So Atheists: What do you think of Stephen Fry?
- Thread starter KnighttimeJoe
- Start date
He sums up the heart of Atheism which says that even if God exists atheist would have no use for him. Unbelief isn't the result of a lack of evidence as much as it is a rejection of God's being and character (including all possible gods). In other words, even if God were to make himself irrefutably and undeniably visible and present and tell people they were created by him and for his purposes many would still reject his authority and live as though he did not exist in order to preserve their personal autonomy. For many atheist, that is the source of their unbelief.
But I grant that there are many atheists who adopt atheism because they find it to be a more reasonable proposition than theism based on their individual experience and understanding.
But let's say God exists as the worst of all possible tyrants and we exist only by his own pleasure. Knowing this, how should we orient our lives around this reality? Reject his authority or seek to live in conformity with his tyrannical decrees?
But I grant that there are many atheists who adopt atheism because they find it to be a more reasonable proposition than theism based on their individual experience and understanding.
But let's say God exists as the worst of all possible tyrants and we exist only by his own pleasure. Knowing this, how should we orient our lives around this reality? Reject his authority or seek to live in conformity with his tyrannical decrees?
What a pretentious pile of crap that answer was. He is asked to respond to a thought experiment that has him standing face to face with the Christian conception of God and he thinks he can condescend that being. If that idea of God is true, Fry would spend the majority of his time in front of the almighty evacuating his bowels and murmuring for forgiveness. He steps outside the realm of the question and imagines he is speaking to some child or mildly threatening teenager. Fry obviously has a poor conception of the Christian doctrine of God or he is just really bad at though experiments.
The reactions by the interviewer were hilarious, though.
The reactions by the interviewer were hilarious, though.
He also gave reasons as to why he would condescend that being. I'm not saying I agree with him, but he qualified his answers as an atheist. Did you really expect something different?
His answers also don't say much for evolution and a godless creation.
He used an example of meanie God creating the insects that crawl inside a child's skull and eat the eyeball from within. He asks why would God allow that? It must be because he's an evil, meanie person.
But if he doesn't believe in God, which he doesn't, that would mean that pure evolution is the cause for that insect which evolved only to eat the eyeballs out of kids. What's worse- a meanie God who created this insect to be an asshole, or evolution which allowed for this insect to be created despite it serving no purpose other than inflicting pain and suffering?
He used an example of meanie God creating the insects that crawl inside a child's skull and eat the eyeball from within. He asks why would God allow that? It must be because he's an evil, meanie person.
But if he doesn't believe in God, which he doesn't, that would mean that pure evolution is the cause for that insect which evolved only to eat the eyeballs out of kids. What's worse- a meanie God who created this insect to be an asshole, or evolution which allowed for this insect to be created despite it serving no purpose other than inflicting pain and suffering?
anon_x731qvsnsyb8i
Diamond Knight
Still no proof of the existence of male-gendered omnipotent deities with a flare for the overly dramatic...(shrug)
If there WAS a deity, it would simply be a sentient being like "Q" from Star Trek TNG that exists only because of an infinite amount of time for it to evolve to become sentient, but still bound by emotion and its "likes and dislikes", and cherry-picking arbitrary human "morals" that are morals "just because".
Not worthy of my praise. Sorry.
I call myself "non-theist" as I cannot stand the zealotry of most Atheists in their open condemnation of religion and related cultures based on religion. It's as annoying as the zealotry of their religious counterparts. I do not have a problem with people believing a religion as it adds to the diversity of society, in fact I WISH I could believe in Angels and Devils and stuff! The concept of some invisible, omnipotent, sentient alien calling the shots just doesn't make sense to me.
This post was edited on 2/9 11:07 AM by Malthus Doctrine
If there WAS a deity, it would simply be a sentient being like "Q" from Star Trek TNG that exists only because of an infinite amount of time for it to evolve to become sentient, but still bound by emotion and its "likes and dislikes", and cherry-picking arbitrary human "morals" that are morals "just because".
Not worthy of my praise. Sorry.
I call myself "non-theist" as I cannot stand the zealotry of most Atheists in their open condemnation of religion and related cultures based on religion. It's as annoying as the zealotry of their religious counterparts. I do not have a problem with people believing a religion as it adds to the diversity of society, in fact I WISH I could believe in Angels and Devils and stuff! The concept of some invisible, omnipotent, sentient alien calling the shots just doesn't make sense to me.
This post was edited on 2/9 11:07 AM by Malthus Doctrine
On one hand, you have a theory based around survival of the fittest where all organisms and species are competing against each other. The purpose of the insect is to survive, not to cause us pain. We're just very numerous and probably a good resource if you can figure out a way to harvest us...which these have. Just as humans kill tons of animals every day to survive, you know?
On the other hand, you have a God that created us in His image and gave his only son to die for our sins...but then also gives us insects that consume us. Why he created them? Who knows. Maybe it's for population control. Maybe it's to give us something to fight against. Or maybe he is just an asshole. If you believe in this faith, then you just have to trust that God knows best.
Idgaf what anyone believes, but it is idiotic to put the 2 side by side and ask which is worse as if you should pick either one based on which is the least scary scenario. That's not the objective of religion or evolution.
If you really wanted an answer to that question though, an eternity in hell is probably a more scary proposition than any insect to me.
What's most frustrating is people arguing about the inconsequential details. I'm extremely secure in my spirituality and my belief in a higher consciousness. I'm awakened to it more each day. Characterize it with whatever name or personification you want, I don't give a shit. I'm just most familiar with the Christian path b/c that is what I know but I'll listen to it all. Move to some next level transcendental shit and quit the small stuff. Been wasting thousands of years on this crap.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Do the psilosophers think we're special like the theists do? The forces of the universe are more spectacular than anything we could amount to, which puts us back to meaningless bugs on a grand scale anyway. Anything past "the physical world is amazing and we should be happy to be part of it" is a reach imo, creator or not.
"Anything past "the physical world is amazing and we should be happy to be part of it" is a reach imo"
What does that mean?
Posted from Rivals Mobile
What does that mean?
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Originally posted by ChrisKnight06:
"Anything past "the physical world is amazing and we should be happy to be part of it" is a reach imo"
What does that mean?
Posted from Rivals MobileWhy is your consciousness more special than a mouse's or than the strong nuclear force for that matter? Any of those things can be used as evidence for a creator because zomg that's crazy. If our consciousness is a miracle then the nervous system is also a miracle, and worms have those. The existence of everything is just as insane as what we think we are, so to say that any of it is "for us" is arrogant and ignorant.
[/QUOTE]
"Anything past "the physical world is amazing and we should be happy to be part of it" is a reach imo"
What does that mean?
Posted from Rivals MobileWhy is your consciousness more special than a mouse's or than the strong nuclear force for that matter? Any of those things can be used as evidence for a creator because zomg that's crazy. If our consciousness is a miracle then the nervous system is also a miracle, and worms have those. The existence of everything is just as insane as what we think we are, so to say that any of it is "for us" is arrogant and ignorant.
[/QUOTE]
I don't think our consciousness is any more special. We might be higher level thinkers but our consciousness isn't apart from theirs. Same source.
This post was edited on 2/9 6:12 PM by ChrisKnight06
This post was edited on 2/9 6:12 PM by ChrisKnight06
I just stumbled across it yesterday. Philosopher David Hawkins developed this map of consciousness. I had never seen it before and I know nothing of him but found the visual interesting.
This post was edited on 2/10 1:15 PM by ChrisKnight06
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hawkins_%28phil
This post was edited on 2/10 1:15 PM by ChrisKnight06
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hawkins_%28phil
Didn't they just raise the level cap to 100 in the new expansion, how do I get to 700? That must be some sick loot.
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