A few days ago I was debating with a Christian friend of mine, and he made the claim that atheists “don’t get as much out of life as Christians do.” Of course that was a grossly biased statement, but I decided to reply to it with this
Back when I was younger and still believed in Santa, Christmas became more about getting the reward from the man who supposedly knew whether I was “naughty or nice”. During the few weeks prior to Christmas, I would be exceptionally nice to others, not because I wanted to, but because I wanted Santa to see that I deserved something good. Yet as time passed and I grew out of that childish fantasy, Christmas turned more into a time for enjoying family and those dear to me, rather than snagging rewards from that magical man.
So no, I told him, Christians do not get “more” out of life than atheists do. If anything, atheists enjoy it far more, because we accept that it’s the only one we have, and we’d rather use it to it’s best, rather than try to reap rewards from a character from bronze-age mythology. How could you possibly enjoy life if you spend it preparing for when it’s over?
-madhatter0719
BBC News – Row over Indonesia atheist Facebook post Priority is to protect marriage | Herald Sun No Fetus Can Feed Us | Unreasonable Faith Alain de Botton: Atheism 2.0 | Video on TED.com
The Australian Christian Lobby are lying again. This time they are mischaracterising the Atheist Foundation of Australia’s “No Religion” campaign by stating (emphasis mine): “While the census data is rightly used to assist the government to plan for services and infrastructure, other groups, including some atheists, are seeking to push their agendas by encouraging people [...]
The excellent British broadcaster BBC 4 recently aired a fascinating program called “The Medieval Mind” which explores the philosophy, theology, and predominate thinking of the dark ages. The first episode deals with knowledge and revealed numerous intriguing insights into how the medieval mind determined epistemological truths. Monks, priests, and other godly people were in possession [...]
I flagged this video a few days ago, but only watched it this evening. It’s is not often we see ex-muslims speaking out against the “religion of peace”. What these people have done is extraordinary and brave given the fundamentalists attraction to extreme violence.
I want a god whose ultimate goals which do not necessitate the creation of mysterious suffering and death. I want a god who doesn’t violate causation by causing things to begin to exist from nothing in the absence of time. I want a god who does not give us “free will” then punishes us for [...]
“Atheism 2.0” is a 20 minute TED presentation by Alain de Botton in which he proposes a new approach to evangelising atheism. Alain suggests (apparently without evidence) that we have “secularised badly” and we should sift through the rituals, traditions, and behaviours of religion to identify and adopt their efficient mechanisms. “I have come here [...]
Atheists are often told by believers to read the Bible and it will all become clear. Trouble is, many of us have tried that and it doesn’t seem to have helped. Take these verses for example: This does not sound like a great night out to me. “But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master [...]