Smug Questions

[GodsAreUs]

A lot of believers seem so smug as to mock liltingly toward ANYONE who fails to follow the flock.

A lot of non-believers (myself included) are also quite smug in that we feel we have the whole God/no God thing figured out, or at least we have a strong sense of what is not correct.

My question is, are humans just basically smug in general. To paraphrase Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit, is it really just a case of what part of the world you're standing in as to just how dumb you are?

If we hold to that as defending our thoughts like our ancestors defended their land, are we all just not far enough along in our cranial evolution to do anyone any good?

If the above is true, what can we do to change it?

[necroshine]

As long as the idea of a god is around you will always have this split. There will be no changing it. the idea of god will have to go. I know people that believe in god will do so as much as I believe that there is no god. We both just have different reasons why we think the way we do. they want to live forever and get payback for all the bad things that have happened to them. “god will get them for me in the end” its all the personal good that god has promised the believer. I don’t’ believe anymore because of all the bad things that have happened to the world in the name of god. The way woman was held down and the like. I could make a list that would take me all day to type out, but I will just say to me, more harm on mankind has came from the bible than any personal good has come from it.
Its just what side of the fence you find yourself on.

[GodsAreUs]

necroshine said:

As long as the idea of a god is around you will always have this split. There will be no changing it. the idea of god will have to go. I know people that believe in god will do so as much as I believe that there is no god. We both just have different reasons why we think the way we do. they want to live forever and get payback for all the bad things that have happened to them. “god will get them for me in the end” its all the personal good that god has promised the believer. I don’t’ believe anymore because of all the bad things that have happened to the world in the name of god. The way woman was held down and the like. I could make a list that would take me all day to type out, but I will just say to me, more harm on mankind has came from the bible than any personal good has come from it.
Its just what side of the fence you find yourself on.

I agree whole heartedly. I can’t shake the opinion that religion in general is nothing more than a sophisticated method of artificial selection. It stands to reason that society works better when you have the “flock” in order. With folks scared into a consensus view, they’re less likely to stray into areas that may prove detrimental to the herd. That’s not just Christianity, but the whole religious lot. People (like us) who take issue with the “herd” mentality are to be converted or, according to the bible, exterminated. That intolerance alone is enough to make me smug in the belief that they have to be wrong. It’s all about survival and the elimination of perceived threats. It’s pretty sad if you dwell on it.

At the same time, I’m certain that believers may have much more peace of mind than I ever will. But I’m willing to suffer rather than betray or delude myself.

[necroshine]

{quote] At the same time, I’m certain that believers may have much more peace of mind than I ever will. But I’m willing to suffer rather than betray or delude myself.[/quote]

I think I have more peace of mind now than I did when I believed. I don’t fear death. I view it as being the same state as before I was born. i.e. I was not concerned about living before I was born and I will not be concerned with life after I die. And I don’t have a god looking over my shoulder making me be good. when I do good things it is from the heart nothing more. when I do something for someone I do it because I want to nothing more. where other people would do things and wants to win favor with a god.
Most people don’t know what they want to do with the life they have now. what in the world will they do with a life that will go on forever? no one has given that the first thought. I am very secure with my live and the reasons I live the way I do.

[GodsAreUs]

necroshine said:

I think I have more peace of mind now than I did when I believed. I don’t fear death. I view it as being the same state as before I was born. i.e. I was not concerned about living before I was born and I will not be concerned with life after I die. And I don’t have a god looking over my shoulder making me be good. when I do good things it is from the heart nothing more. when I do something for someone I do it because I want to nothing more. where other people would do things and wants to win favor with a god.
Most people don’t know what they want to do with the life they have now. what in the world will they do with a life that will go on forever? no one has given that the first thought. I am very secure with my live and the reasons I live the way I do.

That's an excellent way to look at it. When I say peace of mind I mean I don't have god to slop all my problems on. I do think that I'm stronger for having to deal with crap on my own and would not trade that responsibility with anyone.

[necroshine]

That's an excellent way to look at it. When I say peace of mind I mean I don't have god to slop all my problems on. I do think that I'm stronger for having to deal with crap on my own and would not trade that responsibility with anyone.

Thank you. I like to think it’s a good way to look at life.

Other people don’t have a god, they just think they do. I have seen more than once, people will tell me that god will take care of it. what ever it is that people are going through at that time. They let god take care of it. when it doesn’t happen for them, they just say it wasn’t meant to be. When the person doesn’t even try to accomplish what they want. “its just not gods will”

You can not be lazy and just say oh well god just don’t want it. you can but what good does it do? when all they have to do is to apply themselves to make something happen. Now I know all this is just laziness on the part of the people. I have seem many people who does believe and they get what they want. Isn’t it funny how god wants good things for some and not all? its more of a crutch than anything. People will even admit that. their faith is a crutch for them they lean on it for support. I don’t walk with a crutch when I don’t need one. I’m strong enough to walk with out help. And I’m better off for it.

[GodsAreUs]

Even though he may have been viewed by some as hokey, Carl Sagan had some brilliant quotes that relate:

Such reports persist and proliferate because they sell. And they sell, I think, because there are so many of us who want so badly to be jolted out of our humdrum lives, to rekindle that sense of wonder we remember from childhood, and also, for a few of the stories, to be able, really and truly, to believe--in Someone older, smarter, and wiser who is looking out for us. Faith is clearly not enough for many people. They crave hard evidence, scientific proof. They long for the scientific seal of approval, but are unwilling to put up with the rigorous standards of evidence that impart credibility to that seal. --Carl Sagan

The idea that God is an oversized white male with a flowing beard who sits in the sky and tallies the fall of every sparrow is ludicrous. But if by God one means the set of physical laws that govern the universe, then clearly there is such a God. This God is emotionally unsatisfying... it does not make much sense to pray to the law of gravity. --Carl Sagan

You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe. --Carl Sagan

A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism. --Carl Sagan, Contact, pg 244

The major religions on the Earth contradict each other left and rightYou can't all be correct. And what if all of you are wrong? It's a possibility, you know. You must care about the truth, right? Well, the way to winnow through all the differing contentions is to be skeptical. I'm not any more skeptical about your religious beliefs than I am about every new scientific idea I hear about. But in my line of work, they're called hypotheses, not inspiration and not revelation. --Dr. Arroway in Carl Sagan's Contact (New York: Pocket Books, 1985), p. 162.

You can find more at atheism.about.com/library/quotes/bl_q_CSagan.htm