This is not bashing on religion or anything like that. Just an honest question. I've grown curious over this, as I cannot explain why I do not follow any religion other than the typical 'I don't believe it'.
In a related note, I am still trying to figure out this story: 1 in 6 Dutch Protestant Church Priests Athiest or Agnostic
The number of closeted atheists and agnostics that are active members of the Church is surprisingly high.
Theres a theological movement called Christian atheism which says that there is no God or that God literally died on the cross, but follows the Gospel's teachings.
For me I can't rationally explain it except that the Four Noble Truths make sense to me on an intuitive level.
Because I need to believe there is a God, there is a right and wrong. I need to believe that someone watches over us, as unlikely, improbable, and archaic as it is. I might be wrong, and probably am, but I'm happy the way I am.
Isn't it a little depressing to believe that individuals will only live on Earth for 80-100 years (if lucky) and then die off with nothing after? Believing in an afterlife gives a sense of hope and curiosity for what comes after death in the physical sense. Similar to why are there other planets and galaxies if they are not supplying life? Just a thought.
I don't mean to sound like a dick (please excuse me if it comes across that way), but just because a truth is depressing is no excuse to run from it. It's depressing that one day our sun will explode and there will be no life in our solar system. Doesn't mean you can change it by believing that it won't happen. I don't have a religion because I don't think that any person should tell another what to believe. If you believe something, it should be because you've examined it deeply and truly believe it, not just because you were raised to believe it or think that it's better to be safe than sorry as concerns an afterlife or god's punishment or whatever. I think people should be as spiritual as they want, and that the world would be a better place with more spirituality, more tolerance, and less religion. I don't believe in a conscious god who takes specific action to punish or reward. If I believe anything, I believe that the universe strives to maintain a balance while it's in the process of breaking down. I believe that humans are perceptive, especially in regards to patterns, and often create patterns where there are none as a means of dealing with the information swirling all around us. I believe in the ether, I believe in higher dimensions, and I believe that humans could not be further from knowing the absolute truth about the meaning of our existence. No religion for me, just the hope that science will shed more light on the dark.
You know what's depressing to me? People expending their time, money, effort, and emotions on something for which there is zero demonstrable evidence. Many for the sole reason that they think this life is some kind of audition for the real thing. In my view, the fact that this is life is the only one we have just makes it that much more precious - not depressing.
No doubt. Let's pretend it is a "fact" that there is no afterlife - what is more depressing of the two options? 1: spending your only life pretending there is an afterlife and following whatever religion feels right to you 2: or spending your only life without pretending... just flat out accepting the reality and making the most of the time you have without having to prescribe to any sort of orthodoxy. I'd go with 2 every day of the week. And since there is no evidence for any gods, supernatural claims, or afterlife... I don't see the point in pretending.
That's why I get a kick out of "religious" people whose main argument for believing is that it's the safe thing to do (Pascal's Wager). What they never seem to realize is that an all-knowing god isn't going to honor a fire insurance policy. He'll know you don't truly believe. Then there's also the fact that there are thousands of gods throughout history, and for many of them the only truly unforgivable act is to worship someone/something other than them. So in that sense, atheism is the safer "bet".
While I am not a very religious person, and agree with you mostly, I would like to point out that you have already stated the flaw in your argument. It is not fact that the afterlife does not exist, because we do not know what happens upon death. You would rather accept reality, but the reality is that death is a mystery. We do not know what lies beyond it.
Never heard that term... what are the four? I'm a Christian but I'm not Bible dependent. My favorite period of Christianity is the 2-300 years that they worshiped without a Bible relying on oral tradition I suppose. I classify myself (when I have to) as a Majestic Christian. The faith is full of contradictions: my personal favorite is Salvation by Faith Alone vs. Judgment Day. This kind of thing is, to me, part of the great deception meant to disrupt the best kind of peace, love and harmony that we can muster in a decaying world.
"The way to Heaven is to kill Americans while blowing yourself up." "The way to Heaven is to live a virtuous life that follows the teachings of Jesus Christ and donate 10% of your salary to your local church." "The way to Heaven is guaranteed. You don't have to do anything." "The way to Heaven is by by being an atheist." "The way to Heaven is by being a Houston Rockets fan." The afterlife can exist. But what makes you so certain it's correct to place all your eggs in the Christianity-basket simply because everyone else does? After all, we are a country that elected such amazing people to the presidency as George W. Bush and believe that the top 2% in wealth should not pay taxes.
"Fear" seems to be the driving force behind a lot of people's beliefs. Fear of going to hell, fear of being left out, fear of god. That is the opposite of what it should be about, IMO. DD
The Four Noble Truths are the foundation to Buddhism and are what Sakyamuni realized when he was meditating under the Bodhi tree, that is the moment that Buddhism was created. They are: 1. All life is suffering. 2. Suffering arises from attachment. 3. The end of suffering is the end of attachment. 4. There is a path to end attachment. (The Eightfold Path) These are rough translations of the Sanskrit concepts as initially rendered by Sakyamuni. The idea behind them is to develop an understanding of what is the nature of existence and a way of coming to terms with the nature of existence.
