Originally Posted by Replicon
Are you claiming that atheists don't have love, morals, reasons to live, enlightenment and guidance?
I am not insinuating anything.
Originally Posted by Beef Jerky
Fixed (relative to MY opinion, do not take offence)
My question is simple: what does atheism offer?
Truth
Freedom
Knowledge
Lack of Anxiety (no sins to worry about)
And, similar to your religion,
Enlightenment
Guidance
Love
Morals
Truth – you certainly are not talking about scientific truth, so you must be talking about spiritual truth (or lack there of). This is clearly a question of belief, and all religious orientations have that. Even atheism (in my point of view), as they believe God does not exist.
Freedom – Freedom from what exactly? God’s oppression, as some indicated? I do not really feel oppressed myself. I guess that is a matter of opinion.
Knowledge – Like truth, all religions offer their own set of knowledge.
Lack of Anxiety (no sins to worry about) – I will talk about this a bit later.
Enlightenment – I am speaking of spiritual enlightenment (like for Buddhists). How exactly does atheism offer this?
Guidance – Again, I am referring to the spiritual side of it. However, if you do not need it, that is fine.
Love – This could only be seen in relationships. Unfortunately, relationships are not always solid. They come and go, often conditional and able to dissolve. All one has that is generally stable is the family, but even that is not always well-established for some.
Morals – I am curious, what exactly defines morals for atheists. Some philosophers say that morals are relative. I have even argued against someone trying not to use religion as an argument. It is very hard to clearly define what is right and wrong. I might say he deviates from the norm, but that does not necessarily mean it is wrong.
Concerning lack of anxiety of sins, I can’t imagine why one would want this unless they wish not to have boundaries on what is right and wrong. If that is the case, then you are defying established morals (which aren’t clearly defined in the first place but at least have direction with certain religions).
Also, whether or not one is right or wrong, if they get the things I named and more, that is their reality. They believe it. For example, even if eternal life does not exist, they can feel comforted that it does. Thus, all those things shape the here-and-now. It especially helps that it cannot be proven otherwise.
As far as I can tell, anything one gets from atheism, another can get all of that and more from a religion. I just don’t see the point in atheism myself.
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