Question to Atheists

[zzontar]

except you can find out who farted, based on chemical composition of the air, and analyzing the bacteria in the guts of the people within the elevator. through science we can not only prove the existance of a farting event, but also discover who farted, and how long ago based on the dispersion through the air.

Sounds like a good idea for a CSI episode.

[Geckonidae]

Modern science is not the be-all-end-all to human knowledge, there's still a lot that's filed under "unknown". Science has yet to fully explain human consciousness, a phenomenon we all know to exist. And there is still that pesky old question of just what started this whole show. The point is that without any definitive proof one way or the other there can be no right or wrong answers, the best we can do is come up with some way to wrap our heads around it that feels right to each of us. My current feeling is that there is something more than what science has to offer so far, and that the current religious interpretations are not to be taken literally. For me, the word "God" is not synonymous with the thought of some guy on a throne somewhere with the cosmic control panel at his fingertips, but more of a collection of the unknowns we still have in front of us. I understand if that doesn't work for everybody else, but for the time being it's a tidy place for me to file a bunch of questions I know I can't answer.

What's wrong with not having answers to everything right now? Why do you need to make things up just to feel better? I'm genuinely baffled by this.

[fluffy]

What's wrong with not having answers to everything right now? Why do you need to make things up just to feel better? I'm genuinely baffled by this.

There's nothing wrong with not having answers, it's where we are at this point in time. I don't share in the traditional "God" concept because it just doesn't sit right with me. It is unsupported by both science or by my personal experience so it's not currently in my daily vocabulary. But I still feel that there is something beyond what we currently know that binds/explains/drives our very existence. I have come to an understanding of "God" as a name for the mystery that surrounds us, nothing more. This is my way of recognizing the possibility of something greater without buying into traditional religious interpretation. I'm not particularly anti-religion, even though I do see that as a big motivation for many to hoist the atheist flag, I just don't entirely agree with their view of the world. That's not to say that religion in general doesn't have some useful moral lessons we could all benefit from, it's the "benevolent dictator" approach to God that rubs me wrong. On the same token I find an atheistic viewpoint as overly cold and analytical and not at all open to the aforementioned possibilities of just what really is behind the curtain.

[JLives]

If you desire finding wonder and a connection to something than yourself I suggest you watch the new Cosmos.

Science is far from cold and unfeeling but it is analytical. It is also open to ANY possibilities at all times, read up on the multiverse theory sometime if you want to blow your mind.

[fluffy]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/our-future-depends-on-spi_b_5194776.html

[Geckonidae]

http://www.skepticblog.org/2011/04/05/my-evening-with-deepak-chopra/

I'm sorry, but I have no interest in Deepak Chopra's metaphysical "woo woo". I think we're witnessing the next L. Ron Hubbard.

[fluffy]

Mr. Chopra is not alone in the thought that the line between science and spirituality is getting blurrier by the minute. A simple google search on "science and spirituality" will yield a wealth of reading on the topic.

[cliffy1]

Mr. Chopra is not alone in the thought that the line between science and spirituality is getting blurrier by the minute. A simple google search on "science and spirituality" will yield a wealth of reading on the topic.

Most people seem to want a black and white view of the world. Grey areas seem to scare them, for some strange reason. I look at the infinite variety in the Universe and see infinite possibilities. With almost 7 billion people on this rock, I find it ludicrous to limit the mind to so few choices as theist or atheist. An open mind, to me, is far more healthy a perspective.

[Donald G]

There have been many thousands of Gods dwelling in the minds of people in the 3.2 million years since "Lucy" and "Lucy's Baby" walked the earth in Africa. Also in the approximately 50 thousand years since our present day ancestors made their way out of Africa and across the globe. Thousands of "true Gods" still exist in the world today.

How can anyone truly believe that, out of the billions of people who have been born, lived and died over he years, they and they alone have knowledge of the only True God that presently exists. The whole concept of true knowledge regarding the various personal Gods is nothing but human imagination seeking security and a meaning to their existence.

Is there an originating life force that one could call God? Possibly.

[Geckonidae]

Mr. Chopra is not alone in the thought that the line between science and spirituality is getting blurrier by the minute. A simple google search on "science and spirituality" will yield a wealth of reading on the topic.

Deepak Chopra is selling the notion of life after death, and in his view that can be any version of an afterlife that you imagine. Of course he's not alone...there are lots of people who do not subscribe to the notion of a biblical God, but they still want life after death. Just because he's not alone in his views, that doesn't mean he right.

Joseph Smith had some crazy ideas, wrote a book, gained followers, and created a religion.

L. Ron Hubbard had some crazy ideas, wrote a book, gained followers, and created a religion.

Sun Myung Moon had some crazy ideas, wrote a book, gained followers, and created a religion.

Jim Jones had crazy ideas but only wrote a booklet, so he only had a small cult.

Deepak Chopra has the crazy ideas and he's written several books. He's approaching cult leader status right now, but I think we can expect bigger things from him. He'll probably end up somewhere between Moon and Hubbard.

I used to think that pandas were not bears but actually a primate. It wasn't my fault though, the school system propagated this misinformation, leading to a generation of people who all thought the same thing. I was absolutely not alone in thinking that pandas were primates, but that didn't make me any less wrong, I just had lots of company.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_panda_bears_fart?#slide=1

[JLives]

I just read this Neil DeGrasse Tyson quote and it is applicable to this thread: “Some myths deserve to be broken apart out of respect for the human intellect.”

[JLives]

Mr. Chopra is not alone in the thought that the line between science and spirituality is getting blurrier by the minute. A simple google search on "science and spirituality" will yield a wealth of reading on the topic.

I have a feeling we are talking about the same thing while approaching from different directions. I feel what I think you would call a spiritual connection with the universe. I highly, highly recommend you check out Cosmos.

“Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light‐years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. So are our emotions in the presence of great art or music or literature, or acts of exemplary selfless courage such as those of Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.”
― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

[JLives]

[cliffy1]

Too bad George Carlin is not around any more. I would love for him to roast me at my funeral. Or maybe Robin Williams.

[Glacier]

I just read this Neil DeGrasse Tyson quote and it is applicable to this thread: “Some myths deserve to be broken apart out of respect for the human intellect.”

Isn't this the guy that atheists were slamming left and right last month for being so narrow-minded toward fields outside of the natural sciences?