A question for atheists.

[Lorkas]

Soup atheists.

Would a dude with cancer be happier to know that he'll no longer exist in three months, or that he will go to heaven? Just asking, nothing personal.

[AHumanBeing]

I'm sure the guy dying of cancer would hope for some sort of relief of his ailments and the possibility of living without cancer in some sort of afterlife. Although, if the cancer patient is an atheist and truly knows in his heart that there is no afterlife, he will be probably make his peace with his family and hopefully carry on some sort of legacy (a son, music, business, book, ms paint stick drawing).

-Human

[zalecot]

In one hand you hold a rose and the other you hold a rock. You know that the rock may not be as beautiful but it will be around much longer that the flower. The question is which will you keep on your walk of life.

[jewdudewtf]

I think everyone (at least normal people) would like the idea of living forever in a place with only happiness.

[la-yinn]

Ok...

Let me start off by saying: Don't try to act smart.

Doesn't it depend on weather he believes or not? If the guy has cancer, and he's religious, then he'll be living with the thought of 'Please end it asap, heaven awaits me.', while athiests will want to try to make the most out of life before they die.

Besides, if you're looking forward to going to heaven, and you survive the cancer, wouldn't be that a bit of a let down?

[Rarehunter813]

i believe that there is no such thing as happiness. there is only what you do, and what you dont. live life and after thst, you get nothing. also, i believe if you do it right, reincarnation.

[solardave]

IDK, it's his beliefs, not mine. If he thinks God exists, then sure he will be happy to know he could go to heaven but if he doesn't then it'll hardly make him happier to know that he could go to a made up place. Unless he is an idiot and decides to find faith, just in case.

[poxpower]

At 9/20/08 05:27 PM, Lorkas wrote: Soup atheists.

Would a dude with cancer be happier to know that he'll no longer exist in three months, or that he will go to heaven? Just asking, nothing personal.

Clearly he'll be much happier if he thinks he's going to heaven.

Now my turn: is a kid going to be happier if he thinks he's going to hell?

[Del-Toro]

At 9/20/08 05:43 PM, jewdudewtf wrote: I think everyone (at least normal people) would like the idea of living forever in a place with only happiness.

yeah it would be swell but its not gonna make me believe in something I don't

[catman03]

He'd probably be happier with religion, but the truth isn't always what makes people happy. If it was then the world would be an entirely different place. Atheists are not those who believe that they will be happier without religion, but those who believe that the rational and skeptical pursuit of knowledge, in absence of faith, is preferable to blissful ignorance and blind following.

[Del-Toro]

At 9/20/08 05:27 PM, Lorkas wrote: Soup atheists.

Would a dude with cancer be happier to know that he'll no longer exist in three months, or that he will go to heaven? Just asking, nothing personal.

I don't get what your trying to accomplish, just because something sounds good doesn't mean its the truth, maybe he'd be happier with heaven, but you shouldn't even have to ask that, it should be obvious, and you totally fail at making Atheism look bad since we are all going to die eventually, and just because he is happier thinking he'll go to heaven it won't change anything. Never act like you have any intelligent questions EVER again, there is a such thing as a stupid question.

[poxpower]

At 9/20/08 05:59 PM, Nithalahk wrote:

I'm not atheist, I'm completely indifferent to religion.

Do you believe in god, yes/no?

If you tend towards "no" then, congrats, you are an atheist wether you like it or not.
If you tend towards "yes" then you're not.

If you fall directly in the middle, congratulations, you are the only trust agnostic on the earth and you probably fail at math/understanding what religion is about.

clapclap I am super condescending today. WAYCOOL

[Ben]

When you turn off a machine does it go into a heaven like state?

[Llama-of-Death]

I just wonder why people always pray to be cured of things for which modern science has developed treatments. Oddly, I've never heard of anyone praying for god to grow back their missing leg.

[Seriana]

Most atheists come to embrace religion a little before death, in some sort of way.

Most likely the man/woman would go through the typical expected stages of death, but up to the moment of death, it's entirely up to their past.

[poxpower]

At 9/20/08 06:10 PM, Nithalahk wrote:

Atheism is a religion

nnnnno.
Atheism is not more a religion than not playing soccer is a sport.
HEY I AM PLAYING NOTSOCCER, IT HAS IT'S OWN RULES: DON'T KICK BALLS ON A FIELD!

At 9/20/08 06:20 PM, Pounce wrote: Most atheists come to embrace religion a little before death, in some sort of way.

Straight from the institute of pulling facts out of one's asses.
How did they find out? Did they go around cancer wards asking people questions about religion? Yeah no one givers better answers than a half-dead guy plugged to 50 machines who's about to fucking die.

[Ambidexterity]

At 9/20/08 05:50 PM, poxpower wrote:

At 9/20/08 05:27 PM, Lorkas wrote: Soup atheists.

Would a dude with cancer be happier to know that he'll no longer exist in three months, or that he will go to heaven? Just asking, nothing personal.

Clearly he'll be much happier if he thinks he's going to heaven.

Now my turn: is a kid going to be happier if he thinks he's going to hell?

Kid's might class it as cool, "Oh, im so badass, Im going to hell!" But, im sure religious one's wouldn't be best pleased.

[4Doctodragon]

Who say's he's going to heaven?

[DasUberCow]

Happier to know he wont get molested by all the people he tried to get away from in his real life for all eternity.

[Ryanimate]

At 9/20/08 05:27 PM, Lorkas wrote: Soup atheists.

Would a dude with cancer be happier to know that he'll no longer exist in three months, or that he will go to heaven? Just asking, nothing personal.

i'm a semi atheist i do'nt belive in god or any of that bullshit but i don't believe nothing happens i think you get rencarnated

to answer your question i think he would be happier thinking he would go to heaven but with heavens standards he'd probally go to hell but if he did qualify for heaven i think he'd be pissed when he found out it was a bunch of bullshit

[Tiago11103]

the idea of a utopic afterlife fuels the machine.

[Ragnarokia]

He will be glad he can do whatever the hell he wants to for the next 3 months and not be judged for it when dead. I smell killing spree.

[GiantDouche]

Religion can instill false hope in him if that's what you're getting at. I hate Christians who think they're better than everyone because they think that they have like, unlocked the key to eternal salvation. When you put it into perspective, a lot of Christian ideals sound like they just came from a children's fairy tale. Jesus. Like when you die you go to a magical place called Heaven where there are no bad things and everything is amazing. Or, there is a big person in the sky watching us.

[Seriana]

At 9/20/08 06:45 PM, poxpower wrote: Straight from the institute of pulling facts out of one's asses.
How did they find out? Did they go around cancer wards asking people questions about religion? Yeah no one givers better answers than a half-dead guy plugged to 50 machines who's about to fucking die.

You know it makes sense.

People want some sort of reprieve, something to look forward to in the face of death, not the stark, logical, scientific concept of simply ceasing to exist.

[JaY11]

I think the answer is pretty obvious.

HMMM....COMPLETE ETERNAL DARKNESS OR LIFE FOREVER IN HAPPINESS AND HARMONY?

[Conal]

At 9/20/08 05:27 PM, Lorkas wrote: Soup atheists.

Would a dude with cancer be happier to know that he'll no longer exist in three months, or that he will go to heaven? Just asking, nothing personal.

We would be happier to BELIEVE that he's going somewhere else.

[Conal]

He*

I mean.

[Sentio]

At 9/20/08 07:32 PM, Pounce wrote:

You know it makes sense.

People want some sort of reprieve, something to look forward to in the face of death, not the stark, logical, scientific concept of simply ceasing to exist.

Personally if I were religious (which I very much am not), as much as I would be comforted by the idea of going to heaven, I would just as much be shitting myself at the possibility of Hell. Can anyone here honestly say they have done NOTHING wrong in their lives that may or may not warrant it? I have lived about as good a life as I can, and I've still done a few things that might be frowned on (ignoring the obvious atheism). I'd imagine a great deal of religious people are MORE scared on their death beds at the prospect of an eternity of pain and suffering than an atheist would be at the prospect of nothing.

Personally I see nothing wrong with the idea of nothing after life- it didn't bother me before I was born, so I don't see why it would after I have died either. Who knows, there may be some sort of reincarnation (which, as it has nothing to do with a 'God', is just as viable a belief for atheists as it is for the religious), though I don't personally believe that. And I certainly don't know where this idea of atheists reverting to religion on their deathbeds comes from... certainly no evidence that I have ever seen, despite being around my atheist grandfather as he died.

The real point is that religious individuals have no real reason to make the most of this life, as it is merely a transition to better things, whereas atheistic individuals such as myself see this life as an opportunity to make the very best of what you have each and every day, and enjoy life to the fullest as it is the one and only chance we get. If it weren't for the religious get out clause of 'people who commit suicide don't go to heaven' don't you think it would make sense for everyone to jump off a high building at the first opportunity?

[poxpower]

At 9/20/08 07:32 PM, Pounce wrote:

People want some sort of reprieve, something to look forward to in the face of death, not the stark, logical, scientific concept of simply ceasing to exist.

Yes that sounds great in some dumbass "hey you're dead in one minute, pick one!" example, but not so much in a "all your life" type deal.
For all you know, that christian guy died 20 years sooner because he thought eating charred bacon every day giving him cancer and fatness wouldn't matter since he would end up in heaven.

And that's only the tip of how twisted and horrible a stupid "I'm going to heaven!" mentality can get.

[SkullScar]

At 9/20/08 05:40 PM, zalecot wrote: In one hand you hold a rose and the other you hold a rock. You know that the rock may not be as beautiful but it will be around much longer that the flower. The question is which will you keep on your walk of life.

That's pretty deep.

The thing is, you can't grow more rocks the same way that you can grow more roses. I think that's the point, growing roses and giving them to other people so that they can have something pleasant. In essence the rose never dies, but lives on in the other roses that spawned from it. The choice of a rose is more caring, selfless, and full of life and beauty.

The choice of a rock is cold, selfish, and lifeless and if you really want to overanalyze it, it's a burden aswell. The more that is gained in knowledge, the more is lost in imagination. I can certainly say that knowledge has definetely given me an edge over others and the world around me, but it has also stolen that spark that made me want to learn, to live. In being more practical I have become burdened with a weight for the rest of my life, a burden I put onto myself.

In my opinion the "rock" is the wrong choice because really it is a more self-destructive and does no one any good in the end, really. That's just my opinion though.