Accepting the reality of God is painful to many:

[Oli]

Apart from the measurable physiological aspects you mean?

 

[D'ster]

Is not love a feeling or a belief.

 

[Oli]

Love is a measurable chemical imbalance:
http://www.mcmanweb.com/love_lust.htm

 

[D'ster]

Many people nowadays follow transcendental meditation, prayer, and yoga to enhance their spiritual and physical well being. These spiritual practices are 'in' activities, which produce physiological health benefits (2) . Among regular practitioners of meditation and prayer, a higher level of psychological health has been observed. Anxiety and depression are lowered. Regular meditation and prayer decreases the stress hormone, 'plasma cortisol' (2). Transcendental meditation and yoga also increase EEG coherence and blood flow to the brain, induce muscle relaxation and lowers blood pressure (2). Could all these benefits of increased spiritual behavior be associated with biology and the workings of the brain? Could science enable us to understand and explore religious and spiritual experiences?

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f01/web3/ekanayake.html

Accepting the reality of love is painful to many,

would you agree?

 

[Oli]

Accepting the reality of love is painful to many,

Nope. But the consequences of love are painful. Never again.

 

[D'ster]

Is not the "consequences", the reality of love?

You said "never again".

I remember when a friend of mine who lost his mother when he was young,

He said to me "I will never believe in God again".

 

[Oli]

Nope. You can love someone. But acting on that love causes the consequences.
I don't see how the rest of your post applies though?

 

[D'ster]

You "can" love God, But acting on that love causes the consequences.

 

[Sarkus]

Atheists... blah blah blah

An homage to Lawdog

Theists, either consciously or subconsciously, have habituated themselves to thinking of God as some sort of saviour, and to his followers in Christ as brethren. As a theist, try to catch yourself doing this and you will see that its true.

But nothing about Reality could be further from the truth.

Reality is the same for theists so much that many non-Christians, if they discovered how much, wouldn't care as they already know!

The true reason that they want to acknowledge a God is far from 'intellectual limitation." To acknowledge the possible non-existance of God they must say that they were wrong. Pride of their life prevents them from this admission.

Therefore we must beg them to seek true rationality.

Many have adopted a lifestyle which they refuse to change or in any way alter. They wrongly think that Reality wants them to change gradually. This is not the case. Reality couldn't care less. Reality just IS, and wants people to be who they are.

Even those non-believers who call themselves "saved from irrationality" as if their relationship to reality were based on some sort of logic, and who think that they were saved because they went up to "the altar of rationality" ....are not yet fully saved, but they must continue to work towards intellectual salvation by not falling into irrational belief.

Reality does not look with more favor upon believers than non-believers, but it doles out good AND BAD things to both, without caring one iota what you believe or don't.

Reality is.

We are.

That's all there is to it.

 

[lightgigantic]

An homage to Lawdog

Theists, either consciously or subconsciously, have habituated themselves to thinking of God as some sort of saviour, and to his followers in Christ as brethren. As a theist, try to catch yourself doing this and you will see that its true..

So why is that a fault?

But nothing about Reality could be further from the truth..

On what grounds should we accept that it is false? Because you said so? Does that mean a theist can also establish things because they also say things or is it an exclusive power available only to atheists?

Reality is the same for theists so much that many non-Christians, if they discovered how much, wouldn't care as they already know!.

This doesn't make sense - i am not even sure what you are trying to communicate ...

The true reason that they want to acknowledge a God is far from 'intellectual limitation." To acknowledge the possible non-existance of God they must say that they were wrong. Pride of their life prevents them from this admission. .

Kind of a flimsy statement - just look what I can also say by altering two words...
The true reason that they want to acknowledge Godlessness is far from 'intellectual limitation." To acknowledge the possible existance of God they must say that they were wrong. Pride of their life prevents them from this admission.

Therefore we must beg them to seek true rationality..

ditto here

Many have adopted a lifestyle which they refuse to change or in any way alter. They wrongly think that Reality wants them to change gradually. This is not the case. Reality couldn't care less. Reality just IS, and wants people to be who they are..

In otherwords this is all just bravado influenced opinion - you haven't even got an argument - only opinion - Reality just IS? Reality is what - its like you are alluding to knowing what it is but when we get down to the brass tacks you have nothing to say

Even those non-believers who call themselves "saved from irrationality" as if their relationship to reality were based on some sort of logic, and who think that they were saved because they went up to "the altar of rationality" ....are not yet fully saved, but they must continue to work towards intellectual salvation by not falling into irrational belief.

Reality does not look with more favor upon believers than non-believers, but it doles out good AND BAD things to both, without caring one iota what you believe or don't..

Looks like you don't know what constitutes god's mercy - the point is that a person who has received god's mercy has a different way of responding to reality, namely they don't manifest nefarious character traits and are equipoised in happiness and distress and other dualities

Reality is.

We are.

That's all there is to it.

Reality is? We are?
Reality is what? We are what?
What sort of answer is "is"?

Just when you start to get all confident you suddenly get mysterious ... why?

Why don't you rely on logic and philosophy instead of an exhibition of will?

 

[Sarkus]

Blah blah blah

I guess someone didn't read the opening post?

 

[DeeCee]

Accepting the reality of God is painful to many

What god are we talking about?
Thor is cool but I think Ganesh is pretty ugly.

Dee Cee

 

[KennyJC]

My 'denial' (ie disbelief) of God(s) is not due to it being a 'painful truth', but because I find it unbelievable and unlikely to be point of being impossible. Especially notions that come with man-made God's. Impossible.

If the only thing you have is a book written by men saying so, then you will have to do better than that. Have something to show.

 

[Nasor]

I've always thought it very interesting how most christians assume that athiests must not want there to be a god because they don't believe in god - I think it really says something about the mindset of christians that they equate whether or not something is true with wether or not they find the idea appealing.

 

[Godless]

Accepting the reality of no God is painful to many.

this is so true, coming from a religious background. It took me quite a while to accept reality as is, and not as I wish it to be. It wasn't overnite that I came to the conclusion to be an atheist. It was a great interest in history, philosophy, psychology, anthropology, astronomy, and the continued study in these fields to stregthen my reasoning and logic in my decision to be an atheist. Also the study in religious history, the bible, quaran, as well as religious philosophers, these serve as tools, to keep my mind sharp, and have the knowledge of their non-sequirtus rhetoric. It is easy to see how mindless, no rationalizations brought so many people to believe in gods, Allah's, and what nots of mysticism. The confort of having so many believe in the same rhetoric, the commodarity of it all. The illusion is strengthen by the numbers of of believers in the group.

I'm the only atheist in my family, It was not easy to them when I revealed my decision to non-belief, but they still love me, and they eventually got over it, religion is something that we just don't talk about, I still have many religious friends, from the past, some know, and some don't need to know of my stance. LOL...

It has been a journey, from Catholic to Christian, to Babtist. I was "reborn" lol, and babtised twice in my life time. I aknowledged my atheism at 21yrs but really took hold as time went on. First thing I did when I purchased a computer, and tought myself to type and use it, was to seek out other atheists in forums such as this. That's how I wound up here. On sciforums. One of which I call home.

Godless

 

[Hapsburg]

The Church fathers rejected gnosticism for a reason.

Yeah. Because they saw it as a threat to their power over people.

fairy tales about Jesus

I thought that's what the rest of the bible was.

It makes good co-eternal with evil.

The terms "good" and "evil" are entirely subjective.

 

[spidergoat]

The way I look at it, the fathers of the Church were greater men than me and had great intellects and saintly lives, so why not let them decide for me what to think.

All of them at the Council of Nicea? What were the names of these esteemed men? I know they weren't disciples.

i feel sorry for those who go around constantly with the burden that they have to figure out how reality works.

wow, just... wow.

 

[Oli]

so why not let them decide for me what to think

I think that is THE SINGLE MOST boneheaded remark I've ever read on any forum. You let someone else decide what you're going to think? You deserve everything they do to you.

 

[imaplanck.]

You will not die alone, if you do not forsake your present path.
The demon will be there to take you to a place that will shock you to no end.

Aw im really scared!!! You aren't by any chance a bishop are you?
Do you really think such a base threat will work on an adult atheist though? surely your target audience should be small children.

 

[leopold]

is god real? does god exist?
to answer these questions you must first answer the question 'what is the nature of god?'
to my knowledge the question hasn't been answered.
but it is a tantalizing question nonetheless.

frankly i find it amazing that people will dismiss the possibility of a god outright.
you know the type, the ones who say 'there is no god' but yet have no proof.

i myself find it very difficult to believe in ghosts and spirits, as a matter of fact i don't.