It's just Pascal's Wager restated. The primary problem with the argument is that it assumes a binary state -- believe or not -- when it reality there's infinitely many belief choices. Who's to say that god wouldn't punish someone who believed in a false idol more than someone who didn't believe in any religion?

 

I don't particularly care for Dawkins' theological writings, but I think he summed it up fairly nicely:

 

"We are all atheists about most of the gods humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further."

 

Oh yeah, definitely. Someone is right and everyone else is wrong. It's impossible to know. Hell, maybe everyone is wrong. I guess it boils down to I believe more in me being right than someone else being right, which doesnt mean I'm not wrong. Who knows, maybe i'll come back as a snail.

Oh yeah, definitely. Someone is right* and everyone else is wrong. It's impossible to know. Hell, maybe everyone is wrong. I guess it boils down to I believe more in me being right than someone else being right, which doesnt mean I'm not wrong. Who knows, maybe i'll come back as a snail.

 

Being an agnostic myself, I have no qualms at all with that and I wouldn't call you weak-minded for holding those beliefs.

 

*edit: except for that part. It's possible (likely?) that we're all wrong.

Edited July 15, 200916 yr by StrangeSox

That's quite possible but I don't think we can ever know.

 

We can't. There is no actual proof of the existence, and it is impossible to prove a negative. It may even be the fact that b/c I want there to be something that makes me believe that there is (hence why I believe in so many conspiracy theories). I've taken philosophy classes and logic classes, and from my experience there is more logical theories for existence of something rather than non-existence of anything.

Well, with that logic should murderers and rapists be absolved because after all, they were just using their free will?

 

That's going a little too far...I wasn't talking about those kinds of actions...I'm talking about faith. I was given the opportunity to take it all in and come up with my own conclusions...and then, after all that, I go to wherever I'm going and find out I'm wrong and I'm punished??? Yeah, I can't and won't believe that.

Edited July 15, 200916 yr by CanOfCorn

That's going a little too far...I wasn't talking about actions on Earth...I'm talking about faith. I was given the opportunity to take it all in and come up with my own conclusions...and then, after all that, I go to wherever I'm going and find out I'm wrong and I'm punished??? Yeah, I can't and won't believe that.

 

But isn't faith a conscious decision made? Isn't that an action, albeit a passive one? For hypothetical sakes, let's say the Hindus are right. Say we get reincarnated. Since no one here(to my knowledge) is Hindu we shouldn't count on coming back in a better state now should we?

I am fairly confident that no one, myself included, is "right" on the topic.

 

I think outright dismissal of other people's personal beliefs, religious or otherwise, is not a particularly wise thing to do (unless they believe in blatently stupid things, like raping kids or something). Unless of course, you are just outright saying people who are Cubs fans are stupid in that specific aspect of their life, because that's obviously true.

Edited July 15, 200916 yr by whitesoxfan101

I am fairly confident that no one, myself included, is "right" on the topic.

Exactly. There's not a person on earth who knows EXACTLY what happens when we die. And for any religion or preacher or (insert religion here) follower to tell you that they know better then another are completely full of poopy (or the flip side of the coin for someone to say "nothing happens because there's no afterlife). No one KNOWS anything. I just hope me, you, and everyone on earth isn't "wrong" for what they believe.

 

I just know that we all should be the best we can, and we all screw that up time and time again, every day. Grace to one another is harder then grace from God, if you believe in that sort of thing (in my opinion).

 

Sorry to derail this - I just thought it was an interesting offshoot.

But isn't faith a conscious decision made? Isn't that an action, albeit a passive one? For hypothetical sakes, let's say the Hindus are right. Say we get reincarnated. Since no one here(to my knowledge) is Hindu we shouldn't count on coming back in a better state now should we?

 

Why not? If we lived our life to the same standards, but worshipped in different ways...why should the non-Hindu be punished?

I believe the female orgasm is highly overrated, if not an outright urban myth much like Bigfoot and the Liberal Media Bias.

 

 

 

I think we all tend to be pretty rational and agreeable people here, but I think hard-line fundamentalist religious beliefs are more dominant. There's a lot of people out there who know that they have the right answers and know that you're wrong.

here's another unpopular opinion...

 

Lindsay Lohan is hot.

I believe FlaSoxxJim is a teetotaler.

I believe Tex really lives in Maine or Idaho.

I believe NSS lives in Beverly.

I believe Ribbie and Rhubarb acted alone.

here's another unpopular opinion...

 

Lindsay Lohan is hot.

 

 

Mean Girls era absolutely, now not so much.

I think we all tend to be pretty rational and agreeable people here, but I think hard-line fundamentalist religious beliefs are more dominant. There's a lot of people out there who know that they have the right answers and know that you're wrong.

And they can go to hell.

 

And they can go to purga-limbo.

 

Edited.

Mean Girls era absolutely, now not so much.

agreed

I believe FlaSoxxJim is a teetotaler.

I believe Tex really lives in Maine or Idaho.

I believe NSS lives in Beverly.

I believe Ribbie and Rhubarb acted alone.

I believe in the soul. The cock, the p****, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing AstroTurf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.

here's another unpopular opinion...

 

Lindsay Lohan is hot.

 

This might be the most asinine thing I've seen in the entire thread, which is saying something

I believe in the soul. The cock, the p****, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing AstroTurf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.

 

Oh my.

Edited.

Purga-limbo? That's a new one to me.

Purga-limbo? That's a new one to me.

It involves steel drums, a giant stick and dead people from the Caribbean.

It involves steel drums, a giant stick and dead people from the Caribbean.

I think they're including a scene like this in the next Pirates of the Caribbean.

OK, we're getting close to the line here on the religious comments. Saying "people who believe X are morons/retarded" when many people here believe that, is not going to fly. So before it gets more out of hand, let's just drop that s***, mmmmkay?

But what about Stephen Hawking?

So what does science say was there before the big bang?

 

in a scientific sense; no one knows why there is reality, existence, time, space, or anything. probably never gonna know.