Atheist, are you one??

[howerd]

Originally Posted by CARLTON BROWN

Religion is pretty much a mental virus. Did Richard Dawkins originally say that, or have I just made it up?

Yes Dawkins coined the term 'meme' to describe any idea which replicates like a gene although religions replicate like viruses, particularly computer viruses since they infect computers (or their biological equivalent: the human brain) before there's any 'virus protection' installed i.e. before critical thinking kicks in because children don't have much therefore adults can get them to believe all sorts of thinks no adult would.

The claim they hear which protects religious claims the most isn't about Jehovah or Allah or any other deity, it's the threat of everlasting pain & sorrow in a fictional place called 'hell' (a claim gentle Jesus meek & mild is attributed to have come up with if the Buy Bull is to be believed!) Threats of eternal hellfire are so potent Islam copied it for the same reason: it dissuades people from 'risking' doubting what they were they were told at an age when they'd happily believe in fairies, Santa Claus & the Easter Bunny - claims all kids grow out of sooner or later. But this is not always the case with religious claims present as 'facts' & this is how the virus of faith gets to remain virulent & infect future generations across the centuries.

Of course there's no good reason to think the threat of everlasting hellfire is even remotely likely to be true & every reason to think it's a cynical lie installed as soon as possible into children's minds & they find it so frightening it prevents them from daring to question religion in the way they can easily question claims about Santa Claus in later life which is why no adults believe that claim.

this is why silly questions like What if you're wrong?" is the commonly posed to unbelievers, but saying "I don't believe this" when faced with religious claims isn't a claim in itself is it? It's simply pointing out that there's no good reason to think that doubting supernatural claims could somehow be 'risky' when in truth it's a far bigger risk to allow them to be believed & let's face: it there really is no good reason to believe any baseless claim whether it's about a hell or a bearded chap in the sky flying around in a sleigh.

[cicciobuki]

Originally Posted by peach64

Flat Earth/Enclosed System - before you laugh, look into the science behind it, you really think we're spinning 1100 mph right now, and we went to the moon?
Women-some are beyond description and definition

Wait what? There's science behind flat-earthery?

Thanks for making me laugh though

Edit: when i was about 13 or 14 i was into books about those weird conspiracies, aliens in egypt an stuff like that. Can't remember the author's name (i keep thinking of Wilhelm Reich but that is not him), he was i think from Switzerland or Austria and a bit 'famous' at the time.
I'll admit it was exiting to read and it sparked the imagination. Pre-internet times, you know.

But seriously, don't take that stuff serious.

[howerd]

Originally Posted by cicciobuki

Wait what? There's science behind flat-earthery?

Thanks for making me laugh though

Edit: when i was about 13 or 14 i was into books about those weird conspiracies, aliens in egypt an stuff like that. Can't remember the author's name (i keep thinking of Wilhelm Reich but that is not him), he was i think from Switzerland or Austria and a bit 'famous' at the time.
I'll admit it was exiting to read and it sparked the imagination. Pre-internet times, you know.

But seriously, don't take that stuff serious.

I think you may be refering to that Swiss lying b@$***d Eric Von Daniken yeah?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_...iken#Criticism

[cicciobuki]

Originally Posted by howerd

I think you may be refering to that Swiss lying b@$***d Eric Von Daniken yeah?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_...iken#Criticism

That's the guy, yes!!

[Functio1]

Originally Posted by peach64

Book of Enoch oldest book ever written

Er... you might want to look up someone called Gilgamesh...

[Functio1]

Yeah, Daniken got me into thinking about religion when I was about 13 or so. Funnily enough one of his books was in the room used at my school for religious education. I was also into UFOs at the time so it all seemed to line up. But then a bit more reading weaned me off Daniken and onto other things. Nowadays I don't believe any of it but I'm still interested in all of the imagery conjured up by all of the UFO stuff.

I remember quite distinctly when it fully clicked in my brain that there was no god. It was like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. Not that I was ever super-religious or bought up to be so, but it bugged me a lot about there being a heaven and a hell and being judged at the end of your life, etc. Once I realised that that was all nonsense, I felt a whole lot better

[vinceprince]

Originally Posted by cicciobuki

Wait what? There's science behind flat-earthery?

Thanks for making me laugh though

Edit: when i was about 13 or 14 i was into books about those weird conspiracies, aliens in egypt an stuff like that. Can't remember the author's name (i keep thinking of Wilhelm Reich but that is not him), he was i think from Switzerland or Austria and a bit 'famous' at the time.
I'll admit it was exiting to read and it sparked the imagination. Pre-internet times, you know.

But seriously, don't take that stuff serious.

I believe you're thinking of Erik Von Daniken, Chariots of the Gods etc.

I also remember buying The Unexplained Magazine which peddled all this sort of stuff like UFOS/Aliens, Spontaneous Human Combustion, Bigfoot/The Yeti, Dan Brown conspiracy stuff, Sea Monsters, ESP etc
To a kid who was taught Christian Mythology at school it all seemed very plausible in comparison.

One mystery though that turned out to be true was Black Holes which was just a early hypothesis at the time.

[Roubignol]

Originally Posted by supkev

You better put your Faith in Jesus the Christ instead of Atheism or your FUCKED!

It's more or less what Einstein wrote and I agree with you.
What is the purpose of an atheist's life?
Personally I think: none.

As an atheist myself, a few years ago I was confronted with death and was afraid to die.
If you believe in afterlife, when confronted to death, it must be easier.

[cicciobuki]

Originally Posted by Roubignol

It's more or less what Einstein wrote and I agree with you.
What is the purpose of an atheist's life?
Personally I think: none.

The purpose of your life is the one you give it.

[Roubignol]

Originally Posted by cicciobuki

The purpose of your life is the one you give it.

For sure, we can give a sense to everything.
That's what surprised me the most when I listened confessions of serial criminals (killers or pedophiles).