Easy Life of an Atheist

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And some thoughts on morality.

Part of your office is covered by cctv. Part is not. You left some money on a desk in both parts overnight, in plain sight. Two people were working late, one in each part of the office. No-one knew they were there, except one is covered by the cctv.

When you come in the following day, the money is still there. So what can we say about the morality of the two people?

The one who couldn’t have been found guilty by any means and yet did not take the money acted morally. But can we say that unequivocably about the second person? No. She may have acted morally without the cameras but we don’t know if she didn’t take the money because of them.

If we had to pick the more moral of the two, then despite both of them perhaps being moral, we only have proof that one of them is.

I eagerly await examples of people not being able to understand the concept of hypotheticals.
 
I’m glad someone brought hell up. Can we have a show of hands of all those who have no doubt that they are going to avoid hell?

No-one? Great.

Imagine if someone said there was a one in a thousand chance that you were going to be kidnapped and tortured for a month. Imagine if it was one in a million but it would be your child. You would be insane with worry. It might drive you mad.

Now consider the chances of you suffering torment for…eternity. It would drive you mad. But I see no evidence of this. So what conclusions can we draw?
 
You may begin by being honest due to the cameras but you may learn to agree with the concept of honesty and it’s inherant good, embrace it regardless of the cameras, which are hidden, invisible.
 
otrrl said:
As a group, Communists are atheists and they devalue life very greatly. It is very easy for them to rationalize extermination of millions of people for the satisfaction of just a ruling class. In North Korea we hear of high ranking people being executed for the most trivial of slights and insults to the god-like political leader.

My point: it is easier for some atheists than it is for others.
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Communist states have no state sanctioned religion so all members of that state are atheists. Anyone see a problem with that?

Communist states have been involved with atrocities and people living in communist states therefore value life less than others. Anyone see a problem with that?

From the above, anyone who is an atheist places less value on life than others. Anyone see a problem with that?

Were you sick the day they covered logic in school, otrrl?
 
Lee1 said:
You may begin by being honest due to the cameras but you may learn to agree with the concept of honesty and it’s inherant good, embrace it regardless of the cameras, which are hidden, invisible.
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As you know, Lee, you are always aware of the camera. It may be invisible but you know it is always there. Saying that you embrace honesty is all you can do. The other guy is definitely honest. You? Well, we can never know…
 
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This reminds me of
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

So where’s the catch? I think it’s obvious.
 
No, of course not. The Psalmist is wondering why those who aren’t following after God are seeming to prosper, while the Godly seem to fair poorly. The Atheist would be among those who aren’t following after God. Whether their deeds are wicked or kind, the point is that the Psalmist was wondering why he, a Godly man, was so bad off. Just like the OP was asking.
 
Autumn-Smoke said:
No, of course not. The Psalmist is wondering why those who aren’t following after God are seeming to prosper, while the Godly seem to fair poorly. The Atheist would be among those who aren’t following after God. Whether their deeds are wicked or kind, the point is that the Psalmist was wondering why he, a Godly man, was so bad off. Just like the OP was asking.
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You were associating all that was bad with atheism and concluding that atheism itself was cause of the wickedness. Umless you’d like to explain that that was not your intention and that simply being an atheist has no more influence on ones morality than being a Bhuddist or a Muslim or a Jew or an atheist.
 
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You may never know if I was honest but my belief is that God does know. Because my belief is that God not only sees my actions but knows my thoughts. As I invite Him, because I see ‘good’ as leading to life and ‘evil’ leading to chaos and destruction.

God is not simply a camera.
 
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Bradskii said:
being an atheist has no more influence on ones morality
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I also would say that being an atheist diminshes barriers to immorality that a belief in God endows an individual with.
Also Faith seriously helps those suffering in this life to cope, including when they see others ‘ succeeding ‘ by using sometimes immoral methods.

Actually there are other ways to cope with suffering with suffering and many other things I expect but belief in God and worship through the Catholic Church is my preference, belief and succour.
 
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Autumn-Smoke said:
No, of course not. The Psalmist is wondering why those who aren’t following after God are seeming to prosper, while the Godly seem to fair poorly. The Atheist would be among those who aren’t following after God. Whether their deeds are wicked or kind, the point is that the Psalmist was wondering why he, a Godly man, was so bad off. Just like the OP was asking.
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The Psalmist appears to conflate the atheist with the wicked (and so, it seems to me, do you). The Psalmist’s view may have been common in his day; to hold such a view today would be strange indeed.
 
Ok, but I was never trying to impress you with my honesty, as a believer my concern was fidelity to God.

With respect I’m a little concerned that this discussion is off topic, perhaps it should be on a new thread? Either way, thank you for indulging me. I’m sure I’ve convinced you of your folly and it will make an immense difference to your life. (Joking)
 
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Lee1 said:
Ok, but I was never trying to impres you with my honesty, as a believer my concern was fidelity to God.
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We can move the discussion along now.

First we have agreed that I don’t know if you are honest in yourself or because you are honest because God sees what you do.

If you say your concern is fidelity to God then we have another two choices: Is it the love of God or is it the fear of punishment?

And again, we can never know. So it’s kinda two strikes and you’re out. If I had to make a choice of who was the honest guy I would have to go with the other person.

And this translates to the difference between atheists and Christians. To the disinterested onlooker, all things being equal, the atheist would be considered the more likely to be acting honestly for the best reasons.
 
Lee1 said:
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Bradskii:
being an atheist has no more influence on ones morality
Click to expand...
I also would say that being an atheist diminshes barriers to immorality that a belief in God endows an individual with.
Also Faith seriously helps those suffering in this life to cope, including when they see others ‘ succeeding ‘ by using sometimes immoral methods.

Actually there are other ways to cope with suffering with suffering and many other things I expect but belief in God and worship through the Catholic Church is my preference, belief and succour.
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See my comments above re morality. But yes, I definitely agree that faith is a great help to many people. I obviously talk about things from my perspective but I always assume that the faith of the person I am talking with is strong enough to withstand some forum banter.
 
Yes, that’s fine, absolutely no harm done to me. Thank you. My son is also an atheist and has a keen intellect too which he sometimes exercises on me! It’s fine.
 
Lee1 said:
Yes, that’s fine, absolutely no harm done to me. Thank you. My son is also an atheist and has a keen intellect too which he sometimes exercises on me! It’s fine.
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Wow, I’d love to hear some of your dining table discussions!
 
Yes, often resulting in cold food.
I meant of course that you and he share a keen intellect, each, not between you!
He has mentioned that he once bumped up against the following argument regarding the existence of God, which effectively halted the discussion.

“The existence of God lies outside the realms of human measurement because God is a metaphysical entity.”

I suggested that he argue for me (and in the process I’m thinking conversion!)
 
Lee1 said:
Yes, often resulting in cold food.
I meant of course that you and he share a keen intellect, each, not between you!
He has mentioned that he once bumped up against the following argument regarding the existence of God, which effectively halted the discussion.

“The existence of God lies outside the realms of human measurement because God is a metaphysical entity.”

I suggested that he argue for me (and in the process I’m thinking conversion!)
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I would have corrected the statement to ‘…because gods are assumed to be metaphysical entities’.

Always good to start off on the front foot…
 
Unfortunately he’s only phoned me briefly so I can’t continue his point. He did mention he favours stoicism.

As you can imagine I’m working on his arguments, with hope and the sure knowledge that God has a design for him.
 
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