Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Even of you think people live with God for deternity, isn't that their spirit? Their body is still hanging out with the worms in the dirt. Unless, of course, it has been cremated and sits in a container somewhere or has been dispersed.
In any case, dead people aren't 'living' with worms. That's for the movies.
I'm truly sorry to hear that your son has been dealt a bad hand.
So did mine in his formative years so I do feel for you. I really do.
But I came to very different conclusions.
I find absolutely zero comfort in the idea that a child's suffering will be somehow made up for 'in heaven'.
My concern is in the here and now and alleviating the pain, now.
Children suffering feels unfair, even when you don't believe in god.
If I believed in god I'd have to assume the 'bad hand' was 'gods hand' because you can't believe in one instance that god had nothing to do with the hand dealt but in the next instance believe that god can alleviate the pain. Either he's involved or he's not. You can't have it all ways.
None of us, not even yourself, can know that heaven even exists.
And I feel bad for saying this, given your circumstances but you are here responding on an atheist forum so I feel compelled to speak the truth when I say that heaven is nothing more than wishful thinking. Sorry. That's my belief. But if it's what gets you through then it's up to you to believe whatever you need to believe .
Similarly, I'm sorry that O Darbo / Darby has once again disappeared and so is not here to defend himself but he said something along similar lines here:
For all O'Darby's coming across learnèd and well read, and his constant implications that unless people have read the entire contents of the philosophy and theology sections of the Smithsonian libraries AND had several experiences with the beyond, they can't possibly come to any conclusions about god. Yet for all his reading, it all boils down to nothing more than wishful thinking that some kind of 'plan' or intervention is at hand. Reading is never a waste of time of course. But no amount of reading leads to any kind of conclusive evidence of the existence of god. But you know, have at it if it helps you.
And by the way, if god doesn't answer your prayers, what's the point of praying?
Oh except the times when your prayers are answered. That's god responding right? Or maybe just a coincidence.
To be clear, no amount of anything can lead to CONCLUSIVE evidence of God, Cruithne. But we can discern evidence that supports HOW God can exist (absent all the high-blown expectations and wishful thinking embedded in the Omnis). As long as this physical existence is our focus (and that is mandatory) understanding the development and maturation of our Spirit as God's primary concern is difficult to grasp, IMO.
To be clear, no amount of anything can lead to CONCLUSIVE evidence of God, Cruithne. But we can discern evidence that supports HOW God can exist (absent all the high-blown expectations and wishful thinking embedded in the Omnis). As long as this physical existence is our focus (and that is mandatory) understanding the development and maturation of our Spirit as God's primary concern is difficult to grasp, IMO.
No amount of science reading is going to lead one to the conclusion that 'Spirit' exists. You're reading the wrong material
No amount of science reading is going to lead one to the conclusion that 'Spirit' exists. You're reading the wrong material
What do YOU think the quantum level of existence IS, particularly the 95+% we cannot "measure directly" with our macro level science? You are relying on the measurable 5% or less of Reality for your atheism, IMO. I don't like your odds.
What do YOU think the quantum level of existence IS, particularly the 95+% we cannot "measure directly" with our macro level science? You are relying on the measurable 5% or less of Reality for your atheism, IMO. I don't like your odds.
If we can't measure it, we can't make statements of fact about it, either.
What do YOU think the quantum level of existence IS, particularly the 95+% we cannot "measure directly" with our macro level science? You are relying on the measurable 5% or less of Reality for your atheism, IMO. I don't like your odds.
5% of what we do know versus your 95% unknown? You do realize 5% is bigger than nothing?
And I have asked you this a few times, I will try again. If 95% is unknown, how do you know it is 95%? Where are you getting your percentages from?
5% of what we do know versus your 95% unknown? You do realize 5% is bigger than nothing?
And I have asked you this a few times, I will try again. If 95% is unknown, how do you know it is 95%? Where are you getting your percentages from?
I believe Mystic might be referring to the the standard lambda-CDM model of cosmology. Here's the breakdown via wikipedia:
Quote:
The mass–energy content of the universe is 5% ordinary matter, 26.8% dark matter, and 68.2% a form of energy known as dark energy. Thus, dark matter constitutes 85% of the total mass, while dark energy and dark matter constitute 95% of the total mass–energy content.
However,
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD
What do YOU think the quantum level of existence IS, particularly the 95+% we cannot "measure directly" with our macro level science? You are relying on the measurable 5% or less of Reality for your atheism, IMO. I don't like your odds.
Mystic just because things have no current explanation, as you well know, we atheists don't just go 'this missing bit is god'. You can't get more god of the gaps than that.
Mordant, I'm sorry that you and your wife are going through this. Hopefully it turns out not to be cancerous after all, but if it is, that it has been caught early enough and that your wife has a full recovery. Best wishes for you both.
we also can't measure courage, compassion, delight, intention, motivation, focus, integrity, or inspiration.
but we recognize they exist.
LOL. You underestimate the Psychologists...
Quote:
This article examines cognitive, affective, and behavioral measures of motivation and reviews their use throughout the discipline of experimental social psychology. We distinguish between two dimensions of motivation (outcome-focused motivation and process-focused motivation). We discuss circumstances under which measures may help distinguish between different dimensions of motivation, as well as circumstances under which measures may capture different dimensions of motivation in similar ways. Furthermore, we examine situations in which various measures may capture fluctuations in non-motivational factors, such as learning or physiological depletion. This analysis seeks to advance research in experimental social psychology by highlighting the need for caution when selecting measures of motivation and when interpreting fluctuations captured by these measures.
Quote:
Compassion is closely linked to psychological well-being, and several assessment tools have been developed and studied to assess the level of compassion in different populations and for more precise measurement. There is currently a scarcity of comprehensive knowledge about compassion-related assessment tools, and our research provides an overview of these tools.
I suppose I could go on and find "measurements" for all the rest of the stuff you listed... but I'm too lazy.
Ironically, it doesn't appear that psychologists have any measurements for laziness.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
