"why atheism is a burden not a benefit, page-120

  1. 486 Posts.
    I dislike that you think atheists cannot live a good life. How does living a "Christian life" make you better than an atheist? We are not immoral people, and there are many good arguments that have been made to the point that Christians having less altruistic morals than atheists "Judge not, lest ye be judged yourself", tube1.

    Also, since you're playing around with Pascal's wager, do you really think your God would prefer people to believe as a means of hedging their bets? Why is intellectual honesty less important than trying to make sure you benefit yourself? Pascal's wager just describes you as looking out for your own interests.

    And just remember that there are over 7,000 mythological creatures which fit the description of a god. As Homer Simpson put it: "What if we're praying to the wrong god, and every time we go to church we're just making the real one angrier and angrier?". In addition, the deist argument of picking one at random doesn't apply, as none of these gods simply require you to "just believe". They each have a set of rules which a person must follow.

    To explain what I mean: according to Leviticus, if you eat shellfish, have a tattoo, or even wear mixed fabrics God won't allow you into his kingdom. In addition, even Jesus states that a man with any personal wealth cannot enter heaven. How is that "tossing the coin and winning", short of making a poorly conceived "no true scotsman" argument regarding adherence to the bible, or applying a texas sharpshooter fallacy? And your god is very specific about these things.

    You're an atheist in respect to every one of the 7,000 odd gods people have worshipped in the past except one. The only reason you feel differently about Jesus as opposed to Allah or Krishna is because you're in a predominantly Christian country. By comparison, as an atheist, I just feel the same way about Jesus as you do about Zeus, Thor, Krishna, Horus, Odin, Ra, and others - and as a secular atheist humanist, I simply want to do what I can to improve the lives and well-being of people everywhere, even though I won't be rewarded.
 
arrow-down-2 Created with Sketch. arrow-down-2 Created with Sketch.