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To that...
Originally posted by Prezbo369
reply to [url= by Pixiefyre[/url]
This might help you with your confusion
Are you saying without the promise and reward system of an afterlife you would become a psychopath?
Spiramirablis, "uncertainty" is a good idea, but I need a little more understanding. That, in itself, doesn't seem to be a strong enough emotion to cause some of the craziness we see, but I might be missing it.
Uncertainty isn't an emotion - it's a state
You've chosen to go with emotions as examples of why we can't seem to get along - but the conditions that drive emotion are more obvious and I think examining them makes it a little easier to understand our emotions
Here in America - everywhere, but also here at ATS of course - the uncertainty about which way the election would go was driving us all up the wall
It's not hard to see the difference in the conversations leading up to the election - and how they've changed after
The stock market is driven by uncertainty and certainty - people hire, fire, buy and sell based on uncertainty
Uncertainty for a human being is stressful - we want to be certain
We will manufacture certainty out of nothing - just for how much better it makes us feel
Even if it's based on nothing but consensus
reply to post by Spiramirabilis
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We hate ambiguity! It threatens our sense of substance! That is why so often our battles form along the line of either black or white. We want what we believe to clearly define us. We want our drink to be either hot or cold. You are either with me or against me. We want a recipe that will always give us a perfect cake! The same way when it comes to our sense of salvation. We want a perfect recipe to guarantee our eternal lives.
I am most familiar with the Christian faith as I was a pastor for many years. Even though scripture states that we are saved by faith, not by works, so much of church effort revolves around following a perceived recipe of spiritual ingredients. Tithes, offering, baptism, speaking in tongues, bible study, visiting the sick, wearing the right clothes, not wearing jewelry or make up, not utilizing musical instruments, and so on and on.
We stubbornly hold onto rigid beliefs because we are often afraid of the alternative. Ambiguity doesn't appear to offer hope. So we place our faith in what is black or white. Faith is the greatest equalizer. It gives no advantage to the greater intellect nor to the richer man.
Originally posted by Grimpachi
reply to post by undo
I would have to disagree that for a leader to be considered good they have to believe in deities and think they will be held responsible after death.
The reason I asked you if without religion you would become a psychopath is because you asked the question of why you should follow society’s rules without deities. I think it is a fair question that you could answer considering you made it about yourself first. Do you think without the promise of a reward or punishment after death you would become a psychopath? Are atheist really that different from people that believe in the afterlife? I have asked these questions in other threads but no one has ever answered. I honestly want to know.
For some reason I can’t view any videos at the moment I do not know if it is my browser or what but it stopped working can you describe what the video says?
Originally posted by Grimpachi
reply to post by undo
Do you think without the promise of a reward or punishment after death you would become a psychopath? Are atheist really that different from people that believe in the afterlife? I have asked these questions in other threads but no one has ever answered. I honestly want to know.
morality laws are designed to keep everyone obedient to government. but governments deliberately untether themselves from things like morality laws. they create universal laws of morality and then create exceptions for themselves
Religion creates exceptions and even forgiveness for any act committed so the idea that religion is what a leader needs to be good does not hold water. You said if you were not tethered to religious beliefs you could become a leader and I think it takes other quality’s to have that drive not just the freedom to do so. By that reasoning then every major leader of the world should be an atheist because they are not bound to a belief system.
Originally posted by undo
i'm not saying atheists are psychopaths. what i'm saying is the entire principle of survival of the fittest, almost always assures the most psychopathic amongst us, rise to the highest positions of leadership.
....survival of the fittest is viewed as the natural order, particularly by atheists. ....
What's more, although the phrase conjures up an image of a violent struggle for survival, in reality the word "fittest" seldom means the strongest or the most aggressive. On the contrary, it can mean anything from the best camouflaged or the most fecund to the cleverest or the most cooperative. Forget Rambo, think Einstein or Gandhi.
evolution myths
Originally posted by undo
you have to admit, even before religious groups go wacko, the first thing they try to do is convince themselves that the people they are about to attack, are somehow unworthy of their consideration. they dehumanize them, in the sense that they remove any need to think of them in a personal moral sense beyond that. they are just one step removed from full on atheism as far as survival of the fittest goes. and that one step at least gives people a chance to defend themselves and appeal to the moral fiber of the person.edit on 6-12-2012 by undo because: (no reason given)
NO. i'm saying leaders use atheistic rationale for it.
The idea that a person’s morality is dependent on their religion is unfounded.
Originally posted by Lucid Lunacy
reply to post by undo
NO. i'm saying leaders use atheistic rationale for it.
Since I am still quite confused, if you would, could you clarify what exactly you mean by "atheistic rationale".
alrighty, we the little people of the world (citizens), follow the rules because if we don't, the bigger people of the world (leaders and their police, secret services, military, etc) will come and get us
and do mean things like deprive of us freedom, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. but leaders don't have that hanging over them.
they do whatever they want because, as i mentioned earlier, they write rules of universal morality but make exceptions for themselves. if they are not answerable to anyone, who's gonna make sure they behave?
we really have to wait while they murder millions of people? that's illogical.
but the world would certainly be alot better place if our leaders actually did believe god exists and is expecting them to behave.