---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <turquoiseb@...> wrote : And a little of mine. I'm an atheist for purely pragmatic, Occam's Razor reasons. "No need to postulate a God to explain existence" is a simpler and more efficient explanation of the universe than "A God was/is required for it to exist."
Actually, I think about Occam's Razor when I am trying to make sense of these things. And it's often the everyday occurrences that come to mind. And yes, I think the possibility that there is life after death, that we have a soul, and there is rebirth, are the garlic to the atheist. (I did like that phrase). And I'd like to hear a reasonable explanation of how people develop certain tendencies or predispositions when there is no exposure to such experiences. In many cases the most sensible explanation I can come up with, is that there is such a thing as rebirth. And yes, I don't think an atheist wants to go there, because it opens the door to the notion that there is some sort of organizing power at work. What do you think? On the other hand, you can dismiss such anomalies as this as pure coincidence or genetics. Maybe that's a good enough explanation. The concept of a God *complicates* things, rather than simplifying them. That would be fine with me. I am trying to go about understanding things, like most of us. And for me, I've come to the conclusion that there is a higher power at work, even if there is much I don't understand about it. As an example, if there is a God, and He/She/It has a PLAN for all of this, how is it that all these atheists aren't part of it? Were they created by someone/something else? What exactly is this "else?" And this is saying nothing about stuff like plagues, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters. If you're an atheist, you get to look at these things and say, "That's a real pity, but shit happens." If you're a Believer, you have to say, "That's a real pity, including the fact that God made it happen. But it's not our place to question WHY He/She/It made it happen." Who says the higher power needs to be involved in the daily occurrences of things. I certainly don't. I think it is perfectly plausible for believer to come to that same conclusion that "shit happens" Why not. There is nothing that says God must be tied to such events. Kind of rushing here again. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <turquoiseb@...> wrote : Sometimes I look at the way that believers react to the word "atheist" -- spitting it out as if it were an epithet -- and find it a curious reaction. I mean, with the exception of a vocal few who make their livings by poking theists just to watch them react, I don't see most everyday atheists (and I know quite a few, living where I live) reacting to believers in the same fashion. Unless the believers are trying to sell the atheists their beliefs, that is. Then all bets are off and the atheists can react to the proselytizing believers however they wish. Anyway, it's like the believers perceive the atheists as a *threat*, and as if by believing what they do and <spit> daring to say it aloud or write it somewhere they are trying to *take* something from them. I don't get this. *What*, after all, could an atheist "take" from a believer in God? They've got all they need by believing that there is someone/something IN CHARGE, and that there is a PLAN for all of this, right? So why are they so antagonistic towards a few vocal atheists speaking their minds and suggesting that no one is in charge and that there is no plan? To help me understand this, I'm asking the believers in God here to speak up and tell me what the BENEFITS of such a belief are. Such that you would miss them and feel something had been taken from you if you no longer believed? What would such BENEFITS be? Surely you can name a few.
