Atheist here (Ask me anything)

[UnionJack]

Thanks for answering in a non hostile manner unlike all the other atheists

But not knowing.....doesn't that concern you?

 

[UnionJack]

Who created God?
God existed before the beginning of time (before the creation of the universe). God exists in timeless eternity. He's always been there.

I know..hard for a scientist to accept. It's also hard for scientists to accept stuff like the rapture could occur with people flying in the air with Jesus which probably defies some law of physics...so yeah...guess its hard for a lot of people to accept religion..

 

[Skeptic90]

Thanks for answering in a non hostile manner unlike all the other atheists

But not knowing.....doesn't that concern you?

Nope not at all. How good is knowing everything?

I rather live in an uncertain world than a certain world. Its like how good is it if the whole world was just a 10 ft by 10 ft place. Its quite dull in my opinion. Although for many believers, not knowing is scary, and one of the main reasons they believe. I actually welcome it and enjoy this sense of mystery and journey. Sure you can have your faith and god and believe that god created it all, it is a fine way to live your life. In my opinion, I rather not know and just go out and discover it, be a skeptic.

Here is a tiny glimpse of what I am talking about, its about the sense of unknowningness from my favorite astronomer, carl sagan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7n71pm0K04



This second videos is one of my all time favorites, its on the planet earth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOM7WOGGUw

 

[UnionJack]

When i asked doesnt it concern you i meant like......going to sleep and not knowing how you got here, and not knowing where you will go when you die.

Which leads to my next question what do you think happens after you die?

 

[Skeptic90]

Who created God?
God existed before the beginning of time (before the creation of the universe). God exists in timeless eternity. He's always been there.

I know..hard for a scientist to accept. It's also hard for scientists to accept stuff like the rapture could occur with people flying in the air with Jesus which probably defies some law of physics...so yeah...guess its hard for a lot of people to accept religion..

Yup that is our differences. Science is upon what we know and getting to know more about it, and discovering what we don't know. Religion is the answer book of the universe, gives you all the answers you need.

The main reason I dislike religion is because it prevents doubt. The essential ingredient to progress. I do respect believers when they say they want to study more because they want to discover how 'god did it', but those who prevent doubt from happening, I despise.

All I am saying is we don't know everything, I have cleared my mind from any established belief, so I can discover for myself how it really happened. If I don't know, I will not give an unsupported guess about the unknown.

So for things like god and spirts and ufos, I will say I do not know and not believe until I have evidence.

 

[Skeptic90]

When i asked doesnt it concern you i meant like......going to sleep and not knowing how you got here, and not knowing where you will go when you die.

Which leads to my next question what do you think happens after you die?

Well for I got here, sure it concerns me, thats why I am so eager to find out for sure. Its like when you watch your favorite tv show, and just want to find out how it ends without the spoliers. The first few days I became an agnostic, this question kept me up all night. I couldn't stop thinking. It was like an itch that had to be scratched.

This happened nearly a year ago, january 21, 2008.


About death, I do not worry as much, here is an essay I wrote just about it:
Sergio's Blog: My Sense of Importance in this Universe

If there is an afterlife, great!awesome!, if not well lets make life the best it could be. Live life!

 

[UnionJack]

You just told me you don't know how we got here, or where we go after we die, but you know for sure that there cannot be a God?

 

[lighthouse_hope]

Well from the few things I know about it, phenomenology is trying to explain the things acted upon the concious, or the first point of view things. Or in other words the objective study of things that are subjective. Its just trying to get a logical explanation of things, which from the few things I know of Ottos book, is just making faith look like if it cannot be measured. I guess I am just a realist and materialist.

Do you seen any contradictions between both? or any objections on what I said? I don't know very much on this area.

He, along with others, face this dichotomy by focusing in the shared elements of the religious experience. So, while it's true that you can't measure a religious experience, you can find elements in it, that can be objectified, at least to a point.

 

[Dragons87]

Yup that is our differences. Science is upon what we know and getting to know more about it, and discovering what we don't know. Religion is the answer book of the universe, gives you all the answers you need.

The main reason I dislike religion is because it prevents doubt. The essential ingredient to progress. I do respect believers when they say they want to study more because they want to discover how 'god did it', but those who prevent doubt from happening, I despise.

All I am saying is we don't know everything, I have cleared my mind from any established belief, so I can discover for myself how it really happened. If I don't know, I will not give an unsupported guess about the unknown.

So for things like god and spirts and ufos, I will say I do not know and not believe until I have evidence.

Respectfully, I disagree with that characterisation.

Faith, as I have experienced it, is not about "knowing all the answers"--faith does not prevent doubt. It simply means that I have the power to continue trudging on in spite of doubt and difficulty. Faith is empowerment, not retreating into a bubble of close-mindedness.

By faith, we have an assurance that an all-powerful Father is there to watch over us, not providing answers, but a promise to be there for us to rely on. Non-believers have themselves to rely on. Believers have something bigger than themselves to rely on. That, to me, is the difference between faith and lack thereof.

 

[Skeptic90]

You just told me you don't know how we got here, or where we go after we die, but you know for sure that there cannot be a God?

No, I do not know for sure if god is real. There is still a possibility that there is a god, but highly unlikely. So I am not sure about god, heaven, hell, or superman.

 

[Skeptic90]

Respectfully, I disagree with that characterisation.

Faith, as I have experienced it, is not about "knowing all the answers"--faith does not prevent doubt. It simply means that I have the power to continue trudging on in spite of doubt and difficulty. Faith is empowerment, not retreating into a bubble of close-mindedness.

By faith, we have an assurance that an all-powerful Father is there to watch over us, not providing answers, but a promise to be there for us to rely on. Non-believers have themselves to rely on. Believers have something bigger than themselves to rely on. That, to me, is the difference between faith and lack thereof.

Yes, and I respect that. When I was saying that, I was talking about the extreme cases. Like what some fundumentailsts and christians did from 100 years and back ago. During the dark ages, when doubt was considered herasy. Or when evolution or any other secular education was banned. When people of faith burned books because it conflicted or were marked as 'devil books'. Those who say knowledge away from god or conflicts with god should be avoided. Thats what I am talking about contradictions. Believers who believe because they choose to have faith on something larger than them, or the sake of belief and faith, that I respect.

 

[UnionJack]

skeptic click on my profile check out my profile pic lol

 

[Skeptic90]

skeptic click on my profile check out my profile pic lol

That is completely false. Like I said before, we do not believe that something came from nothing. All we say is that we do not know at all. We have no evidence to say that it was nothing or something. All we say we doubt, and we have the lack of belief because of the lack of any evidence. We also don't think, thats if the big bang really happened, that it was just magic from nothing. All we say that the evidence we have today, we could explain it from a prior event that looks like it was an explosing. We know this from studying the movement of galaxies, and the xrays we took to outer space. I am no astrophysics major or anything, but the evidence does shows an explosion. But what happened before that, we do not know. I repeat we don't know.

 

[UnionJack]

its a funny picture isnt it

 

[Skeptic90]

its a funny picture isnt it

Would be if it were accurate.

Now this is funny:

Well, when you put it like THAT... via reddit.com

 

[Dragons87]

Yes, and I respect that. When I was saying that, I was talking about the extreme cases. Like what some fundumentailsts and christians did from 100 years and back ago. During the dark ages, when doubt was considered herasy. Or when evolution or any other secular education was banned. When people of faith burned books because it conflicted or were marked as 'devil books'. Those who say knowledge away from god or conflicts with god should be avoided. Thats what I am talking about contradictions. Believers who believe because they choose to have faith on something larger than them, or the sake of belief and faith, that I respect.

Respectfully, sir, I must say it is unfair of you to say that you

dislike religion...because it prevents doubt

Religion doesn't prevent doubt--it is only a way of dealing with doubt.

But since you have qualified your position to mean extreme cases, with which I agree, I rest my case, unless you have a further response.

 

[CoderHead]

Religion doesn't prevent doubt--it is only a way of dealing with doubt.

It would appear that religion is a crutch for insecurities. Afraid of death? That's OK, God will make you live for eternity! Feeling unimportant? Don't worry, you have a place in God's perfect plan! Have you been wronged? No problem, those who harm you will get their just desserts in the end! Feeling lonely? That's why your brothers and sisters in Christ are here!

Those who deal with their insecurities and doubts in a healthy way have no need of religion.

 

[lighthouse_hope]

It would appear that religion is a crutch for insecurities. Afraid of death? That's OK, God will make you live for eternity! Feeling unimportant? Don't worry, you have a place in God's perfect plan! Have you been wronged? No problem, those who harm you will get their just desserts in the end! Feeling lonely? That's why your brothers and sisters in Christ are here!

Those who deal with their insecurities and doubts in a healthy way have no need of religion.

Not every religion assures you eternal life. Aside from that the Athletic Club de Bilbao, one of the most important historical teams of the Primera División, heroic leaders of a time in which fútbol was fútbol and not this crowd of mercenaries, could provide you a crutch for most of these as well.

Feeling unimportant? Become a member of our family. Wronged? We'll set them straight. Feeling lonely? That's why your fellow members are here!

And what about food? Can't I use it as a crutch for a thousand things? Yes you can.

However being a crutch is not the main end of neither food, the ever glorious Athletic Club de Bilbao which anthem you don't merit to sing, nor religion.

 

[CoderHead]

Aside from that the Athletic Club de Bilbao, one of the most important historical teams of the Primera División, heroic leaders of a time in which fútbol was fútbol and not this crowd of mercenaries, could provide you a crutch for most of these as well.

Huh?

And what about food? Can't I use it as a crutch for a thousand things? Yes you can.

Food is a necessity for life. Can it be used as a crutch? Sure. It's not a viable comparison to religion or fútbol (which are by no means necessities of life), but whatever.

the ever glorious Athletic Club de Bilbao which anthem you don't merit to sing

What??

 

[lighthouse_hope]

That you can't sign the glorious anthem of the Athletic Club de Bilbao

thletic, Athletic, eup !
Athletic gorri ta zuria
danontzat zara zu geuria
Erritik sortu zinalako
maite zaitu erriak
Gaztedi gorri-zuriak
zelai orlegian
Euskalerriaren
erakusgarria
zabaldu daigun guztiok
irrintzi alaia:
Athletic, Athletic,
zu zara nagusia
altza gaztiak.

Athletic, Athletic, gogoaren
indarra
aritz zarraren enborrak
loratu dau orbel barria
Aupa mutilak
aurrera gure gaztiak
Bilbo ta Bizkai guztia
goratu bedi munduan
Aupa mutillak
gora beti Euskalerria
Athletic gorri-zuria
Geuria.
Bilbo ta Bizkaiko gaztiak gora
Euskaldun zintzoak, aurrera

(for the music you can search in youtube )

Fútbol might not be necessary for survival, but yet it's much more than just a crutch for the lonely. And so it's religion.