Excellent video...solid wording of your point of view....there seems to be some sort of intelligence within the universe in which only a self aware specie (us) can detect...mystery still grows
I thought of you today in Church! We read Matthew 11:25 out of the NIV. "at that time Jesus said, I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children." Maybe God wants you to humble yourself before he will show you the answers to your questions? ... I pray for you daily and you are on my mind. I am so sorry that something so small has kept you from something so big. But I do pray it is all fixed!
Thank you for giving an insight on where you are comming from. I was not raised Catholic and nor am I now, so I don't have the same views as them on after life. Which makes me question if you have looked into other religious views on the subject? I assume you have because you are undoubtedly intellegent but I can't just assume I have to ask. If there is nothing after death then this question doesn't even really matter because you won't get that I told you so moment. :(
My abilities with language are limited and so it has taken me a while to understand the ideas of others or to express my own. I have listened intently to what you are saying and am facinated. I recently have been under the impression that I have a clue about all of this. You have given me even more insight and it is my conclusion that you are on to something. You have followed the true purpose of higher learning, which is to continue inquiring.
If you think of the human body as a machine and our blood as a electrical power source, and when machine breaks down, that is how we "die". We don't partake in a transition to nothingness, our bodies just shuts down.The sensation of someone being "gone" comes when a person dies, and we are left by ourselves, like if your friend leaves your house, and you are left alone, in a place which you used to share with someone.There is no heaven, nor hell, theres is only "here", in the Universe
"When you're dead, you're death" Lol OK, so what is death? Atheists: A transition to nothingness. Religionists: A transition to everything/eternal life (good or bad). Material evidence seems to point to nothingness. However, what is the difference between nothing and everything? NONE. They are the same! Zero and infinity are undualistic concepts, but given a dualistic opposite label by the logical human mind. They represent the mental/observer/dimensionless universe.
If you think of the human body as a machine and our blood as a electrical power source, and when machine breaks down, that is how we "die". We don't partake in a transition to nothingness, our bodies just shuts down.The sensation of someone being "gone" comes when a person dies, and we are left by ourselves, like if your friend leaves your house, and you are left alone, in a place which you used to share with someone.There is no heaven, nor hell, theres is only "here", in the Universe
We are the eyes of the universe, the material of the cosmos contemplating itself. I would think of myself as an atheist, but sometimes I rather think im a pandeist...
Have you seen the film Valerie 23? It is one of the Outer Limits episodes which I rate among the best 5 episodes. The robot says "Why would I be afraid of Nothingness?" I love that statement.
I'm a pretty logical person as well. Evangelicals mean well, but.....well.....I think we both know where I'm going with this. I've found Mere Christianity to be the most persuasive book I've read on the subject.
YAHUAH the v and w were added to Hebrew after the temple was destroyed in Israel. (YAHUSHA his SON) are YAHSHA laterz mcl
It is also interesting to note that although the rendering Jehovah has been used for some time, neither the Hebrew, nor the Greek up to this day ever had the letter 'J',
The Hebrew has only 22 letters, totally consisting out of consonants. Vowels were added mainly to help the language to be relearned, this was done by monks and were not Hebrew speaking.plz study ppl
Hello, I stumbled on your videos and this one in particular. In short: you are not ready to be a Christian. Far too often, the Christian process of "evangilism" pushes people away rather then bring them in. I too was a "questions and logic" oriented person, and when I wasn't even looking, was literally overwelmed by the love of Jesus. I finally grasped this: God is TOO BIG for me to conprehend. God knows the exact second when you will believe. So, don't worry, it will happen.
You totally lost me after 10 minutes... But 10 minutes of simple and understandable stuff and I'm pretty sure I heard some jesus stuff there (principle limiting itself to human to experience mystery etc.) As a thinking believer with doubts I know how much seing christians lacking knowledge or being in denial annoys and repels me, but it really says nothing about the actual truth, which I have all my life to seek.
@lotmein20 I have no religion. Only Faith. Yes more lives were saved PHYSICALLY than killed. But would you like to see someone brain-dead on life support system with a long tear on their left cheek just to "save their life"? I'd rather die knowing that all the pain and suffering would end. I would have something to look forward to after I lived my life. What would be the point of living we all just flat lined? Make the most of it? Making the most of it would all be in vain then. Subject is Dead.
Free will somes up reason. I have no religion. Religion and science are flawed and corrupt. Science has discovered more ways to kill people, with its 50 mega-ton thermonuclear weapons, and biological weapons. Religion sparked radical beliefs to kill those who had or hadn't recieved their beliefs. Weapons killed more people than religion did. The Idea of evolution is wrong since their is NO WAY us human beings couldn't have just thought up one day to worship something. I worship Yeshua. :P
After death experiences can be classified as subjective, However, On the beyond and back series, there was a patient who according to medically trained professionals had described the room from the top down and described what was on top of the file cabinet, which he could not have seen from his position below, also, a girl who relayed conversations she heard while dead of her relatives on the other side of the hospital; The credible testimony of doctors who verified this is not easy to dismiss.
On youtube here watch: "The Illusion Confirmed: Quantum Physics, Psychelics and Eastern Mystic Philosophy" by SageBodisattva. Anyway, It's all an illusion, time is an illusion. We are all the one consciousness in different angles or perspectives experiencing itself to get away from the nothing, not even blackness or space. Each entity IS the one, yet seperate as an individual. A vocabulary doesn't describe it. Death is an illusion it is simply an alteration of consciousness.
"Hi, I'm Aron Ra and I have all the answers." Don't believe it? Just look at my smug "I've got it all figured out" smile at my Darwin day speech, where I take questions from simpletons who admire my all knowingness.
@lizardman77 Now when has Aron Ra said I have all the answers? When has He claimed to have absolute certainty about the things He talks about? An honest atheist admit that their could be a god. They just are not convinced at the time that there is. :)
I take it that some are averse to your use of "divine" and "mystery" --- the unwillingness of popular atheists to entertain these notions seems to express an anxiety of not-knowing-- the same basis of religious dogma, albeit more credible in some respects. I hear a lot of Spinoza in what you're saying-- his thought on our participation in the eternal are fascinating, and I agree that this needn't (or 'oughtn't') take the form of new age banter.
"Life... is a kind of divine manifestation of a mystery seeking to encounter itself by losing itself and haunting itself as another." I have no idea what this means. I think you're reading love/mystery into life when most life doesn't seem to experience it. The animal kingdom is full of violence... conscious life in general is characterized by a struggle to live. And where does this divinity come from? maybe it's mysterious to us only b/c we're limited. Remember people used to worship the sun!
I agree,god is just a concept,those that will tell you there is no god can be as quickly dismissed as those that would tell you there is one and more precisely,exactly what it is and what it wants you to do. I believe is was Alan Watts who said "you cannot get wet from the word water". Good luck with your writing -
The habits and practices within which we manifest oneness and equality for all life here. Where all may live and breathe a life lived within and as dignity. A beginning will be an Equal Money System which will remove fear of survival instincts so self honest self expression of each individual will birth forth. Thanks for your vlogs
There's a lot we can talk about as Christians. A lot. BUT it seems like issues concerning our sanctification and the changing of our heart are extremely important and relevant, especially to those who love us (wives, children, friends)... I just posted a clip with questions for Christians... I had trouble with these questions at one point. Cheers.
check out videos on abiogenesis.It will explain the details of how life came to be.And keep in mind that scientists did an experiment mixing hydrogen,amonia and helium (im pretty sure lol)at sub zero temperatures and bio matter developed(you might wanna check that out too). Bio matter has been found throughout space and would have been found earth in early stages of developement.Dont worry you'll find intelect in science lol
@Professoranton You say, "people have faith in a kind of consciousness that transcends the body, despite all the evidence." My question is simple. What evidence?
ur apologetic words seems like a disservice to all the brave people who are finally coming out and accepting science and rationality as a means to understanding the universe. hearing u utter religious vocabulary makes me sad because of what religion stands for in our modern world. i understand ur sincerity towards religious groups, but sincerity and tolerance are increasingly taken advantage of by relgious groups. islam in europe is a good example of that, where sharia law is pushing its way in.
sorry prof. you should no better than to use religious words towards the increasing consciousness of life. idk, the atheist position is valid in my view because it sends a clear message to the irrational religious world that without evidence, their beliefs are just simply false. by saying things like we are manifesting towards transcendence, gives religious people some credence towards all the nonsensical beliefs they hold. i think we can definitely say what they believe are definitely false.
I applaud your integrity. I believe that consciousness is eternal, but our personalities are not. Look at all the evidence. Quantum physics is pointing to evidence that consciousness creates the universe as we know it, and that there is a pervasive intelligence (God) in everything, and that intelligence IS all there is. It is we who need good and evil, beginnings and ends.
I also hold the stoic precept in high regard for its universal character, but when dealing with questions about a deity (how can we begin to formulate any meaningful questions about it, if we cant agree on the concept itself), I find the notion of being an "agnostic" more agreeable, as in not theist or atheist. Why choose when there are no convincing answers on either side?
DONT OCCUPY YOURSLF 24/7 WEARING RELIGION ON YOUR SLEEVE NOT EVERYBODY ANALYZE DISSECT PUT MICROSCOPIC PARSING .I DONT SAY I AM AETHIST NOR I THINK YOU CAN BEALL THE SAME THE SAYING YOU TO YOUR ME TO MINE
@natmanprime Same to you. You're a very interesting thinker.
I'm not certain the speaker would disagree with that, that the 'god' he refers to is really a force or the universe.
Some things are products of fascism without working for fascism still. The bones of innocent men lie at the foundation of the wall of China, but it's still a very good wall, and a non-totalitarian city could be built within it. It is possible words such as 'god' can be the same way.
John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
I know many Christian live basically sitting around and waiting to die and live a happy afterlife. BUT that idea of Christianity is false! and I'm sorry that's what you think about Christianity. Yes Jesus came to save us in the afterlife, but his message is for the present! I'm glad I'm a Christian not because of my promise of the afterlife, but of my life today.
John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
I know many Christian live basically sitting around and waiting to die and live a happy afterlife. BUT that idea of Christianity is false! and I'm sorry that's what you think about Christianity. Yes Jesus came to save us in the afterlife, but his message is for the present! I'm glad I'm a Christian not because of my promise of the afterlife, but of my life today.
@Professoranton I agree with your thoughts on the mysteries of existence. But I'm willing to go the next step of some sort of afterlife. Why? Because the mysteries I sense or experience in my life seems rather meaningless unless it extends into another dimension of existence that can only be tapped after life. I'm joining your channel to see where you will take this topic.
@roidrage11 Does the belief that you're going to get a new puppy after your old dog dies drain the importance of your current dog? Only if you fixate on it and fail to recognize the difference between the old dog and the new dog. Even in most religions, a distinction is made between the value of the afterlife and the value of this life.
Wonderful video. Look forward to checking out the new book. The remaining Catholic in you might a little confirmation in Br. David Steindl-Rast's take on the Apostle's Creed, Deeper Than Words.
Atheism is not suppose to have answers not do most atheists claim it does; it simply rejects the bizarre foundation-less answers religion offers (and often tries to shove down humanity's throat). Atheism is just a step out of the what I feel is the darkness of theism; when you become an atheist, you don't look to some dogma, but to scientific reasoning and rational empiricism to try and answer the "big questions".
@niriop But science itself says it cannot answer some of these questions! The first thing you learn when you enter a philosophy of science class is that science is not a meaning-making or meaning-revealing machine. Science can answer the question, "Where did the moon come from," but not the question, "Why is there a moon" in the sense of "What is the meaning of the moon that I should adopt?"
The fact that it is so bad with meaning, in fact, is the reason we still have humanities.
@Seleteles Why should there be meaning in the existence of the moon? What makes you think that there is?
That science does not explain meaning is a pointless assertion; it's not suppose to, mostly because there is no reason to suspect such meaning exists.
Another thing: science is not a belief system, it's a process, a methodology, and it can change easily with the discovery of new data and new theories, unlike most religions and mysticisms.
@niriop If I implied that science is a belief system, I apologize for my miscommunication, because it was not my intention. I was responding to: "when you become an atheist, you don't look to some dogma, but to scientific reasoning and rational empiricism to try and answer the "big questions"." For me, questions of meaning are the big questions. "What is important," "What should we value," etc. What big questions did you mean?
@Seleteles Questions of "meaning" as you describe them are meaningless because there is no reason to suspect such "meaning"; simply put, for those questions there are no real answers because there actually are no real questions.
When I talk about the "big questions", I'm either appealing to empirical hard science (eg physics when thinking about the origins of the universe) or empirical soft science (eg when thinking about what makes consciousness I'm appealing to cognitive science).
@niriop All the answers to your questions strike me as utterly meaningless unless we have something important to do with the answers.
If we cannot ask what importance is, how can we know what importance is?
How do you question the relevance of what you care about? Why should what you care about be any more important than what I care about, if there is no answer to the question, "What is important?"
I suppose you could build a great machine with what you learn, but I could write a great poem.
@niriop *I should clarify one more point: even if meaning cannot be shown to exist naturally, I don't see why that would make invented meaning any less meaningful. Clearly you must have invented some kind of meaning for yourself if you think your questions have any worth. Someone else might think that it is more meaningful to take drugs until you die. We might not be able to prove that one is better than the other but we can prove which views are consistent and introspect about importance.
@niriop * One more addition, apologetically: if I seem to have implied that the sciences are pointless, I apologize, and would like to clarify my position. Science keeps us from impotence both in our practices and in our knowledge about the world around us (and even inside us, and I have no doubt that as technology and methods continue to improve, so will that part of it.) But it cannot tell us what to care about, only predict what answers we have or might find or make.
@Seleteles Well then, I assume the importance is in the acquisition of knowledge for the greater progression.
"I suppose you could build a great machine with what you learn, but I could write a great poem." And both can be equally valid and beautiful creations.
"But it cannot tell us what to care about" Then so much the need for philosophy and literature.
One of my favorite videos of yours Professor. I agree with winsweden's and your comment that the semantics are being polluted by the new age trend, to use a Nietzschean phrase, they tend to "muddy the waters in order to make it look deep"; and this I see clearly when they speak of death, after life and past lives. Thing line to be treading, but I think there is room for creativity here nonetheless.
i believe that if we got rid of religon the world woild be a better and carmer place. yes i am an Atheist. i believe that religon was created to give people hope.
I really enjoyed this video. I like the concept that you called the community of the dying. It coincides with what Albert Camus talked about in "The Fall", and how it is that we as individuals deal with death in our own way. It's certainly a topic that doesnt get discussed much within modern philosophy. I think people that search for "meaning" in things can serve those individuals well in this life, but to think about an after life diminishes the greatness and the experience of this life.
Atheism doesn't deny the numinous as a feeling. I think it would deny that feeling being a reflection of anything theistic. I lot of your sentences seem like philosophical obscurantism and post-modern waffle. It is possible that I just don't understand what you mean. I find this somewhat hard to believe as I understand many counter-intuitive and complex subjects in science and philosophy. I do appreciate the irony of me not understanding what a Professor of Communication is trying to convey.
I think somehow the universe has a system of karma, but no deity (really).
But then again, we are humans; since we have consciousness, of course we are gonna think, and sometimes our thoughts go a little too far, you go obsess over something, of course you're gonna think one sign (which others perceive as false) or two means your thing you believe in is real.
Life is simple, we are just overcomplicating it too much, specially when our imagination takes over, then the BS stars hitting the wall.
Why is there something rather than nothing? Why does every inside have an outside? Why when I run into the dark to find myself do I invariably end up with two complimentary, splitting headaches? One must know the experience that creates language before they can understand its fountain. No worries. People are docking their ships along the shores of the mystical ocean in greater numbers recently. Mind: the First Frontier. Looks like I've got a perfect title for a collection of textless pages ; )
I think there are plenty of atheists who have no problem contemplating the big questions (What is all this?, Is there anything beyond it? How can I be myself and at the same time feel alienated from myself? etc.) I just think many don't want to "pollute" these questions with religious vocabulary like "divine", "god", etc. because it muddies the semantic waters. Most of atheism is a response to classical theism, so you'll have to excuse us for not wanting to employ theistic language. ;-)
@wimsweden These are points well taken. Still, I already can see how some kinds of new age ideas are "polluting" the stream of atheist thought by re-introducing notions of consciousness or self which seem to slide into something akin to soul talk and align, basically, with a death denial. Transcendence and eternity may be the real issue, but they need to be distinguished from anything like yearnings for personal immortality.
If such a "pollution" of atheist thought is apparent, it may be worthwhile for certain atheists to consider that some of the things they attribute to religions are much more fundamental mind-states in humans (natural-born dualism, the will to survive as long as we can, etc.). Religions are an attempt at answering these sensed states and may amplify them, but they are in no way the prime cause of them, I think.
Sound interesting, but all so selfish and very deterministic. Similar to a scientist doing lab work and the objective is for the cells to reproduce in a particular environment, just so results can be recorded, with no regard to the cells.
Better question, why would there be nothing rather than something? What do you have that says nothingness is a default state? It seems fairly obvious nothingness has never existed.
As to 'evidence' of there being NO after life. Please give links / sources .. ;o)
Not to be pedantic, but it is a point many atheist make, corectly, that they can't prove the 'non' existence of god because it is impossible to begin the search for evidence of non existence.. where would one begin ? Same applies here i feel.
Otherwise nice interesting vid, switched of toward the end, was eating my Pizza .. soz
@feedtherich No, we cannot say it's a fact. We have proof that it is true but we still cannot claim it a fact since we cannot see it. We can prove, but not see it. It's a theory with very strong evidence, not a fact.
Im being a "word whore" but look up the word "theory" and "fact".
sorry but I don't think I follow you? you are so indirect that it is hard to find your point... if you don't belive in a personal god then you are an atheist by definition or am I mistaken? maybe I'm the only one who doesn't quite understand what you want to say but I'll deffinitly have look at your books...
Zeno of Elea defends Parmenides with paradoxes. He shows time, space, & motion are infinitely divisible. - Either something exists or nothing exists. If something exists it is inside something, or it is infinite. if it is inside something then that thing is infinite, or it is inside something. ...and so on. Something exists, therefore it is infinite. Infinity as fundamental category. The fruit of the tree; Unity in the perfection of the infinite. Knowing to forgive all is return to the garden.
I'm not saying that atheists have to justify what they're saying, I'm saying it may make it easier to understand? I think the "lack of a belief" in gods is what really confuses people. That phrase...well...needless to say, it's probably playing one of the most pivotal roles in this problem of understanding atheism. Again, just my take.
@deathbytech You're right in a sense. There shouldn't be a term for atheists, because there shouldn't be a belief in god at all, by anyone. Some day, when everyone grows up, and no longer believes in god, there will be no more use for the concept of atheism.
@feedtherich Haha, you got it:) It's that nothingness that confuses people I think. I agree with you and the Prof. I think atheism deals with existentialism in such a heavy way that even layman (or believer in the divine) trying to grasp it will ultimately reject it just like the mobs of people rioting in the streets of Paris over Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" premier. It is completely radical to the theist perspective and usually rejected more times than not.
I love it. Again, another book, Ishmael? Daniel Quinn? The last bits in the video totally reminded me of that book. That was the book that helped me let go of religion altogether. Are you familiar?
I feel as though you are giving life to much "weight" in this video. We aren't that special. If you study cosmology, you will find that what is was "bound" to happen eventually. "bound" is a bad word, but I hope you understand what I am trying to say.
@Jacobwise12 If I might quote something I heard in Church once, "You're only guaranteed the last breath you took." In its original context, that assertion is sort of a fear inducement to getting saved or Baptized, but anyways how can anyone "give life too much weight"? We're not here for trillions of years, we're here for maybe 100 if we're lucky, and then we're not here for trillions of years.
Your hundred years (if you're lucky) isn't important to you?
I could be talking about agnostic but I think that it may need to justified by further definition. I personally have embraced the school of absurdism. It comes as close to what atheism is but also defines a position on religion as well. I know not all philosophy works like this but I think it might be a step in the right direction? People need labels unfortunately, it seems that "atheist" is not good enough. Just some thoughts.
i think it would benefit any atheist accept the existence of a higher 'purpose' whatever that may be, social justice, equality, world peace, the pursuit of scientific truth, just something greater than one's own petty ego-driven desires
@RadicalSyndicate That's where the problem lies. All aspects of our life, including all the things you mentioned, are mere secondary effects of our one drive, which is to procreate. Sure you can enjoy all these things and do whatever makes you happy. But there exists no higher purpose. The idea itself disgusts me, because that's what leads to spirituality and religion. You can't accept life for what it is - physics.
@RadicalSyndicate The reason the emotional trait of human empathy is so prominent is because it has been encouraged through our social history as well as our genetics. Our biological tendency to care for others, given the appropriate upbringing in modern society, is a direct result of increased chances for successful procreation. So while you may have the best intentions possible in feeding hungry children, the reason you have that trait is because it helped your ancestors propagate their DNA.
@RadicalSyndicate Sorry I am actually in total agreement with you in regards to how people should live their lives, I would even go so far as to say it's crucial for us to pursue the kinds things you mentioned. I just don't believe these things are that far beyond our primal instincts for individual survival, and I think most atheists do view such secular values with high importance.
I've always kind of felt this way about atheism. Usually with theists they have some sort of modifier that identifies them with a particular philosophy in theism. Christians don't go around calling themselves "theists." I think atheists need to start using these modifiers in secular philosophy. There are plenty of philosophers out there that do a good job at defining life and the cosmos in a way that is fulfilling the need for a clearer discussion in my humble opinion.
@quicktripgas Hahaha, that's funny, what does the equation e=mc2 mean? Hmm, energy can't be destroyed, it only changes state, and ooo, what's this about quantum physics? We're ALL made of energy? Wow, goes together quite well. It's scientifically provable that we are technically immortal. This physical body will die, but our consciousness will live on.
@Riffnspliff I agree about the concepts of energy changing stats, but the idea that your present state of consciousness will move on with your energy is absurd. Your identity memories and consciousness will die with the brain. If that wasn't the case you would remember every state of your consciousness before your energy came into this body/present existence. Think it through buddy. Think it through.
@quicktripgas I think everything through. There are people who can remember many of their past lives, ever heard of a past life regression? Many Buddhist and Taoist monks learn greatly from experiencing their past lives, it's ALL possible. As i said research Quantum Physics for a year or two and you'll understand where I'm coming from.
@feedtherich Ok, tell that to the 1000s of people with experience in telekinesis, chi manipulation, astral projection, OBEs, pyrokinesis, meditation, channeling, shit, i could go on forever. All are provable through quantum physics, I DO understand it, apparently you don't.
@feedtherich Ok, I don't own a comic book. The proof is everywhere, look it up and stop acting like a fucking sheep and just believing everything that everybody tells you is true, grow up, stop insulting me as a way to make yourself feel better for not understanding what I do and go research the facts.
@Riffnspliff Where is the proof people are capable of such things? Why can not a single one of them provide even the smallest amount of evidence they are capable of doing those things under scientific scrutiny?
you make atheism appear as it's this complicated thing. It's not, all it is, is a lack of belief in a God, God's or creators.
Atheism doesn't mean you're closed to the idea of there being one if proven, it just means a person doesn't find evidence to their own standards to support an existence of a deity.
You make it seem like atheist are conformed to a certain doctrine of beliefs. They're not, sure there's large numbers that share certain beliefs on certain issues. But it doesn't mean...
Listening to Professoranton's thoughts is a total brain massage. All the kinks in my thought wave patterns have been ironed out. Ahhhhhh my mind is calm, cool and relaxed.
Regarding atheism, it just means you don't believe there is a god. It doesn't mean you are absolutely positive there's no god. You can be either a gnostic atheist or an agnostic atheist. Most atheists are skeptic, so they go with the latter.
@greenelf12 I don't have a belief in god. That makes me an atheist. I am not certain of it, and no self-proclaimed atheist I know would state otherwise. We are skeptics that rely on evidence and reason. We don't try to fill in gaps with groundless beliefs.
"I cannot know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there." - Richard Dawkins
@feedtherich So would it be better just to call yourselves sceptics?, this idenity based on a negative always confuses me... Also technicly speacking i'm an athesit too, but I don't relate. Also not evreything that dosen't have enougth hard evendece is a groundless belief it's not always as black and white as that.
@greenelf12 It's only a negative because the positive is so profoundly influential on society. I only call myself and atheist the same as I'd call myself a non-smoker. I use to be a christian smoker and I'm glad I got rid of both bad habits. =)
Also, a being is not the same as a human being. You seem to confuse the two.
and besides, God by definition must be a being, and the deistic/monotheistic one has to be absolute.
The concept of deism cannot be true.
however, this 'infinity haunted by the other' stuff is describing the 'universe', and it's describing 'being'. Not 'God', because God cannot be ignorant (again, by definition).
This statement can be expressed as root2/1. (I said before)
All your unanswered questions about "the mystery" is just your way of filling the gap religion indoctrination left inside you. There is no "why" or special magic realm where human souls are real or relevant. You refuse to let go of the idea that there is some mystical significance to all this. But as you said, the evidence seems to suggest everything is pure energy and physics, end of story. You can play around with human consciousness and communication all you want, but we are still just dirt.
"Vertue may be assail'd, but never hurt, Surpriz'd by unjust force, but not enthrall'd, Yea even that which mischiefe meant most harme, Shall in the happie triall prove most glorie. But evill on it selfe shall back recoyle And mixe no more with goodnesse, when at last Gather'd like scum, and setl'd to it selfe It shall bee in eternall restlesse change Selfe fed, and selfe consum'd, IF THIS FAILE The pillar'd firmament is rottennesse, And earths base built on stubble." -John Milton, Comus
@adorianvlad thank you. The only number that can exist in infinity is 1. The amount of numbers between 2 and 1 are indefinite, the onus in upon the perciever as to how many numbers he wants to rationalize out of that space. To percieve is to rationalize. to rationalize is to make definite, or define.
My point being that christianity is a solar cult that does not recognize irrationality, symbolized by the moon.
Just letting you know the history behind your discovery.
@natmanprime If you can define "1" then all numbers exist; no matter how you might arbitrarily name and organize them, mathematics is necessarily universal by definition.
@feedtherich I said in INFINITY there's only 1. Infinity can't have any borders. That's why if you take a chunk out of infinity you've still got infinity.
Looking at the roots of 2, they tend towards one. They also tend towards infinity. Why? They're the same thing.
Infinity is imperceptible because to percieve it would require a border between it and you.
"1" is a symbolic representation of infinity.
Whenever you define 1 thing you are actually defining 2 things, "something" and "nothing".
Excellent video...solid wording of your point of view....there seems to be some sort of intelligence within the universe in which only a self aware specie (us) can detect...mystery still grows
givemeblowjob69 5 days ago
I was told that faith is the same as belief,is this true?
liquidcyberpunk 2 weeks ago
I thought of you today in Church! We read Matthew 11:25 out of the NIV. "at that time Jesus said, I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children." Maybe God wants you to humble yourself before he will show you the answers to your questions? ... I pray for you daily and you are on my mind. I am so sorry that something so small has kept you from something so big. But I do pray it is all fixed!
tylina01 1 month ago
Thank you for giving an insight on where you are comming from. I was not raised Catholic and nor am I now, so I don't have the same views as them on after life. Which makes me question if you have looked into other religious views on the subject? I assume you have because you are undoubtedly intellegent but I can't just assume I have to ask. If there is nothing after death then this question doesn't even really matter because you won't get that I told you so moment. :(
tylina01 2 months ago
@tylina01 /watch?v=IqHuOxPQCwo
Professoranton 2 months ago
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My abilities with language are limited and so it has taken me a while to understand the ideas of others or to express my own. I have listened intently to what you are saying and am facinated. I recently have been under the impression that I have a clue about all of this. You have given me even more insight and it is my conclusion that you are on to something. You have followed the true purpose of higher learning, which is to continue inquiring.
waldobinney 2 months ago
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@nielss4
If you think of the human body as a machine and our blood as a electrical power source, and when machine breaks down, that is how we "die". We don't partake in a transition to nothingness, our bodies just shuts down.The sensation of someone being "gone" comes when a person dies, and we are left by ourselves, like if your friend leaves your house, and you are left alone, in a place which you used to share with someone.There is no heaven, nor hell, theres is only "here", in the Universe
Lollemaster 2 months ago
"When you're dead, you're death" Lol OK, so what is death? Atheists: A transition to nothingness. Religionists: A transition to everything/eternal life (good or bad). Material evidence seems to point to nothingness. However, what is the difference between nothing and everything? NONE. They are the same! Zero and infinity are undualistic concepts, but given a dualistic opposite label by the logical human mind. They represent the mental/observer/dimensionless universe.
nielss4 3 months ago
@nielss4
If you think of the human body as a machine and our blood as a electrical power source, and when machine breaks down, that is how we "die". We don't partake in a transition to nothingness, our bodies just shuts down.The sensation of someone being "gone" comes when a person dies, and we are left by ourselves, like if your friend leaves your house, and you are left alone, in a place which you used to share with someone.There is no heaven, nor hell, theres is only "here", in the Universe
Lollemaster 2 months ago
We are the eyes of the universe, the material of the cosmos contemplating itself. I would think of myself as an atheist, but sometimes I rather think im a pandeist...
SuffocateJav90 3 months ago
Have you seen the film Valerie 23? It is one of the Outer Limits episodes which I rate among the best 5 episodes. The robot says "Why would I be afraid of Nothingness?" I love that statement.
KennyReddwooddforest 4 months ago
Sounds a lot like pantheism.
SomeRandomZeke 4 months ago
I'm a pretty logical person as well. Evangelicals mean well, but.....well.....I think we both know where I'm going with this. I've found Mere Christianity to be the most persuasive book I've read on the subject.
jimbo525SE 4 months ago
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YAHUAH the v and w were added to Hebrew after the temple was destroyed in Israel. (YAHUSHA his SON) are YAHSHA laterz mcl
It is also interesting to note that although the rendering Jehovah has been used for some time, neither the Hebrew, nor the Greek up to this day ever had the letter 'J',
The Hebrew has only 22 letters, totally consisting out of consonants. Vowels were added mainly to help the language to be relearned, this was done by monks and were not Hebrew speaking.plz study ppl
Jok3R9914440033313 4 months ago
Hello, I stumbled on your videos and this one in particular. In short: you are not ready to be a Christian. Far too often, the Christian process of "evangilism" pushes people away rather then bring them in. I too was a "questions and logic" oriented person, and when I wasn't even looking, was literally overwelmed by the love of Jesus. I finally grasped this: God is TOO BIG for me to conprehend. God knows the exact second when you will believe. So, don't worry, it will happen.
gmollster 5 months ago
@gmollster watch?v=h97ektcZEM4
Professoranton 5 months ago
@gmollster. Prove it.
NIETZSCHEAN14 2 months ago
@gmollster How can you get logical when you accept the religios terms?
antoineen 2 months ago
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waldobinney 2 months ago
You totally lost me after 10 minutes... But 10 minutes of simple and understandable stuff and I'm pretty sure I heard some jesus stuff there (principle limiting itself to human to experience mystery etc.) As a thinking believer with doubts I know how much seing christians lacking knowledge or being in denial annoys and repels me, but it really says nothing about the actual truth, which I have all my life to seek.
WarPig15 6 months ago
@lotmein20 The topic's intrigue is dying my good sir. :S
TheConsortiumMember 6 months ago
@lotmein20 I have no religion. Only Faith. Yes more lives were saved PHYSICALLY than killed. But would you like to see someone brain-dead on life support system with a long tear on their left cheek just to "save their life"? I'd rather die knowing that all the pain and suffering would end. I would have something to look forward to after I lived my life. What would be the point of living we all just flat lined? Make the most of it? Making the most of it would all be in vain then. Subject is Dead.
TheConsortiumMember 6 months ago
Also the scientific evidence that those seek will recieve it one day, but the same day they will discover they were too late.
TheConsortiumMember 7 months ago
Free will somes up reason. I have no religion. Religion and science are flawed and corrupt. Science has discovered more ways to kill people, with its 50 mega-ton thermonuclear weapons, and biological weapons. Religion sparked radical beliefs to kill those who had or hadn't recieved their beliefs. Weapons killed more people than religion did. The Idea of evolution is wrong since their is NO WAY us human beings couldn't have just thought up one day to worship something. I worship Yeshua. :P
TheConsortiumMember 7 months ago
@TheConsortiumMember interesting
superjam18 6 months ago
You might be interested in a book called "The Physics of Christianity" or "The Physics of Immortality"
xXSparky117Xx 8 months ago
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xXSparky117Xx 8 months ago
sooo when you die your soul goes to a three month baby?
siralswidi 8 months ago
03:39
Indeed. It can be a little harrowing for believers to look the evidence for that conclusion in the face.
But are theists the only ones guilty of turning a blind eye towards counter-evidence?
Jayhawker30 9 months ago
After death experiences can be classified as subjective, However, On the beyond and back series, there was a patient who according to medically trained professionals had described the room from the top down and described what was on top of the file cabinet, which he could not have seen from his position below, also, a girl who relayed conversations she heard while dead of her relatives on the other side of the hospital; The credible testimony of doctors who verified this is not easy to dismiss.
jasonla85 9 months ago
On youtube here watch: "The Illusion Confirmed: Quantum Physics, Psychelics and Eastern Mystic Philosophy" by SageBodisattva. Anyway, It's all an illusion, time is an illusion. We are all the one consciousness in different angles or perspectives experiencing itself to get away from the nothing, not even blackness or space. Each entity IS the one, yet seperate as an individual. A vocabulary doesn't describe it. Death is an illusion it is simply an alteration of consciousness.
GranFury440 11 months ago
We are all atheists :)
PiratGeneralen 11 months ago
"Hi, I'm Aron Ra and I have all the answers." Don't believe it? Just look at my smug "I've got it all figured out" smile at my Darwin day speech, where I take questions from simpletons who admire my all knowingness.
lizardman77 11 months ago
@lizardman77 Now when has Aron Ra said I have all the answers? When has He claimed to have absolute certainty about the things He talks about? An honest atheist admit that their could be a god. They just are not convinced at the time that there is. :)
gokuhawks14 9 months ago
@gokuhawks14* admits*
gokuhawks14 9 months ago
I take it that some are averse to your use of "divine" and "mystery" --- the unwillingness of popular atheists to entertain these notions seems to express an anxiety of not-knowing-- the same basis of religious dogma, albeit more credible in some respects. I hear a lot of Spinoza in what you're saying-- his thought on our participation in the eternal are fascinating, and I agree that this needn't (or 'oughtn't') take the form of new age banter.
SergeantVanek 1 year ago 2
"Life... is a kind of divine manifestation of a mystery seeking to encounter itself by losing itself and haunting itself as another." I have no idea what this means. I think you're reading love/mystery into life when most life doesn't seem to experience it. The animal kingdom is full of violence... conscious life in general is characterized by a struggle to live. And where does this divinity come from? maybe it's mysterious to us only b/c we're limited. Remember people used to worship the sun!
TheRedHutt 1 year ago
I agree,god is just a concept,those that will tell you there is no god can be as quickly dismissed as those that would tell you there is one and more precisely,exactly what it is and what it wants you to do. I believe is was Alan Watts who said "you cannot get wet from the word water". Good luck with your writing -
mrnewball 1 year ago
The habits and practices within which we manifest oneness and equality for all life here. Where all may live and breathe a life lived within and as dignity. A beginning will be an Equal Money System which will remove fear of survival instincts so self honest self expression of each individual will birth forth. Thanks for your vlogs
clk211bu 1 year ago
Awesome. Thankyou
clk211bu 1 year ago
Evolution is a myth. The real truth is nothing more than constant change.
Time is an illusion. There is only; oxydation/reduction/distance.
Immutable law: Duality's balance.
Mutable laws: Organic, Inorganic, Diversity = Beauty
Think in the consequences that empirical thought induces on mutable laws.
OrgonVpH7 1 year ago
@OrgonVpH7 Arguing with your obscure new-age quotes only reveals your shallow scientific understaning possibly due to ADHD.
Neueregel 1 year ago
@Neueregel
lol...Are you stupid, or stupid? which one ?
OrgonVpH7 1 year ago
@OrgonVpH7 Ad hominem attacks = lack of arguments. You lose kid.
Neueregel 1 year ago
@Neueregel
You won! stupid
OrgonVpH7 1 year ago
There's a lot we can talk about as Christians. A lot. BUT it seems like issues concerning our sanctification and the changing of our heart are extremely important and relevant, especially to those who love us (wives, children, friends)... I just posted a clip with questions for Christians... I had trouble with these questions at one point. Cheers.
MrChristianStuff 1 year ago
The answer to 1:15 which I'm sure you know is that he didn't need a polar bear, just a bear. 2 of each kind, not 2 of each type.
twistedbydsign99 1 year ago
check out videos on abiogenesis.It will explain the details of how life came to be.And keep in mind that scientists did an experiment mixing hydrogen,amonia and helium (im pretty sure lol)at sub zero temperatures and bio matter developed(you might wanna check that out too). Bio matter has been found throughout space and would have been found earth in early stages of developement.Dont worry you'll find intelect in science lol
lordcry2 1 year ago
Welcome to the Matrix!
Our perception of reality is really nothing but an Illusion.
Godless4life 1 year ago
@Professoranton You say, "people have faith in a kind of consciousness that transcends the body, despite all the evidence." My question is simple. What evidence?
HigherPlanes 1 year ago
When you're dead, you're dead. But who are you?
HigherPlanes 1 year ago
ur apologetic words seems like a disservice to all the brave people who are finally coming out and accepting science and rationality as a means to understanding the universe. hearing u utter religious vocabulary makes me sad because of what religion stands for in our modern world. i understand ur sincerity towards religious groups, but sincerity and tolerance are increasingly taken advantage of by relgious groups. islam in europe is a good example of that, where sharia law is pushing its way in.
sh00008 1 year ago
sorry prof. you should no better than to use religious words towards the increasing consciousness of life. idk, the atheist position is valid in my view because it sends a clear message to the irrational religious world that without evidence, their beliefs are just simply false. by saying things like we are manifesting towards transcendence, gives religious people some credence towards all the nonsensical beliefs they hold. i think we can definitely say what they believe are definitely false.
sh00008 1 year ago
I will answer all your questions
1. Where did god come from?
A: He was the beggining of the life dont believe it what made space?
2. Wheres the evidence?
A: The blanket to say that had god face on it was proven true on the history channel it was not touched by man or female nor a paint
3. When you die you die?
A: Try to imagine nothing no color no anything what is the color of nothing? What do you do from there and god has proof that you do go to heaven?
opypoopy 1 year ago
There's mystery, then there's assertions, then there meaninglessness :(
Yony42 1 year ago
I applaud your integrity. I believe that consciousness is eternal, but our personalities are not. Look at all the evidence. Quantum physics is pointing to evidence that consciousness creates the universe as we know it, and that there is a pervasive intelligence (God) in everything, and that intelligence IS all there is. It is we who need good and evil, beginnings and ends.
audionautix 1 year ago
I also hold the stoic precept in high regard for its universal character, but when dealing with questions about a deity (how can we begin to formulate any meaningful questions about it, if we cant agree on the concept itself), I find the notion of being an "agnostic" more agreeable, as in not theist or atheist. Why choose when there are no convincing answers on either side?
enrgutierrez 1 year ago
@enrgutierrez /watch?v=UVgVrSPhVsc
Professoranton 1 year ago
@enrgutierrez
DONT OCCUPY YOURSLF 24/7 WEARING RELIGION ON YOUR SLEEVE NOT EVERYBODY ANALYZE DISSECT PUT MICROSCOPIC PARSING .I DONT SAY I AM AETHIST NOR I THINK YOU CAN BEALL THE SAME THE SAYING YOU TO YOUR ME TO MINE
7847949 1 year ago
you speak of the divine mathematics...
again, replace the phrase "bad infinity" with "indefinity" and you'll sound more coherent...
if god's not a being it's not god...
listen to my criticism, you MUST SHAKE that catholic school residue...
give up the idea of a god...
..you're so close to being right...
natmanprime 1 year ago
@natmanprime Isn't god god if it isn't a being?
Light isn't a wave, but we understand it better when we refer to it in such a way.
What if god isn't a being, but it is something that we can grasp by considering it a being?
Is everything that is a being? Are shapes ("square, circle, etc.") beings? Or are they properties of the universe, as divinity might be?
I could ask you to shake off the residue of the (not unjustified) hatred of religion and everything attached to it.
Seleteles 1 year ago
@Seleteles Thanks for replying.
God is supposed to be: an absolute being.
If you don't consider it a being, then it's just a force, or the universe.
Spiritual matters do not have to be fltered through fascism or totalitarianism. That's where religion comes in btw. That's why I hate it.
Being is a dynamic, a doing word. Movement. Absolution undermines movement. For something to move it has to be in a space larger than it.
Your philosophy would be helped by: etymology, geometry, science.
natmanprime 1 year ago
@natmanprime Same to you. You're a very interesting thinker.
I'm not certain the speaker would disagree with that, that the 'god' he refers to is really a force or the universe.
Some things are products of fascism without working for fascism still. The bones of innocent men lie at the foundation of the wall of China, but it's still a very good wall, and a non-totalitarian city could be built within it. It is possible words such as 'god' can be the same way.
Seleteles 1 year ago
@Seleteles A rare and unexpected compliment indeed, thank you!
Consider me a reflection...
Reflect upon my considerings
By all means.
The trouble is, to consider God as a 'non-being' is atheist. He said he isn't an atheist.
It is possible to read the God of the bible in a non theist way(without the fascist filter).
Pantheism sez some sense of being pervades the universe. That's as nutty as a fruitcake cos our being doesn't even pervade the tips of our HAIR
So.
G W of China is very nice.
natmanprime 1 year ago
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Amarkcalledme 1 year ago
John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
I know many Christian live basically sitting around and waiting to die and live a happy afterlife. BUT that idea of Christianity is false! and I'm sorry that's what you think about Christianity. Yes Jesus came to save us in the afterlife, but his message is for the present! I'm glad I'm a Christian not because of my promise of the afterlife, but of my life today.
hofisito 1 year ago
John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
I know many Christian live basically sitting around and waiting to die and live a happy afterlife. BUT that idea of Christianity is false! and I'm sorry that's what you think about Christianity. Yes Jesus came to save us in the afterlife, but his message is for the present! I'm glad I'm a Christian not because of my promise of the afterlife, but of my life today.
hofisito 1 year ago
@Professoranton I agree with your thoughts on the mysteries of existence. But I'm willing to go the next step of some sort of afterlife. Why? Because the mysteries I sense or experience in my life seems rather meaningless unless it extends into another dimension of existence that can only be tapped after life. I'm joining your channel to see where you will take this topic.
MrGBrooks9 1 year ago
the belief in an after life drains the importance of the current one
roidrage11 1 year ago
@roidrage11 Does the belief that you're going to get a new puppy after your old dog dies drain the importance of your current dog? Only if you fixate on it and fail to recognize the difference between the old dog and the new dog. Even in most religions, a distinction is made between the value of the afterlife and the value of this life.
Seleteles 1 year ago
Wonderful video. Look forward to checking out the new book. The remaining Catholic in you might a little confirmation in Br. David Steindl-Rast's take on the Apostle's Creed, Deeper Than Words.
stcasey 1 year ago
Atheism is not suppose to have answers not do most atheists claim it does; it simply rejects the bizarre foundation-less answers religion offers (and often tries to shove down humanity's throat). Atheism is just a step out of the what I feel is the darkness of theism; when you become an atheist, you don't look to some dogma, but to scientific reasoning and rational empiricism to try and answer the "big questions".
niriop 1 year ago
@niriop But science itself says it cannot answer some of these questions! The first thing you learn when you enter a philosophy of science class is that science is not a meaning-making or meaning-revealing machine. Science can answer the question, "Where did the moon come from," but not the question, "Why is there a moon" in the sense of "What is the meaning of the moon that I should adopt?"
The fact that it is so bad with meaning, in fact, is the reason we still have humanities.
Seleteles 1 year ago
@Seleteles *Humanities as in the humanistic studies, not humanities as in us, the modern public, possessing the property of being human.
Seleteles 1 year ago
@Seleteles Why should there be meaning in the existence of the moon? What makes you think that there is?
That science does not explain meaning is a pointless assertion; it's not suppose to, mostly because there is no reason to suspect such meaning exists.
Another thing: science is not a belief system, it's a process, a methodology, and it can change easily with the discovery of new data and new theories, unlike most religions and mysticisms.
niriop 1 year ago
@niriop If I implied that science is a belief system, I apologize for my miscommunication, because it was not my intention. I was responding to: "when you become an atheist, you don't look to some dogma, but to scientific reasoning and rational empiricism to try and answer the "big questions"." For me, questions of meaning are the big questions. "What is important," "What should we value," etc. What big questions did you mean?
Seleteles 1 year ago
@Seleteles Questions of "meaning" as you describe them are meaningless because there is no reason to suspect such "meaning"; simply put, for those questions there are no real answers because there actually are no real questions.
When I talk about the "big questions", I'm either appealing to empirical hard science (eg physics when thinking about the origins of the universe) or empirical soft science (eg when thinking about what makes consciousness I'm appealing to cognitive science).
niriop 1 year ago
@niriop All the answers to your questions strike me as utterly meaningless unless we have something important to do with the answers.
If we cannot ask what importance is, how can we know what importance is?
How do you question the relevance of what you care about? Why should what you care about be any more important than what I care about, if there is no answer to the question, "What is important?"
I suppose you could build a great machine with what you learn, but I could write a great poem.
Seleteles 1 year ago
@niriop *I should clarify one more point: even if meaning cannot be shown to exist naturally, I don't see why that would make invented meaning any less meaningful. Clearly you must have invented some kind of meaning for yourself if you think your questions have any worth. Someone else might think that it is more meaningful to take drugs until you die. We might not be able to prove that one is better than the other but we can prove which views are consistent and introspect about importance.
Seleteles 1 year ago
@niriop * One more addition, apologetically: if I seem to have implied that the sciences are pointless, I apologize, and would like to clarify my position. Science keeps us from impotence both in our practices and in our knowledge about the world around us (and even inside us, and I have no doubt that as technology and methods continue to improve, so will that part of it.) But it cannot tell us what to care about, only predict what answers we have or might find or make.
Seleteles 1 year ago
@Seleteles Well then, I assume the importance is in the acquisition of knowledge for the greater progression.
"I suppose you could build a great machine with what you learn, but I could write a great poem." And both can be equally valid and beautiful creations.
"But it cannot tell us what to care about" Then so much the need for philosophy and literature.
niriop 1 year ago
'hey, men. LOL@nuns (i had two in my family).
jogayot 1 year ago
So your an emotional deist?
Forkroute 1 year ago
@Forkroute How about an existential stoic?
Professoranton 1 year ago
@Professoranton How about an mystical obscurantist?
Forkroute 1 year ago
@Forkroute I just don't get poetry confused as philosophy (making sense).
Forkroute 1 year ago
One of my favorite videos of yours Professor. I agree with winsweden's and your comment that the semantics are being polluted by the new age trend, to use a Nietzschean phrase, they tend to "muddy the waters in order to make it look deep"; and this I see clearly when they speak of death, after life and past lives. Thing line to be treading, but I think there is room for creativity here nonetheless.
Sincerely,
musicmathieu 1 year ago
i believe that if we got rid of religon the world woild be a better and carmer place. yes i am an Atheist. i believe that religon was created to give people hope.
LLOYD19851012 1 year ago
I really enjoyed this video. I like the concept that you called the community of the dying. It coincides with what Albert Camus talked about in "The Fall", and how it is that we as individuals deal with death in our own way. It's certainly a topic that doesnt get discussed much within modern philosophy. I think people that search for "meaning" in things can serve those individuals well in this life, but to think about an after life diminishes the greatness and the experience of this life.
Alberto2382 1 year ago 2
Bertrand!
Pichounator 1 year ago
solid.
abitoftaylor 1 year ago
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rickvgrear 1 year ago
Atheism doesn't deny the numinous as a feeling. I think it would deny that feeling being a reflection of anything theistic. I lot of your sentences seem like philosophical obscurantism and post-modern waffle. It is possible that I just don't understand what you mean. I find this somewhat hard to believe as I understand many counter-intuitive and complex subjects in science and philosophy. I do appreciate the irony of me not understanding what a Professor of Communication is trying to convey.
AntiSisyphus 1 year ago
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rickvgrear 1 year ago
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rickvgrear 1 year ago
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rickvgrear 1 year ago
If we suppose there is life after death is there really even death?
Jayoung1000 1 year ago
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I HEARD ATHEISM WAS IN FASHION SO I'M GOING TO BE AN ATHEIST AND GROW A BEARD AND WEAR CARDINGANS WITH ELBOW PATCHES AND CORD TROUSERS
MRpseudoDUDE 1 year ago
I think somehow the universe has a system of karma, but no deity (really).
But then again, we are humans; since we have consciousness, of course we are gonna think, and sometimes our thoughts go a little too far, you go obsess over something, of course you're gonna think one sign (which others perceive as false) or two means your thing you believe in is real.
Life is simple, we are just overcomplicating it too much, specially when our imagination takes over, then the BS stars hitting the wall.
silverhawkroman 1 year ago
Why is there something rather than nothing? Why does every inside have an outside? Why when I run into the dark to find myself do I invariably end up with two complimentary, splitting headaches? One must know the experience that creates language before they can understand its fountain. No worries. People are docking their ships along the shores of the mystical ocean in greater numbers recently. Mind: the First Frontier. Looks like I've got a perfect title for a collection of textless pages ; )
Monolith1618 1 year ago
I think there are plenty of atheists who have no problem contemplating the big questions (What is all this?, Is there anything beyond it? How can I be myself and at the same time feel alienated from myself? etc.) I just think many don't want to "pollute" these questions with religious vocabulary like "divine", "god", etc. because it muddies the semantic waters. Most of atheism is a response to classical theism, so you'll have to excuse us for not wanting to employ theistic language. ;-)
wimsweden 1 year ago 15
@wimsweden These are points well taken. Still, I already can see how some kinds of new age ideas are "polluting" the stream of atheist thought by re-introducing notions of consciousness or self which seem to slide into something akin to soul talk and align, basically, with a death denial. Transcendence and eternity may be the real issue, but they need to be distinguished from anything like yearnings for personal immortality.
Professoranton 1 year ago 2
@Professoranton
If such a "pollution" of atheist thought is apparent, it may be worthwhile for certain atheists to consider that some of the things they attribute to religions are much more fundamental mind-states in humans (natural-born dualism, the will to survive as long as we can, etc.). Religions are an attempt at answering these sensed states and may amplify them, but they are in no way the prime cause of them, I think.
wimsweden 1 year ago 3
@wimsweden Agreed. How do I ever thank you for your articulate reasonableness? Great comments.
Professoranton 1 year ago
@Professoranton
:-)
Keep your "mind catalysts" coming.
wimsweden 1 year ago
Sound interesting, but all so selfish and very deterministic. Similar to a scientist doing lab work and the objective is for the cells to reproduce in a particular environment, just so results can be recorded, with no regard to the cells.
jaymurtii 1 year ago
Better question, why would there be nothing rather than something? What do you have that says nothingness is a default state? It seems fairly obvious nothingness has never existed.
adrenacrumb 1 year ago
As to 'evidence' of there being NO after life. Please give links / sources .. ;o)
Not to be pedantic, but it is a point many atheist make, corectly, that they can't prove the 'non' existence of god because it is impossible to begin the search for evidence of non existence.. where would one begin ? Same applies here i feel.
Otherwise nice interesting vid, switched of toward the end, was eating my Pizza .. soz
Hythloday71 1 year ago
I think Jesus was a deist/naturalist.
Such ideas came from Athens at that time & spread throughout Egypt & trade throughout the known world.
Religion hijacked the logical God of Jesus, rather like it tries to do with Science and ID today.
Jesus may have said. "I am the logic, follow me"
For that logic leads to the real world as it is.
If there is an infinite God, then everything is it, you, me, your enemy.
It is why to forgive and love.
& why those who do not know the garden do harm with pride.
marsCubed 1 year ago
@marsCubed I think Jesus was a Capricorn.
feedtherich 1 year ago
You dont need to belive in evolution or anything... In atheism we chose to belive whatever theory we choose... There are no facts.
Evolution is not a fact, it's a theory.
The big bang theory is a theory, not a fact.
All im saying is... You seem like a deist or an atheist.
WallieTF 1 year ago
@WallieTF btw i loved the video man ;)
WallieTF 1 year ago
@WallieTF I disagree, evolution is both a scientific theory and a fact.
feedtherich 1 year ago
@feedtherich its not a fact its facts subtle difference
AxiomofDiscord 1 year ago
@feedtherich No, we cannot say it's a fact. We have proof that it is true but we still cannot claim it a fact since we cannot see it. We can prove, but not see it. It's a theory with very strong evidence, not a fact.
Im being a "word whore" but look up the word "theory" and "fact".
WallieTF 1 year ago
thanks, mind-opening vid
MetaCraken 1 year ago
sorry but I don't think I follow you? you are so indirect that it is hard to find your point... if you don't belive in a personal god then you are an atheist by definition or am I mistaken? maybe I'm the only one who doesn't quite understand what you want to say but I'll deffinitly have look at your books...
TheNinerion 1 year ago
marsCubed 1 year ago
I got confirmed only because I got a deal where I wouldn't have to go back to church. I'm atheist but, I like our questions, I sometimes wonder.
AnneOnAMoose 1 year ago
I'm not saying that atheists have to justify what they're saying, I'm saying it may make it easier to understand? I think the "lack of a belief" in gods is what really confuses people. That phrase...well...needless to say, it's probably playing one of the most pivotal roles in this problem of understanding atheism. Again, just my take.
deathbytech 1 year ago
@deathbytech You're right in a sense. There shouldn't be a term for atheists, because there shouldn't be a belief in god at all, by anyone. Some day, when everyone grows up, and no longer believes in god, there will be no more use for the concept of atheism.
feedtherich 1 year ago
@feedtherich Haha, you got it:) It's that nothingness that confuses people I think. I agree with you and the Prof. I think atheism deals with existentialism in such a heavy way that even layman (or believer in the divine) trying to grasp it will ultimately reject it just like the mobs of people rioting in the streets of Paris over Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" premier. It is completely radical to the theist perspective and usually rejected more times than not.
deathbytech 1 year ago
@deathbytech rejected even in the light of not even remotely understanding it. I think it's the ape-brains:)
deathbytech 1 year ago
I love it. Again, another book, Ishmael? Daniel Quinn? The last bits in the video totally reminded me of that book. That was the book that helped me let go of religion altogether. Are you familiar?
deathbytech 1 year ago
"You don't know me from the wind
you never will, you never did
I'm the little jew
who wrote the Bible
I've seen the nations rise and fall
I've heard their stories, heard them all
but love's the only engine of survival."
mnwalke 1 year ago
@mnwalke BTW that's from "The Future" by Leonard Cohen, and I posted that because of the last line.
mnwalke 1 year ago
I feel as though you are giving life to much "weight" in this video. We aren't that special. If you study cosmology, you will find that what is was "bound" to happen eventually. "bound" is a bad word, but I hope you understand what I am trying to say.
Jacobwise12 1 year ago
@Jacobwise12 If I might quote something I heard in Church once, "You're only guaranteed the last breath you took." In its original context, that assertion is sort of a fear inducement to getting saved or Baptized, but anyways how can anyone "give life too much weight"? We're not here for trillions of years, we're here for maybe 100 if we're lucky, and then we're not here for trillions of years.
Your hundred years (if you're lucky) isn't important to you?
mnwalke 1 year ago
I could be talking about agnostic but I think that it may need to justified by further definition. I personally have embraced the school of absurdism. It comes as close to what atheism is but also defines a position on religion as well. I know not all philosophy works like this but I think it might be a step in the right direction? People need labels unfortunately, it seems that "atheist" is not good enough. Just some thoughts.
deathbytech 1 year ago
i think it would benefit any atheist accept the existence of a higher 'purpose' whatever that may be, social justice, equality, world peace, the pursuit of scientific truth, just something greater than one's own petty ego-driven desires
RadicalSyndicate 1 year ago
@RadicalSyndicate That's where the problem lies. All aspects of our life, including all the things you mentioned, are mere secondary effects of our one drive, which is to procreate. Sure you can enjoy all these things and do whatever makes you happy. But there exists no higher purpose. The idea itself disgusts me, because that's what leads to spirituality and religion. You can't accept life for what it is - physics.
feedtherich 1 year ago
@feedtherich no, feeding hungry children has never given rise to religious belief system that is some horse shit logic you are using, thanks anyway
RadicalSyndicate 1 year ago
@RadicalSyndicate The reason the emotional trait of human empathy is so prominent is because it has been encouraged through our social history as well as our genetics. Our biological tendency to care for others, given the appropriate upbringing in modern society, is a direct result of increased chances for successful procreation. So while you may have the best intentions possible in feeding hungry children, the reason you have that trait is because it helped your ancestors propagate their DNA.
feedtherich 1 year ago
@RadicalSyndicate Sorry I am actually in total agreement with you in regards to how people should live their lives, I would even go so far as to say it's crucial for us to pursue the kinds things you mentioned. I just don't believe these things are that far beyond our primal instincts for individual survival, and I think most atheists do view such secular values with high importance.
feedtherich 1 year ago
I've always kind of felt this way about atheism. Usually with theists they have some sort of modifier that identifies them with a particular philosophy in theism. Christians don't go around calling themselves "theists." I think atheists need to start using these modifiers in secular philosophy. There are plenty of philosophers out there that do a good job at defining life and the cosmos in a way that is fulfilling the need for a clearer discussion in my humble opinion.
deathbytech 1 year ago
We are all immortal beings of light, you guys should check out quantum physics.
Riffnspliff 1 year ago
@Riffnspliff Don't kid yourself, there is no such thing as immortality.
quicktripgas 1 year ago
@quicktripgas Hahaha, that's funny, what does the equation e=mc2 mean? Hmm, energy can't be destroyed, it only changes state, and ooo, what's this about quantum physics? We're ALL made of energy? Wow, goes together quite well. It's scientifically provable that we are technically immortal. This physical body will die, but our consciousness will live on.
Riffnspliff 1 year ago
@Riffnspliff yup because you are not the body.. you are consiousness... playing/evolving to know ourself through all the humans.
SilentBud420 1 year ago
@Riffnspliff I agree about the concepts of energy changing stats, but the idea that your present state of consciousness will move on with your energy is absurd. Your identity memories and consciousness will die with the brain. If that wasn't the case you would remember every state of your consciousness before your energy came into this body/present existence. Think it through buddy. Think it through.
quicktripgas 1 year ago
@quicktripgas I think everything through. There are people who can remember many of their past lives, ever heard of a past life regression? Many Buddhist and Taoist monks learn greatly from experiencing their past lives, it's ALL possible. As i said research Quantum Physics for a year or two and you'll understand where I'm coming from.
Riffnspliff 1 year ago
@Riffnspliff They are delusional and so are you. If you think you understand Quantum Physics...
feedtherich 1 year ago
@feedtherich Ok, tell that to the 1000s of people with experience in telekinesis, chi manipulation, astral projection, OBEs, pyrokinesis, meditation, channeling, shit, i could go on forever. All are provable through quantum physics, I DO understand it, apparently you don't.
Riffnspliff 1 year ago
@Riffnspliff There is no proof for any of that, go back to your comic books kid.
feedtherich 1 year ago
@feedtherich Ok, I don't own a comic book. The proof is everywhere, look it up and stop acting like a fucking sheep and just believing everything that everybody tells you is true, grow up, stop insulting me as a way to make yourself feel better for not understanding what I do and go research the facts.
Riffnspliff 1 year ago
@Riffnspliff Where is the proof people are capable of such things? Why can not a single one of them provide even the smallest amount of evidence they are capable of doing those things under scientific scrutiny?
adrenacrumb 1 year ago
there's a conformed ideology set forward that all atheist abide by.
skinnywhop87 1 year ago
you make atheism appear as it's this complicated thing. It's not, all it is, is a lack of belief in a God, God's or creators.
Atheism doesn't mean you're closed to the idea of there being one if proven, it just means a person doesn't find evidence to their own standards to support an existence of a deity.
You make it seem like atheist are conformed to a certain doctrine of beliefs. They're not, sure there's large numbers that share certain beliefs on certain issues. But it doesn't mean...
con
skinnywhop87 1 year ago
Listening to Professoranton's thoughts is a total brain massage. All the kinks in my thought wave patterns have been ironed out. Ahhhhhh my mind is calm, cool and relaxed.
batfly 1 year ago
sometimes your awsome bro this is one of those times peace!
thesunshon 1 year ago
Regarding atheism, it just means you don't believe there is a god. It doesn't mean you are absolutely positive there's no god. You can be either a gnostic atheist or an agnostic atheist. Most atheists are skeptic, so they go with the latter.
feedtherich 1 year ago
@feedtherich but defineing yourself as an agnositic atheist to me sugests you are agnostic but leaning to no.
greenelf12 1 year ago
@greenelf12 I don't have a belief in god. That makes me an atheist. I am not certain of it, and no self-proclaimed atheist I know would state otherwise. We are skeptics that rely on evidence and reason. We don't try to fill in gaps with groundless beliefs.
"I cannot know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there." - Richard Dawkins
feedtherich 1 year ago
@feedtherich So would it be better just to call yourselves sceptics?, this idenity based on a negative always confuses me... Also technicly speacking i'm an athesit too, but I don't relate. Also not evreything that dosen't have enougth hard evendece is a groundless belief it's not always as black and white as that.
greenelf12 1 year ago
@greenelf12 It's only a negative because the positive is so profoundly influential on society. I only call myself and atheist the same as I'd call myself a non-smoker. I use to be a christian smoker and I'm glad I got rid of both bad habits. =)
feedtherich 1 year ago
Also, a being is not the same as a human being. You seem to confuse the two.
and besides, God by definition must be a being, and the deistic/monotheistic one has to be absolute.
The concept of deism cannot be true.
however, this 'infinity haunted by the other' stuff is describing the 'universe', and it's describing 'being'. Not 'God', because God cannot be ignorant (again, by definition).
This statement can be expressed as root2/1. (I said before)
Thank you
natmanprime 1 year ago
All your unanswered questions about "the mystery" is just your way of filling the gap religion indoctrination left inside you. There is no "why" or special magic realm where human souls are real or relevant. You refuse to let go of the idea that there is some mystical significance to all this. But as you said, the evidence seems to suggest everything is pure energy and physics, end of story. You can play around with human consciousness and communication all you want, but we are still just dirt.
feedtherich 1 year ago
Why are we born to ask why? In some ways it's like a torment because no one can answer the question. What's it all about Alfie?
rhocando 1 year ago
lucerfarul 1 year ago
You should see about making your books available for Kindle readers on Amazon....
AmsterdamHeavy 1 year ago
After a few decades of following the atheist-believers debates I came to the conclusion that believers are "infinite challenged"
The so called "eternal soul" issue.
The beginning and the end.
Well, there is an infinite even inside a greater infinite, right?
Between 0 and 1, there are infinite numbers 0.1 , 0.001...0.000...001... 1
As well as from 0 to 2 there is an infinite of numbers?
Which infinite is bigger?
See what I mean?
Cheers.
adorianvlad 1 year ago
@adorianvlad thank you. The only number that can exist in infinity is 1. The amount of numbers between 2 and 1 are indefinite, the onus in upon the perciever as to how many numbers he wants to rationalize out of that space. To percieve is to rationalize. to rationalize is to make definite, or define.
My point being that christianity is a solar cult that does not recognize irrationality, symbolized by the moon.
Just letting you know the history behind your discovery.
Thanks again :)
natmanprime 1 year ago
@natmanprime If you can define "1" then all numbers exist; no matter how you might arbitrarily name and organize them, mathematics is necessarily universal by definition.
feedtherich 1 year ago
@feedtherich I said in INFINITY there's only 1. Infinity can't have any borders. That's why if you take a chunk out of infinity you've still got infinity.
Looking at the roots of 2, they tend towards one. They also tend towards infinity. Why? They're the same thing.
Infinity is imperceptible because to percieve it would require a border between it and you.
"1" is a symbolic representation of infinity.
Whenever you define 1 thing you are actually defining 2 things, "something" and "nothing".
natmanprime 1 year ago