7/14/09

Atheism - Carpe Despero

FYI: this post has been moved here.

5 comments:

  1. I was going to leave a comment...
    ...but what difference does it make...sigh.

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  2. Why do you so desperately seek eternal meaning? I do not find it depressing that my life is, in any infinite (or even long term) sense, meaningful. I feel happiness. Others around me feel happiness (and feed back into my happiness). Who cares if it won't last forever?

    When it comes down to it, the difference between you and me is that I don't feel a need to have eternal existence. I don't wallow in that sort of hubris.

    Children feel happiness without knowledge of the finite or infinite, without suffering because of their doubt about whether their actions are considered meaningful tomorrow. Eventually we learn that there are practical applications of concern about the future and so we start to care about it. But why worry about infinity? It has no practical relevance to our day to day lives.

    Perhaps you consider this a shallow view of life; then consider me shallow. Perhaps you fail to see how I can value anything other than shallow and immediate pleasures with such a view; know only that I do, and my meanings do not need to be your meanings.

    It is an admirable goal for one to define why one believes what one believes. It is a, well, stupid goal to try to prove to others that their beliefs have no meaning. We all believe what we believe for our own reason, and you are silly if you think that everyone should conform to your own reasons for finding meaning.

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  3. On the other hand, if life is infinite then your actions have eternal consequences and anything you do, from the grandiose to the mundane, is ultimately important. What you are and what you do will live on and this vastly expands our perspective. This is what truly gives our everyday lives importance. This is why we must express benevolence in here and now.

    On a different tack, if everything you do ultimately has significance, why do you spend significant amounts of time attacking atheists instead of expressing benevolence towards them? It hardly seems meaningful towards either a finite or infinite life.

    Because really, I am curious, why do you feel the need to attack atheism? If we atheists are to know Christians by their works, then your advertisement for Christianity is pettiness and negativity rather than for love, hope, charity, and truth.

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  4. Mariano,

    I agree with Woody Allen: I want to achieve immortality not through my work but rather by not dying.

    Dave

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  5. Blogger,

    You are merely restating the same old silly saw; "I am afraid of the fact that I am not eternal, thus everyone must be." Do not make the mistake of assuming everyone shares your limitations.

    I, and many others, do not feel this deep angst that you seem to upon considering our finite nature. This deep fear of death that you clearly posess is very likely a strong reason for your embrace of mythology. I pity you in that regard. To live in fear is a terrible thing.

    Still, there is hope for you. Work hard at understanding that you are just a human, like the rest of us. Death is part of being human, and there is no finer thing to be.

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