Why are you the way you are?

[Thumpalumpacus]

There really isn't that much of a difference between the two, they're both based on reason and scientific discovery.

What scientific discoveries buttress deism?

[LegendarySandwich]

I had labelled myself a 'deist' for a while - it seemed an easy way out, I guess. As far as the term "watered down atheism," I would kind of agree. If the deistic god or goddess or whatever (not God, since at this point, he wouldn't be specific to any one religion, correct?) provides only one purpose, which is an explanation of where the universe came from, why not just knock it out with the Razor?

If deism is true, what happens when you die? I'm kind of curious on this, as I'm learning that my perception of deism may not be what it really is...

I agree with you that deism is an easy way out -- it certainly seems that way to me, at least. I mean, with deism, you can conveniently bypass most of the "problems with atheism" (such as complexity of design...and have you noticed that most arguments against atheism can be fixed if you believe in a deistic god?), without subscribing to a religion -- basically, being an atheist while not technically being an atheist. It seems perfect.

Sorry if I sound condescending -- I'm not trying to be.

I also share your curiosity on the deistic view on the afterlife. My guess is that it varies from person to person.

[Inevitable Droid]

I also share your curiosity on the deistic view on the afterlife. My guess is that it varies from person to person.

As far as I've ever been able to tell, your guess is correct.  Thomas Paine is the poster boy for Deism, and his famous quote is often trotted out by Deists when the relevant topic arises.  Paine said, "I have hope for happiness in an afterlife."  Hope is very different from faith.  Meanwhile, it isn't hard to find Deists who reject any notion of an afterlife, nor is it difficult to find Deists who claim to believe in an afterlife.

[LegendarySandwich]

I also share your curiosity on the deistic view on the afterlife. My guess is that it varies from person to person.

As far as I've ever been able to tell, your guess is correct.  Thomas Paine is the poster boy for Deism, and his famous quote is often trotted out by Deists when the relevant topic arises.  Paine said, "I have hope for happiness in an afterlife."  Hope is very different from faith.  Meanwhile, it isn't hard to find Deists who reject any notion of an afterlife, nor is it difficult to find Deists who claim to believe in an afterlife.

I too hope that there is an afterlife, but I know that my hope is irrational and wishful thinking.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I imagine immortality would get boring after a while.

[Matt]

Maybe.  I think that that brain would start to do some pretty odd things once it got old enough.  However, even if it worked perfectly, I can imagine enjoying things I have done before.  I don't know if I could enjoy things I've done an infinite number of times, though.

[Inevitable Droid]

I imagine immortality would get boring after a while.

I don't.  Of course the onus would be on me to not allow that.  My solution would be to devote my life to discovery, about the universe, about myself, and about the possibilities latent in both.

[Heretical Rants]

I imagine immortality would get boring after a while.

I highly doubt that it would get boring to me, but I'm not you.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I imagine immortality would get boring after a while.

I don't.  Of course the onus would be on me to not allow that.  My solution would be to devote my life to discovery, about the universe, about myself, and about the possibilities latent in both.

The unspoken premise here is that knowledge is infinite.  That cannot be ascertained one way or the other; and I personally don't think that it is.

[Inevitable Droid]

The unspoken premise here is that knowledge is infinite.  That cannot be ascertained one way or the other; and I personally don't think that it is.

It woud sure be fun to find out! :cool:

Oh, and if the offer required the insertion of nanotech, I'd be fine with that.

[Croaker]

I think the best books, movies, tv series, whatever, are the ones that end - and don't just drag on for years and years afterwards. That's how I'd like my life to be viewed - something that didn't overstay its welcome. I agree that immortality would become boring - I'm more keen to think that the universe is finite, and would therefore be exhausted, even in all its crazy size, by immortality.

The possibility of immortality is one of the big turn-offs for me about religion - not just the fact that it reduces your physical existence to mean absolutely nothing (finite life divided by infinite afterlife = 0) but the fact that you can be punished forever for merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's like throwing an infant in jail, for the rest of its life, for the mere act of pooping.

A burning, torturous jail, nonetheless.

No thanks.  

[Thumpalumpacus]

The unspoken premise here is that knowledge is infinite.  That cannot be ascertained one way or the other; and I personally don't think that it is.

It woud sure be fun to find out! :cool:

Oh, and if the offer required the insertion of nanotech, I'd be fine with that.

I'm fine with not knowing everything, and, I have to admit, I'm uncomfortable with the whole nanotech thing, for purely irrational reasons.  I like the idea of my son going places I've never dreamt of; it's one of those things that makes parenting fun.

Little SoB does it anyway, I might as well make my peace with it, right?  

[Inevitable Droid]

The possibility of immortality is one of the big turn-offs for me about religion - not just the fact that it reduces your physical existence to mean absolutely nothing (finite life divided by infinite afterlife = 0) but the fact that you can be punished forever for merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's like throwing an infant in jail, for the rest of its life, for the mere act of pooping.

Oh, if we're talking about disembodied immortality, my comments would be different.   I probably wouldn't turn it down, but I would be worried about its parameters.  My prior comments were in reference to bodied immortality.

Disembodied immortality as imagined by Christians is grotesque and absurd from so many directions so obvious to atheists that I won't belabor them.  But we don't have to hitch our imagination's wagon to the Christian horse.  We could hitch it to some other horse.  To do so would require us to entertain unfalsifiable hypotheses, of course, and would therefore put us in the realm of hope rather than knowledge, but precisely because we'd stepped out of knowledge's realm, we could leave science and empiricism aside, and have ourselves a blast with only logic to restrain us, if we happened to be so inclined.  Going down that path on this particular message board would be pointless, however, since almost no one would have any interest in the discussion.

[Iydak]

When I was growing up, I had very little religous teaching. The few times I did, I was too young to think of adults as not knowing something, so I believed them. For the most part though, I had been taught to think for myself. The concept of a god not existing was simply never introduced to me. When I eventually read Eldest it contained a short discussion about religion, which included the concept of athiesim. This concept came not too long after finding out about santa, which very quickly brought me to the conclusion that god was just another story to keep children from misbehaving. everything I've come across since then has only strengthened this conclusion.