Whether or not God exists. Why do people care so much?

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I am an atheist. I do not find life to be meaningless and I definitely don't think there is no purpose to live. I believe that our existence is random chance, and I personally believe that that makes life more special, not less. I just see to many religious people who don't bother with empathy, charity, acdeptance, or forgiveness. It seems like the belief in an afetrlife where people will get their reward/punishment acts as a cop-out of the responsibility each of us have in terms of our treatment of others. Believing that you just have one spin on the merry-go-round amkes me feel that I should do everything in my power that I can to minimize the suffering of others.

All that being said, I don't have a problem with the concept of religion, just its execution. It is used way to often as a way to express some egotistical superiority complex BS. The same can be said of atheism (which I personally feel is a religion to some), as well. I have no problems with any tools you use that give you comfort and provide you a moral compass geared toward the improvement of others' lives. I do have a problem when someone's philosophy is used as an excuse to belittle or take advantage of others.

In answer to the OP, people care so much for the same reason they become so impassioned about all the other my side, your side garbage. Everyone wants to be right, and many will stop at nothing to make them feel as if they have "proved" any opposition that may challenge their beliefs wrong (at least in their own minds) no metter who they must crush. Collective egotism, nothing more.

You are missing the point. It's not reward/punishment in afterlife, it's the existence of an afterlife, period. The difference is that if you are obliviated it doesn't matter if you are good are bad or happy or sad during live because it would all be completely erased with death. Doesn't matter if you only had one spin because that one spin would amount to nothing.

You are missing the point. Just because you die does not mean that your influence on the world dies with you. Just because you are going to die does not mean that being a good person does not matter. Believing in an afterlife is not the only way to live a happy, productive, and moral life. Believing that there isn't an afterlife does not mean that life is pointless.

I understand that religion gives you comfort and a sense of purpose. That is more than ok with me. I just have a problem with someone telling me that my life is pointless and meaningless because I don't think an old man in the sky is making a list and checking it twice just to find out who's naughty or nice.

You are right. No one's life is meaningless, not even Hitler's or Genghis Khan's.

Can I add this quote to my list of quotes from this site? I'll ask a second time if I have it printed on a poster or something.

Again you are missing the point. First, one applies to the individual can be applied to society as a whole: one day society itself is gonna die. All the people you were ever nice to are going to die too. Also, it's the not the belief, it's the actual existence vs nonexistence. I don't really want to have this discussion as I want the people who don't believe in an afterlife to continue living however they manage to it, even though it's completely illogical. If they can be decent people with their disbelief that's fine with me. Oh, and stop with the naughty or nice thing, because the has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm talking about.

I personally find your belief in an afterlife where your soul somehow manages to make a magical jump from an electromagnetic field surrounding the electrical activity of your brain (which dissipates after death) into a wonderful afterlife where everything is sunshine and rainbows to be illogical. I won't demand that you stop believing it, though, especially if it is the only way you are able to find meaning in life. Every single person should be free to find their own way.

If you believe that everything is going to end and that every person and society is going to eventually be wiped out, then what is your method of coping with it? Your afterlife? Are you granted an afterlife based on your actions in this life? If so, then I think the whole naughty or nice sentiment fits in quite well.

I feel I must emphasize this a little more: I am not attacking your belief, just defending my own. I do not appreciate people insinuating that I have to struggle very hard to be a decent human being just because I don't think that a defiance of all known laws of physics and physiology is likely.

Feel free

I'm not saying that believing in afterlife is logical, just the believing that life is meaningful without it isn't. Basically, we are all irrational creatures. Anyway, I never meant to imply that afterlife is sunshine and rainbows, just that it's a continuation of consciousness someway.

"If you believe that everything is going to end and that every person and society is going to eventually be wiped out, then what is your method of coping with it? Your afterlife?"

Our afterlife. Basically continuation of life so that what happened in life continues to have meaning.

"Are you granted an afterlife based on your actions in this life?" No. You live forever regardless. Ergo, you are completely missing the point and making a strawman out of me.

"I feel I must emphasize this a little more: I am not attacking your belief, just defending my own. I do not appreciate people insinuating that I have to struggle very hard to be a decent human being just because I don't think that a defiance of all known laws of physics and physiology is likely." And I'm not saying that people can't live decently without believing in an afterlife because that's certainly not true, just that there really isn't any reason to. I'm defending people who find comfort in afterlife, and I don't want to continue this discussion for precisely the reasons you give.

Then I am not sure why you bring it up. I believe that life has meaning independent of whether an afterlife exists. I do not understand how this is illogical.



You are misusing the word, "strawman." I only asked the question because I was unclear of your position.



I am not attacking anyone who finds comfort in an afterlife theory. I have on multiple occasions expressed my approval of a person's belief that gives them comfort. I am defending the position that my life can have meaning and that you shouldn't assume I have no reason to live decently just because I see death as an absolute.

You have found your meaning in life, please allow me to have mine.

Yeah I've noticed many atheists act very similar to LaVeyan Satanists. That's an atheist version of Satanism that's devoted to being against Christianity by the way. Just makes it funny how atheists usually single-out and target that particular religion.

Satanism means you want to go to hell. How is this still a religion?

Because I was explaining why people need God, and you continued from there. Anyway, let's end this.

Actually followers of LaVeyan Satanism claim not to believe in heaven/hell since those are christian beliefs. I'm saying that like I didn't already tell you that they're supposedly atheists in my other post.

How do you know hell is a bad place? All we hear is one side of the story, it could be a lie.