to help me by suggesting that Diva was now in a better place, and that I might feel less miserable if I believed that.

I demurred: Even if I wanted to make myself feel better by believing something that I didn't think was true, it wouldn't have worked. What difference did it make to me if Diva was in heaven, or in hell, or nonexistent? Either way, she was gone, I was missing her, and that was the reason I felt miserable.

Eventually, I got over all that with the help of long walks on the beach, lots of playing Bach preludes on the piano, and, I'm embarrassed to say, overeating. Contemplations of any afterlife---pro or con---played no role whatsoever.

It's one of the most wrenching experiences one could have, regardless of being religious or non religious. After my mother died, I regreted so much that I was not there to tell her good bye, that I dreamed one night that I did CPR on her, to waken her so that I could tell her. She opened her eyes for a moment, but she looked only at my first daughter and never at me, before falling back, lifeless.

After my oldest brother died, in 1969, I felt his warmth in bed beside me as I slept one night. I actually awakened thinking he was really sleeping in my bed.

It would be wonderful if we all could go on and have a pleasant life together, forever. Nobody could appreciate it more than me.

The first death that really affected me was the death of my grandfather, who had raised me, along with my grandmother. I was devastated, and grieved for years and yeass--ten years, probably.

Although i was raised a Catholic, had all that nonsense drummed into me, i just realized today, as i was reading these other comments, that i never once thought of my grandfather being in an afterlife, never once thought of him as being somewhere else. I had not one single thought of an afterlife. This was years before i began my struggle with the church, too. I'd never even have realized that if i'd not read everyone's coments here today.

Most atheist that I know seem to share this same view! I can only guess that there are some that do not but I would define them as psychopaths which may also be found among believers.

I never seen an atheist as described in this video but it does not mean that they do not exist because they probably do.
Can you imagine being a believer, led by someone who is being disingenuous?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w-T6k2DQho&feature=channel_video_title

So, you've arrived at the conclusion that I'm a psychopath. What evidence do you have for such a conclusion?

Where did you come up with that?
Are you saying that you have your own theist web site even though you are a atheist?

You wrote,

I think you misconstrued my post.

Most atheist that I know seem to also share this same view, " That is they also find a value in honesty as you do! I can only guess that there are some atheist out there that do not share your view and would take advantage of theist such as what is being described in the video!

Did you give the video a chance? It may have helped my point of view to be clearer!

I would hope that he would be kind in explaining himself but if that is not satisfying to his siblings are you suggestion that he should be disingenuous about it and let them think that he approves of such things that he does not believe in?

I do think I see your point and you are only suggesting that he find a kinder approach.

What could CI do to make you {if you were CI sister or brother} feel better that would also respect Ci's belief?