How do you feel about atheists?

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MrEmpiricism said:
Thing I am missing would be the community spirit & support structure etc that you provide for each other. Now that can be found else where but church does it well IMO. You also have the comfort of believing passes loved ones are somehow still with spiritually with you.
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šŸ‘
 
MrEmpiricism said:
I am baffled that you both seem to think testing and independently verifying emotion a problemā€¦

Get a group of married people, hook them up to an eeg, mri, monitor their physiology etc.

Show them a bunch a random videos then slip in a video of their children and see what happens.
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I donā€™t find this to be compelling at all.

It may be simply recording facial recognition. Or memory.

I donā€™t know that it is a recording on any emotion, let alone ā€œloveā€.

#skeptic
 
PRmerger said:
I donā€™t find this to be compelling at all.

It may be simply recording facial recognition. Or memory.

I donā€™t know that it is a recording on any emotion, let alone ā€œloveā€.

#skeptic
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We know when through repetition we can find correlations between the emotions and physiological, chemical and brain reactions. there are literally 1000s of papers on this subject.
 
MrEmpiricism said:
We know when through repetition we can find correlations between the emotions and physiological, chemical and brain reactions. there are literally 1000s of papers on this subject.
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So was just happenstance that the attraction chemicals kicked when I met my wife and Iā€™m fortunate that for over a quarter of a century the love chemicals have continued to course through my veins?

Rather than write papers I really wish they would bottle these chemicals up and sell them on the open market . Could save a lot of marriages
 
estesbob said:
So was just happenstance that the attraction chemicals kicked when I met my wife and Iā€™m fortunate that for over a quarter of a century the love chemicals have continued to course through my veins?

Rather than write papers I really wish they would bottle these chemicals up and sell them on the open market . Could save a lot of marriages
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Actually the do sell chemicals to alter human emotion, the are called antidepressants and 100s of millions of people take them.

PS, happenstance has nothing to do with anything. Instead of creating a straw man argument why not go and read what people actually believe is happening?
 
I donā€™t know that characterizing 25 years of marriage as happenstance, is accurate.
 
MrEmpiricism said:
Actually the do sell chemicals to alter human emotion, the are called antidepressants and 100s of millions of people take them.

PS, happenstance has nothing to do with anything. Instead of creating a straw man argument why not go and read what people actually believe is happening?
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I donā€™t know, so Iā€™m asking, are the ā€œlove chemicalsā€ the brain is causing, receptor inhibitors?
 
PRmerger said:
I donā€™t find this to be compelling at all.

It may be simply recording facial recognition. Or memory.

I donā€™t know that it is a recording on any emotion, let alone ā€œloveā€.

#skeptic
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It does sound like a way for some researchers to get a grant and make some money, though. No sillier than introducing chickens to people with variously-shaped faces, and noting which ones the chickens preferred.šŸ˜›
 
Another address to the OP:
Though atheists are spiritually lost, we should have compassion for them, feed them if they are hungry, clothe them if they are naked, heal them if they are sick in the body. That doesnā€™t mean we should soft pedal where the teachings of Christ are concerned. When we do that, before long we are accommodating to secularism, which is what has led so many churches and individual Christians astray.
 
MrEmpiricism said:
Actually the do sell chemicals to alter human emotion, the are called antidepressants and 100s of millions of people take them.

PS, happenstance has nothing to do with anything. Instead of creating a straw man argument why not go and read what people actually believe is happening?
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. You claim that love is a totally chemical reaction as is attraction. I asked you to explain how this works in the real world ie: is my Love for my wife of over 25 years merely a result of the right chemicals ? And why donā€™t those chemicals make me love everyone and everyone I see? Same goes for attraction. Was it just an accident that the attraction chemicals kicked in when I met her?
 
estesbob said:
. You claim that love is a totally chemical reaction as is attraction. I asked you to explain how this works in the real world ie: is my Love for my wife of over 25 years merely a result of the right chemicals ? And why donā€™t those chemicals make me love everyone and everyone I see? Same goes for attraction. Was it just an accident that the attraction chemicals kicked in when I met her?
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*We *know that marriage is a sacramental union between one man and one woman, estesbob and even the popular term ā€œchemistryā€ encompasses much more than endorphins. In reality the sacred love between a man and a woman can never be reduced to physical science. Deo gratias and may God grant you and your wife many more years of happiness!
 
MrEmpiricism said:
I am baffled that you both seem to think testing and independently verifying emotion a problemā€¦

Get a group of married people, hook them up to an eeg, mri, monitor their physiology etc.

Show them a bunch a random videos then slip in a video of their children and see what happens.

BTW love is not a single emotion there is a lot more going on that that, but like I said there are many ways to detect emotionā€¦ scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=detecting+emotion&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5
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Yes, but arenā€™t you putting the cart before the horse, i.e., just because you can see how emotions affect the brain, doesnā€™t mean the brain is responsible for those emotions in the first place (obviously there is some sort of symbiotic relationship between our mind/consciousness and our brain)!
 
One more point on the subject of love: how does materialism / reductionism explain our love for Christ and even more importantly, His love for us? Since God is immaterial, and Christ is true God as well as true man, His love for us can hardly be explained as the result of brain chemistry.:tiphat::extrahappy:
 
josie_L said:
Yes, but arenā€™t you putting the cart before the horse, i.e., just because you can see how emotions affect the brain, doesnā€™t mean the brain is responsible for those emotions!
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Yes, the argument that since one can measure brain activity changes when the subject feels love, then therefore there is no spiritual component to love, is absurd since it depends on acceptance of the premise that there is no spirit, i.e. human soul. Itā€™s simply more sophist trickery.
:love::highprayer:
 
Faithdancer said:
Yes, the argument that since one can measure brain activity changes when the subject feels love, then therefore there is no spiritual component to love, is absurd since it depends on acceptance of the premise that there is no spirit, i.e. human soul. Itā€™s simply more sophist trickery.
:love::highprayer:
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But even as an atheist, one has to contend with the fact that mind/consciousness and the brain are not the same thing. I myself have always likened the brain to the hardware (tangible) and the mind/consciousness as the software, both are necessary and in a symbiotic relationship, as such, impinge upon the other, however, without mind/ consciousness, the brain would not be able to produce any output.
 
josie_L said:
But even as an atheist, one has to contend with the fact that mind/consciousness and the brain are not the same thing. I myself have always likened the brain to the hardware and the mind/consciousness as the software, both are necessary, but in a symbiotic relationship, moreover, one may impinge upon the other, however, without mind/ consciousness, the brain would not be able to produce any output.
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Parenthetically, according to Scripture-- Luke 16:19-31 for example-- mind and consciousness are fully operational in eternity. Yes, itā€™s a parable, but parables given us by Christ always reveal truth and He wouldnā€™t have clearly stated the operation of mind and consciousness in Lazarus and the rich man, if such operation was not a reality in eternity.
 
With regard to the subject, I love atheists!

I was just thinking this morning about a great conversation I had a few years ago (not on this site), where the notion of relationships and how they work through creation from family through society was the trigger point for the person to do some delving.

With regard to the latest conversation about chemicals and measurable changes in needle readings.

If one is to argue that chemicals are the cause for the will to act emotionally or otherwiseā€¦

It is important for us to get an explanation as to how the chemicals know who it is I am acting towards.

How do my Chemicals know my wife at X time with emotion chemical Love-a, my kids at Y time with emotion chemical Love-b, and others at Z time with emotion chemical Love-c?

What if a stranger who is not on my chemical radar comes up to me and asks for some food or $$, is it out of the kindness of my chemicals, or coldness of my chemicals that I share or not?

Take care,

Mike
 
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