Secular Humanism -- rational answers to real problems.
Offline Hey, Louis --
What do non religious people do in times of hardship?
Thanks,
--J
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Friends, Family, and personal strength.
Think about it:
When the christian is having a rough go of it, they pray for strength, wisdom, and guidance, and stick to their scruples...from the atheistic point of view, when they recieve any of the three affore-mentioned virtues, they accredit some deity with the gift -- when in reality, it was their own strength, wisdom, or guidance (or that of their friends or family) that brought them through.
Credit where credit is due.
Really, there is no difference for the atheist. We may steel ourselves, stick to our scruples, put our heads down, and take solice in the fact that our accomplishments are our own. Life gets hard, god or no god -- the true essence of decency is in how we deal with hardship. We should muster the strength to face our fears, not look for a way to avoid them. We should search not for some devine magic to violate the laws of reality and make our problems go away, but rather change our own perspective in order to view problems as the very stuff of life. What the hell would you do with yourself if you didn't have challenges to face everyday?
Look -- I am not saying that the atheist is at a psychological and social disadvantage when the chips are down; clearly, we are a minority. Unfortunately, the religious community tends to point out this seeming lack of help from some deity as a huge drawback, and moreover, proof that we are better off with a self-created god to 'give up our pain to' -- bullshit. We face our fear and pain and isolation, and do it with grace and clarity, because we understand that the universe is as it is, and follows the laws of logic and science, and that our problems, while seemingly monumental, can be addressed and dealt with in the same rational manner that the universe is ordered by.
The best way for an atheist to deal with their problems is to use the same tool that we use for everything else -- our reason.
I hope this helps.
Buona Fortuna,
--Louis Repucci
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That is nice, but it isn't true.
When I get hurt, do you know who is there for me? My friends. My family. Doctors. Nurses. Paramedics.
People who actually save my life and give me support.
Why do they do this?
Because human beings are decent, and value each other when they are in times of distress. That's right; frail, selfish, fallible humans keep me alive, and give me a reason to do the best I can in this world.
I don't need your god, with all of his conditional love and acquiescence to evil. All I need are the people who love and care for me, as I care for them. I would gladly sacrifice myself for my fellow man, and work for the YMCA with children, instead of making piles of money and going to some church. I build decent, caring, responsible, respectful human beings who have a sense of wonder and reverence for humanity. They see all of the love and sacrifice of those that would give up part of their life to help a complete stranger, and they learn. They hear about the galaxy and geology and natural selection. They learn how to entertain themselves with their imagination. They learn clean, fair play, hard work, and to remember to have fun.
All without your god.
When the children are being abused -- molested and beaten and shuffled from group home to group home by 'christian' parents and guardians, where is your god? Where is he when one of my councilors has a miscarriage during camp? Where is your god when I have to give a kid with bruises down their back to the same foster home where some other abused kid is acting out his abuse on him?
Thanks, but I would rather put my faith in those who have ACTUALLY saved my life, and who give me REAL, TANGIBLE love. You can keep your tyrant god.
>he came to take it away.
I feel sorry for a god whose believers whine so damn much.
"...that he didnt create the hurt, but he came to take it away."
Wait what? The creator of all didn't create hurt? What is your response Satan? Uh he made Satan and since god knows all god would know Satan was going to be a little shit. Then since god is all powerful should have been able to stop him.
Same kind of thing with every other thing you might say caused sin or badness in the world. If god is the creator he/she/it created and caused pain. To say I should worship god for stopping something it cause, if I assume him/her/it exists, would be like thanking a terrorist for stopping the process of making bombs.
To be honest these ideas are not completely original, but this are my words.
Oh +1 about them whining.