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We're all just cowards

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
A lot of the time when I'm reading posts and replies on this website of forums, I think to myself why are ppl so hostile?o_O:confused:Aren't we all just afraid...... From Atheists who believe in science and in what they see or can be proven, with all their facts, scientific theories, formulas, charts, diagrams and super long words!:anguished:. Are they not afraid?..... afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong..... afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place".... afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.
AND Religious ppl who have faith driven beliefs. Who believe someone or something bigger than them has all the answers or who sometimes self-righteously believe, they have all the answers. Are they not afraid?.....Afraid of questioning their beliefs.... afraid to be wrong... afraid to defend believing in something that society has placed such a stigma on.....afraid that this is it and after death, there is nothing else...
At the end of the day we are all cowards and no one person is better than anyone else so ppl shouldn't be so hostile towards one another dang it!!:angry:(taking me outta my "tranquil" character!):expressionless:....
Lol! Jk!:p....
BUT seriously, we're all cowards.
People are busy and don't like rearranging their lives, so they don't go looking for reasons to.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
A lot of the time when I'm reading posts and replies on this website of forums, I think to myself why are ppl so hostile?o_O:confused:Aren't we all just afraid...... From Atheists who believe in science and in what they see or can be proven, with all their facts, scientific theories, formulas, charts, diagrams and super long words!:anguished:. Are they not afraid?..... afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong..... afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place".... afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.
AND Religious ppl who have faith driven beliefs. Who believe someone or something bigger than them has all the answers or who sometimes self-righteously believe, they have all the answers. Are they not afraid?.....Afraid of questioning their beliefs.... afraid to be wrong... afraid to defend believing in something that society has placed such a stigma on.....afraid that this is it and after death, there is nothing else...
At the end of the day we are all cowards and no one person is better than anyone else so ppl shouldn't be so hostile towards one another dang it!!:angry:(taking me outta my "tranquil" character!):expressionless:....
Lol! Jk!:p....
BUT seriously, we're all cowards.

Whats to be afraid of? Life is what it is. When it ends it ends.

Seems to me the cowards are the ones trying to ensure they live forever because they are scared of death.
 

Faithofchristian

Well-Known Member
A lot of the time when I'm reading posts and replies on this website of forums, I think to myself why are ppl so hostile?o_O:confused:Aren't we all just afraid...... From Atheists who believe in science and in what they see or can be proven, with all their facts, scientific theories, formulas, charts, diagrams and super long words!:anguished:. Are they not afraid?..... afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong..... afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place".... afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.
AND Religious ppl who have faith driven beliefs. Who believe someone or something bigger than them has all the answers or who sometimes self-righteously believe, they have all the answers. Are they not afraid?.....Afraid of questioning their beliefs.... afraid to be wrong... afraid to defend believing in something that society has placed such a stigma on.....afraid that this is it and after death, there is nothing else...
At the end of the day we are all cowards and no one person is better than anyone else so ppl shouldn't be so hostile towards one another dang it!!:angry:(taking me outta my "tranquil" character!):expressionless:....
Lol! Jk!:p....
BUT seriously, we're all cowards.



What people are cowards because they don't fall into your entrapment to question their faith.
Just because people don't question their faith doesn't mean their cowards.

No more than having the faith to flip a switch to turn a light on or off. Doesn't mean their cowards, because they don't question their faith whether the light comes on or off.

Faith isn't something that you question, No more than to question your faith whether or not the light comes on or off at the flip of the switch.

People flip the switch in having some sort of faith the light will come on or turn off at the flip of the switch.
You walk up to the switch in faith that the light will come on or turn off at the flip of the switch.

So you flip the switch and the light is burned out.
But you had the faith that the light would come on or turn off in faith at the flip of the switch.

So by my faith God is there, If I have to question my faith whether God is there or not, then what good is having faith in something if I have to question it.
No more than question your faith every time you go to flip the switch whether the light will come on or off.
 

blü 2

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Aren't we all just afraid...... From Atheists who believe in science and in what they see or can be proven, with all their facts, scientific theories, formulas, charts, diagrams and super long words!. Are they not afraid?..... afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong..... afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place"....
I don't particularly enjoy being wrong, but being wrong has taught me far more than I lightly admit. I'm not 'afraid' of being wrong in the sense you suggest. To encounter an actual refutation of materialism, reasoned and demonstrated, would be an extraordinary moment, for instance; I'd be wholly fascinated.
afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.
I'm not afraid of that either, at several levels. One is that the notion of a real supernatural is incoherent (and if it weren't, it'd be a self-contradiction).

Another is that I don't want to 'live forever'. My sense of my own life-narrative ends with my death. I see no point in living forever without a body; all the pleasures of living come from biochemistry ─ love, curiosity, anger, competing, self-worth and so on ─ and a soul (an equally incoherent idea) would have no biochemistry.

To this we can add Woody Allen's remark that eternity is a long time, especially towards the end. What will you say to your beloved on your fifty billionth anniversary to freshen things up?

And for backstop, there's the old observation that if heaven is a just place, people who on balance have lived decent lives will have nothing to fear regardless of what they believed; and if heaven is not a just place, everyone's screwed regardless.
BUT seriously, we're all cowards.
I dare say everyone's freaked out / run away / not stepped forward / been overwhelmed at some stage. I don't think that means 'we're all cowards' ─ just that we're all human.
 
Last edited:

Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
A lot of the time when I'm reading posts and replies on this website of forums, I think to myself why are ppl so hostile?o_O:confused:Aren't we all just afraid...... From Atheists who believe in science and in what they see or can be proven, with all their facts, scientific theories, formulas, charts, diagrams and super long words!:anguished:. Are they not afraid?..... afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong..... afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place".... afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.
AND Religious ppl who have faith driven beliefs. Who believe someone or something bigger than them has all the answers or who sometimes self-righteously believe, they have all the answers. Are they not afraid?.....Afraid of questioning their beliefs.... afraid to be wrong... afraid to defend believing in something that society has placed such a stigma on.....afraid that this is it and after death, there is nothing else...
At the end of the day we are all cowards and no one person is better than anyone else so ppl shouldn't be so hostile towards one another dang it!!:angry:(taking me outta my "tranquil" character!):expressionless:....
Lol! Jk!:p....
BUT seriously, we're all cowards.
Well, no, it's not a matter of fear. It's just common sense.
 

Jung

New Member
A lot of the time when I'm reading posts and replies on this website of forums, I think to myself why are ppl so hostile?o_O:confused:Aren't we all just afraid...... From Atheists who believe in science and in what they see or can be proven, with all their facts, scientific theories, formulas, charts, diagrams and super long words!:anguished:. Are they not afraid?..... afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong..... afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place".... afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.
AND Religious ppl who have faith driven beliefs. Who believe someone or something bigger than them has all the answers or who sometimes self-righteously believe, they have all the answers. Are they not afraid?.....Afraid of questioning their beliefs.... afraid to be wrong... afraid to defend believing in something that society has placed such a stigma on.....afraid that this is it and after death, there is nothing else...
At the end of the day we are all cowards and no one person is better than anyone else so ppl shouldn't be so hostile towards one another dang it!!:angry:(taking me outta my "tranquil" character!):expressionless:....
Lol! Jk!:p....
BUT seriously, we're all cowards.
You raise a lot of legitimate questions. But I don't think you can chalk it all up to being fearful, or label everyone a coward. Anonymity feeds hostility. But is the hostility the real us? I think it is and that's a sad thing. Civility is a virtue that must be nurtured with self-control. I understand your frustration. Seems to me that there is enough animosity already in the world. But these forums offer a release of pent-up frustrations we all live with. So maybe it's not a bad thing.
 

blü 2

Veteran Member
Premium Member
I can summarize this by saying each are looking for answers outside themselves. So they need it to be right. Someone else can't be right too in a mode of thinking that sees the world divided between true and false statements. It leads to black and white thinking, which always places themselves outside of the truth. "Where's your evidence?," cries the atheist. "God's word tells me the truth," cries the believer.

Neither understands that Truth doesn't need scientific evidence, or to be told to you by an outside religious authority in order to be recognized. It is subjectively apprehended. Once recognized, from within the person, Truth can then be seen and understood in many different ways.
Happy Year of the Pig to you!

For me, a statement is true to the extent that it conforms with, corresponds with, accurately reflects, objective reality (the 'correspondence' view. One of its advantages is that it provides an objective test for what's true.

How do you define 'truth'?
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
A lot of the time when I'm reading posts and replies on this website of forums, I think to myself why are ppl so hostile?o_O:confused:Aren't we all just afraid...... From Atheists who believe in science and in what they see or can be proven, with all their facts, scientific theories, formulas, charts, diagrams and super long words!:anguished:. Are they not afraid?..... afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong..... afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place".... afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.
No.
 

Samantha Rinne

Resident Genderfluid Writer/Artist
A lot of the time when I'm reading posts and replies on this website of forums, I think to myself why are ppl so hostile?o_O:confused:Aren't we all just afraid...... From Atheists who believe in science and in what they see or can be proven, with all their facts, scientific theories, formulas, charts, diagrams and super long words!:anguished:. Are they not afraid?..... afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong..... afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place".... afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.
AND Religious ppl who have faith driven beliefs. Who believe someone or something bigger than them has all the answers or who sometimes self-righteously believe, they have all the answers. Are they not afraid?.....Afraid of questioning their beliefs.... afraid to be wrong... afraid to defend believing in something that society has placed such a stigma on.....afraid that this is it and after death, there is nothing else...
At the end of the day we are all cowards and no one person is better than anyone else so ppl shouldn't be so hostile towards one another dang it!!:angry:(taking me outta my "tranquil" character!):expressionless:....
Lol! Jk!:p....
BUT seriously, we're all cowards.

Good on most fronts except for what I just bolded. Atheists don't want a better place, from what I understand. They care about this life, their wealth/power/success, and desperately try to ignore this reality:
  1. If you die and there is no afterlife, everything you do is wiped out. This does seem comforting as it seems to free you from guilt. But actually, rather than living life to the fullest, it ultimately condemns you to a life of apathy, as anything you strive for is gone, only a worthless life where you don't work for anything is made better by the lack of even the worst afterlife. But it doesn't end there. If you do not believe in the world beyond, you believe in the world. You're stuck because not only do you have the above angst, but everyone from schoolteachers, to bosses, to kings, to those Christians you have misgivings about can lay a judgement call on your life and your entire life must consist of defending the worth of your life. This is what secular people (and many Christians, esp the works doctrine) have to deal with. But this isn't what Christianity is really about. This is how the secular world measures us. Our grades, our credentials, our previous jobs. Never our intrinsic worth. This is the path to suicide.
  2. If you die and there is an afterlife, and everything you believe about how evil Christians are, you will be punished by the god you rejected.
  3. If you want to actually not be afraid of what comes after, you must therefore believe in a God that not only has an afterlife but also gives Grace. Are religious people still afraid they are wrong? Yes! But they are able to believe in something beyond this life and the endless judgements of other people, the pointless and callous nature of this world.
 

QuestioningMind

Well-Known Member
A lot of the time when I'm reading posts and replies on this website of forums, I think to myself why are ppl so hostile?o_O:confused:Aren't we all just afraid...... From Atheists who believe in science and in what they see or can be proven, with all their facts, scientific theories, formulas, charts, diagrams and super long words!:anguished:. Are they not afraid?..... afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong..... afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place".... afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.
AND Religious ppl who have faith driven beliefs. Who believe someone or something bigger than them has all the answers or who sometimes self-righteously believe, they have all the answers. Are they not afraid?.....Afraid of questioning their beliefs.... afraid to be wrong... afraid to defend believing in something that society has placed such a stigma on.....afraid that this is it and after death, there is nothing else...
At the end of the day we are all cowards and no one person is better than anyone else so ppl shouldn't be so hostile towards one another dang it!!:angry:(taking me outta my "tranquil" character!):expressionless:....
Lol! Jk!:p....
BUT seriously, we're all cowards.

Are they not afraid?..... afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong..... afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place".... afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.

It is not a matter of me being afraid to believe in something without verifiable evidence, I'm simply not capable of genuine belief in anything for which there isn't verifiable evidence. You act as if belief is a switch in your mind that you can choose to switch on or switch off at will. For some of us belief is all based upon verifiable evidence.

Why should I be afraid of dying? It just means that I will no longer exist. I don't recall being afraid before I was born, so I have no reason to believe that there's anything to fear after I die. If you are living your life hoping for some 'better place' after you die then you're not fully appreciating just how wondrously fantastic this life can be.

And if by some miracle I DO meet a god after I die, I see absolutely no reason to fear such a possibility. After all, if it's a genuine creator god then it will already know that it created me so that I require verifiable evidence before I can believe in something and will also know that I was never presented with any such evidence during the course of my lifetime.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Happy Year of the Pig to you!
And to you as well. I've yet to go the Tai Chi studio I go to yet this year, but I know they have the new banners up. :)

For me, a statement is true to the extent that it conforms with, corresponds with, accurately reflects, objective reality (the 'correspondence' view. One of its advantages is that it provides an objective test for what's true.
The problem of course with this is whose model are we finding evidence for?

How do you define 'truth'?
That which speaks life. Not speculations.
 

QuestioningMind

Well-Known Member
What people are cowards because they don't fall into your entrapment to question their faith.
Just because people don't question their faith doesn't mean their cowards.

No more than having the faith to flip a switch to turn a light on or off. Doesn't mean their cowards, because they don't question their faith whether the light comes on or off.

Faith isn't something that you question, No more than to question your faith whether or not the light comes on or off at the flip of the switch.

People flip the switch in having some sort of faith the light will come on or turn off at the flip of the switch.
You walk up to the switch in faith that the light will come on or turn off at the flip of the switch.

So you flip the switch and the light is burned out.
But you had the faith that the light would come on or turn off in faith at the flip of the switch.

So by my faith God is there, If I have to question my faith whether God is there or not, then what good is having faith in something if I have to question it.
No more than question your faith every time you go to flip the switch whether the light will come on or off.

When I flip the light switch it isn't faith that makes me confident that the light will come on. I'm confident because of past experience and my knowledge that unless there's a power failure or the bulb burns out, the laws of physics ensure that the light will come on every time. Faith has nothing to do with it.
 

paarsurrey

Veteran Member
A lot of the time when I'm reading posts and replies on this website of forums, I think to myself why are ppl so hostile?o_O:confused:Aren't we all just afraid...... From Atheists who believe in science and in what they see or can be proven, with all their facts, scientific theories, formulas, charts, diagrams and super long words!:anguished:. Are they not afraid?..... afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong..... afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place".... afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.
AND Religious ppl who have faith driven beliefs. Who believe someone or something bigger than them has all the answers or who sometimes self-righteously believe, they have all the answers. Are they not afraid?.....Afraid of questioning their beliefs.... afraid to be wrong... afraid to defend believing in something that society has placed such a stigma on.....afraid that this is it and after death, there is nothing else...
At the end of the day we are all cowards and no one person is better than anyone else so ppl shouldn't be so hostile towards one another dang it!!:angry:(taking me outta my "tranquil" character!):expressionless:....
Lol! Jk!:p....
BUT seriously, we're all cowards.
"no one person is better than anyone else so ppl shouldn't be so hostile towards one another"

I agree that we shouldn't be so hostile towards one another. We are all human beings.
Regards
 

viole

Ontological Naturalist
Premium Member
A lot of the time when I'm reading posts and replies on this website of forums, I think to myself why are ppl so hostile?o_O:confused:Aren't we all just afraid...... From Atheists who believe in science and in what they see or can be proven, with all their facts, scientific theories, formulas, charts, diagrams and super long words!:anguished:. Are they not afraid?.....

Nope. Afraid of what?

afraid to believe in something that can't be proven.... afraid to be wrong.....

We like it to be proven wrong. That is how science advances.

afraid that one day they will die but have no hope for a "better place".... afraid that if they do die and a God does exist, no amount of proof or scientific words will help them.

Oh no. I don’t think we should fear Apollo, if He really exists and we see him after our death.

i am a bit afraid every year to not get my Christmas presents on account of my disbelief for Santa, but until now He does not seem to be offended by me not believing in Him.

Ciao

- viole
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
I can't say my experiences parallel those of the OP, but if I follow their observations in spirit, it doesn't seem to me that cowardice is the conclusion that comes out of the narrative. Ego and identity, however, do. Humans are myth makers, and many of the tales we spin center on ourselves: who we are, how we relate to others, what we value, and so forth. While we enjoy exploration of this frontier, we don't tend to enjoy its deconstruction. It is a negation of the value and meaning of the self and our very purpose and existence. Is it cowardice to be uncomfortable when you face existential threats? I don't think so.
 
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