Christian on sundays.

Atheist all other days.

:awwyeah:

I grew up Jehovahs Witness actually. Religion has some really great benefits for some people. Community of support and faith when nothing else can help you except your own drive/strength to get through a situation. I’m not too knowledgeable on the JW religion as a whole as I was too young and my family got out of it but I’ve certainly seen the benefits.

Science is pretty convincing though.

Prayer has actually less to do with changing the outcome of an event (eg. surgery, illness, etc.) but rather, it helps a person find acceptance, peace, & meaning n the midst of losing control of one's life. Meditation (a form of prayer) and mindfulness has gotten a lot of attention lately and been shown to help with mental, relational, spiritual health and that in turn, helps with physical health.

Anecdotally, it is very hard to argue that a person with good 'spiritual' health (however you want to define it) has a better process of recovery from illness (or any other major crisis or loss).

For anyone interested. Lots of deep analysis into the Bible, the way it was written, the inaccuracies and historical context. Not just touchy-feely feelings. Facts.

https://www.audible.ca/pd/Religion-S...96FQR3WMB5QB0&

https://www.audible.ca/pd/Religion-S...ook/B071Z5N9GH

Although I'm not religious or believe in god/gods, I think the belief in a god and some religion is a good way to give people hope and motivation, without which can leave many people hopeless. Most religions preach positive ideals and guidelines that of which can guide many previously "bad" people to live a morally positive and contributing life.

That being said, there is a possibility that all the "god-like" stories and events (bible, other religious documents) did happen... What I mean is way back before science was a part of normal life, aliens MIGHT have visited earth and past civilizations. When they couldn't explain wtf these things were, they probably called them gods, trickle that idea downs millennia, you have the bible. There I said it, aliens.

Of course that's just my personal belief not based off anything. Don't want to force this idea on others or discredit people's religions. For me, nothing is set in stone until proven by science or I see it with my own eyes. Who knows, maybe 1 human looking god did create the entire universe, and we're the only sentient beings in it all. But I'm a strong believer in the chance of aliens rather than 1 god, just based off the vastness of space and probability.

Oh, I also don't believe in heaven or hell. For some strange unexplained reason since my earliest memories from childhood, I've always "knew" that when you die, your soul gets recycled and you reincarnated into something else. I just felt the amount of souls in the universe was a set number and it just gets recycled. This was way before the internet existed and before I had a TV so I didn't get this off some show, just not sure why I've always thought that. Kinda creepy.

One of the things that makes me shake my head is when you see big ole wannabe gangsters with giant gold necklaces with a cross on it or a tattoo of a cross just because it looks cool when they've probably only been in a church because of a wedding. What makes me shake my head even more is when those same people wear rosary beads outside their shirts as a fashion statement because it looks cooler than a regular gold chain. I find it sacrilegious. I grew up beside my church and have had multiple priests that have been there explain to me that the beads are spaced in a VERY specific way with 10 smaller beads called decades followed by a small gap with a bigger bead followed by another gap and then 10 more beads. Each bead represents a prayer that you repeat (hail mary) and as you finish each prayer you shift your hands to grab the next bead and when you've hit the gap with the bigger bead you say a different prayer (lords prayer).

If you've ever seen any movies with nuns walking or seen them in person and them holding them that's why. Unless I've been mistaken for the past 20+ years :p

Even most “Christians” wear the crucifix for vanity though

That My Pillow guy sure likes to put his cross on display in his ads. It's to the point it seems he is doing it in order to appeal more to the Christian demographic, than as a statement of his convictions.

any of you have ever experienced with psychedellics?

lol ok so that's what you meant by dmt

I answered it on page 2 :okay:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N,N-Dimethyltryptamine

just a form of virtue signaling.

What if God was one of us?

Just a stranger on the bus.

A slob like one of us.

Trying to make his way home. God damnit. That’s going to be stuck in my head for the day.

Even god can't save RS.

#RIPRS

I've been humming Boyz II Men all day thanks to the PNE thread.

My grandparents were Roman Catholic. The best people I've ever known. Would almost never pass judgment. Never lie. Never steal. Proud but humble. Would give to those in need until they had nothing left.
Built their own house in 1949 with their own hands. Took them six years because no materials were ever put on credit. You bought what you could afford and that was it. I can guarantee you though, if you took a level to any one of those frames today, it would be dead center.

As my uncle wrote to my grandfather's eulogy last week, "you could not find a person with a single bad thing to say about him".
72 years my grandparents were together. He passed on the exact day that they met.

Less than 2 months prior (June 9 to be exact) my mom had passed. First person I'd ever really known to go. i was in the room when each of them went. Holding their hand as it happened. Never felt anything so finite in my life. Still feel like i can just call her. Then i have to remind myself.

It's got me thinking a lot lately about mortality. And meaning.
Just wanted to know why people chose to or not to believe. I know it's a pretty controversial subject but i just really wanted to know.
I came across this sermon recently. I think I've watched it five times now. I know it'll seem like complete fear mongering to some, and I'm sorry for that. But it just hit me dead in the heart with everything he's saying.

So i watched the whole thing and im still not sure what his central argument for God is (am i missing something here?)

1) we need to believe in God otherwise we have no basis for moral reasoning.

2) we need to believe in God otherwise there's no meaning at the end of life (his example of Hitler vs Mother Theresa) as why should we follow a code of morality if its all meaningless anyways.

3) Atheism has lead to such extremists like Nazi's, Stalin's communist, etc

Neither of the first 2 propositions proves the existence of God and especially one of a Christian God. They predicate that there might be a "need" for God in order base human morality which i find flawed. Human morality is inherently the same across most cultures. The preservation of life, the desire for peace, and the pursuit of happiness is the basis of most cultural morality constructs. I dont see how or why we need to base our morality on a divine being.

He mentions that atheism has lead to extremists groups. Why doesnt he mention all the countless deaths related to religion over the centuries? Crusades, Jihads, and modern day examples such as ISIS and Al Quada.

He's a good orator, but his fundamental arguments are inherently flawed. I majored in history and philosophy in SFU and Im still atheist as fuck even after reviewing all the major arguments for and against God.

and yes my Chinese parents are utterly embarrassed that their son isnt a doctor or lawyer but decided to study useless ass history and western philosophy... HOORAY FOR ME.

It's been an interesting read of all the posts on this thread.

I've seen a mix of atheists and Christians of different denominations make comments here.

Many Christian churches are offering free courses and free dinner for people who want to know more about the Christian Jesus.

No pressure to join any church, no cost. No follow up from the churches if you decide not come back to the Alpha sessions. You can walk away from Alpha at any time.

Nobody is gonna knock on your door or spam you with email if you decide after session one that Alpha is not for you.

It's a chance to meet people who are curious about Christianity. You also get free dinner out of it.

https://tryalpha.ca/

Just going off your points:

1) For people to say they need a god and the morals tied to it in order to be moral and good, suggests they would otherwise become homicidal maniacs/rapists/savages and is an alarming stance. Morals were instilled in us long before the concept of a god came along. You can see moralistic behaviour throughout the animal kingdom and I'm pretty sure they have no concept of god. It's an aspect of group dynamics. Our species would have gone extinct long ago if we never figured out how to work together and how best to keep our species going.

2) Why does there have to be meaning at the end of life? Shouldn't we take the knowledge that there is likely nothing once we die, and make the most of the life we have? If anything, having an afterlife to look forward to would devalue the current one. Someone like Hitler in his last moments of life, ask for god to absolve all his sins, and end up in Heaven with your sweet old Grandma.

3)Atheism is non belief. It doesn't lead to anything. It can be argued that Hitler and the Nazis were Christian, but for argument's sake, lets say they too were atheists. It wasn't a factor in their motives and ideologies. The same goes for Stalin and the Communists. It was a tool of control, not the end goal. Much like the countless examples of religion being used as a tool of control.

That's ok man, I went the Chinese route and totally regret having no experience at all in university in history or politics (or compsci for that matter). :thumbs:

I'd have to disagree a bit here... if you look at history and nations that orginially had no concept of, let's call them Abrahamic laws - rape, murder, theft, substance addictions, no concept of monogamy, and no care about human life has been rampant in these societies.

Examples - In Japan, suicide is considered honorable. The only reason suicide has been pushed down to everyone as being a bad thing is because of Christianity.

Africa - cannibalism, murder, rape - all the time

Look at modern Islamic states - twisted AF morals

I do agree with the animal comment - but I don't think you really thought that through.

Instinct pushes you to be Alpha or be dominated. Animals rape each other. Animals kill each other. Animals live by who's the strongest and baddest - which is human instinct too without rules..

my2cents...