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We could sentence him to a month on the Christianity Board.
Well...considering his "crime", that might just be acceptable.
But I've been familiar with him for a while now...and in his case that could be considered "cruel and unusual punishment". I don't think he would last more than a few days...that just might do him in! Especially with the Spring season and the current restock of clothesline rope.
Right, I keep forgetting that atheists believe in non-belief.
No wait right there. What do you even think that means? We all believe in non belief. Do you instantly believe anything someone who walks up to you says? No. You do not. If you did you would be like something out of that movie "the origion of lying"
Thats all atheism is. You walk up to us and tell us about god and we reply "ok... is there any reason we should believe this.... or are you just saying it at me?"
If you are happy to admit that you only 'believe' in God because it is comforting and deludes you into the belief that your life has "grand meaning or purpose", I have no problem with that.
As an atheist, I realise that my existence is insignificant. My life is ephemeral as a footprint on the beach...and I wouldn't want it any other way.
My life is ephemeral as a footprint on the beach...and I wouldn't want it any other way.
I would. Everyone dies, but while I have no expectation of being the exception, I could dig being immortal. That is one's only chance of being around long enough to learn all of the cosmic answers.
And being immortal, it would be impossible to waste time, you have unlimited time and can put off any annoying responsibility on a perpetual basis. Your heirs will never be sucking up to you because they will know that they will never inherit.
I would. Everyone dies, but while I have no expectation of being the exception, I could dig being immortal. That is one's only chance of being around long enough to learn all of the cosmic answers.
And being immortal, it would be impossible to waste time, you have unlimited time and can put off any annoying responsibility on a perpetual basis. Your heirs will never be sucking up to you because they will know that they will never inherit.
I don't think that there's a single human who is living, or who has ever lived, who wouldn't find immortality to be hell after a certain amount of time.
There's only a finite amount of new experiences to have and no matter how much zest for life you still have left in you by the end of a normal human life span, everyone would eventually get bored.
What's extremely worrying is that conscious immortality might be a scientific possibility within my lifetime and it may also be mandatory for all, if attitudes towards death haven't caught up to humanity's level of scientific maturity by that time. That's probably the greatest reason why I feel that ridding the world of religion in short order is a matter of utmost urgency.
I don't think that there's a single human who is living, or who has ever lived, who wouldn't find immortality to be hell after a certain amount of time.
There's only a finite amount of new experiences to have and no matter how much zest for life you still have left in you by the end of a normal human life span, everyone would eventually get bored.
Which doesn't change that having options is nice. Biological immortality means you can hang around as long as you wish. Forever if you end up surprising yourself, though I agree with you, eventually everyone will not wish to have new experiences anymore. In such a society, exiting life on one's own terms would tend to be valued and supported, but even if not, you'd still have that option.
Quote:
Originally Posted by micC
What's extremely worrying is that conscious immortality might be a scientific possibility within my lifetime and it may also be mandatory for all, if attitudes towards death haven't caught up to humanity's level of scientific maturity by that time. That's probably the greatest reason why I feel that ridding the world of religion in short order is a matter of utmost urgency.
My guess is that religion would support keeping aging, disease and other forms of misery around lest they lose much of their faux value proposition. Religion would not push it, much less want it mandatory.
I am unconcerned about biological immortality because the individual is still always in control of how long they live.
What I would be concerned with is the Christian notion of a mandatory afterlife (whether heaven or hell). Because ANY form of afterlife would eventually become its own hell, as you stated. THAT sort of life extension is the one that's problematic because what do you do if you decide you don't want any more experiences after you're dead? Kill yourself? You're already dead.
There are some obscure afterlife concepts that include the option of oblivion, but only going in, not after you've chosen paradise. To my knowledge anyway. So what's scary is the religious concept of heaven, not the transhumanist concept of biological immortality. Indeed, even the latter doesn't exempt you from accidents. Even a disease and aging free human ceases to exist somewhere in the process of falling into a wood chipper ;-)
Eternal life. Hummm, can there be too much of a good thing?
Why does it bring to mind the Viagra commercials? "If, after 4 hours............"
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