Thread: Ignorance is bliss

Who are you to say what truth is?

Also, I think there should be a quote from FSTDT here, but I can't be assed to find something appropriate at the moment. Because I'm a little inebriated, and laying in your living room floor.

lolerplanes.

that was funny. I will be teaching my kids that Santa is real too, I have such fond memories of christmas because of that belief, however when it comes to actual religion Im going to teach them to be analytical, because you cant stay a kid forever (though some people can apparently, lol)

I think teaching your kid about santa clause in order to teach them about religion makes perfect sense. Only...not to affirm the belief that a deity is real, but rather to point out the fact that believing in a thing like God without evidence is like believing in santa clause.

You should have more faith in Santa Claus

If you doubt him he won't come, you have to believe.

But don't mind me if you want coal in your stockings, I'm going to be good and keep believing him so I can get a BB gun for christmas and kill some squirrels.

Originally Posted by Omnius Deus

I'm going to be good and keep believing him so I can get a BB gun for christmas and kill some squirrels.

You'll shoot your eye out!

Well you'll burn in a lake of fire so... I win

Originally Posted by Omnius Deus

Well you'll burn in a lake of fire so... I win

Doesn't that actually go to the heart of the matter though? You may of meant it as satire, but this is actually the poison that is rampant in the US. It is not neccesarily(sp?) the belief in itself, but the superiority complex that evolves from the former belief.

Until we can rid ourselves of faith, we can not treat each other equally.

Originally Posted by Rakjavik

Doesn't that actually go to the heart of the matter though? You may of meant it as satire, but this is actually the poison that is rampant in the US. It is not neccesarily(sp?) the belief in itself, but the superiority complex that evolves from the former belief.

Until we can rid ourselves of faith, we can not treat each other equally.

You should probably add the stipulation, " in things which inhibit us from treating each other equally" we can not treat each other equally.

For example, faith in santa clause, though silly, does no real detriment, unless you allow it to.

Originally Posted by Rakjavik

So can truth prevail over nonevidence? Can the people who believe in their faith change their belief system? To me belief means believing in something that shows evidence. Absence of evidence is ignorance.

Peace unto all humanity.

I would say no. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I had a revealing dream about this very topic. I was in some bland looking room with a flag pole in the corner, talking to a Muslim. I told him that Allah wasn't real, and that his whole life has been a lie. He was so distraught that he grabbed the flag pole and impaled himself. When I woke up, I was very disturbed, but I also understood what we atheists are up against.

Every day a person believes in god, every single minute, they become more dependent upon it. They build up their entire personality on a foundation of religion; on the idea of a sky daddy watching over them. To realize as an adult that god doesn't exist when they've been believing this all their life would completely demolish their ego. It would be like a bomb going off in their head. So, denial literally becomes a matter of life or death to them. If they cannot successfully partition the "god" and "logic" areas of their brain, they risk complete mental collapse, so they make such a partition the most important aspect of their life. You can't fight that with words.

Originally Posted by Rakjavik

My brother stated proudly over the Christmas holiday that, and I quote "I am already teaching my child (my 3 year old nephew) about faith, by telling him about Santa"

LOL!! That's really funny.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

Every day a person believes in god, every single minute, they become more dependent upon it.

If you don't believe in god but something's wrong, you'll find something else as a substitute for "empty" life. Drugs, gaming non-stop, whatever. For some it's better to believe.

I'm just trying to point out that it's not as black-and-white as it seems. I know a person who lives in bad conditions, whose family is bad and all, no prospects, but this person feels okay. Thanx to "faith".

And I mean sincerely okay, not in a suffering kind of way.

Sometimes faith is bliss.

P.S.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

If they cannot successfully partition the "god" and "logic" areas of their brain, they risk complete mental collapse

When people believed that Earth is flat, did they risk a complete mental collapse?

Originally Posted by Arutad

If you don't believe in god but something's wrong, you'll find something else as a substitute for "empty" life. Drugs, gaming non-stop, whatever. For some it's better to believe.

It's never a good idea to ignore a problem and just mask it with any vice, be it religion or drugs.

Originally Posted by Arutad

When people believed that Earth is flat, did they risk a complete mental collapse?

Did the belief in a flat Earth shape their personality?

I don't push atheism ever, even though I am one. I just let people believe in their religions. Who cares? What do you gain if you convert someone to atheism? Nothing...

Ignorance is bliss...you would have to be a fool to try and argue that.

Originally Posted by drewmandan

It's never a good idea to ignore a problem and just mask it with any vice, be it religion or drugs.

Such idealism!

There are painkillers, there are unsolvable problems...

Did the belief in a flat Earth shape their personality?

Personality has a little to do with it. You said that minds can collapse because of wrong thinking. Well, they aren't that fragile, are they?

Originally Posted by Arutad

Personality has a little to do with it. You said that minds can collapse because of wrong thinking. Well, they aren't that fragile, are they?

yeah, especially when the personality is non existent or the most generic of kinds.

Nothing to worry about then, you're surely not one of those with a generic kind of personality.

but that also makes me one of the more jaded peoples walking around.

I wish I could just talk to someone on the streets like I do on these forums.

Changing your outlook might help you talk to strangers For starters you can ask somebody in the street why they find you boring to communicate with

Originally Posted by Arutad

Personality has a little to do with it. You said that minds can collapse because of wrong thinking. Well, they aren't that fragile, are they?

No, I said minds can collapse when the personality is founded upon a lie. What does the shape of the Earth have to do with personality?

I got a card from my father today for christmas.

"Wishing you a merry christmas, may god look over you and bless you, love dad." In his own handwriting.

I wonder how he would like it if I sent a card that said "Wishing you a merry christmas, even though you are holding obviously retarded beliefs, I mean really retarded, as retarded as beleiving in santa, I still hope good things happen to you. Fond wishes, your son."

Originally Posted by drewmandan

No, I said minds can collapse when the personality is founded upon a lie. What does the shape of the Earth have to do with personality?

Oh, I see. My bad English... I thought you said that people can go crazy from wrong believes, the "mental breakdown" confused me for a moment

Anyway, I understand where you're coming from. It's not easy to persuade somebody that God does not exist But some don't need to be persuaded, I'm sure, unless you believe that truth is more important than happiness. I personally don't want to be responsible for somebody's ruined happiness only because I personally hold a belief that truth>all... It's too much for me to assume responsibility for. If I can't offer them an equally good solution, then I won't take away something from them.

It's another case if people get violent, like Crusades or radical Islam. But that's too different, these are organized movements, used for political purposes. Even secular states support religion, like, in Germany there's a Christian Democratic Party. It's not like organized religion is not encouraged by society.

Of course, how dare the silly truth impinge on ignorance.

If your own mother was dying and she was religious, would you tell her in the final hours of her life that she'll cease to exist or that she'll go to heaven?

the truth.