[Vision2020] New You-Tube for your summer entertainment.

[Donovan Arnold]

Paul,
   
  I guess you could argue lots of things. I just know that I would rather live believing there is a God rather than there isn't. I would hate to think that being kind and just appearing to be kind had no real distinction. I would hate to think my existence in this world is meaningless and pointless and that I should do for myself not others. I like to think I am serving a higher power when I do good, not just the one person. I like to think I, you, and every person is something greater than a ugly bag of water polluting the earth and taking up space. I like to think there is a great equalizer out there seeing the great injustices done to others. 
   
  Even if I could magically know for fact that there was no God, I would not want to know that if it were fact. 
   
  Best,
   
  Donovan
   
   
   
  

Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com> wrote:
  There are some people that believe that the world is what it is, regardless of how much different we might like it to be.

Anyway, you could argue that a belief in an afterlife cheapens life here on Earth - you spend less than an eye-blink here, and then spend the rest of the time either floating on clouds or being burned alive.

If you have this one existence, and then nothing, then you might be motivated to make the best of what you have now instead of pining for a glorious future somewhere else.

Not that I don't believe in the supernatural, mind you.  It just doesn't follow that a belief that this world is all there is necessarily leads to bad behavior any more than a belief in an afterlife does.  Witness the suicide bombers and their promised virgins, as one extreme example.

Paul

Donovan Arnold wrote:     Paul,
   
  Without a belief in a supernatural being life is not meaningful. Everything is only as it appears to be, nothing more. All actions, fortunes, misfortunes, and events are nothing more than happenstances. What a boring and pointless existence someone must have to believe that there is no higher intended purpose in life or what you do with it. 
   
  Best,
   
  Donovan

Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com> wrote:
  I really despise these cutesy propaganda-ish jibes at the 
non-believers. But putting that aside for the moment, I'm trying to 
understand their point. At best, they seem to be saying that without a 
caring/feeling religion like Christianity, people treat life like it 
means nothing and can develop into despots and nazis. Yet when you look 
over the last couple of thousand of years of Christianity, you notice 
things like the Crusades, the Inquisitions, and the witch burnings. 

We've argued on this list before about who has racked up the highest 
body count. The answer varies depending upon who you trust for a 
historical record and who you do or don't count in modern times. 

However, if you can't easily find the answer then it follows that 
religion has no affect whatsoever on a human beings seeming need to kill 
it's own kind. 

I don't know which is better. A God that so often inspires people to 
kill in the name of Good, or the lack of a belief in a God that fails to 
keep our basest instincts in line. It's my opinion that the people that 
do these kinds of things are just looking for an excuse no matter what 
rationalizations they finally decide upon.

Paul

heirdoug at netscape.net wrote:
> I thought some of you who think for a living would like this one.
> enjoy, Doug!
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm1JYYIk-pI
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