question for athiests

robindch

looksee wrote: »

I don't like Jaffa Cakes

I used when I was a kid, but OD'd on them at some point and can't face them now. Hawaiian pizza is the work of the devil, as is marmite. And celery.

All will be dealt with summarily when I assume the overlordship.

Mince Pie

robindch wrote: »

I used when I was a kid, but OD'd on them at some point and can't face them now. Hawaiian pizza is the work of the devil, as is marmite. And celery.

All will be dealt with summarily when I assume the overlordship.

We should start a club!

uck51js9zml2yt

Mince Pie wrote: »

We should start a club!

We wouldn't get unanimity.

clear thinking

Its a much more difficult question for believers, it's almost certain you'd be going to Hell so is it worth being born to end up there.

Pherekydes

Rocco Delicious Product wrote: »

We wouldn't get unanimity.

We? I thought you were here to serve the Dark Lord?

uck51js9zml2yt

Pherekydes wrote: »

We? I thought you were here to serve the Dark Lord?

See what I mean? You with your "I". There's no I in team.

Shrap

Rocco Delicious Product wrote: »

See what I mean? You with your "I". There's no I in team.

Yes, yes there is.

Dial Hard

robindch wrote:

And Tea. Earl Gray. Hot.

Earl Gray? You were clearly a Protestant before you were an atheist :-D

None of that muck around these parts, thank you kindly. Lyons Gold Blend only.

(Or Barry's if you've the misfortune to be from Cork)

*runs*

pauldla

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Paul said a lot of stuff. *shrug*

Indeed, he goes on quite the rant sometimes. And he saves some of the choicest for his fellow followers. Not the type of man you'd want to spend a long bus journey with, I think. As for an eternity...?

Bongalongherb

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

What's aliens got to do got to do with it ? What's aliens but a second hand equation, what's aliens got to do got to do with it, who needs an alien when you're having hallucinations.

UOO Uoo Wooo... got to do with it.


My friend’s wife told me of an incident whereby a huge, silent delta-shaped dark object emitting extremely bright lights slowly passed over a group of 50 to 75 people (all their relatives) on a mesa where they were celebrating a traditional Jicarilla Apache feast called the “coming out” feast, a celebration for young boys and girls (similar to the Spanish quinceanera celebration).

The huge object appeared after sundown, an hour or so after their traditional meals had ended and after the shamans had completed their chantings and dances.

They were simply stunned to see the huge triangular ‘craft’ hovering only about 200 feet or so above the campground.

The entire area lit up like daylight.

What was more amazing was that after a few minutes of hovering over the area, it suddenly took off with a tremendous gust of wind. Pots and pans were flying all over.

Some of the people were almost thrown off their vehicles. Fortunately, no one was injured, but panic spread.

The generators failed to re-start and all battery-operated appliances malfunctioned, including the car radios.

Another incident they recounted was a daytime sighting of a silver, saucer-shaped object at around 11 a.m., which hovered for 30 minutes right next to Hwy 537, not too far from the junction of U.S. 64, north of La Jara Lake.

One relative also recounted an unforgettable sighting of a huge, flying “triangle” near Hwy 537, near J-30 (Jicarilla Road, No. 30), with some type of a “cloaking device” that almost appeared to have a transparent body.

The object was described to have been close to half-a-mile in length (at least from their visual perception).

The biggest and most impressive sighting, however, took place in May of 2004 when several families were celebrating together the feast on a Jicarilla Apache campground, located at an area near J-33 and J-40, right near the Continental Divide.
Incredibly, it involved many brilliant objects in the night sky (not just one or two objects).
It literally filled up the entire sky, according to the testimony of the former Dulce police dispatcher.
There were close to 100 witnesses to this incredible incident.
The objects moved en masse slowly from one end of the sky to the other.
It was literally an “armada” of UFOs (which exactly reminded me of the famous, well-documented 1950 mass sightings of UFOs over Farmington, near the Four Corners area of New Mexico).
What was particularly fascinating about this sighting was that everyone also saw a small fleet of military helicopters which seemed to follow the objects.


Again, car radios went dead all through the sighting.
An interesting point is that many of the appearances of UFOs seem to coincide with various feasts taking place in the Jicarilla Apache reservation.
Were ‘they’ attracted to the Jicarilla feasts?
Last but not the least of the impressive Dulce sightings involved a Jicarilla Apache Forest Service ranger who witnessed a ‘craft’ of some kind enter the east side of the Archuleta Mesa through several large rocks that appeared to open (almost like a door) and in went the craft into the side of the mesa...
He excitedly reported this sighting live on his microphone while he was communicating on his radio with the Forest Service station across the south side of Dulce.
The ranger was stationed at the top of the Archuleta Mesa in the look-out building next to the radio communications tower.
This took place a few years after a big fire destroyed many of the trees on and around the mesa.


What is still strange about the aftermath of the fire, which they say (happened about 18 years ago), is the fact that all attempts for the re-forestation have so far failed on and around the Archuleta Mesa.
The trees just don’t seem to grow for some strange reason or other.

SmilingLurker

Dial Hard wrote: »

Earl Gray? You were clearly a Protestant before you were an atheist :-D

None of that muck around these parts, thank you kindly. Lyons Gold Blend only.

(Or Barry's if you've the misfortune to be from Cork)

*runs*

I dislike bergamot (sp) but lyons tea is muck. Leaf tea, mix between Assam and darjeeling. (Irish breakfast). more assam in the morning more darjeeling as the day goes on. Just boiled water in a teapot.

Anything less is heresy!

Pineapple pizza is just wrong.

kylith

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

They taste like crap, too, but people feel obliged to eat them because they're 'seasonal' :rolleyes:

Mince pies and hot cross buns; about the only two things the religionists did right.

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Marmite is for lightweights, Vegemite is the real thing.

Godsdamn right.

Absolam

For the record; in order of inalienable deliciousness conceived as a result of religion.
Christmas pudding.
Christmas cake.
Mince pies.
Hot cross buns.
All of which can be accompanied equally successfully by Irish liquor of a variety of stripes, or failing that proper corpo tea, at a pinch Lyons followed by Barrys, or in the greatest of extremities Earl Grey.
To heck with biscuits and pizzas; the season is almost upon is. And I just had my first mince pie. Preceded by brack.

looksee

Stollen, yum.

uck51js9zml2yt

Absolam wrote: »

For the record; in order of inalienable deliciousness conceived as a result of religion.
Christmas pudding.
Christmas cake.
Mince pies.
Hot cross buns.
All of which can be accompanied equally successfully by Irish liquor of a variety of stripes, or failing that proper corpo tea, at a pinch Lyons followed by Barrys, or in the greatest of extremities Earl Grey.
To heck with biscuits and pizzas; the season is almost upon is. And I just had my first mince pie. Preceded by brack.

So you guys don't hate religion as much as you pretend to...there is hope :)

anvilfour

Paddy Dreadful wrote: »

Taking your non belief into account would you have preferred not to have been born or are you delighted you were?

I find your question interesting because to me, the fact that life is exceedingly rare and fragile suggests the Universe was not created with us in mind.

Considering the odds that each of us are born as opposed to a different sperm cell entering the egg and that our mothers' pregnancy came to full term each of us could be said to be exceptionally lucky to be alive.

When you also consider that 99% of all species that ever lived on this planet are now extinct, you must also conclude that if there is a divine plan, we are a rather hasty addendum to it.

I think however the assumption on which the question is predicated is the rather trite one of the religious, that a non-believer has no purpose to their life and therefore might wish they had never lived. The very existence of Atheists living happy, ethical and fulfilled lives should be evidence enough that this is a false assumption, we're doing fine thanks, very happy to be here! :-D

Pherekydes

Rocco Delicious Product wrote: »

So you guys don't hate religion as much as you pretend to...there is hope :)

Perhaps you should inspect Absolam's posting history...


Hint: Most definitely not a religion hater.

Absolam

Pherekydes wrote: »

Perhaps you should inspect Absolam's posting history...
Hint: Most definitely not a religion hater.

Indeed, I try not to be hateful as much as possible.

Timberrrrrrrr

Rocco Delicious Product wrote: »

So you guys don't hate religion as much as you pretend to...there is hope :)

I don't hate religion, I hate what religion has done to the planet.

FishOnABike

kylith wrote: »

Mince pies and hot cross buns; about the only two things the religionists did right.

What about pancakes? Delicious disks of pure delight!

Absolam

I could eat some pancakes.

Are we talking the with bacon and maple syrup type, or the with sugar and lemon juice type? Actually, doesn't matter. Both are good.

Peregrinus

Absolam wrote: »

I could eat some pancakes.

Are we talking the with bacon and maple syrup type, or the with sugar and lemon juice type? Actually, doesn't matter. Both are good.

Dangerous indifferentism!

True pancakes come with sugar and lemon juice.

BlaasForRafa

Peregrinus wrote: »

Dangerous indifferentism!

True pancakes come with sugar and lemon juice.

The maple-syrupists pin letters to the doors of sugar and lemon juice-ists to tell them of their wrongness.

kylith

Probably get done for heresy here but recently I've taken to making American style fluffy pancakes. They're really very nice, and you can put fruit right in the batter.

Mince Pie

Peregrinus wrote: »

Dangerous indifferentism!

True pancakes come with sugar and lemon juice.

No, pancakes come with maple syrup and bacon, you have crepes with sugar and lemon. Both equally delicious.

Proxima Centauri

As an Atheist

My toast must be done on one side only, then allowed to go cold laying flat on a plate so it also becomes moist with condensation.

As for the original poster, here's a question to ponder.......

If there is a God, would this God be an Atheist or would he/she believe in a higher power(or super God)??

lazygal

Proxima Centauri wrote: »

My toast must be done on one side only, then allowed to go cold laying flat on a plate so it also becomes moist with condensation.

:eek::eek::eek:


What fresh hell is this?

Proxima Centauri

lazygal wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek:


What fresh hell is this?

My children will be indoctrinated into believing that this is the one and only way of making toast. Hopefully they will enter the adult world and like modern day missionaries they will spread the word of the Cold Moist Toast

robindch

kylith wrote: »

Probably get done for heresy here but recently I've taken to making American style fluffy pancakes. They're really very nice, and you can put fruit right in the batter.

Would I be right in thinking that the fruit concerned is pineapple?

*yuk*

Shrap

robindch wrote: »

Would I be right in thinking that the fruit concerned is pineapple?

*yuk*

Ah come on. Pineapple ONLY goes on pizza. Bloody heretics :mad:

FishOnABike

Absolam wrote: »

I could eat some pancakes.

Are we talking the with bacon and maple syrup type, or the with sugar and lemon juice type? Actually, doesn't matter. Both are good.

We may celebrate the perfection in the pancake and delight in the diversity of its deliciousness with lemon, sugar, strawberries, bananas, cream, chocolate spread and a cornucopia of coverings but we must stand steadfast against the barbarism that is bacon. To bind bacon with pancakes is to wrest it from its proper place in the fantasticness that is the full Irish fry up.

kylith

Shrap wrote: »

Ah come on. Pineapple ONLY goes on pizza. Bloody heretics :mad:

Damn straight!

looksee

I've been thinking for a while that A&A could use an off-topic thread, but then I realised that pretty well any thread here goes off topic for occasional stretches so it doesn't really matter.

Edit - that isn't a criticism, quite the reverse !

Lucy8080

I went off topics when I lost my sweet tooth. As chocolate bars go ,it was one of my favs.

I can see what you did there, you are not the savoury type ( toast, pancakes, pizzas) and are subtly trying to get folks to join a cult which will rot their teeth and make them fall out.

Don't believe this one folks, they promise monetary rewards from the tooth fairy so as to keep you on topics.

A cult full of nuts, hazelnuts iirc.

kylith

I think we embrace all snack foods. I love a bit of jerky, for example.

BlaasForRafa

Tried beef jerky once, it was like eating a salty leather shoe.

The Draugan

Obviously glad i was born , just because i don't believe my life on earth is akin to hanging around an airport terminal waiting to get to some better place eventually, doesn't mean i feel a sense of lacking purpose.

I know why i'm here ( because all living organisms reproduce) i know what i'm here for (to reproduce) i know this my only shot , i don't know how long it will last but i'm going to enjoy the bloody ride and not be sweating sinning or wasting my Sunday mornings playing Simon says with some paedo, worshiping a 2000 year old, dead Jew , on a stick :P

Hotblack Desiato

The thread arose, and appeared to many

Iseedeadpixels

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

The thread arose, and appeared to many

And MOD said to thee I shall locketh this up :pac:

lazygal

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

The thread arose, and appeared to many

And it was good.

Stealthfins

mickoneill31 wrote:

Daft question I think. The flip side would be As a theist are you looking forward to death?

It's nice to see someone ask such a nice question ?

Of course a theist would look forward to death,thats a daft question also....

Hotblack Desiato

One of life's mysteries - the theists sit in the church and are told the deceased is in a better place, and believe they will be there themselves soon enough - so why are they f**king crying?

Absolam

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

One of life's mysteries - the theists sit in the church and are told the deceased is in a better place, and believe they will be there themselves soon enough - so why are they f**king crying?

Because they miss the person that isn't with them? I've seen people cry when parted from someone they love for a couple of hours, so crying over the rest of a lifetime apart doesn't really seem that odd...

Qs

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

One of life's mysteries - the theists sit in the church and are told the deceased is in a better place, and believe they will be there themselves soon enough - so why are they f**king crying?

To be fair have you seen the way most of these people live their lives? Why would they assume they are going to a better place?

Its not the crying that baffles me. Its that people don't spend their lives devoted to doing good works, etc. If I genuinely believed there was a heaven and I would either spend eternity there or somewhere pretty awful then I'd be working pretty hard to secure my eternity was in the better place.

evolving_doors

I preferred before I was born cos I ate crisps all the time

recedite

evolving_doors wrote: »

I preferred before I was born cos I ate crisps all the time

Back in those days putting on weight was considered a good thing.

CerebralCortex

An interesting take on the creation of sentience. https://www.edge.org/conversation/thomas_metzinger-benevolent-artificial-anti-natalism-baan

smacl

CerebralCortex wrote: »

An interesting take on the creation of sentience. https://www.edge.org/conversation/thomas_metzinger-benevolent-artificial-anti-natalism-baan

It is certainly an interesting piece and I would tend to agree more with the conclusions drawn by the comments at the end than by the author. By my reading of the essay the author also seems to assume the super intelligent AI to be an unconflicted single mind of unsurpassable intellectual power as opposed to a multitude of artificial consciousnesses with intellectual abilities orders of magnitude greater than our own but still infinitesimal in the grander scheme of things. I'd say if and when we see true AIs, we'll get the latter first and their behaviour would dictate progress after that point.

CerebralCortex

smacl wrote: »

It is certainly an interesting piece and I would tend to agree more with the conclusions drawn by the comments at the end than by the author. By my reading of the essay the author also seems to assume the super intelligent AI to be an unconflicted single mind of unsurpassable intellectual power as opposed to a multitude of artificial consciousnesses with intellectual abilities orders of magnitude greater than our own but still infinitesimal in the grander scheme of things. I'd say if and when we see true AIs, we'll get the latter first and their behaviour would dictate progress after that point.

Honestly I find the trajectory of recognisably intelligent systems like humans, societies and their machines quite uncertain or opaque even. I think the thought experiment is more useful in terms of the ethics and values involved in deciding to have new sentient entities around, kids as an example. What I also find intractable is how non believers justify rolling the dice aka procreating especially in light of the guaranteed suffering and meaningless in life. I suspect there are different tolerances and emotions that are involved that aren't uniformly distributed across the non believing group. Personally the idea of vicarious emotional well-being through children is jarring... ...seems like a ponzi scheme.

Good article on a book on the subject:
http://bostonreview.net/books-ideas/mark-johnston-samuel-scheffler-death-afterlife-humanity-ponzi-scheme

Hotblack Desiato

You're currently not a parent then, I take it :pac:


I'm always amazed, whenever the question of how consciousness arises comes up, that the obvious examples from the animal kingdom are overlooked. It's obvious, at least to me, that consciousness and self-awareness are a function of increasing brain complexity.