What to Ask Proselytizing Christians (Single-Eye Awakening)

[daizee106]

When you accept death, then you can truly live and enjoy each day for what it is.

[whitesands97]

One of your solutions to the existential issues plaguing humanity, is death acceptance. Is this what you would have said to the hundrends of millions of those exterminated in the 20th century. Essentially, if we would just be ok with death then there really is no problem. To the child whose mother dies of natural causes 'Accept Death, it is what we are born for' I know you mean well, but these ideas are frightening.

[yuckfooie]

my God are you boring or what?!

[GG74K]

Here's what you tell christians. Your know different than the crackhead or alcoholic on the street corner, your a seeker, only your seeking gods approval, spiritual seeking is still only seeking,..gods sunlight shines on the wicked man as well as the righteous man

when jesus died he said..." it is done"..the bible say's,be still and know I am god..but they cant be still because they are full of shit...so just say....FUCK OFF and have a beer, because it's all mental gymnastics of the mind

[GG74K]

Feeling and experiences of guilt , anger, joy happen for no reason for no body,it's all conditioning in the brain, the you is a mental concept which is easy to see with a little observation, it didnt even exist before the shift into self awareness happened, it's all the play of the mind that can't bear the idea of nonexistence which is going to happen anyway to everyone at death and all that will be is all that ever was...non conceptual, non personal...oneness

[raw5069]

well I met Jesus, you can't believe this I know , yet it is very sad you teach other people there is no after life, when the very thing He came to earth was to give us life.

Hopefully you will change your mind, but from what you say its going to take alot to get through to you, i wish you would give Jesus a chance to show you the truth. If i thought it would help you I would tell you what happened to me that day, yet you seem so set in your way of thinking that your no longer open to hear it.

[hrshykssz91]

Let's say that you are right & there is no God & when you die nothing happens. So both the Christians you encountered & you lead the lives that you are most content with & happy with & at the end of it all nothing happens. You become the "fruit of the earth" as you put it. Then that's great! You both died happy with your lives. But let's say you are wrong & there IS a God & when you die His followers go to heaven & you are condemned to hell, are you ok with that outcome? with taking that risk??

[fockingclassy]

@hrshykssz91

Well what if Christianity is the wrong choice and you go to hell because of it? Does that mean that one should 'believe' in all religions?

[hrshykssz91]

Second..if you do not believe in God, then why are you working so hard to fight against Him?? Why are you fighting something that does not exist in your eyes?? I mean, if to you, God does not exist then who cares what anybody says about Him, right? let them go about their business and live your own life..but why try so hard to get others to side with you?? i mean, why are you fighting something that you don't think is even there to begin with??

[hrshykssz91]

First things first: the first point in this video already lacks value because it does not make any sense. The only reason Christ came down and DIED on the cross was to gift everyone with the opportunity to eternal life..so it would not make sense for Him to have suffered such a brutal death (and whether you are a Christian or not it is a historical fact that Jesus did live on earth and die from a brutal crucifixion) if He would not get anywhere with it, why would he go through all that?

[Vajrasiddha]

Jesus forgives so there's no reason to practice Morality. Hence The Dark Side of Christian History by Helen Ellerbe was written to expose the evil of this religion.

Nobody takes responsibility for their own actions, they let somebody else deal with it, which creates a Hell on Earth scenario and why Christ'tards keep screwing up, they have no practice, just a BS belief.

The Noble Eight-Fold Path and Meditation are practices.

[brainouty]

Actually, for this Christian it's a more pleasant thought to claim there is no afterlife. So if Christ came down on your campus as you play-posited, saying there was no afterlife for us, I'd say 'Yippeeeee!'

The fact is, taking self-responsibility is much more serious, when you know you'll FOREVER live with your decisions. I don't condone the Bible thumpers. But the atheist/agnostic is copping out on the real issue, sorry.

[thunderbolt94]

On the surface, this question seems like a legitimate one, but if you put the question within the content of Christian Theology, it does not make sense. If the Christian conception God is true, then the biggest problems with this question is that, according to Christian Theology God cannot lie, and if God makes a promise that there is life after death, then comes out and says that he lied about there being life after death, (cont)

[thunderbolt94]

(cont)

then the fact that God lied becomes a contradictory trait, and if there is a contradictory characteristic of God, then that God does not exist. So your question is not an argument against the afterlife but an argument against the Christian conception of God. Because, assuming for the sake of the argument that the Christian conception God is true, then God and the afterlife are intertwined necessarily. (cont)

[thunderbolt94]

(cont)

So according to your question, if you ask if I could forgive God if he came out and told me that there is no afterlife, then that would by definition make God a liar because of his previous promise of an afterlife, and that would be mean that the Christian God does not exist.

[Professoranton]

@thunderbolt94 Not sure what you want from me. Believe what you want. I need nothing other than the miracle of life itself.

[thunderbolt94]

@Professoranton

Well, you sent me this video as a response to mine. I'm just pointing out that your question does not survive scrutiny when placed within the context of Christian Theology.

But I digress. I'm gonna end this here. I don't any dialogue going anywhere.

Take care. :)

[MortenChristianGroth]

I got a little curious about the potency of the strategy. When you confront proselytizing christians; aren´t they already too fixed in their own meaning, making it impossible to realized the significance of your strategy, and in the end, incapable to evaluate your message? One day I found myself really fixed after confronting the fixations of others . . .

[anoniman777]

If only you could know the love of God in Christ.

[Cimbolic]

Fascinating approach.

[Bestcellmike1]

I was really looking for a good refute to Christiany. This is really weak by nearly any standard.

[GestaltTherapy1]

" re-understanding of the taste of eternity rather than a yearning for immortality"....gorgeous corey.

thank you

Hanna

[Professoranton]

@GestaltTherapy1 Thanks Hanna

[FixMeThin7]

That is vastly different than promising you 72 virgins or becoming a God of your own world. Yes, it's true the Bible describes Heaven as containing things we would marvel at here on earth (such as streets of gold), but in the end it is all about him loving us unconditionally and us returning the love by glorifying him for eternity as opposed to glorifying ourselves.

[FixMeThin7]

(1 of 2) If I were a Christian and God said there was no afterlife-- good or bad-- I would be okay with that. It would be nice to know I could escape myself. Going to heaven or ceasing to exist would alleviate any pain or suffering. But I'd be disappointed that people who do evil things (a child rapist) would never face judgement. I must point out the Christian "God" promises something different than other gods. He says he mad humans to glorify him. Eternity is spent worshipping him.

[Professoranton]

@FixMeThin7 Thanks. Your comment: "I'd be disappointed that people who do evil things (a child rapist) would never face judgment." This is one that motives many many people. But what is this "Justice" you seek? Nietzsche traces the yearning for justice to an ability to equate the unequal. Do you think that there is, all said, an ambiguous tension between a Forgiving god and a Just one?

[FixMeThin7]

@Professoranton What exactly do you mean by motivates people? Motivates them to what? What if you had no family, or friends, and everyone hated you and you hated everyone? You could do unspeakable evil knowing when you die you'll have the same fate as the rest of humanity. To me that is injustice. You shouldn't be able to curse God by spreading evil unto his creation and have the same fate as a person who believes in righteousness and humbles himself enough to repent in his heart.

[FixMeThin7]

@Professoranton The only reason I cannot let the concept of God go is because of the many dozens of stories I've seen, heard, and read about people who have died and come back to life. Many (if not all) were Atheists and experienced firsthand that an afterlife, God, heaven, and hell are real. Skeptics say they are only hallucinating, they weren't actually dead, they're lying, ect. But I can't help but think what if? What if what these seemingly normal/sane individuals are telling the truth?

[Professoranton]

@FixMeThin7 Believe what you will. Who knows. I for one have seen no evidence that I trust that suggests a life after this one. But what do I know. I would add though that one need no afterlife for a notion of the divine.  Could you, just for the sake of argument, forgive god if there were no life after this one?

[FixMeThin7]

@Professoranton What evidence would convince you? Just curious. But type in "sky diver died and returns" in the search box. Click on the first video. Half of the man's face is burned. Anyway, this dude has such a rad personality and amazing story. I wish I could meet him. Like I said before, yes I could "forgive" God if there were no afterlife. What is the purpose of that question? To see if Christians or other religious people can't handle living in world with no afterlife?

[Professoranton]

@FixMeThin7 Please see: /watch?v=yqaO4CJTuic

and also /watch?v=h97ektcZEM4

[FixMeThin7]

@Professoranton Okay I'll watch those right now if you also please watch the one I suggested haha :)

[IaintNoGood]

@FixMeThin7

Intellectual consistency would require that you also believe the personal anecdotes & experiences of everyone else, even those who contradict your presuppositions. If one is going to claim to be objective but at the same time use personal experiences & anecdotes from strangers none the less, as evidence for their faith, then that person cannot be expected to be taken seriously. For example, my neighbor SWEARS she was abducted by aliens & anally probed.

[IaintNoGood]

@FixMeThin7

She is NOT a mental patient. She is NOT some unemployed, almost homeless alcoholic/drug addict. She is a gainfully employed with a happy family & circle of friends. By your own rules, she should be believed. Also note, NDEs have been reproduced in a lab. Google, "God Helmet." Further note, NDEs are not universal. If you believe in Vishnu, then you will probably see Vishnu. Allah, you will see Allah. Jesus, you will probably see Jesus. etc., etc., ad infinitum. Lastly, children

[IaintNoGood]

@FixMeThin7

who have had NDEs & have not been exposed to cultural beliefs, peers, their parent's faith, etc., have had generic experiences. Opposed to having specific experiences where they can name names & identify god(s), they simply say they saw a light. A light which science can explain. I know it does not rub well with those who have an emotional need to believe there is a utopia waiting for them, but they are FACTS.

[FixMeThin7]

@IaintNoGood I am not one of those people who have an emotional need for there to be Utopia at the end of my shitty existence. If my soul is not immortal, I will be just fine with that. Most Christians would be just fine with that too. You're born, you live, you die. Big freaking deal. However, there are NDE's that suggest there is life after death. The bible also speaks about in great detail the last days, which if people would take their head out of the sand would see that it is happening.

[IaintNoGood]

@FixMeThin7

OK fine, you are not one of "them." However you would be an anomaly. Everyone who uses the holy book of horrors, ie the bible, for their spiritual guidance, believe they will be with Jesus after they die, ergo the name, "Christian." As for refuting my point concerning NDEs, you did no such thing. All you did was regurgitate that you believe they are evidence. I cited a source which refutes you, you chanted you were right.

[FixMeThin7]

@IaintNoGood I am not giving up on this debate with you lol. But for the sanity of the @pangeaprogress, I will send you a private message to continue this discussion further. I just didn't want others to think I just had nothing to say anymore and let you win. So there.

[IaintNoGood]

@FixMeThin7

I am not on blogs to win, I am on blogs to learn & be entertained. However there is nothing to learn from people who rationalize & justify their faith in the holy book of horrors. It simply is the immoral book ever written. The supposed prophecy is a joke & could be recognized by taking an objective but remedial course in biblical history. It is not a prophecy if it is written down after the fact.

[IaintNoGood]

@FixMeThin7

Btw, you sent me a message but have me blocked so I cannot respond. I am not sure if that is on purpose or not.

[19bjh89]

Exactly. A 'spirituality' free of superstition - completely secular. Why attack religious doctrines when you can satisfy the "need" for religion in a healthy and rational manner. Maybe even religious practice (such as meditation or prayer) may be adapted for modernity. I also like the idea of thought-experiments such as Nietzsche's brand of "eternal return."

[Anekantavad]

Death-acceptance is IMO the starting-point of wisdom, and the humility that comes with it need not be religion-based, or at least not in the conventional sense.

[OspacemarineO]

I am aware of the differential treatment of people in this world, and will be devoting my life to lessening it as much as I personally, am able. Atheist btw.

[pangeaprogress]

A great question. Thanks for this. On guilt psychology I agree there is more to it than dogma driven. This higher awareness combined with the animal body is something to contend with. Kafka's bug body its awkwardness with consciousness.

[Professoranton]

@pangeaprogress Thanks. Agreed.  More people need to really study Brown's Life Against Death and then keep their appointment with Becker's final works.

[tyrbolo]

The church problem is that they failed to erase their origins sufficiently. For

Christianity the existence of Ben Jeshua the Rabbi and the church trappings and myths they hung on him as a way to keep the priesthood intact and in control

have come back to haunt them. This age requires a new level of understanding

if it is to survive as anything but a twisted collection of cubicle rats eating their

own recycled sewage in hive cities.

GRIN

[AmorBravo]

Are you familiar with Fuerbach, it's perhaps the best anthropological explanation for these god complex.

[wolverine10mm]

As person who does believe in after life I also believe in living for the moment. And the moment is telling me I am here and right now this very moment is  what actually matters.

[tinySpectacle]

I often get this sales pitch because I work on a college campus. I usually answer, "Yes, yes I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior." And then there are a few moments of "special" looks between us, but they quickly move on to un-saved meat. I like what you say about focusing on this life and not the afterlife--that the former can have so many advantages in how we see the world and make choices.

[TheVoluptuousness]

Free Spirit

[UncomfortableSilence]

No, No, No. As an atheist, I don't think that religion has implanted this yearning for meaning. It's psychology.

[TheVoluptuousness]

@UncomfortableSilence Really? Is that just for you personally? Otherwise you'd be implying that no one that preceded psychology had said yearning. Because I'm pretty sure psychology was preceded by religion, by far. In other words, I definitely disagree. I think you're confusing cause and effect here. I think the yearning for understanding led to religion which led to the yearning for meaning which led to psychology, which made yearning scientific.

[UncomfortableSilence]

@TheVoluptuousness No, it's a by-product of intelligence. I said Psychology because that's how we understand where these emotions came from, mostly Evolutionary Psychology. I wasn't saying psychology did it.

[TheVoluptuousness]

@UncomfortableSilence Okay, I gotcha. My thinking is that you're right--that yearning for meaning was a by-product of the intelligence of our species. I think religion, though (and particularly Christianity) drove that search into a certain dark and nihilistic corner of the room, because once it's long-standing influence (for those indoctrinated as children) is canceled out by reason, there is still the hangover, so to speak, of searching for the kind of meaning that is simply not there.

[UncomfortableSilence]

@TheVoluptuousness :You've got it exactly. We as intelligent creatures think logically, we have to attribute reason in our lives, and yes, religion is a way to cheat and bypass all the hard work. Science being the hard work.

[jogayot]

pics or it did not happen!

there is an other side to this coin. the greedy motherf@#$%rs actually recognize there is no afterlife. and so we hoodwink one another into the tribes, hierarchies, returns of favor (interest on paper money being the most insidious one), heroic personalities (more intellectual), music/film/sport celebrities... and they use this actual mental trait of human ape, that you spoke of, in order to do it. and if atheists raise the problem that there are a lot of (cont.)

[jogayot]

cases of religious ministers cheating people for their own gain, they really should first address the widespreadness of the same phenomenon in secular culture. sadly i'm afraid that there is no real fix. you will never unconvince certain people not to do it and there is a snowball's chance in hell of reaching everybody before they fall for it... now, six year old children fall for it through tv ads and video games if their parents do now watch out for them. going along with the (cont.)

[jogayot]

sentiment of your point, we - intelligentsia (lol, i don't even have a degree) - should accept it as yet another inevitable hardship of reality. matt is still young and it's his right to hope, at the least he'll achieve some packet of sanity around him.

[wimsweden]

How did they respond to your question?

[Vettecool]

Hope you'd got that confrontation taped

[mrkurt13]

Lucky!  I want to be proselytized.

[Monolith1618]

It's as if a deluded believer's conscious attention is stuck in a repetitive loop as they focus on themselves and worry about measuring up before the "next level." With a kind of forgiveness (It'll be understood differently by everyone) one allows themselves to be free in an outward, interconnected capacity. I have free will only to the extent that I know who I am, and how much of myself is temporarily infinite.

[1PostPoMoMaN1]

I think there is an afterlife. However, I'm non-religious.

Here is a god, though.

[1PostPoMoMaN1]

@1PostPoMoMaN1

From what I know, there are more experiential realities than any form of consensus reality. I can see eyes closed. I can see auras.

[Professoranton]

@1PostPoMoMaN1 Please see:

/watch?v=zHNff9xtkt8

[1PostPoMoMaN1]

@Professoranton

Oh, I see. Nice. Remember'd seeing it.

[MetaCraken]

Love your videos. Thankyou very much.

[gerontodon]

Fair enough, you and others say there are naive and shallow takes on these things, and sophisticated ones that you understand (and you may well be right, for all I know--- but the thing is, that there often seems to be unspecified premises surrounding concepts (such as) eternal personal existence and *finite* personal existence, that I don't know what the "naive" ideas of them entail.

[gerontodon]

@gerontodon

I mean, does the fact that there's no conscious memory of infinite existence mean there could, in principle, be no individual eternal streams of consciousness, or is it the fact that there can be no defining characteristics of *anything* that's eternal that implies that?

[InfectedDaemon]

So-- what did the christians say? I guess nothing revealing.

[LimpLoser]

If there is no God then why do the 4 winds speak his name?

[codexbiohazard]

Could I forgive god!? Yes.

Better question why would a GOD care for MY forgiveness, who or what Am I to care or ask for a GODS forgiveness? GOD dose what its wills to do, man dose what It can. The fact some people feel guilt buy gaining wealth buy there own account, points to something broken In the minds of humans. In the times when we lived in caves, do you think the hunter felt guilt after making the kill!? NO, its was a celebration then and still should be now. Its a gain to life.

[AlannahBabalon156]

Hey, don't worry about it Professor if all us non-christians are going to the bad fire, look at the company we'll have - Sartre, Nietzsche, Hume, William Burroughs, Frank Zappa, et al. Its gonna be one helluva party but alas we're gonna have to bring the marshmallows. ;-)

Seriously though, great vid. People need a perceived "certainty principle" (usually religious)that they can hang onto in the face of despair. We need to affirm life here and now rather than some hoped for post-death existence

[egoistorms]

so as we move towards this "single-eye awakening" wouldn't you expect that the paper chase will gradually fall out on it's own accord? or is the paper chase a more aggressive meme than the spiritual "single-eye awakening"? (such that we must attempt to control it "greed")

[egoistorms]

@egoistorms *--"greed"

[SingleEyeMovement]

Accumulated wealth as magic immortal power - Thank you for this insightful installment Anton. Death acceptance is a big one indeed, and thank you very much for the mention!

[alowlyapprentice]

I'm agreeing with you more and more concerning the the affect language has. I recently made a series of comments where my statements used words divorced from there meaning in order to avoid the connotations associated with them. But conveying a message with such abstractions just seems to befuddle people or they don't get.

Have you seen Logan's Run? In that they celebrate death.

There you go again, getting all New Agey on us. XD

[zarkoff45]

Interesting approach there - could you forgive God if he couldn't save you?

I'll try that question out on some youtube Christians.

[Armando7654]

@zarkoff45 if you happened to become the person not worthy of saving by God, the concept of forgiveness wouldnt occur to you to begin with

[zarkoff45]

@Armando7654

What the hell are you talking about?

Do you think there is a God? Do you think forgiveness is a hard concept? Do you think it is something we don't do and experience every day with people? Do you have some weird, inhuman notion of forgiveness?