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This is starting to just be prickliness for the sake of prickliness.
There's theistic philosophies, deistic philosophies, atheistic philosophies, etc. It's not any kind of insult, it's just descriptive. You could describe philosophies based on how they view economics or pleasure or whatever too.
I can get you philosophy encyclopedias that use the term "atheistic philosophy" "theistic philosophy" if that would make you feel better.
And would still leave my question un-answered. Who decides on the descriptive of a philosophy? Especially a religious one?
I don't care if you can supply books claiming to back your position until you can my question. It would explain a lot in the terminology.
And would still leave my question un-answered. Who decides on the descriptive of a philosophy? Especially a religious one?
I don't care if you can supply books claiming to back your position until you can my question. It would explain a lot in the terminology.
It is the ignorance behind fundamentalist views that drives their sincere if misguided behavior toward others . . . your approach has very strong similarities . . . suggesting the same cause. If a God is used as the rationale for anything it is theistic . . . otherwise it is atheistic . . . there is no great underlying conspiracy or plot involved . . . just factual discourse. God = theistic . . . No God = atheistic.
This is not easy to give a simple answer to. A comfortable lie is not something I'd want, but a downright destructive "truth" is something I might indeed choose to ignore. Not reject, but "live as if it wasn't true."
If all I wanted was comfort, and didn't care about truth, I'd find some simple easy to obey religion that teaches Universal Salvation. That Catholicism is True, or claims to be True if you prefer, does matter to me. That it has lasted for centuries in diverse cultures does matter to me. However if the choices were two hypotheses on absolute Truth I guess it's likely I'd pick the more appealing one to the more solid one. I mean provided neither is really proven or disproven.
But Atheism isn't a "downright destructive truth." Millions of people live quit, happy lives as atheist all over the world.
So again, if it were true that there were no God, would you want to know? Or would you rather continue to believe there was an afterlife if there really wasn't one?
But Atheism isn't a "downright destructive truth." Millions of people live quit, happy lives as atheist all over the world.
So again, if it were true that there were no God, would you want to know? Or would you rather continue to believe there was an afterlife if there really wasn't one?
But then, does an afterlife really depend on there being a God?
So again, if it were true that there were no God, would you want to know? Or would you rather continue to believe there was an afterlife if there really wasn't one?
I can't answer for Thomas . . . but having been in the reverse situation for some 36 years (comfortable and satisfied atheist firm in my belief that religions and God were absolute nonsense believed by morons) and then suddenly faced with an unambiguous personal experience that invalidated everything I believed about reality . . . my response was to seek further confirmation and understanding of the truth both scientifically and spiritually. A religious person might analogize it to the parable of the "pearl of great price."
Christianity is a religion that is being destroyed by its' own churches. It will in time be relegated to the same literary corner as Edith Hamiltons Mythology, or the same subject by Bullfinch.
But Atheism isn't a "downright destructive truth." Millions of people live quit, happy lives as atheist all over the world.
So again, if it were true that there were no God, would you want to know? Or would you rather continue to believe there was an afterlife if there really wasn't one?
I meant if a truth were destructive, etc. Although considering the suicide rates, low fertility rate, low generosity, etc atheism is arguably something of a maladaptive trait in a Darwinian sense. It's not uniquely maladaptive, but maladaptive all the same.
As for the other it doesn't have to go one way. If the Nicene Creed is true would you become a Christian? Or would that be a jump too far for you to accept? The question is in many ways ridiculous as nothing can prove this, that, or the other.
Still if you absolutely need an answer if it were shown that there were no God I suppose I would either become a "Humanistic Catholic" (Accepting natural law through reason, meditation on nature or positive actions by historical saints rather than supernatural, etc) or adopt a mixture of Taoism and Confucianism. Chinese philosophy appeals to me in a way few non-Catholic things do. If I went that route I might seek an "elixir of immortality" as is traditional for Taoism or get my head frozen.
This has rather turned into positives about Christianity by default by pointing up un-positives about atheism.
Rather ones that exist in that unenthusiastic view of theists, it seems. There's the suggestion of a dull, hopeless existence without an evidently deluded hope (or fear) of coming up before some God or other.
I suppose there's some argument that believing in Atlantis, Gods from outer space and Bigfoot adds something to life but for me, leaving on the side of your intellectual plate until they have something to make them worth ingesting is better for you. I really wonder whether the marvels that have some evidential support beat hollow the unedifying myths.
Truth is really worth it for its own sake and a life without religion really does free up the mind wonderfully.
I have already said that I can live with religions that just do their amusing thing and have some colourful festivals and rites. But it would be better if it stopped requiring life to conform to the mythological worldview or the requirements of Holy Books.
I can also live with religions that dish out food - so long as they don't dish out a helping of religious suck - in with it.
I can envisage a world where this help is done because its needed, not because some God or other wants it. I can envisage a world where differences are settled reasonably rather than waving some book of dogma (religious or marxist) then reaching for some heavy weaponry. I don't deny that humanity has a long way to go first. But, until we stop thinking from positions of unsupported conviction, I don't see us ever getting started.
I meant if a truth were destructive, etc. Although considering the suicide rates, low fertility rate, low generosity, etc atheism is arguably something of a maladaptive trait in a Darwinian sense. It's not uniquely maladaptive, but maladaptive all the same.
As for the other it doesn't have to go one way. If the Nicene Creed is true would you become a Christian? Or would that be a jump too far for you to accept? The question is in many ways ridiculous as nothing can prove this, that, or the other.
Still if you absolutely need an answer if it were shown that there were no God I suppose I would either become a "Humanistic Catholic" (Accepting natural law through reason, meditation on nature or positive actions by historical saints rather than supernatural, etc) or adopt a mixture of Taoism and Confucianism. Chinese philosophy appeals to me in a way few non-Catholic things do. If I went that route I might seek an "elixir of immortality" as is traditional for Taoism or get my head frozen.
Are you just making assumptions, or do you have statistics to back the bolded statement up?
Are you just making assumptions, or do you have statistics to back the bolded statement up?
I believe he's basing his statements on a very specious correlation between a few countries with high levels of atheism having a somewhat higher reported level of suicide, and lower levels of reproduction.
I don't think it's an intellectually honest argument.
Last edited by Boxcar Overkill; 09-28-2009 at 07:41 PM..
Reason: Ack, spelling, missing words, etc.
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