Is it better to be a believer or an athiest? (beliefs, soul)

[tomspug]

I've never been a big fan of Pascal's Wager, simply because it seems like a philosophical loophole that tries to eliminate the need to have faith at all.

The way I see it, is that death is real. If you are an atheist, you are forced to believe that death is the end. So an atheist has no way of dealing with it.

I can't imagine there are many people that intentionally die an atheist.

[standing_alone]

Originally Posted by tomspug

If you are an atheist, you are forced to believe that death is the end. So an atheist has no way of dealing with it.

What makes you think that recognizing death as "the end" makes it impossible to deal with?

[MidnightBlue]

Originally Posted by tomspug

The way I see it, is that death is real. If you are an atheist, you are forced to believe that death is the end. So an atheist has no way of dealing with it.

Since atheists do deal with it, often with great grace, you're obviously mistaken.

Originally Posted by tomspug

I can't imagine there are many people that intentionally die an atheist.

Your imagination needs work. Of course there are. How would you will yourself to believe some fantasy just for insurance or assurance, anyway?

Tolstoy wasn't exactly an atheist, but he didn't believe in the survival of the self after death, and what he said on his deathbed when urged to repent and be reconciled to the Church is still the best answer: "Even in the valley of the shadow of death, two and two do not make six."

[tomspug]

Fine. Disbelieve me. See you on your deathbed.

[MdmSzdWhtGuy]

Originally Posted by tomspug

Fine. Disbelieve me. See you on your deathbed.

I bet you have a WWJD bracelet on. Are you from Texas? This is the same thing I have heard from Christian co-workers. It is such an outstanding threat!!! Threaten non-beleivers with everlasting torment in a lake of fire.

Ahh, well, you convinced me. Where do you attend church? I will be there Sunday. We are supposed to tithe 10% of gross, not net, right?

If you cannot see your own hypocracy, then I question how you were able to turn on the computer you typed the above drivel on. Nice representation of your faith padnah.

B.

[MidnightBlue]

Originally Posted by MdmSzdWhtGuy

This is the same thing I have heard from Christian co-workers. It is such an outstanding threat!!! Threaten non-beleivers with everlasting torment in a lake of fire.

If there were a god and a hell, hell would gape for believers who considered god a means to an end, and for those who encouraged others to do likewise.

[tomspug]

Look, Mdm. That's not a threat. That's an acceptance of a disagreement. My faith believes in heaven and hell. I'm sorry if that threatens you somehow.

If someone claims that they can look at death without fear and I respond by saying 'see you on your deathbed', that's not a threat. That's an acceptance of disagreement. They claim that death isn't a problem, so how am I threatening them?

Your comment, however was the vicious one. You didn't even make a point, you just attacked me with about five different generalizations. You're not going to win many arguments if you automatically assume that you are on righteous ground.

To summarize, if my comment came off that way, it was not my intention. Your intention, however, was obvious.

[MdmSzdWhtGuy]

See you on your deathbed is not a threat? Hmm. I guess you got this bridge too, huh? Sad that you can't smell your own bs.

B.

[MidnightBlue]

Originally Posted by tomspug

If someone claims that they can look at death without fear and I respond by saying 'see you on your deathbed', that's not a threat. That's an acceptance of disagreement. They claim that death isn't a problem, so how am I threatening them?

Nobody said that death isn't a problem, just that you were wrong in your assertion that atheists have no way to deal with death.

For the record, though, I didn't take "see you on your deathbed" as a threat. I took it as a sneering assertion that when push comes to shove, I'll agree with you -- the presumptuous sort of thing a certain type of believer resorts to when he has nothing intelligent to say.

[Tiberius]

As an atheist, I can tell you that I deal with death by viewing it as exactly the same thing as before I was conceived. There were billions of years before I was conceived, and my non-existence then never bothered me a bit, so I don't see why I should be bothered about my non-existence after I die.

Tomspug, is that a good way of dealing with it? I hope you see now that your claim is wrong. Atheists can and do deal with the concept of their own death. And they do it quite well.