Re: Asian Disaster
 

I'm sorry if it comes across as arrogant. That wasn't my intention. I'm having difficulty understanding how an atheist can have any opinions about a God they profess not to believe in. Perhaps we need another definition other than atheist to describe people who believe in the existence of God but choose not to revere him.

I also don't understand an atheist having a view on the purpose of life as the only atheist viewpoint I have ever been made aware of (by an atheist) is that there is no actual purpose to life but that life itself is a mere chance happening, an evolution from a primordeal (?) "soup" and that whilst we're here we're here and once we're gone we're gone.

As a Christian I do not share those views but I respect people's right to have them.

If you are an atheist Darby and have a different point of view I would be happy to hear about it.

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Religon Arrogant!!!!!!!!! never;)

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Well my own view on the purpose of life is quite a simple one, and I expect people will disagree with me but that's not a problem. In case you are interested this is the shortened version:

We existed in spirit form prior to birth. Our spirits entered bodies which we currently occupy and the purpose of that is to learn from our experiences here, whatever they may be. Eventually we all die, our spirits continue to exist apart from our bodies. One day we will be resurrected, receive perfect bodies and continue to live forever. The things that we experience and endure whilst in this mortal life may also be for other people's benefit. We'll eventually understand it all in the end. I believe this mortal existence is a very small part of things. I also believe that we only get the one mortal life experience although I know there are many people who believe in re-incarnation and believe they have evidence to prove it. That's one of the instances where I have to agree to disagree with some people.

Again that isn't meant to sound arrogant. It's merely my standpoint. It's who I am and where I am.

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Did you know that religion is the cause of most wars?

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My beliefs are the same as yours willow, although i dont go to church or consider myself a religious person.

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I know that a lot of wars are carried on in the name of religion when in fact the very act of war itself is against the teachings of those religions (Northern Ireland being a classic example. If either side truly believed in what their religion taught they would not have done any of the things they did.) I believe politicians use religion as a means of recruitment and enciting people to violence - like the muslim cleric recently mentioned in another thread.

I do not believe that Islam truly teaches that it is required of members to kill non-believers. I think it's twisted to convince gullible people and unfortunately there are a lot of gullible people.

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Isn't it funny? You have to laugh really> I watched a Newsnight discussion the other evening in which the same question was debated by a moslem, an athiest and the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. One would expect a chap of the Cardinal's standing to have the answer to the question of how a caring God could let such a terrible thing happen, down pat! After all is said and done, he is one of the people who will gather to elect the next Pope, for all we know he could even be the next Pope! instead we were treated to the most inept and bumbling series of half statements and bluster |i think I have ever heard. Basil Hulme must be spinning in his grave. And even after the athiest described god as a terrorist, the answers did not get any better. Strangly enough, it was the moslem who came out of the discussion with his credibility still reasonably intact, by saying that god was so different and removed from human expectations as to defy all attempts at understanding. Which is to say that; God moves in mysterious ways...etc. Which is nothing we have not heard before and is no more believable now than it has ever been.

The point about athiests that willow appears to have difficulty with is that, for the sake of argument, the athiests is prepared first to assume that the deity exists, and on that basis he then challenges the believer to account for the shortcomings of the deity. When the believer cannot, the athiest wins! The athiest has at no time during the argument accepted the existance of the deity, he merely takes a contrary position to prove a point.

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>> I do not believe that Islam truly teaches that it is required of members to kill non-believers. I think it's twisted to convince gullible people and unfortunately there are a lot of gullible people. <<

Actually the radical Whahabi interpretation of Islam insists on that very doctrine. Funnily enough, the Torah, the Jewish commentaries on biblical law, is equally as radical when it comes to the way in which Christians should be regarded by Jews. According to the Torah it is not unlawful, and is even encouraged, for Jews to kill, cheat, lie to and about Christians and also, where possible, to take them into slavery and buy and sell them like animals. This is not to say that all Jews take notice of the Torah any more than all Moslems take notice of the Wahabi interpretation of Islam.

But some do!

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>>an atheist does not understand the purpose of life!! <<

The purpose of life is actually quite simple and straight forward; it is to heed the biological imperative and reproduce in order to pass on your genes. The meaning of life however is a different kettle of fish.

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You can buy the Meaning of Life here....
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...843765-1476409 :)

Main Entry: athe·ist http://www.merriamwebster.com/images/audio.gif
Pronunciation: 'A-thE-ist
Function: noun
: one who believes that there is no deity

Main Entry: 1ag·nos·tic http://www.merriamwebster.com/images/audio.gif
Pronunciation: ag-'näs-tik, &g-
Function: noun
: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and prob. unknowable; broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god

Neither of the above are a crime.

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It sounds to me like the definition of an atheist referred to earlier is closer to the dictionary definition of agnostic. That I can understand. I can see where someone is coming from who accepts the existence of a God but dislikes what he/she perceives that personage to be and therefore chooses to have nothing to do with the faith side of belief or to have anything to do with such a God.

If the purpose of life is simply passing on your genes what is the purpose of passing on your genes?

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It's called biology, and every animal and plant does it

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I don't think that really comes into it.

Humans have sex mainly because they enjoy it, and everything else does it because they can't help it; they are genetically programmed to reproduce