TheaterFire

Posting this cause why not

Posted by Meteorstar101@reddit | greentext | View on Reddit | 477 comments

Posting this cause why not

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477 Comments

MattVincentUK@reddit

This whole comment section is a massive reddit moment.
View on Reddit #80731523

Terbario@reddit

Religion is not just a preference like choosing to play soccer rather than tennis. It evokes a negative impulse in them due to religion being so commonly used to justify bad behaviour. So I see no point in trying to mock the responses.
View on Reddit #82895729

liquifed_waffles@reddit

don't know why I'm surprised that reddit is so antagonistically atheist.
View on Reddit #80980371

alienartissst@reddit

This is me but with Hellenism.
View on Reddit #80721749

matt_Nooble12_XBL@reddit

Interesting. If you’re gonna worship fantasy beings you might as well worship the cool ones.
View on Reddit #80729344

alienartissst@reddit

I'm glad you think they're cool, but they're not 'fantasy beings', they're my gods.
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Omnizoa@reddit

Appeal to consequences.
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SsjDragonKakarotto@reddit

Maybe bro should realize you shouldn't need the fear of eternal damnation to be a good person
View on Reddit #80719895

Qloudy_sky@reddit

It's not about fear of damnation but of God as an authority determining what's good while non religious people pull it out of their ass what's considered morally good "through reason and human socializing we found the ultimate moral code" yeah that's meaningless bs
View on Reddit #80734386

2ndRandom8675309@reddit

It's not fucking hard. If you would feel bad or be hurt if someone did X to you then don't do X to anyone else. That's literally all the morality that anyone requires, and the morality that anyone with more than two braincells can understand.
View on Reddit #80764622

Qloudy_sky@reddit

Damn who thought that it would be so easy? I guess all the philosophers arguing about morality are just stupid. You figured it out with literally preschooler level of understanding. I'm jealous, truly
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2ndRandom8675309@reddit

It's not my fault you're too dumb to understand at even child levels. Most everything worthwhile builds from the golden rule, and yes most philosophers filled books with fluff or deviated into rambling about fairy tales.
View on Reddit #80910338

Qloudy_sky@reddit

I guess what you consider fluff or rambling is the ultimate determination If you figured it all out how why didn't you answer the other guys comment? Arguing about your children ass level views? I'm sure you could easily defend it. I like how many mention the Golden rule championed by Christianity as if humanity always went that moral path and didn't need a religion to widespread that idea Whats the original point? A yes how atheists pull their morality out of their ass. Sorry I should have said how they follow religious morality but wrongfully frame it as always existing basic understanding of human interaction
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AxVxA@reddit

So, if you get conditioned to feel bad if someone defends themselves from you it makes you defending yourself from them wrong for example? Additionally your formulation only works if you share the same responses with the rest, which is just not true, but it gives very idiotic answers the moment the subject enjoys getting beat down or raped, as such would not prohibit to do such to them, but would for the rest. Moreover, it also gives freeway to wronging people if they are not informed of such, as given that you would not know someone personally set you up for disgrace it would not be prohibited under that heuristic. Morals are not supposed to be a feel good always tool, they are a tool to do the right thing, even if such means suffering upon your end, and such heuristics fall to account for such instances as it literally discards them as not-do’s… Which leaves us right at the need from an actual objective morality to start making progress, which is what religions offer, as common non-perspective-deduced morals (arbitrarily (religion) or not (Not yet discovered)) are a needed pillar for the golden rule to work, since it assures that your ethics are similar enough.
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SsjDragonKakarotto@reddit

Okay but why do they need a book telling them what's moral. And you can claim its not about punishment but the only reason the rules are rules is because breaking them is a sentence to hell
View on Reddit #80735269

Qloudy_sky@reddit

They didn't need a book, God worked with many prophets and with others directly, only some people decided to write it down so why all could learn and not forget God's will. They reason rules are rules because it's God's will and punishment a part of it but also the path to bliss. The "good" is from God so how could being against that not lead to punishment. I don't know how the existence of a punishment is such a big problem as if breaking the law in a country wouldn't be punished in a way. Are laws now also bad and it watered down its moral parts?
View on Reddit #80735909

AlexanderTox@reddit

> realizes many of those core religious ideals existed as an attempt and explain the natural universe, most of which are now explained by science > realizes there have been thousands of religions, with all competing and incompatible doctrines > back to agnosticism
View on Reddit #80709359

No-Sector-933@reddit

realises that christianity is not incompatible with modern science realizes that there is physical evidence for the bible which automatically makes it more believable than every other religion except for *maybe* islam back to christianity
View on Reddit #80765801

AlexanderTox@reddit

What physical evidence can you point to that supports a man rising from the dead into heaven?
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No-Sector-933@reddit

Can't give you that directly other than the trove of contemporary accounts of the event. Jesus is the most well documented person of antiquity. However, I was more referring to the various locations mentioned in the Bible that we have discovered today (largely because the Bible said they were there). If you have the time, it is fascinating to look into for yourself. That was the start of the end of my skepticism.
View on Reddit #81002576

SS370N@reddit

Yep, that's me.
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Okamana@reddit

Same. If there were one true God, there wouldn't be religions all claiming they were the right one. Just be decent to people, and treat other people the way you want to be treated. You don't need some big man in the sky to tell you that.
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wavs101@reddit

Most people do need that.
View on Reddit #80713502

coltrainjones@reddit

Seriously the only thing stopping a lot of low watt gurglers from killing people is thinking they won't get into heaven if they do
View on Reddit #80713797

xinorez1@reddit

Funny how it never actually stops them since that imaginary thing God let them get away with so much, thus proving that if God exists then they are blessed by God and their desires fit perfectly with God's desires Case in point, zionists, trump, every con man thief and war mongerer ever...
View on Reddit #80745946

Electronic_Run_169@reddit

you could have just said zionist. all 3 others are zionist too
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Oklimato@reddit

That's just as crazy as it is concerning.
View on Reddit #80714306

windowpuncher@reddit

This is why I'm fine with religion, whether it's fake or not. For the most part, it's a net good. It's a scary set of rules and god is always watching, even when the cops aren't. It's so obvious too, just read through the old testament. There's over SIX HUNDRED commandments, including things like don't make allies with 3 specific nations which I forget the name of, and don't build pointy fences. There's a large amount of commandments that would fit better in a HOA rule book. Basically it just boils down to follow god and don't be a piece of shit.
View on Reddit #80715654

hadukenski@reddit

It also makes a lot of religious people kill people who don't follow their particular brand. So a mixed bag really.
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Accallonn@reddit

So the solution is everybody becomes catholic and problem solved.
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SquirmyBurrito@reddit

Sikh would be a better choice.
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hadukenski@reddit

Sikhs have a huge terrorism problem too. Read about Khalistani terrorism and Kanishka bombing. A lot of drug smugglers and vehicle thieves in Canada are sikhs.
View on Reddit #80800784

SquirmyBurrito@reddit

Huge is a massive exaggeration
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windowpuncher@reddit

Yes, but they're definitely in the minority. Probably better than whatever chaos would happen without any religion in general.
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Serendipity_Visayas@reddit

Ask any academic historian. The current war is between the Children of THE book. Take a quick gander at European history. Women's rights, treatment of lgbt. The African Slave trade, or the "Indian Wars." The Papal Bull of 1493.. Just off the top of my head. Too many Americans learn "History" in Sunday school.
View on Reddit #80800574

commentsandopinions@reddit

There's no looking at history or current events and mistaking most religion for a force of peace.
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windowpuncher@reddit

Only if you look at history for everything that goes wrong, sure.
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Not_Just_Any_Lurker@reddit

As opposed to…?
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ClockworkSalmon@reddit

Not just kill, its an extremely powerful manipulation tool. Evangelicism in brazil is being used by the far right to brainwash low income people into thinking theyll get rich of they donate to the church and vote for right wing politicians. Its called "prosperity theory/doctrine" or smth like that.
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CloudySpace@reddit

HOA?
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Brave_Championship17@reddit

And you can only have sex with a gay man if you’re high
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Virtual-Pollution584@reddit

More concerning is a religion that says you WILL go to heaven if you murder.
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SquirmyBurrito@reddit

No, that is an ideal pushed by the religious. People generally just don’t want to kill innocent people, and it is because of the empathy built into most members in f our species, this empathy is then further supported by fear that of the retribution of the law.
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korc@reddit

Except the entire point of Christianity is that you are born bad and the only way you can be good is to accept Jesus, and once you do anything else bad you did is forgiven. It excuses misanthropic behavior more than it prevents it
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gnarlyhobo@reddit

"low watt gurglers" is fucking hilarious and I will be adding it to my shit-talking playbook. As thanks, please accept this gif of rotating cheese sticks w/ marinara sauce https://i.redd.it/aac7zjqh06pg1.gif
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AGTS10k@reddit

Could you please explain to this non-native English speaker here what could it even mean? To me a "low-watt gurgler" makes no sense when characterizing a person
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gnarlyhobo@reddit

Low-watt in this case is referring to the subjects brainpower or intelligence, saying there isn't much electricity in those wires. Gurgler doubles up on this theme by implying the subject is best known for gurgling sounds, either by way of sheer stupidity or through being a subhuman cave creature. A similar but perhaps more recognizable phrase would be to call someone a "brain-dead troglodyte".
View on Reddit #80745583

AGTS10k@reddit

Ah, that makes sense. Especially after the "brain-dead troglodyte" comparison. Thank you, kind native speaker person
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EtteRavan@reddit

Conversely, some think that waging an eternal war in the middle east will summon their prophet so they can go to heaven sooner
View on Reddit #80732776

Abc123rage@reddit

No it's thinking they will go to jail you chimp
View on Reddit #80719328

OuroborosIAmOne@reddit

My grandmother found out I wasn't Catholic and said, "Then how would you know to do good?" Lady, if the only reason you do good is cause someone tells you to and you're scared of hell, you got a personality problem
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billytheskidd@reddit

They are indoctrinated into thinking man is inherently evil since they could understand words. If we started raising children with better self esteem/ belief in themselves and morality, people might not think being a good person is something you can only do if god threatens to punish you in a lake of fire for eternity. The stuff we are taught as children affects our worldviews in very deep and powerful ways.
View on Reddit #80828509

wavs101@reddit

Thats literally the majority of people. Have you seen The Purge? Most people wont behave if there isnt some authority telling them the rules.
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Serendipity_Visayas@reddit

God your right. That's why God was created. Most, and I mean most, people cannot control themselves without a promise of reward or threat of punishment. Moral reaoning is difficult Source Lawrence Kholberg
View on Reddit #80800191

notsuspendedlxqt@reddit

No one "needs" that. If someone feels the compulsion to hurt those around them, how does telling them "God sends people to heaven or hell depending on what they did in life" make things better in any way? Even if they believed you, they would just redirect their attention to people with different religious beliefs.
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SpaceBug176@reddit

Right because Jesus tells people to kill atheists
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notsuspendedlxqt@reddit

God didn't explicitly say you go to hell for killing non-Christians.
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SquirmyBurrito@reddit

The bible allows those who sin to be forgiven and still get into heaven. Someone could eat babies, three meals a day, for their entire life, and just be forgiven on their deathbed and still get into heaven. It is not the deterrent people are claiming with such a huge loophole.
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SpaceBug176@reddit

Not everyone refers to Christianity though. Also that's hardly relevant. My point is people that go on murder sprees against atheists aren't doing so because Jesus told them to.
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SquirmyBurrito@reddit

I’d go so far as to say no one (who isn’t part of a cult) goes on murder sprees because their god/messiah told them too.
View on Reddit #80760320

Okamana@reddit

You're right about that. I know my Mother does. And people I know, prolly wouldn't be the people they would be without religion. I just hate it when people use it as a cudgel to beat down other people. Not every religion is like that, but I've seen it with some religious groups. Jesus wouldn't act this way, but people take his words and use it for malicious intent. Or they don't pay attention to it, but act self-righteous all the same.
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StopConsooming@reddit

That makes zero sense? “If there were one true God, there wouldn’t be people denying him”? Are you serious?
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BannedSvenhoek86@reddit

If there is such thing as a being with the abilities we would attribute to God, I fully believe the very nature of it and it's wants and desires would be unfathomable to us. It feels like an act of massive hubris to think that we or anyone would be so special and enlightened to understand a being like that, or that it would take special interest in us. I can fully believe in the idea of something that is well above our ability to perceive and understand, something that could even be a creator in the sense that they created this universe and shape it. But I don't believe a being like that would want to be worshiped, and it especially wouldn't care if it was. I think of it like looking at a colony of ants through a one way mirror. And we're the ants. We may have a suspicion this environment was crafted, that's about as far as we've gotten.
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commentsandopinions@reddit

Not having evidence for something is a good enough reason not to believe in it. I can say I know there no purple unicorn behind me, because there is no compelling evidence there is. Same goes. And "some people said so" is not compelling evidence especially when those people also say "and uh he says if you don't do x y z you'll be tortured forever. It is a coincidence that you doing x y z also benefits me". Not particularly compelling. That's just god. We can know for sure that religion, specifically abrahamic religions are not the word of a god of there was one because they are chock full of logical inconsistency and clearly evolve with what the people of the time want, not the desire of any cosmic being. Saying "well we can't know because we could be really dumb in the grand scheme of things" is a weak move. We have information backed by evidence, and that is a great foundation to build on.
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deathandtechno@reddit

You are so much wiser than literal millennia worth of religious experiences. Suck it dumb theists, this guy has it all figured out! Le Epic Atheism.
View on Reddit #80724253

commentsandopinions@reddit

Man.... You know you really got us dum edgy atheists there.... You're right. Who are we do deny all the years of being terrified of solar eclipses, worshiping the sun, moon, and lightning, and praying to trees. Get that peewee 2k year new age nonsense out of here. You think some youth pastor from Oak Hill Alabama knows more than the COMBINED HUMAN EXPERIENCE SPANNING 3 MILLION YEARS? please. So see you at the next sun worship! You're convinced, right?
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deathandtechno@reddit

Bro I hate to break it to but the sun is just a hologram projected by big sunblock to trick you into buying more sunblock.
View on Reddit #80724823

commentsandopinions@reddit

Man you backed off real quick after that one 😂 it's all a joke bro I swear
View on Reddit #80749276

deathandtechno@reddit

Im not going to give energy to actually argue with someone about such a subjective experience lol
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commentsandopinions@reddit

From: >no you can't possibly be smarter than thousands of years of experience!!!! Egotistical atheist!! To: >Well it's all subjective so I can't talk about it... Cope is a heck of a drug
View on Reddit #80777606

deathandtechno@reddit

touch grass and find god bro, i cant find him for you.
View on Reddit #80785296

commentsandopinions@reddit

Oh I found her and she said you're praying wrong, feel sorry for ya.
View on Reddit #80791388

BannedSvenhoek86@reddit

If we're dealing with a being that is extradimensional then no, we wouldn't ever be able to understand it no matter our mastery of this dimension. We aren't 4th dimensional. And attributing some phenomena to an outside force we don't yet understand isn't stupid, a better example would be the concept of gravity to someone from the 5th century. There is a real force being exerted but the very nature of it is indecipherable without a few hundreds years of scientific progress happening first. Finding out there's a 5th dimensional entity capable of manipulating time, space, and matter itself doesn't feel like an impossibility, even if the concept might be a placeholder to something more.
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commentsandopinions@reddit

What evidence do you have that anything is unknowable to us. Not that we don't know it, there's lots of stuff we don't know. That it is unable to be known by us. I understand that you're positing that something existing in a dimension beyond us would be unknowable to us... But how do you know that? What evidence do you have for that? We've already have techniques to visualize things in lower and higher dimensions. Physicists already do plenty of math in much higher dimensions. Now these are real dimensions and not sci-fi "dimensions" but still. Also, if you brought say newtons laws of universal gravitation, the explanation, examples, and the math behind it to the 5th century Indian astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata, then yeah barring language differences, you could most likely teach a 5th century person what gravity is and the reasons for why we use it to explain how falling objects, orbiting objects, eclipses, etc work. The reason is, you're showing evidence to a person who understands that evidence is a good reason to believe things. If you showed all of that information now to some percentage of Christians they wouldn't believe it. And it's 2026. What you are missing is that it's fairly easy to get someone to have confidence in what you're saying if every last piece of evidence you provide and that can be seen in the world supports what you are saying. When what you are saying is "Yes, sure there's literally no evidence for this other than some people say so but that's part of it? And there's not allowed to be evidence? You just have to have faith, or you'll go to hell. Now tythe me 10% of your income". That's a much harder sell to anyone who is using their brain.
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BannedSvenhoek86@reddit

You're on a whole other planet of discussion to what I'm talking about dude. The whole back half of that comment is just atheism slop and that's not what I'm trying to talk about all. Goodbye.
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commentsandopinions@reddit

>use evidence based reasoning You: "That's atheism slop" 😬
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Wide-Screen-650@reddit

From what I’ve seen it’s a lot more about a sense of community and spirituality. The big man just makes things easier to digest in a way.
View on Reddit #80757627

MrwalrusIIIrdRavenMc@reddit

You believe in a higher power like God without necessarily believing in any religion deism basically thats what I lean to
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CloudySpace@reddit

The peoblem with this is that to be decent or good is contextual and subjective. Good and bad is defined by your culture, which is shaped in large part by local religion. Its a moral judgement. There are, and forever have been, very complicated debates happening, by people who are MUCH smarter than either of us, whether morality that defines good or decent can even exist without religion.
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Altruistic-Local-541@reddit

the basic premise here is not necessarily true just because there are many religions claiming their god is the right one doesnt mean there couldnt actualy be a "one true god" it just seems less likely as you encounter more and more religions like this that one of then is completely correct and the rest are completely wrong
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Ora3le@reddit

It's funny because the top 3 biggest/most notable religions ✝️✡️☪️of all time deeply hate each other for their interpretation of God when they technically worship the same guy
View on Reddit #80725564

mrcheese324@reddit

If there was one true God, then there would be a hell lot of wannabees pretending they were him, either human or otherworldly creatures. The desire for power over others is one of the stronger desires in a human.
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FreshFromNowhere@reddit

There is a car that nobody has ever seen, groups of people have been saying that the car is red, or black, or white, or green, etc... Your conclusion : The car doesn't exist because nobody got the color right.
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commentsandopinions@reddit

What evidence do you have that there is a car no one has seen? Btw there is a purple unicorn behind you. It moves when you do to stay out of your line of sight, can't be seen in mirrors or photographs and everyone is in on the joke so they will deny it's there. Evidence: a person said so.
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tarmagoyf@reddit

If noone has seen it, who built it? This car sounds like a lie. Seems familiar.
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godsslayer54@reddit

You might be wondering how I got into situation
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Spectus1@reddit

Still in edgy phase I see
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Maddogenes@reddit

deism is all the fun of believing in God with none of the religion.
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General-CEO_Pringle@reddit

Honestly this makes the most sense. Historically speaking, you can't really take Religions seriously when we actually know the ins and outs of their development, leading to the only conclusion that they are man made.
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almostasenpai@reddit

An anthropology scholar told me that most religious beliefs were invented by economists for population management. Like in India the milk from a cow was more beneficial than the meat so they just made cows sacred because explaining economics to starving uneducated rural Hindus was too difficult.
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jtoeg@reddit

Believing that god doesnt exist because all shitty religions claim he does has the same energy as "person I dont like said they like this thing so I hate it". Sure, deny the existance of god, but don't do it cause you're a edgy religion hating atheist, do it cause you exist and breathe tenets of nihilism and the ideals of the ubermenschen. Do it cause you suffer from the delusion that you physically curbstomped gods face.
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Maddogenes@reddit

No sir, I was advocating for deism as I suffer from the illusion that we are all God having a human experience and anyone who tells me different is just finding their own path.
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StormR7@reddit

Atheism > agnostic > deist That’s my progression at least
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MisterBobAFeet@reddit

Is that where I'm at? I recognize that sentience is something special that nothing else seems to have. So that had to come from somewhere. Call it God, or whatever you want. But there was something that sparked the first thought. Something that allowed us to say, "I am." And whatever that is, is God.
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BullyHunterIII@reddit

counterargument my cat hid behind my stairwell to jumpscare my dog when she walked by and that level of evil is definitive proof of sentience
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MisterBobAFeet@reddit

You have made me reconsidering how special human sentience is. Thanks.
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The_Law_of_Pizza@reddit

You may or may not be joking, but just in case: The animal kingdom shows a sliding scale of sentience and sapience, depending on brain complexity. Humans are not in any way unique except in the *degree* of our intelligence. This is strong evidence that sentience and general consciousness is merely a biological function. Religious people who lean on sentience as a unique human trait as evidence for God are actually therefore, amusingly, proving how stupid and close to animals humans can actually be.
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MisterBobAFeet@reddit

Can you explain why we are so much more advanced than anything else that's on our planet? I'm not trying to argue, that's a legitimate question.
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Sir_Bebe_Michelin@reddit

Advanced in what regard and by which standards ? There surely are a lot of things we are better at than other animals but there are others where we are just as easily beaten by other life forms
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telorsapigoreng@reddit

It’s largely a matter of specialization. Humans are animals that specialize in brain power. As a result, the brain consumes as much as 20% of our body’s total energy. It just so happens that maximizing brain power also gives us the ability to process complex and abstract issues. Other animals specialize in different traits. Animals that specialize in raw strength have much stronger muscles than we do. Some animals specialize in venomous defense and possess venom sacs or organs that we don’t have at all. Others have far more advanced hearing, vision, or sense of smell than humans. Humans simply evolved by investing heavily in brain development, often at the cost of other physical abilities.
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Sir_Bebe_Michelin@reddit

I totally agree with this
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MisterBobAFeet@reddit

We went to the moon and split the atom for starters. We also created the Internet. We can fly to the other side of the planet in a day. Also all the infrastructure that made those things possible. We are the dominant species on the planet. Just because a tiger can eat us doesn't change that.
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swingin_dix@reddit

There is no reason why. The "why" you're looking for is the result of innumerable random genetic mutations over innumerable generations. The most capable organisms live, those less capable die. Somebody has to be on top of the dog pile, and humanity is it. Lucky us that we rose to total global dominance before some other species did and then snuffed out our genetic line by turning our natural habitat into an oil refinery
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AI_Slopper@reddit

https://preview.redd.it/wyd0fl8yq3pg1.jpeg?width=220&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f39a38042a439a82680a1cf956193b32790ec1ec
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vladmashk@reddit

Why are you so sure?
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MisterBobAFeet@reddit

About what part?
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vladmashk@reddit

That something conscious is responsible for our consciousness.
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MisterBobAFeet@reddit

To be honest I'm not "sure" of it. I think it's impossible to be sure of anything on this topic. I just think we're unique and if consciousness was something that could come naturally, why not with anything else? Why are we so special that we could split an atom.
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vladmashk@reddit

Neanderthals were also conscious, and so are all the intelligent aliens in the universe. We are not unique at all.
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PixelSpy@reddit

I think we're just incredibly unlucky to be the only species so deeply aware of our own mortality. By some fluke of genetics we've breached into this realm of self awareness and horrifying ourselves every day with it. But realistically nobody knows I suppose. We could just be unlucky space dust or perhaps theres some divine plan. So far theres no evidance of divinity thats convinced me, but hard to tell if that evidence doesnt exist or just hasn't been found yet.
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Lord_Gladon@reddit

I prescribe to the theory that we acquired consciousness through magic mushrooms
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MisterBobAFeet@reddit

Honestly, that might make more sense than anything else if we are talking about an organic growth of consciousness.
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-DoctorSpaceman-@reddit

Yeah. I don’t believe in any of the religious stuff, but could some all-powerful being beyond our comprehension have created our entire universe l? Sure, why not.
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bumpmoon@reddit

But it's only pushing the origin a step further back, because what then created the all-powerful being? And if he existed all along, why then could the universe simply not have existed forever in a different arrangement to what we have today? A claim like that doesnt explain anything, so why make it?
View on Reddit #80821421

The_Law_of_Pizza@reddit

At a certain point you have to weigh that deity down with so many qualifiers that it becomes pointless - he's clearly uninvolved with the universe, he is uncaring, or else not omniscient or all powerful, he may not even be conscious and is merely some sort of primal mover. Etc, etc. Point being, at a certain point you have to ask yourself *why* you're even bothering to put so much mental bandwidth into trying to justify the existence of this unprovable, unknowing thing. Sure, we can't disprove it, so it's technically possible. But it's also utterly meaningless, and is basically just a way for people to skirt the entire issue and pretend to be more wise than they actually are. Just have some balls and admit that you don't actually think there's a deity. Don't invent a completely impotent one to logic pretzel your way to its possibility.
View on Reddit #80713039

Floug1@reddit

The existence of a creator deity and human soul/afterlife is a very soothing idea for me, so while I think it's very unlikely I'm not gonna deprive myself of the faint hope just so I can say I'm certain in my beliefs.
View on Reddit #80729412

ajax3006@reddit

That's why I out garlic up all over my house, along with some wooden stocks and a well stocked silver tipped crossbow. Not going to deprive myself a comforting defense against fictional forces.
View on Reddit #80736659

Floug1@reddit

If the thought of vampires existing is that scary to someone, there would be nothing wrong with hanging up a little garlic in their house if it makes them feel safer. everyone indulges in a little superstition in some form or another, like if you wish someone good luck, it's not gonna help, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't do it if it makes you or the other person feel better.
View on Reddit #80800397

OmgJustLetMeExist@reddit

I just think it’s fun to headcanon my own version of God
View on Reddit #80722338

deathandtechno@reddit

God is just Jack Black in black face calling himself Black Jack.
View on Reddit #80724300

anthony200229@reddit

And if he was muscular he'd be Jacked Black Jack Black
View on Reddit #80727048

Rostin@reddit

I hear this a lot, and it seems lazy. There aren't many stories or ideas in the Bible that seem aimed at explaining features of the physical universe. You've got the serpent being cursed by God to crawl on its belly and lick the dust. You've got the rainbow. There's the tower of Babel. I'm sure I'm missing a few, but the list of examples is not very long or impressive.
View on Reddit #80752180

AlexanderTox@reddit

The Bible is a more “modern” version of religion. Yes it’s ancient in terms of our current civilization, but early religions from the Stone/Bronze age (which constitute 99% of humanity’s existence) employed the logic that the gods are in control of the weather, seasons, tides, the movement of the planets, starts, moon cycles, etc. The Bible may be old to us, but in the grand scheme of humanity, it’s a new publication.
View on Reddit #80753492

Rostin@reddit

It's true that the Bible was written relatively recently in human history. I admit I don't know much about the religious beliefs of stone and early bronze age peoples, so I don't know whether what you're saying is true. I will say that the idea that religion is an inferior way of explaining the world that was supplanted by science is an enlightenment myth. When I say myth, I don't mean a necessarily or fully false story. I mean an origin story that people tell because it supports their identity or values. There are myths of the American founding that you may have learned as a child if you're an American of a certain age. Examples might be the first Thanksgiving and Paul Revere's midnight ride. They have some historical basis, but the reason we tell them is not because they are historically terribly consequential. It's more because of what they say about us as people. They form part of the foundation of our identity. A myth about science and religion arose during the 19th century, primarily due to the work of two men, John William Draper and Andrew Dickson White. Their views came to be called the conflict thesis by historians of science. The gist of the conflict thesis is closely related to what you said. Science has triumphed over religion by explaining a lot of things about the world that religion tried to explain but got wrong. They wrote books to defend this view, which were very popularly received and influential at the time, but which contained a lot of exaggerations, incorrect information, and outright lies. Practically no historian of science these days thinks that the conflict thesis is the best way to understand the relationship between religion and science. The real history of science is a lot more complicated than the triumph of rationality over irrationality, or of true explanations about the world versus false ones. For one thing, it's not a coincidence that science most strongly took root and flourished in Christian Europe.
View on Reddit #80766881

FB-22@reddit

Great post
View on Reddit #80819339

GooGoo-Barabajagal@reddit

Agreed. When I hear people say stuff like that it just tells me they’ve never read the Bible or they did and they really don’t understand what they read
View on Reddit #80757237

BardicInnovation@reddit

For me, I read the Bible cover to cover in highschool. That made me an atheist. LotR and Harry Potter are more believable as historical events. Nowadays I'm agnostic, because I want to believe something is out there, but I need evidence before I would be swayed in any way.
View on Reddit #80716349

StopConsooming@reddit

Atheists always flex having read the Bible cover to cover. It doesn’t mean shit unless you understood what you were reading.
View on Reddit #80795915

BardicInnovation@reddit

Correct. The Bible doesn't mean shit.
View on Reddit #80798244

FB-22@reddit

This kind of line probably got you so many updoots in 2010
View on Reddit #80819108

VitruviusII@reddit

All of the prophecies predicting Jesus’s coming were the building blocks that helped my bridge my way to God, but by His intelligent design the last step will always be a leap of faith. There is no way to use only your human reasoning to accept Him, but if you ask for signs and trust that they will come if He is real (even if you don’t believe He exists), He will reveal Himself to you. Then whether or not you follow any further is up to you.
View on Reddit #80760828

Friendly-Target1234@reddit

>realizes that agnosticism is just an epistemological fallacy realizes that for all thing in life, when no evidence shows that it exists, but there is plenty of evidence that it is a fabrication, I just admit it doesn't exist until proven otherwise back to atheism
View on Reddit #80710823

DoJ-Mole@reddit

The issue with total atheism is you cannot actually have true evidence of it either - anything science can perceive or discover as ‘evidence’ could easily be by design within the laws of a created universe. I will agree with the no evidence it exists point, besides the common feeling of spirituality we can experience as humans, which could indeed be simply chemical reactions within the brain but then as with my first point - that could just be as far as we can measure, and the question is what purpose does that have on a simply biological level. Therefore agnosticism is based but pure atheism is as ignorant as organised religion
View on Reddit #80735926

Insane_Unicorn@reddit

Yet when we put that same logic towards all other stories people will call you crazy. Don't excuse delusions.
View on Reddit #80750046

FB-22@reddit

Because in most other cases it’s known what is true and what is false about a given thing, and/or there are comparable things to use as benchmarks for whether a story is reasonable. Not so much with the origin of the big bang
View on Reddit #80818715

General-CEO_Pringle@reddit

I feel like this is only true when it comes to the question of whether God exists or not, but for Religion, we actually know how they formed and developed, we know what people had what influence. This is evidence that, while god might exist, at least the Religions are man made
View on Reddit #80757463

Waffleworshipper@reddit

I think you are missing the point a little by asking what purpose it serves. It is a non-harmful (reproductively speaking) extension of the very evolutionarily beneficial pattern seeking present in humans.
View on Reddit #80751111

Puntley@reddit

Apatheism stays winning
View on Reddit #80741461

lichtblaufuchs@reddit

Agnostic atheism is the way
View on Reddit #80711714

The_Law_of_Pizza@reddit

Which is basically all atheists. The qualifier of "agnostic atheist" is just something people say to distance themselves from fedora wearing neckbeards. But the bottom line is that all of these people inventing new names for themselves are, at the end of the day, atheists.
View on Reddit #80713125

Raesong@reddit

> fedora wearing neckbeards. Most of whom I would describe as antitheists, given their incessant need to attack the very concept of religion.
View on Reddit #80733539

lichtblaufuchs@reddit

Yes, probably most atheists are agnostic atheists. The term communicates that a. you don't believe in a god, and b. that you acknowledge you don't know whether the god in question exists. Most theists would probably also describe themselves as agnostic if they understood what the word means.
View on Reddit #80714323

vjmdhzgr@reddit

For me, religion is much too obviously a human creation to genuinely believe in it. And they generally have rules from like 2,000 years ago that are completely outdated now. Or were pointless to begin with.
View on Reddit #80720080

StopConsooming@reddit

What makes them outdated?
View on Reddit #80795897

vjmdhzgr@reddit

>nooooo don't eat le pig it's totally le unclean!!!! Honestly that one's out of date with the invention of fire so I don't know what they were fucking up back then.
View on Reddit #80796568

StopConsooming@reddit

It was legitimately unsanitary back then to eat pork because there was no way to safely prepare it. However, I’m pretty sure that only Muslims and Jews still have dietary restrictions in this day and age. Christians haven’t had any since, well, Jesus.
View on Reddit #80797436

vjmdhzgr@reddit

Yeah I never said I was talking about exclusively christianity. I chose the most obvious outdated thing.
View on Reddit #80799152

StopConsooming@reddit

I don’t think Christianity attempts to explain the natural universe. It’s there to guide you through life.
View on Reddit #80795943

Lone-Frequency@reddit

Religion was still is used primarily for control. Modern religion is meant to control the masses. Anon is an idiot if he doesn't get that concept.
View on Reddit #80761010

von_Roland@reddit

At least agnosticism is intellectually honest whereas adherence to atheism is as provable as theism
View on Reddit #80711049

The_Knife_Pie@reddit

I have no obligation to consider the validity of the insane tweaker screaming about how the world is run by lizardmen. You’re free to keep an open mind and say “I don’t know, maybe the world *is* run by lizardmen”, but there is no logical imperative to put any credence in his words; they can be dismissed out of hand for being completely baseless. In the same vein atheism is an entirely reasonable stance, but agnosticism is also fair.
View on Reddit #80718824

von_Roland@reddit

There are perfectly logical arguments which support the existence of a deity or creator. Not that we could know anything about such a being except that reason can imply the existence of one.
View on Reddit #80725034

The_Knife_Pie@reddit

Except no, there aren’t. There’s exactly as much evidence and reason for a god as there is for the lizardman theory.
View on Reddit #80736624

von_Roland@reddit

There are no arguments for your strawman but there are many arguments for the existence of a nondescript god. For example, the prime mover argument. If everything has a cause then so does the universe, if we are in a strict physicalist construction of the world then whatever kicked off the universe has inadvertently (or intentionally it doesn’t matter) caused everything else, as in these constructions every effect is strictly determined by its cause and every cause has a cause. Whatever caused the universe is thus god, it may not be a willful god, or even a conscious god.
View on Reddit #80745732

The_Knife_Pie@reddit

Except nothing about this argument requires a god, nor does it imply a god. It isn’t even a *good* argument. There is no actual reason to require a creator except we want one. The universe exists independent of us and has no obligation to have been created by any particular being. If you would instead argue the fundamental laws of reality (physics) constitute a god then you are just arguing sophistry, and have *decided* it means there’s a god. I won’t say atheism is the *only* rational position, but it’s both entirely rational and more rational than deism.
View on Reddit #80746187

von_Roland@reddit

No I’m saying that whatever created the universe is god no matter what that is
View on Reddit #80746255

The_Knife_Pie@reddit

Yes, which is just sophistry. You are playing with word definitions to try and force the world view that a god exists instead of admitting you’re an idiot. The strong, weak, electromagnetic and gravitational forces are not any singular construct to call “god” nor are they seperate “gods”.
View on Reddit #80746471

von_Roland@reddit

Just because a person has a different concept of what constitutes a god doesn’t make the argument sophistry. You just have a western conception of what a god should look like whereas there have been many religions without personified gods that still are. But for further argument if your idea of god requires a human like will (which it shouldn’t but whatever), if the universe is strictly physical and thus deterministic, then the will we possess would be no different than the mechanism which caused the universe. This system is entirely workable for theistic thought.
View on Reddit #80755272

IGuessYourSubreddits@reddit

Theism is "Some insane deeply psychotic cult that you base your entire life on" Atheism is saying "hm no that's weird" Agnosticism is an enlightened centrist "let me consider both sides" take that somehow pretends they are equal. Choose the one that is least insane.
View on Reddit #80721217

von_Roland@reddit

See your problem is that you are describing religion not the simple belief in a possible deity/creator etc.
View on Reddit #80724959

Converzati@reddit

If you think religion is supposed to explain material reality, or that science fully can, you are a cretin.
View on Reddit #80752620

AlexanderTox@reddit

Please explain to us all then why ancient humanity invented gods to explain the weather, day/night cycles, tides, stars, planets, seasons, etc. Religion is rooted in these ideals, whether you like it or not. Shit, even modern religions like to do this. The first book in the Bible explicitly states how material reality was created. That’s supposed to be the infallible word of God. If you don’t believe the world was made in 7 days, you are saying the Bible is incorrect.
View on Reddit #80753330

Converzati@reddit

You know absolutely nothing about the bible, bible scholarship, theology, or the different nature of belief systems.
View on Reddit #80753727

AlexanderTox@reddit

Sorry kiddo. Sadly, I do. Catholic school for 8 years, read the Bible cover to cover, studied history of Religions during college, dabbling in all sorts of theologies. Hell, I even have a close family member who is a tenured Professor of Religious Philosophy at a university. Nice try though.
View on Reddit #80754041

MrwalrusIIIrdRavenMc@reddit

Or one can be a deist
View on Reddit #80751681

zbgs@reddit

Ain't shit explained by science since we don't know how the universe started. Nothing can't make something
View on Reddit #80725435

AlexanderTox@reddit

So if your answer to that is god (with zero evidence of the existence of a god), then what made god? As you said, nothing can’t make something.
View on Reddit #80748385

zbgs@reddit

Nope, just proving we got no idea about anything about the universe. We are cavemen in this aspect
View on Reddit #80750772

M0rgr0m@reddit

This is an argument against organized religion, not against faith or belief in a creator. And no lol a lot of things haven't yet been explained by science. SO MUCH is unknown to us, on Earth and beyond.
View on Reddit #80715105

AlexanderTox@reddit

The concept of supernatural creators and godly deities are rooted in organized religion dating back to the Stone Age. Even if it wasn’t, faith in a supernatural creator without any evidence to support that claim is parallel to organized religion anyway. And you are correct in that there is still much we have not figured out yet. But, the fact remains that many many many many things that were once supposedly under the influence of the gods have been explained by the laws of nature. Science shows us that there is plenty we don’t know, but it also gives humans a physical explanation for natural events in the universe without the need of supernatural deities.
View on Reddit #80716029

M0rgr0m@reddit

I think you have a very narrow view of faith. A lot of people believe in a god outside the confines of organized religion
View on Reddit #80729338

AlexanderTox@reddit

And faith in a god requires what? I’ll answer that for you. Steadfast belief in what cannot ever be proven.
View on Reddit #80748201

Sleep-more-dude@reddit

The "god of the gaps" is probably like 5% of theology, the rest is all just civics.
View on Reddit #80746731

lil_kott@reddit

Reddit ass opinion
View on Reddit #80731919

skull_fucker79@reddit

we must've come a long way if he didn't mention "sky daddy" or the flying spaghetti monster
View on Reddit #80738421

PapaMoBucks@reddit

Realizes that the easiest way to legitimize government beyond the tribal level, before consent-of-the-governed was "uh...because god(s) said so"
View on Reddit #80737169

DoJ-Mole@reddit

For me it was more, I realised that organised religions have a lot of human added elements of control, but they draw on spiritual feelings and perception which can be felt by anyone. The actual existence of a god or higher power cannot be disproven, as it could easily exist beyond the reach of science, so it just comes down to what you think is more likely or comforting. Therefore I think agnosticism is based, I lean towards believing in more but accept we can never truly know
View on Reddit #80735486

Lvl4Toaster@reddit

yeah imo religion was super necessary pre technology as an attempt to hold humans to being good while nobody is watching but now we got CCTV
View on Reddit #80719497

DarkScorpion48@reddit

A lot of food rules boiled down to “don’t eat something that will give you food poisoning”.
View on Reddit #80728578

harbourwall@reddit

Ignosticism fits most agnostics better. It's a stupid question.
View on Reddit #80726030

K1llerG00se@reddit

Yep
View on Reddit #80726010

OGOngoGablogian@reddit

I was pretty religious growing up, moreso than my parents. We went to church most weeks, a pretty milquetoast Midwestern Methodist Church that featured exceptionally boring doctrine. No evangelical nonsense, though a few of the hardliners tried, no fire and brimstone. And I wasn't into any of that either, but I stridently believed in God, and that Jesus was literally his son. I got re-baptised when I was 17 and I cried, it might be the most deeply moving moment of my life. When I left home and my brain developed a little and I stopped looking outwardly for meaning so much I realized that it was probably all meant to be metaphorical, but I still despised the online, surface level atheism that seemed to be what a lot of my friends were into. It just seemed so cynical and one dimensional. And this was in the early 2010s when it was in its heyday. I arrived at the basics pretty unceremoniously: that virgins don't give birth, that people don't come back from the dead, that most of the parables were fables more than anything. But it didn't leave me feeling lied to, it just felt like a necessary step in the process of understanding human nature. We can refute most tenets of the core religions with scientific fact, but the more we unlock about the universe the more I think we can identify with why religion started in the first place. There is only so much we, as simians, can perceive because we are primates. Even with the most advanced brains on earth we are not equipped to understand the vastness of everything. There are things in the universe that would seem to be supernatural. Eventually we may develop the tools to help us explain these things, but then you run into an infinite regress problem. The further we push the boundaries of our understanding, the more we encounter things that we need more tools to understand. Which lands me in the agnostic camp. If the universe is in fact infinite, then the infinite regress problem is real, and eventually I think we will reach a point where we cannot explain things scientifically. The idea of an infinite universe is arguably supernatural, our brains are not equipped to compute something like that. We visualize it in ways that make sense, but the true scale is ultimately unknowable. So while there is not an omnipotent, om I present God calling the shits, there is some power at some point that we will find ourselves incapable of computing. I guess that's what I'd call God.
View on Reddit #80725378

Simple-Reporter9102@reddit

Realizes that all the behaviors for the good of the community, like alturism, can be explained with game theory and evolution of selfish genes. Back to Atheist.
View on Reddit #80725309

Zermist@reddit

realize the physical constants of the universe seem teleological, facilitating complexity. go back to religious 
View on Reddit #80710389

Cueadan@reddit

Realize multiverse theory is just as plausible as any theological answer. Remain agnostic.
View on Reddit #80716592

Zermist@reddit

After being agnostic considering multiverse theory, consider the vast majority of universes in the multiverse have no complexity, they eradicate themselves instantaneously, there are universes filled with clouds of gas and nothing more because dark energy is too strong. Yet only with a specific set of constants you see hierarchical emergent complexity. Go back to being religious
View on Reddit #80721410

KymbboSlice@reddit

Why do you seem to have this idea that complexity = existence of god? If there weren’t sufficient complexity, you wouldn’t be around to realize it. Just like the billions of other opportunities on other planets that didn’t meet the requirements for life.
View on Reddit #80723414

Zermist@reddit

I’m going back and forth for the meme personally I’m agnostic but you’re arguing the strong anthropic principle. It doesn’t consider the universes innate ability for emergent hierarchical complexity (even without changing values of physical constants this underlying possibility is there).  But the strong anthropic principle is like sitting in front of a firing squad of 60 men and who all empty their magazines and you stand there alive and say “Of course they all missed, otherwise i wouldn’t be here to consider why they missed!” To me there’s clearly some teleology for the universes particular structure, not necessarily a god or creator, but some fundamental reason why don’t know about yet
View on Reddit #80725244

Zermist@reddit

I’m going back and forth for the meme personally I’m agnostic but you’re arguing the strong anthropic principle. It doesn’t consider the innate ability for emergent hierarchical complexity. Like sitting in front of a firing squad of 60 men and who all empty their magazines and you stand there alive and say “Of course they all missed, otherwise i wouldn’t be here to consider they missed!”
View on Reddit #80725021

SS370N@reddit

*repeat*
View on Reddit #80710645

kikikza@reddit

Apathism is the way I like describing it, either way I gotta go to work tomorrow
View on Reddit #80722965

AusCro@reddit

I get what you're saying but I think it's wrong. There were dozens and dozens of competing ideas for chemistry, then the western ideas around elements were refined and prevailed. Just because 100 people disagree doesn't mean one isn't right
View on Reddit #80711150

AlexanderTox@reddit

The difference is that given enough time, you can disprove the incorrect ideas for chemistry using the scientific method. This does not apply to religion, which is based solely on faith in what cannot be proven. The laws and facts of the universe don’t change.
View on Reddit #80711861

AusCro@reddit

Yep, that's correct regarding chemistry but then the bit on religion starts to veer off: religion isn't based solely on faith, each is distinct. Christians and Muslims both make claims to the truth of their religion on historical events. With a time machine, you could see the lives of Jesus and Mohammed and verify the truth and falsehood of them. Unfortunately we don't have that ability
View on Reddit #80712622

Neghbour@reddit

If the only evidence doesn't exist anymore, doesn't that make it unfalsifiable?
View on Reddit #80718171

AusCro@reddit

Yes and no in a few ways. So theoretically if you could appear 2027 light years away you could see Mohammad or Jesus's actions on earth. There might be some eventual way to determine period facts concretely. Obviously this is a practical no. But science often finds a way. Young earth creation has practically been falsified with scientific advances. Also to me this is where historical analysis starts to have to take place, because it's the best thing we have for determination. It has proved narratives or events true and false before (such as the previously mythical city of Troy being shown to exist)
View on Reddit #80720144

HorrorCranberry1796@reddit

The most based take on religion is “I just think it’s neat” like if God makes you happy and you don’t hurt anyone in your beliefs, go for it man.
View on Reddit #80719937

Prancer4rmHalo@reddit

Science is very poor at didactics.
View on Reddit #80719201

intbah@reddit

Realizing I AM GOD, as everything only exist because I believe they do. If shit doesn’t seem tasty it’s only because I don’t believe hard enough. Realizes I am a shitty God that can’t decide what I believe. Finds out WE ARE ALL GOD Not sure what comes next for me 🤷🏻
View on Reddit #80718745

Luke22_36@reddit

That's the edgy high school kid phase
View on Reddit #80715849

hairyballsinmybutt@reddit

Lame
View on Reddit #80715590

TurretLimitHenry@reddit

Most doctrines are fairly similar besides celebratory traditions and customs.
View on Reddit #80713742

Ok_Independence_2630@reddit

Same
View on Reddit #80711391

Mirdclawer@reddit

Yep, going back to religion is just a weakness of rigorous rational thinking, or because social conditions/surrounding people makes it easier to just be believing if you would be alone in that kind of environment But it's the easy anwser to existential questioning, but not the rational one out
View on Reddit #80710790

Limp-Temperature1783@reddit

I think there was a lapse in logic when the OP had attributed the good parts of religion to a supernatural being. Or do you have to believe in God to be a good person? I just don't get it.
View on Reddit #80964760

NinpoSteev@reddit

Nah, I grew up atheist in a largely atheist country. Still atheist, but I stopped being a dick about it after I turned 20. I do still find the abrahamic notion of my whole existence being a purity test, forced upon me by an almighty entitt, who created and planned out every aspest of my character and life story to be rather illogic and demeaning. I want to be more than a plaything in someone else's world, but I realize that's a big ask when billionaires exist.
View on Reddit #80711128

LeopoldZoup@reddit

Is your existance a purity test when forgiveness is constant and generously given? Christianity is not legalistic like Judaism or Islam. Also, God does not plan out your life in advance, you have free will in Christianity (unless you are five point Calvinist or hold to Augustinian theology)
View on Reddit #80737603

NinpoSteev@reddit

I cannot wrap my head around why that would work with god being omniscient.
View on Reddit #80747342

LeopoldZoup@reddit

He would know the future, but would not decide what people do.
View on Reddit #80804081

NinpoSteev@reddit

The inherent variance in free will murks future predictions, creating diverging timelines and whatnot. If the outcome and path to get there are known, there isn't any space for variance. Accepting both as true as requires doublethink, in my view. It links with my thoughts on simulation theory as well. Thinking of myself as an AI in someone else's simulation is a crippling thought. It robs me of worth and agency. Made worse by the programmer already knowing the outcome and running the simulation anyway, for the love of the game, one might assume. The world already feels enough like a bad game of europa universalis.
View on Reddit #80827535

LeopoldZoup@reddit

Well, in the end there is one reality, which ends up exactly like it is because of every single action in history. An omniscient entity would know this reality, even with free will. He would also be able to see every possible future but still know which will be the real future. I don't see a contradiction at all
View on Reddit #80841775

NinpoSteev@reddit

Who says there's only one universe or reality? It's unknowable. If we're talking about the universe's end as a collapsing and starting over with another big bang or something, yeah, that's necessarily a terminus point for the current universe and every other possible universe, but the universe's end is guesswork, much more than it's beginning.
View on Reddit #80938835

DialecticCompilerXP@reddit

Forgiveness requires that you agree with an absolute nonsense story* and live in a more or less constant state of contrition for your basic human drives and emotions, since it not just enough to act correctly, you must also feel and think correctly and perpetual gratitude for the opportunity to be "saved". It's definitely a purity test. Everything that occurs is preordained and fully known by God, including every choice that you will ever make; the only sensible explaination is that God intentionally chose to have things play out this, including choosing that some souls be destined for damnation. In fact, the Bible lays this idea out fairly clearly: "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" - Romans 9:21 *God, in his infinite power chose to sacrifice himself to himself, to save us from himself, otherwise he was required to punish us for an ancestral transgression that he in his full knowledge of the outcome still chose to set in motion, all of this because this all-powerful entity is incapable of forgiving humanity without a blood sacrifice, but to receive this forgiveness we need to be baptized, a process ranging from dunking us in water to dribbling water on our forehead and psychically acknowledge the sacrifice of his son who was also himself who was fully human and fully God, who also got better shortly after.
View on Reddit #80751266

LeopoldZoup@reddit

Wow, what denomination are you from?
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PalpitationOk1553@reddit

Denmark?
View on Reddit #80714955

NinpoSteev@reddit

You been peeping my comment history? Thanks for reminding me to conceal that.
View on Reddit #80747701

PalpitationOk1553@reddit

Post history 😞
View on Reddit #80748500

Vast-Conference3999@reddit

I could be a plaything for an almighty entitt. How big are the titts?
View on Reddit #80725367

NinpoSteev@reddit

Ahhh, you got me. Checkmated
View on Reddit #80747279

MrBingly@reddit

Casual atheistic as a child. Questioning atheist as a teen. Finish college as an atheistic agnostic, but recognizing the importance of religion. Convince my Christian [now wife] that it is important that we get a pastor to officiate our wedding even if it makes it harder to jump through the hoops to meet the requirements for a pastor to agree to officiate.
View on Reddit #80914051

baltinerdist@reddit

You didn't loop back around to believing in God. You looped around to believing in prosociality. That we can hold a set of tenets that help us treat others well and grow our society in positive ways, some of which were figured out by other people and written down a while ago. God has nothing to do with it.
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Rikkushin@reddit

Imagine deriving your morality from a fictional being rather than from yourself
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whitestguyuknow@reddit

If you have to believe that god is gonna punish you eternally to be a good person then you're not a good person. I've literally had conversations with Christians who ask me "Bro whats stopping you from raping and murdering everyone if you dont believe in god??" And I said "Wait, do you *seriously* think if you knew god didn't exist you'd just run around raping and murdering people?..." and they say "Yes!"! Blows my fucking mind. Some people *literally* need to believe a god exists to act like normal people. They're too dumb to properly control themselves like a normal person.
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TraditionalDegree540@reddit

So, you'd rather they be pieces of shit while not believing, rather than behave in a way that is prosocial because they do? Make it make sense...
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whitestguyuknow@reddit

What? I just said it blows my mind they need that. No. I'd rather they delude themselves. *Obviously*. Whatever is safest.
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Alexander_Russo@reddit

Yeah that's the conclusion I reached. I'm not a good person because without consequences I'd be doing some shit. When people call me a good person I try to explain to them that there is a difference between being good people and being good to people, and that I am good to people because it benefits me, either directly such as they give me stuff or do me favors in return, or indirectly such as I enjoy their company and want them to continue being around me, but am not good by nature. I had to decide that good benefitted me more than indulging my actual natural desires, and would probably go back if the math ever stopped checking out.
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whitestguyuknow@reddit

That's some enlightened analysis. I've never considered it that far. I just *try* to be a good person in the way of just doing things as I'd want done to me. So in most situations that's what I try to consider. How would I want to be treated? I could never commit many awful things because I imagine myself in other people's shoes too easily, all the time. Even animals. But I am human and I do fail doing this sometimes. No one is perfect and I have acted in ways and exhibited treatment that I wouldn't want to be treated. And when I do I carry these things in my heart as a moment to learn from. I don't cast them aside and think "oh Im forgiven by the great forgiver in the sky! I have no reason to worry about that anymore. I'm clean and no one can judge me." No. I judge myself, and another could judge me, and I try to remind myself to do better in the future.
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artificialdeatheast@reddit

The problem is that not everyone has the same concept of being a "good person" as you. Thats where religion and thus laws come in to place, to sort of create a general standard for "good person"
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TraditionalDegree540@reddit

This
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BipolarMadness@reddit

When you understand that there is a great quantity of people who are violent pieces of shit that do not follow rules if they think they can get away with it, is when you understand that sadly religion is required to force them into submission. The same way that you trick a bad behavior low impulse control kid that Santa is not gonna bring them any gifts into stop being a little shit. Religion was not made for people who are good nature with proper morals like you. It was made as a control mechanism for that offset of people who can't behave properly in society without a punishment they can't get away from.
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Alexander_Russo@reddit

And then you realize god isn't real and you can just do bad stuff and get away with it lmao or become president.
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Zermist@reddit

It’s not a well written post but the thought pattern he has was interesting, how you can swap your view back and forth as you accumulate more knowledge 
View on Reddit #80710539

Oppopity@reddit

But his current set of knowledge shouldn't loop him back to believing in god. It should make him appreciate the role religion has played historically and the values they espoused but he should appreciate those values themselves rather than believing in a god that would command them.
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TraditionalDegree540@reddit

But they can only become universal values with God and religion. Without an objective foundation they just preferences, and nobody's preference would be more it less valid than another's. Then it's just a matter of who can enforce their preferences. Exactly what religious standards avoid.
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MisterARRR@reddit

In the end we are all irrational beings who need something to believe in if we want to stay sane. To make that something divine is the most simple effective and fulfilling solution. Pure rationalization tends to overcomplicate things. Mere appreciation will not lead you to giving the right amount of weight and value to some of the ancient wisdoms and practices that are encapsulated in religion(s), which unified civilizations through a common narrative and set of values and rules that even the most simple minded person in the room could agree upon. The point is that it's simple at the surface (symbols / memes have to be simple too). Even for intelligent people, strong belief can reduce unnecessary doubt and save mental energy, or help you in your own irrational moments. The point of faith is not to prove it. The proof is in the pudding, after all. Literal belief in deities can be a functional advantage through that lens. That is my most rational explanation for what anon is talking about.
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Zermist@reddit

Yep that’s why I said it’s not well written but the concept behind the post is interesting
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hansuluthegrey@reddit

>how you can swap your view back and forth as you accumulate more knowledge  Thats not what happened tho. He just thinks Christianity is the most beneficial. Not that he learned more
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TraditionalDegree540@reddit

An objective standard, God, has everything to do with it. With no objective mural standard we only have preferences, and if you just prefer something without a foundational backing, why should I adopt your preference over someone else's, or over own? If all preferences are equally valid, then mutuality just comes down to who had the ability to enforce their preferences. That's why God matters, even if you don't believe in Him. Christian ethics are shown to result in better outcomes than subjective secular ones for this reason, even if you didn't actually believe in God.
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bisky12@reddit

i believe the uniting idea that most religions are good and were intended to benefit society is what makes op believe in god again. 
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Rebelbot1@reddit

It is certainly written in a lot of religious texts people have historically believed in. It does play a role in giving rules to society. As a ruler you can control unfaithfulness as much as you can control its divine punishment, so you can say it outsourced some of the law enforcing work.
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ActualWeed@reddit

Well yeah, if you can put the fear of eternal damnation into someone then they will follow your rules. The issue is when those rules start getting twisted by a religious leader for personal gains.
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EnterpriseAlien@reddit

GAY
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aure__entuluva@reddit

It's possible that believing in god (or gods) and religious tradition/worship were a key part of establishing a community capable of achieving the goals of prosociality. I'm not about to start going back to church anytime soon, but I can also see society falling apart at the seams because we have no sense of community anymore, and I can acknowledge that shared religious experience was one of the things (not the only one of course) holding that together.
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TraditionalDegree540@reddit

Yeah, basically...
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lk_22@reddit

Same except I just realized regards need religion to behave themselves in a civilized manner in a good society and that I can still do all that good community/societal stuff without actually believing. If you need God to tell you to be nice to your neighbor then you’re a shit ass person or a moron.
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RodjaJP@reddit

Proceeds to have different versions of what it means to do good and be a nice person instead of having a shared definition through the same source Starts fighting each other
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lk_22@reddit

I mean most of them preach the same underlying messages, as long as you aren’t a moron you can see that. Unfortunately, most people are fucking stupid. Higher thought tribalism (e.g. religions and most politics/nationalism) mixed with billions of years of animalistic evolution is a hell of a drug. We are a violent species.
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mudlark092@reddit

Only about as violent as other social species tbf. Potentially less so depending. We’re like thiiiiss close to eating the babies of rival males I think maybe we’re there in spirit. “Evil” step-parents are definitely a thing… (As are Awesome Non Evil Ones) It’s funny because unlike animals we COULD rationalize ourselves out of it but. Yknow. Often it can be detrimental to the populations of those social animals, and we got off so well because of more willingness to create larger communities and less hostility, imo. But, yknow, whatever. I think that animal instinct is actually God Communicating with me directly because surely what else could it be. If I feel something it must be true and intended by God and not just things that happened to evolve. I guess on the reverse side people will say its natural so surely its good but also we have to keep in mind that something that comes naturally isn’t necessarily good for the collective, nor necessarily good for the individual, its just good enough to keep you alive for long enough to reproduce. Like, having no mouth and not being able to eat and dying after having a bunch of babies is what evolutionary worked “the best” for several types of bugs because it meant they got to reproduce the most. Not that they got to live the most fulfilling, stress free, healthiest best lives. I would figure the starving to death at sexual maturity isnt that great for them healthwise. And it was definitely just some bug that happened to ruin that for every other bug in its species because it was able to make way more babies, overflowing the gene pool with said babies. Once we stop viewing the way things currently are as the best possible solution, maybe we’ll actually want to get up and move to a better one.
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lk_22@reddit

We don’t eat the babies of our rivals. We just run them through with spears or dash their heads against rocks or bomb them to oblivion or cut off food supplies so they and the rest of their family slowly starve to death. I don’t not believe we are bad creatures, and our violence in and of itself is not unique. What is unique is our ability to industrialize violence. It’s also sad that as much as we’re able (and probably should) rationalize our way out of violence conflict we are just as susceptible to rationalize our way into violent conflict. I think the only thing we differ on is I do not think our animal instinct talking to us is God. I think our high consciousness, rational ability to think at a different level is our gift from God, and it’s our duty to overcome our baser animalistic instincts. Our animal instincts are what attract us to earthly, devilish desires. Idk what to believe, God may or may not exist. All I know is that treating my neighbor well makes my community a better place and both of us happier than if we disrespected each other. I don’t need a God watching over me to make me nice to my neighbor. I can do that on my own.
View on Reddit #80807570

mudlark092@reddit

Oh no, I was being Sarcastic on the Animal Instinct being God thing. Just on reflecting some of the Bible, it comes off sometimes as the author viewing core instincts as Godly Communication/assigning Godly Weight to stuff like an impulse or intrusive thought. Honestly I don’t think we’re particularly special or Graced by God in any way. I think viewing our specialty as something God assigned is very… Human-Centric? When it was more just luck / coincidence if anything. We just happened to be able to get a footing before other species and also actively suppress many other species from development so it’s not like they could get on our level if they wanted to… BUT… We also can’t communicate on the same level with other animals so its naive of us to assume none of them are anywhere near our levels of intelligence. Especially when there’s already animals that do have communication structures, that build, that have agriculture, that use tools. We just assign greater value to ourselves and reinforcing that we’re chosen by God helps ease any accountability we might have towards treating other animals as lesser. Animal instinct is not devilish to me bit simply impulsive, it bares no inner evil. It can simply create destruction without impulse control (which is something many animals can learn as well). Ants for example have had agriculture long before we ever did! If there is a “God” to me it would be the equations that create the world around us, which is frankly uncaring and often happenstance. Things like the fibonacci sequence are everywhere… there is a math to how the wind scatters clouds, and how light shows through the atmosphere and creates the colors of the sky. Many things are pure chance, and not intentional. Maybe things such as the seasons… There is a math behind that too. Math would be the only all powerful god I could think of but there would be little intent for good or evil there, especially with so many variables. To me, written religion is purely the word of humans, and contaminated by human perspective. I think they often share similar things because humans have similar experiences around the world. They can be an important window into historical thought processes at the time and to understand the motivation behind wars.
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lk_22@reddit

Very much so agree with everything you just said, especially about math! I hope you have a good week kind stranger.
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Itchy-Beach-1384@reddit

Unlike those organized religions of course. The common text dictating "good" is what the purpose of government and the law People kill in the name of their religious texts constantly. Christian and Israeli nationalists are actively committing genocide as we speak.
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Ver_Nick@reddit

How about just being a good person anon
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hiddenbyrags98@reddit

There’s no objective morality outside of religion
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Ver_Nick@reddit

So? There are very clear publicly agreed upon moral truths which are also reflected in religious books
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AxVxA@reddit

Yeah, because it came from them, dumbass
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hiddenbyrags98@reddit

Yea that’s probably where they got them from…
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-PM_ME_UR_SECRETS-@reddit

Propaganda post
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Greencheezy@reddit

That's one road to take. The other road is realizing that religion was made to control ignorant peasants and slaves to stop them from killing each other and/or killing those in power. I mean, until you get told by those in power to kill for God, queen, and country, of course.
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RunInRunOn@reddit

How does learning that religion was invented as a way to control the population translate to believing in a god?
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FB-22@reddit

That’s kind of a weird way to think about it. I feel like the evidence is pretty strong that religiosity evolved as a trait in humans through natural selection.
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poopcockshit@reddit

I bet it was invented by the poors bcuz the rich were assholes to them. And still are. Major cope but it’s valid ig. ![gif](giphy|c9fo0fcrKAvmBO0UOY)
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mudlark092@reddit

There are a lot of schisms that form from persecution yes but often the canon can favor the rich with other schisms being suppressed. It’s truly a winning man’s history and the oppressed are definitely the “losers” so to speak. Like, why does conquering peasants feel so good if I wasnt gods chosen one, duh?
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FrankSinatraCockRock@reddit

I personally doubt that they were invented as a means of control. However, people observing that others like or believe in something and subsequently using it as a means of control is still quite valid - which is to say that they were appropriated as means of control. Religion is inherently not properly organized when it starts.
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mudlark092@reddit

Definitely not invented as, but appropriated depending on the religion. It’s funny because people speak so nebulously about religion being a means of control but what they’re mostly thinking about is Christianity and Related Religions, and not religion as a whole. IE. Anything stemming from Yahweh/El. Although I guess it’s easy to forget about other religions when most of the non-Yahweh-root ones were the ones that got colonized and conquested all over to the point that only scraps remain of their history. Oops.
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JakeVonFurth@reddit

Because it's not.
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General-CEO_Pringle@reddit

Whether for control or not, we still know how many Religions came to be, how they developed and how they were influenced. One might disagree over the why but it was still man made
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Perfect-bang@reddit

you failed your theology class
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JakeVonFurth@reddit

You failed to add anything meaningful to existence.
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Vast-Conference3999@reddit

Bro wants to be dominated
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freecodeio@reddit

> every religious book suppresses women > good of community pick one bro
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C_Werner@reddit

No need. They're compatible. /s
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lordxebec@reddit

tru
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sloothor@reddit

Viva la Xebec
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BipolarMadness@reddit

Counter argument: religion is a man made set of rules and laws. As such, just like any man made rule it can be changed and improved for a better future for society. Slavery was considered normal in religious text. Now currently in the Christian side of the world is considered abhorrent. Whatever interpretation or use of it changed to fit the society's needs and thoughts of its time. It is malleable, just like any law.
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mudlark092@reddit

TBH I’d say “slavery is abhorrant” depends on where you are in Christianity because theres plenty of fundies who think we’re worse off without it. The fact that its man made is why I don’t trust it however. Its ultimately adjusted to personal preference of human individuals, its the words and perceptions of humans. There is no god involved in it. Although I think they are historically and culturally important to understand and get a window into common conceptions over history. But there’s also a lot that gets excluded from canon. To try to fix it would ultimately still taint it with human influence and perspective.
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Odinskriger@reddit

Did Jesus suppress women? Or are you white knighting?
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mudlark092@reddit

Yeshua / Jesus was a literal person. Which, I mean, Mary Magdalene was around, but the Bible Canon itself did purposefully exclude her because contributions such as ones from Paul. We got a lot of anti-women stuff from Paul. Mary Magdelene suggests Yeshua at least was at least pretty cool about women for the time but he’s a figure in the religion, not the religion as a whole. And ultimately human, and not perfect. A loooot of the canon was developed before and after him. IIRC a decent chunk of the canon about HIM specifically was made a decent while after his death LOL. But He’s A Person out of the entire canon that Yea Does Tend To Suppress Women. And also people of color for a while there… anyone with different interests… so on. There was that whole period of history where they barred anything but Yahweh/El worship including worship of Yahweh/El’s wife, to the extent that the concept that he even had a wife is foreign now. Asherah ring a bell? She used to be worshipped alongside El, often by women, and her worship was actively suppressed and her idols removed. And then also that whole thing with her being literally demonized alongside the other female gods on the road to the development of El into Monotheism. And I mean. Theres that whole thing with Eve and Lillith. Fun times. The climb into monotheism as a whole was messy in general too.
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TheTwistedHero1@reddit

I mean it is theoretically better than complete anarchy. Back when the religions were founded, non deity based ideological explanations for morality (social contract, etc), were not really developed in those regions. Also we lived in a world where people could die WAAAAY easier, and women dying were worse for population recovery than men dying. So they were suppressed purely for pragmatic reasons. Now that we have a much longer life expectancy, there's no real reason to suppress women outside of bigotry or desire for control
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Th0rizmund@reddit

Wait, those two things are not the same?
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JakeVonFurth@reddit

![gif](giphy|pV0lVLeA0JXjBiO5Cp|downsized) ^(/s)
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_Tal@reddit

Almost got baited before I saw the /s
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Tommy2255@reddit

S stands for cowardi**s**e
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humancocainer@reddit

Counterpoint: guru granth sahib
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TLGJ0K3R@reddit

I think the real reason i was atheist is because the Christians around me where just mean all the time. Same goes for the orthodox. Once I learn they weren't practicing what they preached I realized they were just delusional. Ligitimently couldn't understand why you'd believe and yet take out all your pain on others you care about. Made no sense made me agnostic in the end. I dont want to disrespect believers but the fake ones annoy me the most
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0cc1dent@reddit

Same
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NighthawK1911@reddit

"Universal Value"? It's just scaring the masses so that they'll follow whatever one guy is saying. It's not about morality. They just made it "moral" to do the bidding of someone who will make shit up to make others do what he wants. It's no coincidence that "God says X" happens to coincide with what the guy saying it actually wants to happen. "God wants to give me a luxury sports car". "God wants you to forgive all the pedo priests" etc.
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mudlark092@reddit

Hmm God says I should Marry First Woman Who Offers Me Water I think.
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Ok-Lynx3444@reddit

Still good for people in the sense that it can provide a sense of close knit community which is something that is getting scarcer
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nofoax@reddit

Yes, but surely we can find better ways to build community than performing rituals for a nonexistent God, and defining our morality by what some random people wrote down in a book two thousand years ago. 
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ender89@reddit

In *general*, most religious traditions are rooted in some kind of societal need. For example, abrahamic religions all ban shellfish and pork (even if Christians generally ignore it) because shellfish is a common, deadly allergen and pork is prone to parasites and spoilage when not stored and prepared correctly. 2000 years ago, no one understood why some people would puff up and die when eating shrimp, or why pork lead to parasites, but they did "know" that their god really didn't want them to eat pork or shellfish and would kill sinners who didn't respect the edict. Meanwhile you have pig roasts in the South Pacific that honor the gods because nothing will be alive after roasting for 9 hours in an underground oven. That said, any religious rules today that use the "because god" argument is just manipulation. If you can't justify a religious rule without leaning on the ineffable workings of God, it's just manipulation and usually to get your money.
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TheBionicleApple@reddit

ragebaited by 3 years old greentext award
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JakeVonFurth@reddit

Ragebaited so hard that he forgot that you can skip the middleman and literally just read the book yourself.
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Makelithe@reddit

Found the guy who's still in the edgy atheist phase
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CipherBagnat@reddit

The more it goes the more I want to believe in God. I'm sorry for the believers I looked down to, I understand now.
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VitruviusII@reddit

Look into the prophecies predicting the coming of Jesus. For example, in the book of Daniel they predicted the coming of their messiah 700 years in advance to the exact day. The angel said 483 years after the order to rebuild the temple is given, then an anointed one will be revealed, and this date is the exact day He came riding in to Jerusalem on a donkey (which was another prophecy, albeit easier for someone to fake). This is just one of many, and theologians and historians alike agree that it is statistically impossible for any one man to have fulfilled all of them, because some of them involved what family He would be from, what city he would be born in, etc. Also I beg you to read Isaiah chapter 53, it talks about Him pretty in detail ~700 years before. If Christianity isn’t true, the people writing down the scriptures would have to be the luckiest sons of a gun the world has ever seen
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mudlark092@reddit

I mean. Jesus/Yeshua was Aware of the book of Daniel and started to believe of himself as the Messiah so he did kind of start intentionally acting out what the prophecy said. It didn’t make the prophets omniscient. Likewise, what we see now in Israel and the middle east… its not like this stuff is happening by circumstance, they are intentionally going out of their way to follow predetermined scripts with actions that are also pre-described. It would be different if they had no knowledge on the texts, it is Intentional. Yeshua was not uninformed about the bible, so of course he started reflecting it in his actions haha. Especially when he had the motivation of ending oppression of his people. Predicting that someone will arise to rescue those in a time of need isnt prophetic, it’s simply what would need to happen for those people to get out of that scenario, and the reality that there would be backlash, etc. The whole israel situation historically back then was already them facing conflict on and off all the time anyways, yes pre-Jesus. Often it was a documentation of conflict and conquest at the time from the perspective of whoever was writing it. It was made during a time where religious persecution was rife, and at several points a bunch of the texts were also just poetry and battle hymns as well, or even adapted from poetry from previous gods such as Ba’al.
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RunInRunOn@reddit

I don't think God and Epstein can exist in the same timeline
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2ndRandom8675309@reddit

Take it a step further: If they do both exist in the same universe then we need to find and kill god because it's an existential threat to the species.
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Letters_to_Dionysus@reddit

natural disasters and kids with cancer are an even bigger challenge imo.
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Vast-Conference3999@reddit

If there were no God, these things would still exist, we just wouldn’t give a shit about them. You think lions get upset when a cub dies? No, they eat the fucker: free protein. Our capacity for seeing bad in things is the same that allows us to see Good in an empty and indifferent universe.
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General-CEO_Pringle@reddit

>we just wouldn’t give a shit about them When was the last time the suffering of the world had a genuine and lasting emotional impact on you?
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RunInRunOn@reddit

Is it just me or is this an insane self report? I would absolutely still feel bad for kids with cancer whether there was a god or not
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Vast-Conference3999@reddit

That’s not what I said. “God” and “religion” are aspects of the human mind. The same bit of our consciousness that thinks “things should be good” and “bad stuff should not be”. Animals don’t have this. The lion does not worry over the moral considerations of killing. We have this. It’s a product of our intellect. It’s why we believe in spirits and ghosts and the great other. It separates us from the beasts.
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Letters_to_Dionysus@reddit

the point is that if there were a benevolent god, you would expect senseless suffering to not exist.
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Vast-Conference3999@reddit

If he were capable of performing literal miracles. Which I hold he cannot do. God is a function of our mind - a way to comprehend the world. It cannot physically interact with the world.
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Comfortable-Room-545@reddit

so god is not all powerful, which goes against the tenets of many major religions
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Vast-Conference3999@reddit

The tenets of all major religions are bullshit
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Substantial_Bet_1007@reddit

hes making exam inshaallah
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ryanpn@reddit

No, you just don't understand, it's all apart of gods plan
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TheSpoty@reddit

The whole point of Christianity is free will
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Patroklus42@reddit

Is it though? Free will exists as a potential explanation for the problem of evil, but there are many points in the Bible where it explicitly rejects free will. Think of God "hardening" the pharaoh's heart. Having an omniscient god kind who gives prophecy also would contradict the idea of free will
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TheSpoty@reddit

Prophecy does not contradict free will. You are free to do whatever you want, and make any decision you wish. The omnipotent part allows prophecy to be made as He already knows what you will pick. It was your decision, you’ve already made it
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Patroklus42@reddit

That sounds an awful lot like a paradox. Obviously we can't make a decision contrary to prophecy, no matter how you spin it. If all of our decisions are known before time even began, they aren't really decisions. Saying "you made it" like we are some sort of timeless, cosmic entity ignores every part of what actually makes us human. Not complaining, I'm becoming partial to determinism anyways. But it creates some interesting paradoxes when dealing with a religion who claims an all powerful god
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kdhd4_@reddit

It's not paradoxical though. If you have a futuristic, 100% reliable mind-reading machine, and you use it on your friend while he's thinking of choosing between soda or juice, did you take away his choice of choosing soda because you already knew what he wanted before he opened his mouth? God merely has a better understanding of what we'll do beyond immediate options, but it doesn't take away our ability to choose. Similarly, a prophecy isn't what makes one choose something, it simply has information about what the writer correctly guessed (or got that information from a higher power that correctly guessed), but the guesser didn't make the choice, he simply knows us that well.
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nofoax@reddit

Do you not realize how absurd it is that you're trying to lawyer your way through how obviously illogical the Christian conception of God is?  I don't blame you. I was doing the same thing when I was 11.  But at a certain point you have to realize: if God really did exist, you wouldn't need convoluted and nonsensical arguments to explain his illogical behavior and biblical contradictions and paradoxes.  Just ask yourself: if you were the all powerful creator of the universe, would you allow childhood cancer to exist?  Would you arbitrarily decide that the only way to save the people you created from the hell you created was to kill your own son? It's absurd. 
View on Reddit #80724829

kdhd4_@reddit

You don't need to be condescending to me, I'm atheistic. That doesn't mean I enjoy reading criticizing from a point of ignorance, or am unable to argue from a point I don't necessarily agree with. Nothing you pointed out is paradoxical or contradictory. Hell isn't meant for humanity, god doesn't want any human there, it's not a punishment created for us, yet we can choose to end up there by ignoring his teachings, it is the absence of god. And people always say "well, if god wanted to make sure we believed in him he should make an obvious miracle or smth" and yet when he shows one of the greatest miracles ever it's suddenly "illogical". Obviously, it's a miracle, it's supposed to appear grand and impossible.
View on Reddit #80745865

Moblin81@reddit

If you created him and his entire lineage personally, while knowing that he would pick juice one day, then yes, you did take away his free will.
View on Reddit #80717920

kdhd4_@reddit

No, because you're not inducing his choices. You're conflating his perfect knowledge of us with making choices for us. Sure, god didn't create us with wings so we can't fly for example, that is not an issue of free will, even in an atheistic view you couldn't say someone doesn't have free will just because he wasn't born with dove wings. Free will is about making choices with what we have available to us now. God didn't project us with the intent that Mark would drink soda one day, but he did make us while knowing Mark would drink soda one day. His knowledge isn't because of a programming he did to us, but because of his perfect insight. If I give soda to Mark and I know he's going to drink it because I'm his friend and know him very well, I didn't take away his choice of drinking or not. I may be wrong because I'm not perfect, maybe Mark wasn't feeling like drinking soda that day, but my level of knowledge (perfect or imperfect) doesn't take away his choice.
View on Reddit #80718684

Optimal-Success-5253@reddit

We are human because we make decisions at the time they are presented? Or what are you trying to say?
View on Reddit #80713112

NoScrying@reddit

Me when I don't understand determinism.
View on Reddit #80738549

Deb_99@reddit

God killed every firstborn son in Egypt, what about their free will? Didn't he strip them off their free will by killing them?
View on Reddit #80722251

Loaf_Baked_Sbeve@reddit

That was a mistranslation, Hebrew doesn't have a passive verb form of words so God allowing Pharaoh's heart to harden was translated as him making it happen.
View on Reddit #80720211

Vast-Conference3999@reddit

No, the whole point in *Satan* is to give us free will. The Garden of Eden was paradise because there was no knowledge of good and evil and no capacity to choose. God didn’t want us to leave. He’d have been happy with us as pets. The Snake gave us free will so be thankful to him.
View on Reddit #80725061

PussyDestrojer@reddit

No. The whole point is that humans chose to eat from the Tree because they already had free will, and the capacity to choose. The choice was between obedience and disobedience, and they chose the latter after being deceived by Satan (a name which translates to 'The Deceiver,' or 'The Adversary'). The point is that it was a perversion and misuse of our free will.
View on Reddit #80745859

Prestigious-Fig1172@reddit

You're forgiven
View on Reddit #80722643

WhiteSepulchre@reddit

Just because the masses are cattle who need to religiously believe in things they don't understand doesn't mean you go to a cloud dimension when you die.
View on Reddit #80709646

surferos505@reddit

Yeah unlike you who is such a free thinker 
View on Reddit #80710827

WhiteSepulchre@reddit

Yeah *true* free thinkers believe a magical rabbi will whisk them away to a cloud world because random people told them it would happen.
View on Reddit #80713349

surferos505@reddit

Still better thinking than we all came from nothing and will enter a black void of nothing when we die 
View on Reddit #80714181

Lamuel_J_Sackson@reddit

How is that better lol
View on Reddit #80714420

surferos505@reddit

Something is always better than nothing 
View on Reddit #80716688

mudlark092@reddit

Hmm. 5 Minutes of nothing or 5 minutes of being beaten with a metal bat
View on Reddit #80801600

Ok_Caterpillar7710@reddit

You're in luck! specials today are A. shit sandwich B. nothing How would you like your shits cooked?
View on Reddit #80725098

surferos505@reddit

Stop acting like a child 
View on Reddit #80725964

Ok_Caterpillar7710@reddit

Its cool bro im sure there are support groups for [Shit Eaters]( shhttps://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/9a4b1af1-1da6-482b-95a3-d38fd96985eb/gif?__cf_chl_tk=gBQ4PLp1nCMfdlCfAW.h3VcN9Et4AO7TnDmdbfVtizY-1773643969-1.0.1.1-._elLEI.UlBkYQi6GZ3oEJnrPSUG3Ifzd7Bt7NkQ.wo#4_KAes_f.copy)
View on Reddit #80798677

nofoax@reddit

It may make you feel more comfortable. It doesn't make it true.  Hell, I wish I could believe in eternal life and God and angels. But it's just obviously not true, and I'd rather confront reality than hide from it in comforting fairy tales.  Besides, the universe is amazing enough. 
View on Reddit #80725017

surferos505@reddit

You haven’t confronted anything  You hide behind your own fairy tales and arrogance 
View on Reddit #80726008

nofoax@reddit

Like what?  I've confronted and I accept the fact that the universe doesn't give a shit about me, that nature is often cruel and random, that humans are animals and often act like it, and that life is unfair and no one is coming to save us.  But also that there is beauty in the brevity and complexity of life.  Meanwhile you pretend a magic man in the sky gives a shit about you, while failing to prevent childhood cancer. I find that a bit pathetic. 
View on Reddit #80726303

surferos505@reddit

Baby’s first philosophy and atheism 😂 Such a cliche
View on Reddit #80726730

nofoax@reddit

And yet you can't even come up with a counter argument so you just spout internet cliches. 
View on Reddit #80751223

Mythun4523@reddit

Dogs don't go to heaven dude. If they can come from nothing and go to nothing, why can't humans lol.
View on Reddit #80729090

Fenrir-The-Wolf@reddit

That isn't anywhere near as clear cut as you're making it out to be, there's nothing in scripture that says they will, but also nothing in scripture that says that they won't. Catholicism - Traditional theology influenced by Thomas Aquinas states that animals do not have rational, immortal souls, and so therefore don't participate in the beatific vision or eternal life in the same way that man does, but theology is not something that's set in stone. John Paul II stated that animals have souls in a sense, and Francis comforted a child by saying that paradise is open to all creatures. Fundamentally it comes down to individual belief (or the belief of your Pastor, famously Pastors can disagree on the intricacies of belief) Eastern Orthodoxy - Largely believe that animals do go to heaven or will participate in the restored creation. It isn't formally believed (meaning derived from a synodal decree), but many pastors and believers do believe that animals will be present in the afterlife, based on God's love for all creation. LDS/Mormon - Much clearer teachings, J.Smith taught that animals have spirits and will be resurrected through Christ's redemption, and will therefore enjoy immortal life. Anglican - Very close to Catholicism on this one, nothing doctrinal or formal, but many members of both the clergy and the laity will express hope that animals will be present in the afterlife, similarly to E.Orthodoxy based on God's love for all creation. Ultimately though, it's a topic open to debate. I could go on, but I think that illustrates the point. FWIW, I'm not a believer myself, but I am sympathetic to Christianity. It undeniably forms the foundations of 1) my culture, and 2) my personal morality, and for that I feel that I owe it a debt.
View on Reddit #80738580

sssometimesss@reddit

i'd rather just cease to exist than be bored for eternity actually
View on Reddit #80725262

surferos505@reddit

Such a small mind you have 
View on Reddit #80725946

sssometimesss@reddit

i'm sure everything looks small compared to that ego of yours
View on Reddit #80727442

surferos505@reddit

Only thing bigger is your smugness 
View on Reddit #80733908

PixelSpy@reddit

Theres only one way to solve this argument. Which one if you is going to go first?
View on Reddit #80716685

Mythun4523@reddit

Clearly the dude who believes in heaven. He can relay signs after his death
View on Reddit #80729132

StopConsooming@reddit

“Ha! If your religion is true, then how come *I* /painfully misrepresent what you believe? Checkmate theist!”
View on Reddit #80796046

Complete_Gazelle4363@reddit

Religion is a pacifying force. If a society has a fundamental issue you need revolutionary forces to change it, and so religion ends up being counter revolutionary- thus bad, specially during the liberal democratic revolutions and socialist revolutions
View on Reddit #80796241

dazednconfused555@reddit

Even good things corrupt if believed for bad reasons.
View on Reddit #80795968

SageoftheForlornPath@reddit

I have become a bit agnostic. I don't believe in god, if it exists, it's impossible for humans to comprehend, identify with, or speak on behalf of it, which means that to believe in it is almost the same as not believing it.
View on Reddit #80787544

MGx424@reddit

"God is the name of the blanket we throw over mystery to give it shape" — Barry Taylor, AC/DC Road Manager The enigma that is the Universe is too mind blowing for our monkey brains to comprehend. Religion is a collection of morality tales born from trumped up half truths and wild fever dreams that are ment to capture the imagination and spred through word of mouth so that we will behave ourselves and live with each other
View on Reddit #80786871

delet_yourself@reddit

Everything i ever achieved in life was my effort, not some imaginary sky dude. Yall have fun with it tho
View on Reddit #80780488

Additional-Term3590@reddit

I’ve always believed in God, but lost my belief in Christianity. It just doesn’t explain it all. Unitarian now.
View on Reddit #80779283

13ame@reddit

I realized that „God“ means something different to everybody so in a sense, yes. I‘m still agnostic but I believe in something unspecific. Not a creator but some sort of good force, call it love or hope
View on Reddit #80777365

kindredisthicc@reddit

He just couldn't fathom the pain of inexistence
View on Reddit #80773792

TheTwistedHero1@reddit

My whole idea of a god is simple: If God does exist, it's pretty clear they do not care about humanity, so worshiping them is rather pointless, since there's no material benefit to it. If God existed and cared about humanity, the cruelty and suffering so present would simply not exist
View on Reddit #80772190

DanteThePunk@reddit

It's actually scary how close this is to me except for the last sentence. Although now I lean into the theory that if there's a god, it's nothing like what's in the bible or in any other religion. Been dwelling on between that concept and traditional agnosticism a lot lately. 
View on Reddit #80771654

stillphat@reddit

why would I subject myself to more bullshit when I can take the good stuff like community building and reject the power structures?
View on Reddit #80753364

Substantial-Cat2896@reddit

I really dont care, i just live my life
View on Reddit #80753171

PsychedelicAwakening@reddit

Reject modernity, embrace Zoroastrianism
View on Reddit #80751427

KD-1489@reddit

- realize there is no objective meaning and no god actively participates in the world. If you want to be a good person and make the world a better place, it’s up to you to actually do something.
View on Reddit #80751424

Luther_Manning@reddit

Just because the religions were originally intended for good doesn't mean they're built on truth.
View on Reddit #80750095

PapierStuka@reddit

I didn't grew up with religion outside of school, used to an edgy teenage atheist and some day decided to believe in God. I feel better with my faith, it helps me in tough times and made me more resilient against the nonsense from others I have to endure with composure and continued friendliness I focus on the positive values and aspects that no one can deny are there, faith/believe and knowledge are separate aspects that do not exclude each other and as such, my faith is strong
View on Reddit #80750011

Medford@reddit

Forever atheist because of anthropology.
View on Reddit #80749869

DialecticCompilerXP@reddit

Universal value is an overstatement. There is a value to them that relates to a specific segment of the populace for a particular set of socio-historical conditions. But considering that even in the Bible (I'm taking a leap and assuming anon isn Christian) these rules are not applied universally, e.g. thou shalt not kill is handed down shortly before the Israelites go off and do a whole shitload of God-sanctioned killing, it seems that even the source of these laws doesn't seem to carry strong convictions regarding their universality. I do believe in God, but it's all-encompassing and nothing can exist contrary to it, making it something beyond good and evil, as everything is equally of it.
View on Reddit #80749344

vitringur@reddit

Oppose religion because you realise it is all lies meant to manipulate gullible people and scam them through false promises. Give up on others and decide to just scam them. Live long enough to see yourself become the villain…
View on Reddit #80747712

beado7@reddit

Uh oh, OP, you mentioned religion on Reddit. You should know anyone on Reddit would be way too smart to believe in any religion and because they are so smart they will refuse to have any intelligent conversation with anyone that has religious values because clearly those who believe in a religion are completely immoral, brain dead, and provide zero contributions to society.
View on Reddit #80746359

aBastardNoLonger@reddit

Now *this* is a psyop
View on Reddit #80744176

-Shlim-@reddit

Based
View on Reddit #80741271

lowrads@reddit

The only thing that matters is if the potluck has good food and lots of it, inshallah.
View on Reddit #80740030

aczkasow@reddit

>Never was indoctrinated by my parents >Hence never had edgy religious phase >Still don't know who are agnostics >Don't care about history or sociology to learn what are the tenets and what were they for.
View on Reddit #80739746

MangoAtrocity@reddit

Well, I don’t think that there is some kind of omnipotent, omnipresent, all knowing, all seeing entity like the Abrahamic God, I think the vast majority of what religion teaches is generally good for society. Taken care of one another, being in good stewards of the Earth, responding to hate with kindness, giving to charity, practicing temperance. Further, I think spirituality can do a lot of good for a lot of people’s mental health.
View on Reddit #80739507

xd3mix@reddit

Just because you recognize the value of the core messages of religions doesn't mean you believe in them. \-an agnostic
View on Reddit #80739098

WoldyR@reddit

How the fuck did they record my life?
View on Reddit #80738513

crwrd@reddit

Nah.
View on Reddit #80737491

xX_SkibidiChungus_Xx@reddit

I just choose my religion based on aura and hype monents alongside relatability.
View on Reddit #80734825

Avocado_with_horns@reddit

The christian religion and it's values are not half bad. The christian church on the other hand is awful.
View on Reddit #80734245

awispyfart@reddit

Based
View on Reddit #80734149

SillyMidOff49@reddit

> Implying being agnostic and atheist are mutually exclusive. One is a statement of belief, the other is a statement of knowledge. I do not believe in a god/gods = Atheist. I don’t *know* if a god/gods do exist = Agnostic. Agnostic Atheist.
View on Reddit #80733137

AttakZak@reddit

From a young age I just believed the core tenets of most religions is to be kind, respectful, and have certain disciplines.
View on Reddit #80733011

CeraRalaz@reddit

The last one but without actual mythical beliefs
View on Reddit #80732074

Patroklus42@reddit

Interesting leap between "religion has social utility" and "religion is actually true."
View on Reddit #80711596

Neomataza@reddit

That's where the seam is when they tried to come up with a bell curve meme but failed.
View on Reddit #80731709

hansuluthegrey@reddit

Like choosing to think something is real and defend it because you like the community that comes with it is the epitome of being a dispshit with no critical thinking skills. If you need religion to beba good person thats kind of scary
View on Reddit #80731634

1tiredman@reddit

Hilarious how a simple post has set off reddit atheists so much. It's actually pathetic the way the simple mention of religion actually makes this app implode
View on Reddit #80731312

Anzire@reddit

Its fine. Ive seen people corrupted by money and do the most heinous stuff imaginable just because they are powerful now.
View on Reddit #80730387

Jesper537@reddit

Indoctrination > Rebellion > Independence > Fear of Death
View on Reddit #80729694

NoSoyVerde1@reddit

This is exactly me lol
View on Reddit #80729593

2benomad@reddit

Dumb take. Just because you realize some tenents of religious are socially useful doesn't make your sky daddy suddenly exist.
View on Reddit #80714430

Glum_Perception_5766@reddit

Sky daddy in 2026 are you fr
View on Reddit #80728900

2benomad@reddit

Yeah ? I'll concede that its provocative but my point still stands. Just because you think it's useful doesn't mean that God or Allah or whatever suddenly starts existing. It would be like saying: - I'm sad and having difficult time in life - I read a cool quote from Gandalf about how we can't complain about it and instead what to do with the time granted to us - that quote is useful and I feel better - therefore Gandalf exist Like, what?
View on Reddit #80729219

Glum_Perception_5766@reddit

You are old and you sound like someone from r/atheism
View on Reddit #80729256

2benomad@reddit

Sure, How about making your point instead of attacking me ?
View on Reddit #80729289

Glum_Perception_5766@reddit

I’m just saying using sky daddy in 2026 is cringe idc about anything else
View on Reddit #80729312

2benomad@reddit

Lol, it's a greentext subreddit my guy, stop being a drama queen
View on Reddit #80729363

RGBespresso@reddit

Maybe the people in charge wanted to develop a functioning society...? I don't understand how this would lead you back to thinking god's real lol
View on Reddit #80729093

luckylegion@reddit

Simulation
View on Reddit #80727908

idlickherbootyhole@reddit

Ignorance is bliss. If you never wonder how anything works or research the motives behind geopolitical conflict throughout history, or how/why countless people get dealt a horribly shitty hand, you never come to the conclusion that a) religion is the root of all evil, and it’s virtually imposible that there is a god b) if there is, every modern religion in existence is wrong, as god clearly does not care about us  c) which means that all these monuments, buildings, paintings, rituals, etc, are just a waste of time and a bunch of nonsensical wishful thinking  d) which means that mankind does not NEED belief in god in order to be good with each other, but you can believe in god and have it be your motivator to strive and be a better person  In conclusion anon is either a blithering fool or baiting.
View on Reddit #80727785

Suspectful-Aspect-53@reddit

me too low-key
View on Reddit #80727781

RawardHoikes91@reddit

Where the fuck is the cat? Was this sub overtaken by bots as well? 🐈♻️
View on Reddit #80726341

Nvenom8@reddit

If only there were a way to take those good core tenets of religion that you recognize as good and apply them without believing in a God...
View on Reddit #80726063

ChromaStorm@reddit

post god clarity
View on Reddit #80725720

Outrospect@reddit

I've been agnostic from day one, I just learned the word in my early 20s
View on Reddit #80725563

tato64@reddit

Same I do believe god is real, not in the sense of the existence of some omnipresent entity, but in the sense that anything that has an effect on reality, is real. "Praying" (or at least my version of it) and other god-related stuff has helped me through some things, so yeah, ill lean on it if it works
View on Reddit #80709820

OGOngoGablogian@reddit

Realizing that prayer is just meditation makes you realize how important meditation is to good mental health.
View on Reddit #80725469

perfectVoidler@reddit

the core tenets like slavery. Yes slavery, actual slavery is a core arabic religions value. We got past religious values because they are just wrong. Also agnostics are weak and pathetic. "I will make no decision and keep every possibility open just in case I need to argue my way into heaven if it is real" I also do not want to have sex with children so religion is kinda out for me.
View on Reddit #80725441

Noamias@reddit

For me it’s simple. If no one had ever told me about God, I would never have believed in him even given an infinite lifespan. It’s different from things like gravity, which people could discover on their own.
View on Reddit #80712889

Vast-Conference3999@reddit

See, I take a very different view. Our minds run a kind of ragdoll physics simulation to help us understand the world. You can throw and catch a ball because you learn intuitively how stuff falls and arcs through the air. You intuitively learn shit like energy and momentum when you learn to walk and to run and to fall over and fuck up your knees. You start building makeshift shelters and you learn about forces and stress and breaking strain of various materials. And you also learn about life and love and hopes and fears and free will and consciousness and death. And that last few need some pretty unusual concepts in your ragdoll physics engine to understand. All people everywhere have independently created systems of spirituality and belief. If you had never been told about God you would still have created something a bit like it.
View on Reddit #80725222

Toxicotton@reddit

Even if you never heard of God, then you'd something else to afix ideas like almighty, mysterious, and ethical into something comprehensible. Eventually they all distill down into Father=Power and/or Mother=Shelter. Different words, but same primal belief in the end: Good Life=Reward, Bad Life=Punishment. If you asked 10 people what God is, I'm sure you'd get distinct descriptions of the same underlying principle. If you asked 10 people what's in a soup, then you'd probably get 10 unique answers. That doesn't mean that soup doesn't exist. Nor would it ever makes sense to say you do or don't believe in soup. The core issue is that you don't enjoy the idea of believing in someone's else's version of God. Just because someone else makes terrible soup doesn't mean that soup is inherently bad. Finding a version of God that you can admire and accept will bring you unimaginable peace. That's why it's often referred to as 'a personal relationship with the Divine.' The real sin is trying to organize that personal belief into some official that can be administered. It's like when kids try to create rules for their games of make-believe. It ruins the magic, and it's no longer fun.
View on Reddit #80725215

vechroasiraptor@reddit

Posting anything pro-christ on reddit. These people are animals dude, you'd have an easier time preaching the good word to a pack of hyenas. If it's not what a loser would do, reddit will at best only ridicule you for it. God be with you op.
View on Reddit #80725220

icepickjones@reddit

bro fell for spooky language
View on Reddit #80725104

nofoax@reddit

"do research," lol.  No shit that many of them are attempts to articulate behavioral guidelines for the benefit of society. We're talking about people who didn't know what germs or galaxies are.  And we're doing the same thing today, but without needing to believe in fairy tales. 
View on Reddit #80724621

Xenu66@reddit

Foolish is the man who builds his house on sand
View on Reddit #80709940

Desert_Aficionado@reddit

> Be rebellious teen "You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders"
View on Reddit #80724334

white_equatorial@reddit

If you don't believe in the pantheon, all the gay R34 of them seems fake
View on Reddit #80723596

gknight702@reddit

Na
View on Reddit #80723083

TSiQ1618@reddit

... this is undoubtedly the prohesized Apocalyptic End Times... Bask in Holy Smugness as I self-fulfill the whole world to death
View on Reddit #80722976

Prestigious-Fig1172@reddit

He's just like me fr fr
View on Reddit #80722554

SuspiciousPine@reddit

I mean I looped back to even if I don't believe in a higher power that organized religion can have a positive impact in many people's lives. It's true that in America, many rural places are organized socially around church or churches and that can often be a positive element. I've volunteered with churches doing inarguably good work like free special needs care days and such
View on Reddit #80722201

Roadkillgoblin_2@reddit

I spot a Tool reference
View on Reddit #80720136

-Moxxi@reddit

That perfectly describes my path
View on Reddit #80719921

Anguscablejnr@reddit

Explain the connection of (most) religious Tennant's just being good functional society stuff to there is a sky man?
View on Reddit #80719378

DongDingleton@reddit

I did a lot of research when I turned to agnosticism and found much of the same, just that I still choose to be agnostic, but still open to introduce religion to my children despite myself not being open to it any more
View on Reddit #80719233

YourLocalSnitch@reddit

So he believes in morals not god. I dont go around preaching that mr rogers is god because he teaches manners. I also dont go around preaching that mr rogers doesnt exist if he was evil.
View on Reddit #80718906

Smokinglordtoot@reddit

One can accept the possibility of a supernatural power that may have created the universe. One cannot accept the same supernatural power giving a shit about the human race.
View on Reddit #80717423

FrenulumEnthusiast@reddit

Same, but mostly the first part was because reddit was new and everyone was anti-religion so I was young and ignorant and followed the herd. When I started asking questions, reading the bible, and getting answers, is when I started believing in a higher power. The fact that atheism's main argument against religion is "If god, why bad thing happen", which can be answered with a 2 second google search, isn't a winnable position.
View on Reddit #80717412

dumbassthathasreddit@reddit

3 yo greentext get better material
View on Reddit #80709101

eat_my_bowls92@reddit

Most new greentexts are Redditors posting and screenshotting their own posts. No one will ever top the purity that was the brojob.
View on Reddit #80716738

OfficialSandwichMan@reddit

Go to r/NewGreentexts then
View on Reddit #80715504

_NOT_SO_PRECIOUS_ROY@reddit

What a maroon
View on Reddit #80709120

loscapos5@reddit

5
View on Reddit #80710923

UPVOTE_IF_POOPING@reddit

What a nincompoop
View on Reddit #80709329

depersonalised@reddit

what a putz
View on Reddit #80709794

MisterBobAFeet@reddit

A bafoon!
View on Reddit #80710399

BlurredSight@reddit

The average Reddit Atheist doesn't know anything more about religion than the elementary understanding of Christianity + mixed with their own internalized hatred and lack of control in this world, this entire comments section shows that once again
View on Reddit #80715157

Friendly_Beginning24@reddit

the reddit atheist stereotype is always true
View on Reddit #80715520

yewny@reddit

actually my belief in god was restored once i learned that the earth is irrefutably flat and theres no experiment you can do to prove we're spinning on a ball
View on Reddit #80714822

BananBosse@reddit

Define "God". Aint no reason to go full on Monotheistic just because "religion was created for good".
View on Reddit #80714814

Samurai123lol@reddit

\>multiple societies with multiple different gods all loop around to being uhh.. anti murder, anti theft \>god exists ??? yeah fuck off lol
View on Reddit #80714731

SaltIsMySugar@reddit

Ick. Gives me the ick. :( Do they not realize they could do things for the good of their community without involving mythological peeping Toms?
View on Reddit #80709449

Sen-oh@reddit

Peeping Tom?
View on Reddit #80710580

SaltIsMySugar@reddit

You know, god is watching all the time kinda thing?
View on Reddit #80711169

Sen-oh@reddit

Oh, that's not how it works. God isn't external to you, so it would be more like a fed/spy/hacker situation than a peeping Tom at your window. That's why people say not to be judgemental; not because it's wrong or anything but if you cultivate that level of critique, you lock yourself in your head with that asshole lol.
View on Reddit #80711354

SaltIsMySugar@reddit

Interesting line of thought actually 😂 I like it
View on Reddit #80714307

Sen-oh@reddit

Lately, studying gnosticism from the perspective of a psychologist, it's surprisingly on point. Imagining you have this cosmic infant hanging out behind your eyes watching everything you see is a pretty good way to regulate your subconscious, since it doesn't process language and takes everything you see hear or think literally, and then makes alterations to your daily autopilot programming accordingly.
View on Reddit #80714550

obsolete_broccoli@reddit

Someone is still in their edgy atheist phase
View on Reddit #80709573

SaltIsMySugar@reddit

It's not a phase! ![gif](giphy|pVuja7BJl0Eow|downsized)
View on Reddit #80709732

gtepin@reddit

Yep, I went from Christian to Buddhist, then Agnostic. After a few years I realized how revolutionary Christ is, and now I’m back. Christ is really cool, the problem is the fandom
View on Reddit #80714475

iSailor@reddit

I don't believe you can go back to religion. Unless you have the ability to believe something you think is false.
View on Reddit #80714433

Total-Jicama7563@reddit

Nah, metaphysically i ve never had certainty about its existence, nor its characteristics. Now I believe it exists, but I'm not certain about any of its characteristics. And its relevance to society order is unquestionable.
View on Reddit #80714215

Laxhoop2525@reddit

My faith in God has never wavered. The people who abandon him have so often acted as warnings to me.
View on Reddit #80713979

TheDankYasuo@reddit

The problem lies in the amount of evil done in the name of god. Almost all terrorism, so many historical wars such as: The Spanish Inquisition, the pogroms, world war 2, the crusades, the thirty years war, the wars literally dubbed "The Wars on Religion" in France, wars of the three kingdoms; The fact that I can go on for another paragraph JUST listing the wars that people murdered hundreds of thousands in some, and millions in others, where religion was either the main reason or a supporting one, make me hesitant to believe that religion is done for the good of humanity, and that god exists. In my mind, if there was a god, he is more of a observer rather than anything else. created the background energy that allowed for the big bang to occur, and then just observed forever. Nothing else.
View on Reddit #80710204

TheMysticGraveLord@reddit

1. The spanis inquisition being violent and horrible is a myth made by protestants. It has been debunked long ago. 2. Ww2 was not done in the name of God. 3. The crusades was defensive wars against islamic invasions.
View on Reddit #80713497

ReturnRadio@reddit

ITT: Edge
View on Reddit #80713188

CaterpillarLoud8071@reddit

Religion's valid historical purpose being a simple way to explain the world, scare people into behaving and encouraging in-group mentality isn't a reason to believe in God. It may well be a reason to encourage new types of organised belief and co-operation fit for a modern age though. The loss of community that came with religious decline is a shame.
View on Reddit #80712987

Beerbonkos@reddit

Nope
View on Reddit #80712802

Drafo7@reddit

I came up with my own religion and just believe that.
View on Reddit #80712450

ace_violent@reddit

I grew up pretty non-religious after the age of 6, we just stopped going to church. Didn't know what was going on while in church anyway, so it never absorbed. Never had an "edgy atheist" phase growing up, just was never religious. Still not christian as an adult, not out of resistance against it, but a lack of exposure. Honestly though I think Mysticism is not the only way people can be spiritual. Nature is cool, physics is cool, and I work as an electrician.
View on Reddit #80712420

AngusLynch09@reddit

I remember when greentext post titles used to be funny.
View on Reddit #80712010

Friendly_Beginning24@reddit

Same desu
View on Reddit #80711441

iMac_Hunt@reddit

I was with you for the first two - but then after becoming an edgy atheist I just become a normal adult atheist that isn’t a dick about it
View on Reddit #80711329

hornwalker@reddit

Anon: return to monke
View on Reddit #80711050

Natasha_Gears@reddit

>as kid I didn't believe >Now I do not believe >I can't think of an argument with any kind of back up to it that would convince me otherwise
View on Reddit #80710934

flow_guy2@reddit

Realise that most of the wars in history are due to religion.
View on Reddit #80710899

pisowiec@reddit

I go to church because I enjoy making my mom happy, singing hymns, listening to the Priest's sermon (90% of it is him ranting against Israel), volunteering at the soup kitchen with hot Filipina migrant workers, and having a purpose to wake up on Sunday. I don't even care about spirituality. Christianity gives me happiness.
View on Reddit #80710780

_Tal@reddit

Good morals are acquired through reason and an understanding of what values lead to a healthier society. Having a holy book dictate a set of morals that you’re required to subscribe to leads to moral stagnation and makes your morals arbitrary. That’s how we get nonsense like “being gay is sinful”
View on Reddit #80710723

Accurate_College_864@reddit

blindly believing in god is idiotic. anon was a fool and now hes a church going fool,
View on Reddit #80710683

WeirdInteriorGuy@reddit

>This >Learn actual reasons why belief in god is stupid beyond just being an edgelord >Atheist again Anyone else?
View on Reddit #80710484

Eledridan@reddit

Nah, still atheist, but I’ve added in buddhist elements.
View on Reddit #80710335

Weener69@reddit

I can relate to this I basically had the same arc
View on Reddit #80710090

i__dont___know@reddit

It’s also very mentally healthy and can extend the average lifespan by years.
View on Reddit #80709914

Darrow497@reddit

Actually me what the fuck https://preview.redd.it/6cd6mfukd3pg1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f67dd8820307650325dfc90641cb98188207ce3
View on Reddit #80709280

TheBionicleApple@reddit

you are not old enough to be on this subreddit
View on Reddit #80709343

Darrow497@reddit

Ahaha maybe
View on Reddit #80709452