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Wow, Must be the truth, seeing what the "Source" is. That's about the dumbest thing I have read tonight. If you really believe that, I have a spare Bridge I would like to sell you.
While the source of the article may not be your favorite, try reading the actual study.
I remember watching gladiator and the afterlife is a pretty big deal in that movie. I had flushed that idea down the toilet hut foubd myself wishing for the characters sake it existed
I remember watching gladiator and the afterlife is a pretty big deal in that movie. I had flushed that idea down the toilet hut found myself wishing for the characters sake it existed.
It is a sad fact that life is, even in its somewhat enhanced 21st century incarnation, short, mean and nasty. Often there is not enough time for us to achieve our hopes, dreams and aspirations ... even the realistic and reality-based ones. And so some sort of open-ended extension to this life seems very attractive. Which is why people are willing to contemplate the possibility of uploading their consciousness to machines if it ever becomes possible.
If this is true today, how much truer was it millennia ago when one's life could be truncated or rendered wretched by simply stubbing your toe in the wrong place!
However, no sense crying over spilt milk. Things are what they are, not what we wish they were. And as we've pointed out in other threads, be careful what you wish for, because any concept of immortality I've ever heard of just eventually becomes its own hell. One from which you cannot even choose to escape.
One must remember that we are story-telling beings who crave narratives. We need stories with beginnings, middles and ends, and that includes our lives. I hope that we can continue to extend those lives and improve our ability to enjoy them ... but I think we all have a "best used by" date that should be respected. I am already past mine, and eventually it will become an obscenity for me to go very far past it. Knowing and accepting that I am at the clearing at the end of my path allows me to devote whatever years are left to me, to closing up shop and leaving as little unsaid and undone as is humanly possible.
There is also the whole aspect of living within one's scope. We are mortal beings and immortality is an inflation. Demanding things outside our scope leads to unhappiness, frustration and regret. Living humbly within our actual scope leads to a breathtaking* freedom ... one in which we are sufficient, worthy, and commendable rather than perpetually falling short of some imagined standard of perfection that doesn't actually exist.
* Those who know me know that I don't use this word casually.
After all, if there is a forgiving God, why bother being nice/generous/caring towards anyone else---he loves you anyway! And if he is an angry, unforgiving God, then why would kids behave differently?
OK...we get the picture: You've always believed that religious kids are jerks (that is what you, an atheist, posted). I, on the other hand, am a Christian, and have never regarded atheist kids (or adults, for that matter) as jerks.
I remember watching gladiator and the afterlife is a pretty big deal in that movie. I had flushed that idea down the toilet hut foubd myself wishing for the characters sake it existed
I watched the Disney animation shorts on Netflix over the weekend and I definitely felt some strong emotions at the end of The Little Match Girl. Suspension of disbelief in no way negates what you accept on evidence or choose to believe once you come back to reality IMO. I really like immersive guided meditations also. I can be one with the grass and the trees and my presence has been to the farthest reaches of the galaxy and back without any illegal substances involved. Then the audio ends and I get back to work...
OK...we get the picture: You've always believed that religious kids are jerks (that is what you, an atheist, posted). I, on the other hand, am a Christian, and have never regarded atheist kids (or adults, for that matter) as jerks.
Someone is not being nice.
Hmmm---you don't know that I am an atheist...I myself am not sure what I am---atheist, agnostic, Buddhist, humanist---I identify with all and yet none of those labels completely. And what I identify most with in Buddhism is the middle way and compassion. So I would never ever think that ALL religious kids/adults are jerks. I posted the study after stumbling into it. Not looking to support my hypothesis/thinking/experience that you claim I have---it was on the Yahoo home page as just an interesting headline. I posted it here because too many of us non-religious non-Christian types are thought of as being less than by religious people, so I thought it would be nice to share this. I don't automatically label all Christians as jerks----just those who act jerky!
I have never heard the term "moral licensing" before but it makes sense. There is often a rather large disconnect between a believer's self image and how they actually behave. Right here on these fora, theists often have on display judgmental, controlling and/or bigoted attitudes which they happily rationalize as accepting, respectful and loving. If you are redeemed then by definition your motives are pure and you can't possibly be a jerk.
I think that is a very real phenomenon.
As an atheist I am now much less judgmental toward the less-fortunate than I was as a fundamentalist Christian. Back when I was a fundamentalist, I fully accepted the "just world fallacy" and beloved that the less fortunate were getting "what they deserved" because they were lazy, lacked faith, etc.
Hmmm---you don't know that I am an atheist...I myself am not sure what I am---atheist, agnostic, Buddhist, humanist---I identify with all and yet none of those labels completely. And what I identify most with in Buddhism is the middle way and compassion. So I would never ever think that ALL religious kids/adults are jerks. I posted the study after stumbling into it. Not looking to support my hypothesis/thinking/experience that you claim I have---it was on the Yahoo home page as just an interesting headline. I posted it here because too many of us non-religious non-Christian types are thought of as being less than by religious people, so I thought it would be nice to share this. I don't automatically label all Christians as jerks----just those who act jerky!
I find myself pulled in different directions from meditation experiences that seemed profound when they occurred and really aren't diminished by viewing them as having happened completely inside my head. Have you read this? Killing the Buddha -- Sam Harris
Wow, Must be the truth, seeing what the "Source" is. That's about the dumbest thing I have read tonight. If you really believe that, I have a spare Bridge I would like to sell you.
Actually the bible describes this very thing... Read the tale of the Good Samaritan.
I grew up in a very religious household and I was not told to love others. I was actually taught to discriminate against them based on their race, religion, behavior, sexual orientation. My parents are probably the most judgmental individuals I've ever met. I acted the way they wanted me to up until I was 18.
At 25, I realize I was extremely judgmental and cold-hearted. I wouldn't have been proud of the person I'd be today, had I followed my parents' footsteps. I've distanced myself from their beliefs and I have come to realize that I've become very very kind hearted, compassionate and empathetic. I basically feel as though I love every single person who comes my way (unless there are serious legitimate reasons to actually dislike the person). I was extremely selfish when I was younger because I keep looking down upon people who didn't follow religious principles and discarded them as "bad people". I quickly realized that I'd isolate myself if I kept thinking that way because 95% of the people I had encountered were "bad people" according to the standards I was taught, when in reality, it was simply people living their lives.
Smh.
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