Are athiests happy?

[Sarkus]

No. I accept no fear. Never. It is not who I am or who I am in Him. Fear and worry are tools of the devil. Not of my Father.

So your god never told you to fear him?

Jeramiah 32:39-40
"One heart and one way I will give them, that they may fear me always, to their own good and that of their children after them.
I will make with them an eternal covenant, never to cease doing good to them; into their hearts I will put the fear of me, that they may never depart from me."

Do you not fear hell? Do you not fear the eternal damnation that a life of sin will bring you?
By accepting these fears within yourself you have learnt to live with them and, regardless of what you might think, they are part of you - anyone reading your responses on this forum knows that.

God is my "shrink". The best one I could possibly hope for. And He's free.

Other than requiring you to have fear of him?

I think secular shrinks are bad because they teach to "accept your fears", blame everything on your parents/childhood, etc..

There is no blame attached to fears - merely an understanding of them - their origins and how to assuage them.

It's time to grow up. Take some responsibility. Choose who you want to be. Not blame anyone or anything.

Yet by your own logic you would blame God for who you are? Isn't it time for YOU to take some responsibility for thinking for yourself - to break the shackles of your indoctrination?

Choosing God is the best decision I ever made. :worship:

Meh, if you're a happier person because of it - who are we to say otherwise.

 

[sandy]

"So your god never told you to fear him?"

My God teaches me to love Him. I don't fear Him. I am a born-again Christian. I got the new covenant, the New Testament, as my guide. :worship:

"Do you not fear hell? Do you not fear the eternal damnation that a life of sin will bring you?"

No. I know where I'm going when I die. And it's not hell.

"By accepting these fears within yourself you have learnt to live with them and, regardless of what you might think, they are part of you - anyone reading your responses on this forum knows that."

I accept no fear. It is a tool of the devil. I accept nothing of him.

"Other than requiring you to have fear of him?"

I have no fear of Him. Just love.

"There is no blame attached to fears - merely an understanding of them - their origins and how to assuage them."

I disagree. Fear is learned/taught/being scared. I am scared of nothing.

"Yet by your own logic you would blame God for who you are? Isn't it time for YOU to take some responsibility for thinking for yourself - to break the shackles of your indoctrination?"

I don't blame God for who I am. I thank Him for it. Thinking my way is nowhere near as satisfying/successful as thinking His way.

"Meh, if you're a happier person because of it - who are we to say otherwise."

Thank you.

http://www.joycemeyer.org/NR/rdonlyres/5D296F1F-9C57-4F9F-90A4-F84892CE8F27/0/FreefromReasoning.pdf

 

[Enterprise-D]

Fear is not "taught". It is the 'fight or flight' evolutionary response to danger Sandy. I'm pretty sure you would not be foolhardy enough to stand in the way of an out of control car. Do you think that it is anything but fear (motive: self preservation, danger: 1 ton metal block on wheels) that makes you jump (flight response) out of its way?

 

[sandy]

This is getting ridiculous. Common sense tells you to get out of the way of the car. I'm done with this, and most other frivolous discussions here...

 

[Enterprise-D]

No Sandy, fear does. If you relied on common sense for the extra speed necessary, you'd be dead.

 

[scorpius]

Fear and worry are tools of the devil

nonsense,...fear is an instinct needed for survival,
you cant claim to have no fear walking on a ledge of a building 100 stories high for example,not unless youre crazy.
everyone fears something

 

[lightgigantic]

Better to do neither, isn't it?
Better just to face your fears and accept them until they become part of who you are, and until you are comfortable with them as part of you?

unfortunately, the material world is the very medium of fear, since any number of a variety of mishaps, culminating in death, can happen to any number of living entities at any moment.

While there are many contingency plans one can abide by to avoid fearful situations (not necessarily just intoxication, although it is a somewhat popular one in contemporary western culture), it stands that theism is the best

BG 2.4 In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.

mainly beacuse the states of both fear and fearfulness are contingent on god

BG10.4-5 Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, happiness and distress, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy—all these various qualities of living beings are created by Me alone.

 

[Sarkus]

unfortunately, the material world is the very medium of fear, since any number of a variety of mishaps, culminating in death, can happen to any number of living entities at any moment.

And there was me thinking that it was usually things like ghosts!

While there are many contingency plans one can abide by to avoid fearful situations (not necessarily just intoxication, although it is a somewhat popular one in contemporary western culture), it stands that theism is the best

Three issues with this...
1. Intoxication is NOT a popular "contingency plan" to avoid fear, regardless of what you might think. Intoxication is popular because it actually breaks down inhibitions.
I have never known anyone to drink to combat fear! Have you?
Depression - yes.
Fear? No.

2. Theism is best? Confidence statement LG. Where's the proof/evidence? How many people do you know who have turned to theism to combat their fear of death?
Unfortunately most people are indoctrinated into theism from birth so you can not separate out their theistic beliefs to counter their fear of death versus other reasons. Your only viable source of evidence would be those who have turned to theism to counter their fear of death.

3. I do hope you're not suggesting that being a reasonable aid to quelling fears means that the tenets of the theistic beliefs are thus necessarily true? Are you?

 

[sandy]

You're assuming I'm afraid of death. I'm not. What's the worst that could happen? I die and go to Heaven sooner? :worship:

 

[ashura]

You're assuming I'm afraid of death. I'm not. What's the worst that could happen? I die and go to Heaven sooner? :worship:

Fear of illegal immigration turning the U.S. into a third world country perhaps?

 

[sandy]

That's not fear. That's righteous indignation.

 

[SetiAlpha6]

That's not fear. That's righteous indignation.

I think that, perhaps, you might be ignoring these verses, Sandy.

1 Peter 1:17
If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;

Romans 11:19-21
19You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."
20Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith Do not be conceited, but fear;
21for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.

Philippians 2:12
…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

 

[lightgigantic]

Sarkus
“

Originally Posted by lightgigantic
unfortunately, the material world is the very medium of fear, since any number of a variety of mishaps, culminating in death, can happen to any number of living entities at any moment.
”
And there was me thinking that it was usually things like ghosts!

fear of ghosts probably doesn't rank to high on most people's lists of anxiety

“”

While there are many contingency plans one can abide by to avoid fearful situations (not necessarily just intoxication, although it is a somewhat popular one in contemporary western culture), it stands that theism is the best

Three issues with this...
1. Intoxication is NOT a popular "contingency plan" to avoid fear, regardless of what you might think. Intoxication is popular because it actually breaks down inhibitions.

an inhibition is a type of anxiety disorder?

I have never known anyone to drink to combat fear! Have you?
Depression - yes.
Fear? No.

I am not sure what use you have applied to the word fear - I am meaning it in the sense of anticipation of something dreadful

2. Theism is best? Confidence statement LG. Where's the proof/evidence?

evidence of god?
Haven't we addressed that in several threads already?
(hint - "normative descriptions")

How many people do you know who have turned to theism to combat their fear of death?

quite a few

Unfortunately most people are indoctrinated into theism from birth so you can not separate out their theistic beliefs to counter their fear of death versus other reasons. Your only viable source of evidence would be those who have turned to theism to counter their fear of death.

there are many reasons why persons take to theism (at least in the beginning stages)

BG 7.16: O best among the Bhāratas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me — the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.

fear is merely a sub-category of one of them

3. I do hope you're not suggesting that being a reasonable aid to quelling fears means that the tenets of the theistic beliefs are thus necessarily true? Are you?

evidence of god is a separate issue - since you are a die hard atheist, i guess you have to make the decision whether you want to discuss things that are immediately verifiable to your self (or things that are immediately verifiable by persons you hold as dear) or whether you want to discuss things as ideas (if you choose the former the scope for discussion will be quite limited)

 

[Hapsburg]

And if so, why? You deny life after death. Your life is meaningless drivel.

Far from it. The fact that we only have one shot at living makes it just that much more important that we do the right things in life.

How do you keep from offing yourselves?

Simple humanism. The ideal that all humans are inherently worthy and deserve dignity and respect. Part of that respect is, well, not killing them or one's self.