Brace yourselves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atfcf5NDFI4

Steve

This is completely lost on people with bifurcated reasoning. Some things that people can't identify with, including other religious beliefs, are completely irrational, except to their pet beliefs.

Of course THEIR BELIEFS are rational.

I always think mine are. Even today.

Interesting! I've seen a lot of those clips here and there. I lean more toward the reasonable agnostic & atheist discussions, less toward the South Park grossness.

Cool headed, kind hearted Atheist looking forward to the day when Atheist is no longer a dirty word.

Thank you for this one; I really enjoyed it. I usually watch Lawrence Krauss, Richard Dawkins, Neal Degrasse Tyson. But I love it when the comedians like Mr.Diety, Bill Maher, Joe Rogan, and now even skeptic/atheist philosophers give out their point of view.

I just wish more people would understand how to deal with zero.

I secretly lust Lawrence Krauss - oh that brain! He had me at, "So, forget Jesus. The stars died so that you could be here today.”

I wish Dawkins was my father.

Neal Degrasse Tyson is my hero, I wanted to be an astronomer as a kid, too. I also love the way he laughs at his own joke before he even tells them.

Brian Dalton in Mr Diety is hilarious. I watched his episode "The Hat" earlier today; great spoof on Joe Smith.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2013 10:30PM by healyourpast.

Hi Didymus,

You're welcome.

I like how honest it is. It's real human beings connecting to other real human beings: no pretenses, no illusions, just honest reflections.

We're all in this together. The ugly truth is that we're going to die: most of us from cardiovascular disease or cancer, and some from accidents, homicide, or suicide.

We're engaged in a huge, unprecedented social experiment. There are countries, including ours, with hundreds of millions of people with a plurality of values, views, problems, sufferings, desires, personalities, diseases, etc. Coalitions (e.g. "The Republicans") form and, to the extent that they're aligned, increase their leaders' ability to wield power. When power is wielded by demagogues through rhetoric and mob action, calamities such as the Holocaust ensue.

Each of us has to answer a question each conscious moment, to the extent that we're conscious beings with some (if any) degree of choice: Is my life worth living? Perhaps the answer is tentative: "Yes, I think so. I have hope that things will get better in the future. I probably still have time--maybe a lot of time." Some people answer the question in the negative. If the answer is yes, then we have to decide what it is that makes our life worth living--usually relationships--and cultivate that. If we kid ourselves into believing that it's not relationships, we should remember that if we pursue money, it's always relative to others: one man's gain is another man's loss. Making money is a social activity. Success entails social praise, or envy. It presupposes other people noticing. Otherwise, making money wouldn't mean anything. Having a mansion wouldn't mean anything if you were the only living human on the planet.

If meaning really is centered on relationships, then why are so many relationships pathological? And among those that aren't, there's usually a collective set of values and goals that unite people. What are they?

Life resembles a battlefield. Predictably, we'll all die in the end.

Is there an objective meaning to the world? I don't think so. The brain gives rise to everything that we are and care about.

It would be nice if, after death, "we" somehow "survived," and learned all of the secrets of the universe and of "God." But do you *really* believe that that's possible? Prayer didn't eradicate polio. Science and medicine did. No god required.

Try to enjoy life as much as you can. Do whatever it is that you love doing. Learn, have sex (safely), play with your children, pet puppies, listen to music, watch a sunrise in Sedona, tell your best friend that you love him or her.

Our ability to do any of that will end within a few decades--at most.

Steve

Atheists tend to be insightful, analytical, intelligent, articulate, but have countenances of hopelessness, despondecy, futility because they've come to the analytical conclusion that once they die, it's over and that's the end.

While it's logical to believe that death is the end, it's very depressing. I can see how those who have such a perspective would view life in a very bleak way.

I am no longer religious, and reject all manmade spiritual dogma but I am not atheist either. I am spiritual. I believe that we are eternal spiritual beings. So there is not a feeling of futility as in, "I just lived 100 years and it was for nothing." on the contrary, I believe our lives are very valuable.

I am atheist, but spiritual... and very happy! Atheists don't believe in a God or Gods. I believe that matter can be energy and energy can become matter, because it is a solid, mathematically proven theory.

Energy can not be destroyed, just displaced or changed from one form to another. And, science is not quite sure where our consciousness rests.

No God or boss needed.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2013 02:02PM by healyourpast.

38:30 Mormon Jokes

Lets see if I have this right. We morally inferior atheists have countenances of hopeless despondent futility, and we don't think our lives have any value. You, OTOH, have the morally superior attribute of being spiritual without being religious. This leaves you with no sense of futility, and you see your life as valuable.

Is that about it? OK, two questions. Countenance? Really? Who still uses that word, except the gasbags in General Conference.

Second, don't you think that attitude makes you sound a little full of yourself? Believe it or not, there are atheists who feel their lives have value. It's quite common, actually.

Ah! You want to fight? I'll give fight, haha

The tone of my comment was in response to the tone of the video.

I learned the word "countenance" from Victorian-era novels before I ever joined the church. Sad that so many useful words are being tossed into a vocabulary wasteland because people don't seem to enjoy reading anymore.

Having not yet watched the video, I completely agree with how BoJ read the comment. Bleak, despondent and depressed as an atheist? Hardly! Pretty amusing to draw such sweeping generalizations.

But I suppose I should watch this video to see how it changes the context of the comment. LOL

In my opinion, facing up to what death may well be (oblivion) shows strength. Believing in fairy tales to make it easier is the wimp's way. Real grown-ups face the likelihood that death ends a person. It just makes life more precious, really. Religion demeans life.. especially ones like Mormonism which contain Calvinist ideas that we must toil and sacrifice and suffer so we can be rewarded in "the next life."

I personally like Epicurian ideas. Enjoy life, but don't be a dick.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2013 10:58PM by rationalguy.

Agreed.

I really like Bill O'Reily as a person. I like that he lets so many atheist on his show and is willing to talk to them.

He doesn't seem to really get it, but I think he at least respects them enough to listen. He seems like the most well balanced person on Fox. It's not really saying much, but I think he is a decent person.

He seems to really like the easy answer that religion gives. The argument from ignorance seems to dominant him. I do agree that if people acted like Jesus the world would be a noticeably better place.

Indeed, if we acted like "The conceptual Jesus that people continually re-invent to represent the avatar of the current cultural ideal of righteousness," we'd be better people.

rationalguy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Indeed, if we acted like "The conceptual Jesus
> that people continually re-invent to represent the
> avatar of the current cultural ideal of
> righteousness," we'd be better people.


Great quote from the video. And THAT is supposed to be the end all, be all of Christianity.

But people and our damn flawed human nature keep 4uck!ng it all up.

I was afraid someone might misinterpret me, but you understood it just right.

The idealized Jesus.