The bright side of Atheism

[Revoltingest]

Interestingly, Gertrude Schmeidler once ran a series of ESP experiments that seemed to indicate that open-minded believers in the supernatural scored better than skeptics, as if the unbelievers were digging themselves into a hole of disbelief..
No wonder Prof Schmeidler said -"This was inexplicable by the physical laws we knew, it implied unexplored processes in the universe, an exciting new field for research. From then on, naturally, my primary research interest was parapsychology"

Gertrude Schmeidler

Prayer seems to employ the "Kissing a boo boo" effect.
How one feels about something affects the prognosis.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Interestingly, Gertrude Schmeidler once ran a series of ESP experiments that seemed to indicate that open-minded believers in the supernatural scored better than skeptics, as if the unbelievers were digging themselves into a hole of disbelief..
No wonder Prof Schmeidler said -"This was inexplicable by the physical laws we knew, it implied unexplored processes in the universe, an exciting new field for research. From then on, naturally, my primary research interest was parapsychology"

Gertrude Schmeidler

It's the power of the mind, really. I have no problem with someone sending me positive intentions. I think it does have an effect in some currently unexplained way. It doesn't even have to be prayer, just sending good vibes.

 

[Shuttlecraft]

Regarding the guy with the poorly wife who said he didn't want any prayers for her, I let it drop like I said, but should I have gone behind his back and prayed for her anyway, and roped in Christian groups to do the same?

PS- and was he right to refuse prayers on his wife's behalf? Should he have asked his wife if SHE wanted them?

 

[Revoltingest]

Regarding the guy with the poorly wife who said he didn't want any prayers for her, I let it drop like I said.
But should I have gone behind his back and prayed for her anyway, and roped in Christian groups to do the same?

There is no should.
We each do what calls to us.


Did that sound trite, facile, & pretentiously deep?
That's what I was going for.

 

[Alceste]

Some would. It may be unconfortable to encourage the perception that we welcome prayers.

But your narrative leaves some doubt on whether he even meant anything. Maybe he was in a hurry or something.

I agree with this. But I've been wanting to tell you for a while now that it's "comfortable" and "circumstances". This completes your English education!

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Regarding the guy with the poorly wife who said he didn't want any prayers for her, I let it drop like I said, but should I have gone behind his back and prayed for her anyway, and roped in Christian groups to do the same?

PS- and was he right to refuse prayers on his wife's behalf? Should he have asked his wife if SHE wanted them?

If it makes people feel better themselves to pray for others, then they certainly should do it.

 

[TheGunShoj]

Regarding the guy with the poorly wife who said he didn't want any prayers for her, I let it drop like I said, but should I have gone behind his back and prayed for her anyway, and roped in Christian groups to do the same?

PS- and was he right to refuse prayers on his wife's behalf? Should he have asked his wife if SHE wanted them?

It's hard to say. That's kind of one of those "what he doesn't know can't hurt him" type of situations. You could have prayed and he might not ever know the difference, you would have felt better for having tried to help.

And that man knows his wife better than any of us do, he may very well already know what her reaction would have been to an offer of prayer.

all we can really do is speculate with how little information we have on the situation.

 

[Alceste]

Regarding the guy with the poorly wife who said he didn't want any prayers for her, I let it drop like I said, but should I have gone behind his back and prayed for her anyway, and roped in Christian groups to do the same?

PS- and was he right to refuse prayers on his wife's behalf? Should he have asked his wife if SHE wanted them?

It's not that big a deal. He probably just didn't want you to put yourself out, and knew that prayer wouldn't have any effect on his wife's outcome.

 

[Maldini]

One of the best things about atheism is that you realize we're in this on our own, so it would be much better for all of us to get along and be friends.

Good and evil are both parts of humans, they don't go away unless we help each other.

 

[LuisDantas]

Regarding the guy with the poorly wife who said he didn't want any prayers for her, I let it drop like I said, but should I have gone behind his back and prayed for her anyway, and roped in Christian groups to do the same?

Who knows? It seems to me that it comes down to a choice between respecting his wishes to the best of your understanding of what they are and following whichever reasons you may have to disobey them. I assume that it is that much more difficult a choice since you don't really understand his reasons - and therefore have little indication of how important it is for him to have his desires followed.

Mind you, that is absolutely normal. It is not all that usual for us to know in advance and have full choice of following paths that we know for certain to be respectful.

Ultimately, everyone has to decide which risks to take and bite the bullets as they come. Fortunate is the person who only rarely has to make that choice.

PS- and was he right to refuse prayers on his wife's behalf? Should he have asked his wife if SHE wanted them?

I don't see how anyone who does not know either of them in person might possibly know. It is reasonable to assume that he had a fair notion of how his wife felt, but that is as far as I dare to guess.

 

[LuisDantas]

I agree with this. But I've been wanting to tell you for a while now that it's "comfortable" and "circumstances". This completes your English education!

Thanks. Now my mission is complete. Or yours. Or something.

 

[Shuttlecraft]

Regarding 'unbelieving vibes', Jesus went to bring a little girl back to life in Mark 5 and had to kick the scoffers and their shaky vibes out of the room first before he could bring her back.
Waddya say Oddball?

"Yeah man, negative waves don't do nobody no good"..

 

[Shuttlecraft]

Incidentally, Peter tried a sort of 'Jump Program' but flopped like Neo-
"Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out.."-Matt 14:29/30

 

[LuisDantas]

What do you expect anyone to say about those two passages, Shuttlecraft?

Whether they are to be taken literally, perhaps?

 

[1robin]

This thread is almost inspired by another one, recently started.
I didn't even want to post in that thread. Because, experience tells me that Atheism has no dark sides, nor negative aspects.

An atheistic person learns to be autonomous from God. An Atheist is necessarily autonomous, given that they believe in no deity.
But this autonomy is what enables people to trust the human nature and to fight for the development of our mankind.
By rejecting superstition, fatalism, determinism, fear of God and so on.

Even if all that was true if you wind up in eternal hot water it is certainly no bright view at all. I can celebrate autonomy from a doctors and sickness in my ignorance until I die of cancer if I wish but I wouldn't call hat wise, rational, or bright. Autonomy is temporary and kind of illusory. If God exists you never have true autonomy and forsake any eternal autonomy for the false belief you have a cosmic blink of temporary autonomy. Autonomy or not we all will spend much more time in the undiscovered country of death than in this cosmological micro-second.

 

[LuisDantas]

I'll take such a bet, 1robin. Won't you?

 

[Alceste]

Even if all that was true if you wind up in eternal hot water it is certainly no bright view at all. I can celebrate autonomy from a doctors and sickness in my ignorance until I die of cancer if I wish but I wouldn't call hat wise, rational, or bright. Autonomy is temporary and kind of illusory. If God exists you never have true autonomy and forsake any eternal autonomy for the false belief you have a cosmic blink of temporary autonomy. Autonomy or not we all will spend much more time in the undiscovered country of death than in this cosmological micro-second.

I'll take that bet too.

 

[Estro Felino]

Even if all that was true if you wind up in eternal hot water it is certainly no bright view at all. I can celebrate autonomy from a doctors and sickness in my ignorance until I die of cancer if I wish but I wouldn't call hat wise, rational, or bright. Autonomy is temporary and kind of illusory. If God exists you never have true autonomy and forsake any eternal autonomy for the false belief you have a cosmic blink of temporary autonomy. Autonomy or not we all will spend much more time in the undiscovered country of death than in this cosmological micro-second.

well..you must be Protestant.
If your conscience is clean, you don't need any God because you don't need to be saved. If you are a good and altruistic person, you are already saved by your merits.
all right. These are Pelagian beliefs and I don't expect you to believe in them,
But when Catholicism becomes entirely Pelagian (because it will, I assure you that it will), Protestantism will remain alone in its beliefs

and one more little thing; autonomy is not temporary. Even in the afterlife we will be autonomous from God. wait and see..

 

[paarsurrey]

I'll take such a bet, 1robin. Won't you?

Sorry, I don't understand; what is the bet? Please

Regards

 

[LuisDantas]

Sorry, I don't understand; what is the bet? Please

Regards

Apparently 1robin expects us to somehow attempt to become believers in God's existence so that we do not end in "hot water" (Hell, I assume) after we die.

Assuming that is indeed what he means, it is a non-issue. That argument, the unfortunately named "Pascal's Wager", is not worth worrying about. At all.