Modern atheists reject “life-force” as a very primitive notion. Their faith in the power of time is touching but it doesn’t correspond to reality. Why have scientists been unable to reproduce the sequences of events you describe? It seems “uber-scientific” to claim mindless molecules are capable of becoming rational beings when given the opportunity to do so no matter how long it takes. For all intents and purposes atheism is the epitome of negativity. It is soul-destroying in all senses of the term and deifies matter as the Supreme Reality at the expense of the mind that conceives that hypothesis. There can hardly be a greater example of self-contradiction but of course for materialists the “mind” and “self” are illusions discarded for the benefit of their hypothesis. For them it is irrelevant that in practice no one lives as if they are impersonal collections of purposeless atomic entities blundering their way past all obstacles, totally unaware of what they are doing and imagining they are free to choose what to believe, how to live and who to love. In their scheme of things persons, freedom, truth and love are no more than fortuitous “isomorphisms” of mindless particles. Long live the reign of the irrational Goddess and all her equally irrational disciples! May Chance alone dictate the sequence of events to its final absurd conclusion: a return to the meaningless, valueless chaos from which it has miraculously emerged for no reason or purpose whatsoever!
Tony, you’re making sweeping generalizations. Many animists are atheists, including primitive peoples who often believe in life force/spirit but not in deities.
John, I don’t believe there is a hard and fast distinction between spirits and deities given that the latter are often attributed with very limited power and there must have been a gradual evolution of ideas unless there was a sudden revelation.
Indeed the Catholic Encyclopedia article enthusiastically spends 3,200 words on a (now defunct) theory that religion in the “higher civilized races” evolved from the atheist animist beliefs of the “lowest savages”, saying that “the savage mind should be likened to a child”.
Well, the article was written a century ago, and we can now see that the theory gained ground for a while due to a lack of research causing far too much generalization coupled with a widespread belief that Westerners were superior.
A century later you lump together all manner of misunderstood beliefs and ascribe them to your generalized “modern atheist” who you describe as being no more logical than a silly child.
All forms of atheism reject the existence of God or gods if the term is to make sense. Modern atheists may believe thought or purpose can be conjured up from purposeless processes but they are getting something for nothing. If you think it is a logical explanation the onus is on you to justify it.
As a fellow Christian we have a lot in common. I hope and pray you have a successful, peaceful and enjoyable New Year.
I’m sorry to say that if you don’t believe in truth there’s no point in discussing anything - but the way we live is the best test of what we believe. If you believe in love, for example, the rest can take care of itself.
To think my sarcasm is never a vice really brings me down to earth with a bump… It would make me a sheep in wolf’s clothing…:getholy: