I totally agree all religious constructs are the stuff of mythology. I have always liked the assertion that life is empty and meaningless and it does not mean anything that life is empty and meaningless. Love and I would add compassion which is a cousin of love to the mix of giving meaning into life.
Humanity is not teachable. It is learned through upbringing. That would be like trying to teach a rooster to lay an egg. Religion isn't taught.It's crammed into the mind from the day of birth. The poor bastards.
@Luman, I consider myself agnostic, because I accept that I cannot know why I am, or what becomes of me when I am not.
"The science" (that those who refute the existence of (a) God(s) draw the entirety of their beliefs from) has already been done on this, and the chances of life occurring randomly were estimated to be around 1 in 10^40000. To give some perspective: that would be like one person (in their lifetime) winning the lottery jackpot 10^3990 times (and that's an underestimate). Put simply, I have more chance of waking up tomorrow, tinnitus free, with the ability to fire destructive laser beams from my fingertips.
Indeed that was helpful and an exercise in thinking things through deeply. I found a really great website with a lot of links to flesh things out titled: "Arguments Against the Existence of God (Overview)". It is part of an online course on the Philosophy of Religion. Thought folks might find that interesting.
A nice way to be thinking I would say.
@Jazzer, I was hoping someone could add some light to the subject of the soul and who said it's a real object.
Hey @Elmer B Fuddled -- So often I've thought about chiming in on this thread--and I have have. But I'm always a bit hesitant to share some of the things I've come to believe, because of not wanting to in anyway contradict what anybody else might believe about spirituality.
Good of you to take the leap and share. I ran across Eckankar about 40 years ago. Interesting approach. Some very smart people I knew participated in that approach. Not for me of course although around that time I was heavy into the Seth Material and Edgar Cayce.
The Dali Lama is a supporter of religion, which is the worst thing that man ever invented. His predecessors were some of the most brutal, violent oppressors in history - compassion for their own priest class was the only type they knew. It was good that this lying priest was deposed from his position, even by the Chinese communists. His bizarre beliefs about his birthright, himself being "enlightened" and better than the rest of us, have no basis in science or rationality. No Athiest, Humanist, Agnostic, etc., should have any admiration for him, on any level. His profession has been absolute poison to humanity. The faster his type disappears from the face of the earth, the better.
Hey @Henry Orlando FL -- Thankfully for me, you don't necessarily have to be "very smart" to participate!
Well, you are a person of definite opinions seems to me. I am much less certain that my opinions are the right ones. I can think of worse things than religion. I am certain the some religions and religious people have done and do good things in the world. I am sure that at least some and maybe even most of his predecessors were brutal, violent and oppressors but probably not beyond what happened in other times/areas of the world. I do admire this quote from the Dali Lama for example:
The only reason that he says things like that, is because he is not running Tibet and has to appeal to Western people. If it were his choice, he'd return the country to serfdom, illiteracy, and oppression. Do you believe that he was born divine, the way he does? If he had any self-respect, even a tiny amount, and a degree of intelligence and honesty, he would renounce his religion and its bloody history. Modern adults do not need idiots like him to tell them that we should be nice to each other. This is an insult to the intelligence of those who listen to people like him. There was 95% illiteracy in Tibet during the time that Dali Lamas ran Tibet with no medical care, mutilations and executions for minor offenses, etc. They were barbaric savages, with riches and power. He was made a proud member of their ranks who would likely be the exact same way if he was in charge and permitted to do what all of his predecessors did. You can sugarcoat him all you like, but he nothing more than a lying, clever, deceptive priest, at heart.
Well let's see. Where to start. Who are you going to believe:
I am an atheist. If people ask why, I usually say something like this: I'm not convinced.
Sorry to read of the tough cards you were dealt in life. Sounds like you have come through in a positive way though from your tough times. I know in many ways I benefited from some good cards in life to start with. Nothing fair about that to be sure. Hard for me to imagine a "good" god would create a world the way this one works. Maybe indeed humans are just not capable of understanding the ways of a god... who knows.
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