Atheists and proof cont….

[Kdtym10]

A carry on from the previous thread

I am not a hardcore enough atheist to think that not believing is always better for someone than believing. Having a faith can be incredibly helpful for some people, giving them a sense of community, a grounding, a strength that gets them through the tough times. Just as my lack of belief in any deity is a comfort to me, so for another the belief in a deity is a comfort to them. Live and let live.

The problems start when people try to impose the rules of their faith on those who do not share it. That never ends well.

It's the holier than thou attitude that I find most off putting, the presumption of respect because someone believes in a god of some description, the quoting from old books as some sort of absolute truth (but only the bits they like). I like a discussion, and hearing about people's spirituality is very interesting when it's at the individual level. More of that I say.

yep- you seem to have trouble where anything is not 100% fact, which of course is almost nothing. How can you navigate through life like that?

But the reverse is very true. People who don’t believe often hold themselves out to be intellectually superior, to be the free thinkers. Often they try and portray believers as people who follow without thinking, who don’t evaluate, who are incapable of individual thought. This isn’t true at all.

Really enjoyably, thank you.

Well I suppose happiness can be found in a limited world view. Very pleased for you

Atheists don’t have a limited world view. Why so derogatory?

And I’m really pleased that you feel so confident in your opinions and beliefs that you don’t need to put others down.

Toddles off to make a few more limited opinions and decisions…

It's better for me actually!
"In a new book, Stanford anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann explores the intersection of religion and science, linking profound religious faith to beneficial, scientifically proven practices like mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy"
Stanford News; Religious Faith Mental Benefits
I also agree with @Kdtym10 on her 1-5# reasons

It's amazing how often the faithful claim abuse from atheists yet are so very happy to call us limited, amoral, soulless, directionless and ignorant.

@Sorciere1, lucky for us that beneficial, scientifically proven practices like mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy are available to everyone, eh 😊

Maybe if atheists treated believers with a bit more respect the sane courtesy would be returned!

Lol, and where were these practices appropriated from?

But you can healthy and not religious

@Kdtym10 - why would I not be happy - I’ve mentioned on other posts that I have a good life, family and friends and live in a beautiful part of the world. Hardly limiting my happiness?

I’m not sure you’re reading my post correctly, maybe measuring a life in terms only of happiness would be limiting for some

Being happy is the greatest gift in life. I appreciate how lucky I am.

I don't think that describing atheists as having a limited world view is very respectful.

It's the deist arrogance. They're convinced that the voices in their head mean they know more than everyone else...

Here is the Guardian on health benefits of religious faithBeyond Beliefs; does religious faith lead to a happier healthier life?
"They each found that measures of someone’s religious commitment, such as how often they attended church, were consistently associated with a range of outcomes, including a lower risk of depression, anxiety and suicide and reduced cardiovascular disease and death from cancer."
Mindfulness, comes from Buddhism which is a religion, with the religion torn out. Sure you can do it and the other practices, please do!
But I wonder, having practiced Buddhist meditation very ill from an infection in a hospital attached to an IV if non-religious would have the will. Suddenly becoming very ill and contemplating death is scary; very scary.

I don’t practice any forms of meditation but if seriously ill I would fight to live for my DH and DT’s - nothing is stronger than their love.

The thing is, you asked a question which many, many people found interesting and tried to respond to in a measured way, and you refused to listen to these points not often to respond without criticism or, in some cases, belittling them. The courtesy wasn’t offered in the first place.

Fwiw I think you posed a really interesting question at the start and it could have been a fascinating discussion if you’d tried listening to people, instead of telling every reply they were wrong.

Surely people who only believe in the one life on earth would fight harder?!

I nearly died once due to an extremely bad lung infection and it taking hours (due to my location, not in the UK at the time) to get me to a hospital for IV antibiotics. I was having to force myself to take every breath and I was utterly exhaused. It would have been easy to just stop. I considered just stopping. But I didnt, because for me the will to continue to live was very strong. So yes, despite being atheist I did still have the will despite contemplating my own death.

If you really honestly think the all the atheist came on here and none of them tried to assert some intellectual superiority you really need to revisit those comments.

i have listened, but listening doesn’t mean agreeing. I have simply responded with my take. It is called debate.