Let me approach this in a different way. Instead of arguing about proof of God, which tend to bottleneck the discussion, focus on each side of the argument; atheism and theism, accepting their premises of their position, and then compare the impact on behavior.
This approach is similar to some people accepting the premises of conservatism versus the premises liberalism and how it impacts behavior and their perception of the world. Neither can prove their position as being absolute truth. However, accepting either position has an impact on perception and behavior. In current times, the left is far more angry and unhappy. You become a reflection of what you believe.
One observation about atheism is you don't have to be rational to be an atheist. The only thing you need to do is chant there is no God. You can have no education, but if you work under the assumption there is no God, you are a card holding atheist. What attracts the irrational atheists to atheism?
One answer is, atheism is easier than theism, since there are fewer restrictions over impulse and less will power is expected of you. The theist may have to restrict diet out of fear of the sin of gluttony. This develops will power and control over impulse using an abstraction, even when nobody is looking.The atheist does not have any fear of gluttony being a sin, since there is no divine judge in their belief system. There is less need to control impulse or use willpower unless the human herd create a human taboo that they can outwardly enforce. One does not need the same level of internal will power and choice.
I began with religious education as a child ,and became more agnostic/atheist as a teenage. The reason was I wanted to indulge in life and not be restricted by guilt due to sin. I was trying to lower my level of willpower and allow myself to become more compulsive, such as chasing skirts and living in the moment. The argument of no proof of God, was my excuse not the real motivation.
Another difference between atheism and theism is theism believes in powers that are higher than human; God. Whereas the atheism places humans at the top. This has different impacts on the personality. As an analogy, there is a different between a small child who thinks they are equal to their parents and a small child who places their parents higher up the level of knowledge and wisdom. The latter is more open to teaching.
Having faith also makes it easier to think outside the box ,since God is outside the box of tangible proof. If you can accept the premise of God, you can accept all that is thought but not yet made manifest. Faith is the foundation of all new innovation at the beginning stage. The atheist needs proof, so they can't wander to far outside box; lack faith.
This approach is similar to some people accepting the premises of conservatism versus the premises liberalism and how it impacts behavior and their perception of the world. Neither can prove their position as being absolute truth. However, accepting either position has an impact on perception and behavior. In current times, the left is far more angry and unhappy. You become a reflection of what you believe.
One observation about atheism is you don't have to be rational to be an atheist. The only thing you need to do is chant there is no God. You can have no education, but if you work under the assumption there is no God, you are a card holding atheist. What attracts the irrational atheists to atheism?
One answer is, atheism is easier than theism, since there are fewer restrictions over impulse and less will power is expected of you. The theist may have to restrict diet out of fear of the sin of gluttony. This develops will power and control over impulse using an abstraction, even when nobody is looking.The atheist does not have any fear of gluttony being a sin, since there is no divine judge in their belief system. There is less need to control impulse or use willpower unless the human herd create a human taboo that they can outwardly enforce. One does not need the same level of internal will power and choice.
I began with religious education as a child ,and became more agnostic/atheist as a teenage. The reason was I wanted to indulge in life and not be restricted by guilt due to sin. I was trying to lower my level of willpower and allow myself to become more compulsive, such as chasing skirts and living in the moment. The argument of no proof of God, was my excuse not the real motivation.
Another difference between atheism and theism is theism believes in powers that are higher than human; God. Whereas the atheism places humans at the top. This has different impacts on the personality. As an analogy, there is a different between a small child who thinks they are equal to their parents and a small child who places their parents higher up the level of knowledge and wisdom. The latter is more open to teaching.
Having faith also makes it easier to think outside the box ,since God is outside the box of tangible proof. If you can accept the premise of God, you can accept all that is thought but not yet made manifest. Faith is the foundation of all new innovation at the beginning stage. The atheist needs proof, so they can't wander to far outside box; lack faith.
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