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tthom580
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Tough Choice
#7898255 - 01/18/08 05:04 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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If you had a choice between christian hell(eternal suffering, fire, brimstone, etc) or the atheists afterlife(complete nonexistence after death, no consciousness, death then nothing) which would you choose?
Edited by tthom580 (01/18/08 05:04 PM)
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Icelander
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: tthom580]
#7898277 - 01/18/08 05:09 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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Someone would have to make a choice here?
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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NiamhNyx
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: tthom580]
#7898285 - 01/18/08 05:11 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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How could this possibly be a difficult choice? Uh, I'd rather cease to exist and not even know it than suffer eternally. Besides, an athiest's death ain't so bad. Your body becomes new life, so in that sense you get to live on in new forms.
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NiamhNyx
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: NiamhNyx]
#7898288 - 01/18/08 05:12 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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Maybe if it were possible to eventually transcend hell through self reflection or something, there'd be something to deliberate over.
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Icelander
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: NiamhNyx]
#7898301 - 01/18/08 05:14 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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Yeah like only being burned alive for a few million years or so.:D
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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Icelander
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: tthom580]
#7898314 - 01/18/08 05:17 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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A better question IMO would be would you rather choose the Christian heaven or the Atheist annihilation.
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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tthom580
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: NiamhNyx]
#7898315 - 01/18/08 05:17 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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Heh. Well no, nobody has to make that decision. But coming from a christian background, and having the "fear of god" firmly instilled in me(12 years of lutheran school), and now, having trouble believing in any god, I wonder which one is worse. I guess it's not such an easy decision for me because the idea of my consciousness being completely blinked out is so hard to imagine, seeing as the only thing I know is my conscious mind. I mean sure eternal suffering is no peachy choice, but becoming "new life" isn't very appealing to me when I won't exist to realize it. You'll live on in a sense, but in any valid sense, you're completely gone.
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backfromthedead
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: Icelander]
#7898323 - 01/18/08 05:18 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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I think you can talk your way out of it or build a mirrored shield of some sort.
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NiamhNyx
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: Icelander]
#7898330 - 01/18/08 05:20 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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Well, if hell were the illusion of a damaged psyche and it could be transcended through self reflection, than maybe it'd be interesting to take on that struggle and then get to play around with other forms of consciousness for an eternity.
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Icelander
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: tthom580]
#7898332 - 01/18/08 05:21 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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You're right. Deep philosophy ain't for sissies.
I was brought up the same as you. I still have some of the fear of God buried in me. But it's mostly gone now. It took many years of worry and suffering and courage (I might add) to reject the fear of punishment and hell for unconditional self acceptance and the idea that any God worth his salt loves his creation and IS his creation. And the fact that God may not exist anywhere but in my hopes and fears.
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
Edited by Icelander (01/18/08 05:21 PM)
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tthom580
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Yup, there it is folks, the answer I was looking. Mirrored Shield.
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Icelander
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: NiamhNyx]
#7898341 - 01/18/08 05:23 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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Quote:
NiamhNyx said: Well, if hell were the illusion of a damaged psyche and it could be transcended through self reflection, than maybe it'd be interesting to take on that struggle and then get to play around with other forms of consciousness for an eternity.
Isn't that what we're doing right now?
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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NiamhNyx
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: tthom580]
#7898354 - 01/18/08 05:26 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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So you'd rather exist in eternal torment than just not even know you stopped existing and not be around to worry about it? With an athiest death, you are alive until you aren't -- there is no moment where you realize "shit, now I'm dead, now I don't get to experience consiousness." You are conscious until you aren't, so there's nothing to be sad about.
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NiamhNyx
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: Icelander]
#7898358 - 01/18/08 05:27 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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Quote:
Icelander said:
Isn't that what we're doing right now?
I was gonna say something along those lines but I thought I'd leave it to you to point that out.
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Icelander
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: NiamhNyx]
#7898367 - 01/18/08 05:29 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
Edited by Icelander (01/18/08 05:30 PM)
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tthom580
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: NiamhNyx]
#7898384 - 01/18/08 05:32 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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Well it's not just that you stop experiencing consciousness, but if your consciousness dies when you do, and by your consciousness dying, the entire universe, everything you did dies, at least in your mind, what was the point of existing in the first place?
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Icelander
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: tthom580]
#7898391 - 01/18/08 05:34 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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what was the point of existing in the first place?
To procreate and continue the evolution of the species. It most likely ain't about you dood.
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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NiamhNyx
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: tthom580]
#7898409 - 01/18/08 05:37 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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Quote:
tthom580 said: Well it's not just that you stop experiencing consciousness, but if your consciousness dies when you do, and by your consciousness dying, the entire universe, everything you did dies, at least in your mind, what was the point of existing in the first place?
To experience and enjoy it while you're around? To positively effect the lives of the next generation? If you really want to be immortalized you can always do something really great that people will remember.
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tthom580
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: Icelander]
#7898411 - 01/18/08 05:39 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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Ok I realize it's not all about me, but our species is made up of billions of single people, and if all of those people have no point other than procreating the species, what's the point in any of us existing?
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tthom580
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Re: Tough Choice [Re: Icelander]
#7898422 - 01/18/08 05:42 PM (16 years, 14 days ago) |
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Ok I realize it's not all about me, but our species is made up of billions of single people, and if all of those people have no point other than procreating the species, what's the point in any of us existing?
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