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If by die, you mean deny all the gods until the day I die, then yes. I would not literally die for no reason, because life is precious to me.
But if I am on my deathbed and a priest comes to give me my final rites, I will, with the last of my strength create the sign of the ultimate force. METAL. \m/
And I will call out "HAIL SATAN." "HAIL ODIN." "HAIL THOTH."
And I will not believe in them, but I will attempt to offend the priest as utterly as I can in my final moments.
That is my plan in death. I would rather face your false hell than bow to tyranny.
If your god is real and cannot accept that I did not believe, then that is not my problem. I would rather take the pain of your corrupted god's hell than bow to such a wicked god, so very comfortable and safe, nestled in the skies above.
Oh yes, I would never accept that god.
However, if there IS a god, and that god is not wicked, then I would quite certainly be allowed into heaven.
Despite how evil and atheist such a last gesture might seem, the truth is that I am only atheist for good reasons, and that I only oppose religion because of the problems it causes society, not to mention the utter fact that it is 100% myth.
I think it would be better to die believing that there is a benevolent God, and finding out that he doesn't exist, than to die mocking him only find out he does.
What if your doctrine is wrong? What if you're believing in the wrong god? What if you die and find out that the real god is Allah or Hades or Zeus?
Then shouldn't you believe every deity believed to exist is real and that their rules exist? Because of not, you have possibly mocked or offended them. That way you avoid whatever "hell" a certain religion may have.
To further refute this, even of you did believe in all of them, you'll still blasphemy some. Since some of them say "have no other gods or idols before me".
If my death proved the non- existence of God, then yes I would die. If a societies values weren't reflected by religion, then we wouldn't have so much hate. Peoples ideas would be more clear and less biased. I think that if peoples ideas were less restricted by religion we could progress and have a better understanding of who we are. No hate against gay people, no hate against single mothers, no hate against abortion, no hate against stem cell research...We could progress..
I think you're asking the wrong question. The real question should be: Would an atheist die before pretending to believe that there is a god. I would like to think that I would swallow my pride and pretend to believe, because I believe that once you die, it's all over. However, I also know that I'm very stubborn, and I don't like people telling me what to do or what to believe in, so I'm probably a good candidate for someone who would be stupid enough to die for my beliefs.
This is probably the most honest answer I have ever heard from an atheist and admire for your honesty. On the flip-side, I'm sure many religious people would do the same. I'm very stubborn also and would like to believe that I would hold to my convictions as a Christian, but one never quit knows until faced with a given situation the out come. Peter said he would never be a Judas and that didn't work out.
According to the Bible, a follower of Jesus betrayed him (Judas) and Peter claimed he would never do such a thing. Peter betrayed him three times. (short version)
I certainly wouldn't. We're not talking about a set moral value here, but rather a lack of one. Why sacrifice myself for a concept of nothingness? It just doesn't make any sense. And even though a lot of us atheists certainly can be asinine in regards to other people's beliefs, it doesn't really stretch any farther than a simple frustration with the key differences in thinking styles between theists and atheists. So, no, I don't think many of us except the most stubborn would die for a "cause" like this.
if atheists devote their life to disproving god their just being miserable... i would die for the answers to life (including the existence of god) but not for the reasons of disproving him but for the reasons of having thirst for a higher knowledge
Purely accidental, though I don't think it was a conversion. I think it was more that I finally gave her a title to describe how she feels. If that made any sense. lol ^_^ Either way, it was a moment that you actually saw the positive educational effects that this site has so strongly.
Yes, but it's still a step forward, I feel. Or rather, it can be the final step. I am fine with a person believing, as long as they don't claim to know the absolute truth. Belief by itself is fine, but when they tell me it's absolutely wrong to be gay, or that evolution is absolutely wrong, or any number of things, I find that irritating.
A person who can admit they can't know absolutely, and accepts that is a beautiful and wise person.
Basically you want people to be willing to admit they can be wrong, and to stay out of your business or anyone else's. I don't personally don't even mind someone being 100% sure, as long as they live it by themselves and don't try to force others to live their way.
What a person believes doesn't mean anything to me, but because I am in a democratic (sorta) country, I'd like the citizens to not be set on their beliefs, trying to make the USA a Christian nation. I want it to be a place for everyone, so if I attack their religion, even though I do exaggerate, I mean, my actual level of "religious hatred" is very low. I couldn't care less, but on here, I'll attack full force with every opinion and fact I have.
You can't imagine I'm this...uh. Argumentative in real life, right?
And I'm not clever, I just remember good arguments and reword them to make them vicious!
And yes, debating fun stuff is waaay better than religion.
I mean, you saw me with Srom, right? Everyone wanted him out, but I refused to be like that.
I think everyone deserves an opinion. What makes me annoyed is when Christians say that I'm going to be tortured forever after I die, and I simply don't believe it. I mean, besides me not believing it, I find it extremely offensive.
But you were never like that, so I was constantly feeling bad about debating you, because you were obviously a nice person.
Ehh, well, anyways, I do have a slight vendetta against religion anyways. But yes, I have used this website to organize my thoughts on it, and there is nothing left to say or debate.
I am atheist because I am a scientist! I am a scientist because I think the universe and life is beautiful. If you agree, then we can be friends.
I think everyone deserves an opinion. What makes me annoyed is when Christians say that I'm going to be tortured forever after I die, and I simply don't believe it. I mean, besides me not believing it, I find it extremely offensive.
Well I try not to judge other people's beliefs or nonebeliefs. But you know.. when it comes to religions where they burn women and crazy stuff than I can get really upset.
I am atheist because I am a scientist! I am a scientist because I think the universe and life is beautiful. If you agree, then we can be friends.
I am an agnostic christian, because I think the universe and life is so beautiful, and I believe that to make this so beautiful as it is, someone must have made it and .. yeah a really creative creature made it.
But who knows?
I'd like to be friends, no one has enough friends right? ;)
I would really recommend Buddhism. The Middle Path is an excellent way to improve yourself and understand yourself better.
If all you desire is heaven, then stick to Christianity, but there are a lot of excellent religions out there. Christianity has one of the most bloody and horrifying histories, and currently in the US, it has uh... a lot of really bad people involved with it. The whole anti-evolution thing.. I mean, evolution is waaay more beautiful than creation.
Evolution means all life is connected. That we are all brothers and sisters in the family of life. That feeling of being connected, not through faith, but through reality is amazing.
Of course, there's always Asatru, Wicca, Kemetism or Hellenismo. All fascinating.
I mean, if you believe only in Yahweh and Jesus, that is fine, but a lot of Christians hate "pick and choosers", who ignore certain parts of the Bible, but follow others.
The religions I listed above a lot more inclusive, and often, their gods DO have evidence for them.
I see the evidence of the gods of nature every time I look at a beautiful tree or the sky.
Gods that live within nature and within ourselves are not as powerful, but that is fine, I think.
Not everything needs to have ultimate power to be good.
A Muslim said something like "How can pagans still believe in their gods, even though the gods are gone?"
And a pagan answered "The gods are right here. They have never left."
And I felt like, wow, that's so odd.
It's not witchcraft, of course, but the ancient religions, even though you might not think gods live on Mt. Olympus, the spirits of those gods, of Thor or Zeus or Odin or just to say the god of trees or water are still said to exist. I dunno.
I think it was really interesting how so many people like that can say that their gods are right in front of them, and simply be referring to nature.
No, you don't have to repeat it, but why associate yourself with Bible verses like "Homosexuality is an abomination" or "However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. (Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT)"
I mean, I would much rather be a part of a faith where the evidence is all around you, and where you KNOW the god doesn't support slavery or oppression over women.
I mean, if you know the myths leading to the Torah, the Old Testament, then you'd know that Yahweh was once a god of war, part of the polytheistic pantheon serving under Marduk.
Well, if your god is the god of the Bible, then it is supporting slavery.
That's why I recommended the other religions to you. Even though you use the name "christian", you do not appear to worship Yahweh. Yahweh has a lot of specific rules that he says you cannot ignore.
The other religions seem to match you a lot better. If I was you, I'd do a loooot of research on all the religions.
If you've never read about or heard of the other religions, it could be a discovery to a whole new religion that you can truly put your faith in- with good reason!
And no, according to the Bible, Moses received the Torah on Mt. Sinai. That's the entire old testament, delivered straight to him by god.
No, why should i! I am not a Christian, Jew, Islamist, e.t.c. I am not willing to die for my beliefs. Like saying "the sky is blue and i am willing to die for it!"
Why would I die for something I don't believe? I would die for things I do believe in, like preventing an authoritarian state, but It really doesn't matter to me that you can't prove there is no God. As far as I'm concerned, you can already disprove the traditional monotheistic God by the paradoxes such a god would create.
Dying proves nothing. You're dead. The answer for either is "no"
If the question is whether they would die for a belief, it is purely situational. Would an atheist conceivably die under a totalitarian theist society for example, to prove a point or win freedom of religion (in this case freedom to also not have a religion)? Probably this is just as likely as a theist of a particular religion dying in protest of some other religion.
There is a very distinct and telling difference though. A theist will die and kill to force another to believe. This odd and destructive mentality is nearly non-existent in the atheist. Believe what you will, it is only when the religious begin forcing their ideas (which is constant and never ending from most religions and particularly Muslims and Christians) when they are met with protest.
Why a world of atheists would be a far more pleasant place.
A theist will die and kill to force another to believe. This odd and destructive mentality is nearly non-existent in the atheist.
Incorrect.
Stalin and the Communist regime had outlawed worship, forcing people to worship underground. Anyone caught being a Christian was sent to a camp, where most of them died.
Mao was very similar.
Why a world of atheists would be a far more pleasant place.
No. A world of non-violent people would be a far more pleasant place. Religious beliefs, believe it or not, are not the cause of genocide. Ideology and discontent for mankind are.
Stalin in Mao surpressed religion not for the sake of belief, but because they understood religion as another means of manipulating masses, and they wanted a monopoly on manipulating the masses.
No religion = one less tool toward genocide and all types of evils. It doesn't mean they dissappear, it just means one less tool.
No. A world of non-violent people would be a far more pleasant place. Religious beliefs, believe it or not, are not the cause of genocide. Ideology and discontent for mankind are.
And my argument is the religious are more violent and more easily manipulated toward violent tendencies through the excuse of some god.
That things other than religion are used as an excuse to cause havoc does not mean religion is not used to cause havoc.
I agree. However, that's not what we were talking about. I wasn't saying "religion is not used to cause havoc," I was contesting what you said:
A theist will die and kill to force another to believe. This odd and destructive mentality is nearly non-existent in the atheist.
So I suppose I'll just copypasta what I said about that so you understand what we're debating:
Incorrect.
Stalin and the Communist regime had outlawed worship, forcing people to worship underground. Anyone caught being a Christian was sent to a camp, where most of them died.
I doubt that a world of atheists would be a more pleasant place. What I do know is that a world without you certainly would be a more pleasant place. Your own words prove that hatred lays in your heart.
Not only are you completely ignoring the fact that the Crusades or any other mass killings at the hands of various religious bodies have ever happened, but you're almost wishing death upon another human being simply for stating so, then you say that he's the one with an intense hate? How could that be any more ignorant or hypocritical, and what possible justification would you have to behave that way with little to no provocation?
You suggested the world would be better off without that person. It seems pretty hard to misinterpret, but if I did, want to elaborate? Then I'll even LET you throw it in my face. And of course people have died by atheists, but what exactly do you think caused that aggression? I somehow doubt it was any sort of fervor, but reasons such as greed and rage - And no human is immune to either. So why don't you stop with the little insults and face the issue properly instead of beating around the bush? And instead of simply batting away my convictions, why not disprove them properly by putting even a small amount of effort into explaining it?
I am a so called 'atheist' and dying to prove there is no god is simply absurd. Why would I waste my entire life trying to prove something I already have no interest in knowing about. In my mind god does not exist. In a catholic's, he does. It's all the work of the mind and conscience.
A resounding "NO" would be my answer. But more to the point, how would an atheist's voluntary demise prove or disprove the existence of a god? Seems to me that there is absolutely no incentive for an atheist to put his life on the line to prove a negative. Worse, it would be idiotic. Most atheists I know are pragmatic by nature. So, nope, I don't think you'd find a volunteer among us.
But a Christian or a Muslim putting his life on the line---Now THAT truly makes sense to me--so much sense that I'm blown away by the lack of volunteers for death amongst Believers. And those relative few who put themselves out there in the name of service to God are under the influence of shameless religious or political dogma delivered by master manipulators.
And even those who don't actively volunteer to exit life eventually fall ill, get involved in life threatening accidents, whatever............and oh do the prayers begin in earnest. The invocation of God to put off the inevitable just a little while longer can become quite intense. While I feel deep empathy--NO--a great deal of sympathy--for anyone facing imminent death, I'm profoundly puzzled with the Christians who I'd have thought would have been praying all their lives to die and be enveloped by the love of god ASAP. I mean they love their god above all else, including their own children, moms and dads and closest friends. I gotta tell you folks, I'd die in a nanosecond for a grand/child of mine, cuz you know what, I really do love those monkeys. So, it seems to me there's a rather gaping disconnect between Christians and the god they so love, adore, admire, respect, and with whom they claim to have such a profound personal relationship.
C'mon, folks, face the facts. God is but a concept—a construct of man—and a meaningless one at that. It's impossible to love a concept which for my money explains perfectly why tears of sadness are shed at Christian and Muslim funerals. Perfectly understandable. You love what you know. And no one however devout they claim to be is capable of loving a concept.
More logic, Christians and Muslims and less fantasizing.