Dragon Ball Z Uncensored

Big Fagot · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 8:11 pm)

This is a thread for people at FTU who are not atheists to discuss their theism. For the purposes of the thread you're an atheist if you agree with at least one of the following statements:

"There is definitely no such creature as God."
"As there is no positive evidence in favor of God's existence, it belongs in the same category as fairies and satyrs, and as such I don't have that belief."
"I have no interest in questions of religion. It doesn't matter to me."

Post in this thread and say why you disagree with those things!

Mike Dunn · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 8:57 pm)

I pretty much believe that God is a human construct that has been created in our brains so we can believe in the illusion that there is some sort of meaning to our lives. I don't believe in a physical God, but somehow I feel like my life is not meaningless. I have no rational explanation for the belief that the things I do matter, but I still believe it, so I guess that's pretty much the same thing as believing that the things you do matter because God cares or has a plan or whatever. Pretty much I guess I've realized that reading religious texts and pondering morality and existence and other GREAT MYSTERIES makes my brain feel good, and I feel like our brains are wired to make us feel good when we think about that kind of stuff. So I guess I believe that God exists, but only in the same way as I believe that math exists, in that he's a subject of a lot of writing and analysis, and he can help people solve problems, but ultimately he's just a product of our brains.

Big Fagot · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:21 pm)

Is there anything that you believe that an atheist doesn't believe, or is it a "well yeah I agree on all points but I'm not one of THOSE people" thing?

Big Fagot · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:33 pm)

But, also, the stuff you posted that's tangential to the question is interesting and probably common. Many posters were probably brought up to believe that there's a super powerful person who cares about their actions, and it's reasonable to think it would have affected how their thoughts are formed for life. We should discuss that sort of thing too.

Jason · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:34 pm)

It's all the same except he's too much of a pussy to believe in meaningless chaos.
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Username · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:41 pm)

Meaningless chaos is the best.

BigJoeMex · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:03 pm)

Not too long ago, I watched a very interesting docummentary about neuroscience featuring the studies of this man. One of the cases featured in it deal with a man (whose name I can't recall) who survived a car accident. Ever since then, he has suffered an insane amount of seizures where he becomes extremely emotional and feels as though he is one with God, that he becomes one with the universe or even that he is God himself. These seizures take place whenever he is too stimulated.

Since these seizures were obviously not there before the crash, Dr. Ramachandran began to hypothesize that this guy suffered damage in a region of his brain that could be related to a natural/physical/genetic need to pursue God and spirituality. The impact from the crash could have broken the synaptic balance/bioelectric energy running through his brain, thus overstimulating him and causing the aforementioned seizures.

While I consider myself theist, it is interesting to consider that maybe spirituality, God, the great beyond and what-have-you are all a construct already written into our DNA/brain. I imagine atheists are forcing themselves to go against a biological impulse, then.[/url]

Big Fagot · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:07 pm)

What makes you believe that God exists?

Mike Dunn · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:42 pm)

I guess to answer your question more directly, I don't really believe in God but I'm open to the possibility that we exist in a universe that may not be wholly indifferent to our actions.

BigJoeMex · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:49 pm)

Personally? Nothing makes me believe that God exists; I choose to believe in God. I am not the kind who believes in divine intervention, a great creator and judge and a father of our race (maybe even our universe). I choose to believe in God because there exist many things beyond my understanding: the irrational faults of man, "kharma", bad luck, unexplainable scientific and social phenomena, history repeating itself, etc. "Why do these things happen? Why can't we find an answer? Why? Why?" are things we ask ourselves at one point or another.

To me, God lies within all that I cannot understand and is beyond my -I admit- very limited knowledge. Whenever I see things beyond my comprehension, I see God. Therefore, answering every "Why?" I feel drives me closer to understanding "It" (him/her? whatever). God is not ignorance, but an embodiment of mystery and discovery. It is in every question we ask and every answer we find.

Sadly, the more answers we get, the more irrational the idea of God becomes. I think that, throughout history, as the human being becomes a wiser and more advanced species, it detaches himself from It.

It's not the most coherent answer, I know. I think this is the best I can offer you!

Big Fagot · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:05 pm)

I guess there are several questions here.

- Does the Universe owe its existence to a creature of some sort who exists outside it?
- Is there an omnipresent creature that watches humans and cares about what they do, and makes miracles and answers prayers?
- Are these two entities distinct, or not?

Big Fagot · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:09 pm)

Also, pretend I said "literally" before every adjective and verb, because while metaphors are enlightening and worth discussing, they're pretty different from thinking that God will protect you if you stand in front of a bus.

Spamdini · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:32 pm)

I am Jesus reincarnate and Baki is Revelations unfolding.

BigJoeMex · (Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:48 pm)

Does that make you Yujiro? Is Jesus Yujiro?

Jason · (Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:50 am)

Why are you even bothering, Peter?

No one here is enough of a Christian to argue their beliefs with any thought or rigid explanations, and even if they were they would (rightfully) know better than to think that you're really going to read their replies without bias.

So you're just going to get the bullshit pussies like Mike Dunn and BIGJOEMEX who are scared of the thought there is no afterlife but also think they know better than Pascal because of their desire to have sex out of wedlock.

If you want conviction, keep interrogating Frank about alien conservationists.
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Ryoko's Biatch · (Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:06 am)

I was actually thinking about how it was likely that there is a part of the brain that demands humans believe in God today while I was at work.

:ghosts

Big Fagot · (Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:45 am)

I guess I was dreaming of Mautty showing up.

Hellbound godless faggots!

FancyMichael · (Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:54 am)

There probably isn't a part of the brain that prompts us to be religious, spiritual or whatever.

How would something like that even develop? It doesn't make sense.

FancyMichael · (Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:56 am)

Actually, I don't like the way I phrased that.

Ryoko's Biatch · (Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:19 am)

I was trying to answer for myself why someone who wasn't raised religious would suddenly turn to religion as an adult. In all of human history, as far as I know, religion is a universal thing people engage in and, if there wasn't some biological imperative, why would every culture develop it?

I don't know, it's just a conclusion I came to completely without concrete evidence.