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Hi Aristo,
Looks like you missed a lively discussion by AMATEURS on Believers and
Non-Believers in God.:=)) The conclusions that I arrived are, and these may
help answer your questions: The specific answer to them are at the end of the
post. My apologies to you and other goanetters for the length of this post.
This is my last post on this thread. Though I may have started a new one.:=))
SUMMARY
1. It's difficult to rely on labels and generalizations. So Believers may not
follow their faith and what they claim they believe. And Non-believers
(atheists), deep in their heart, may believe in a set of moral codes making
them "believers" in something. And as some have publicly written, they
practice one and preach another so as "to sound intellectual." So the next
time we meet a Goenkar, unfortunately we will not take him at his label, but
investigate in advance his / her true beliefs and practices.
2. Fundamentally, atheists believe they have No Soul and there is No
After-life. On this basis, it stands to reason, they do not believe in a God
or that there is a need for a God. Unfortunately due to some love-hate link,
many atheists love to hate their former religion. It is frequent for atheists
or their pseudonyms to return to the faith as "Born Again" after their walk in
the wilderness.
3. On an individual basis, presence or absence of a belief may or may not have
any effect on behavior. There is a greater probability of practicing a code in
True Believers' society because those norms are well known, and, among other
things there is "internal policing" by members of their society. Thus an
individual believer is dissuaded from "pick and choose" one's own moral codes
and practices.
Most of your questions in your post are related to atheism and theism. For
you, this thread of religious belief has / should become a theological one.
Hence, you should address your questions to theologians. Then you and us will
have opinions from some recognized experts. Or else we are just going round in
circles, as you alluded in your post. And going round in circles is not
enriching us, as individuals or as goanet community. You may not believe it,
but I find this a sterile subject. This is my last post on "Rock Solid Moral
Codes."
My interest in the religion thread is more sociological rather than
theological, Perhaps you and others may have perspectives to these issues on
Goan Society (see below) which I would like to hear.
We are now into what I think is more important for Goan society. It is the
impact of "pick and choose" of moral codes and cultural practices on the entire
society. Some may not know what this is. It is among other things includes,
living the religion, its codes, and not engaging in divorce, pre-marital
live-in relations, extra-marital sex, abortion, etc., unless of course the
religious / moral codes permit them. These issues are not new. Western
society has traversed this path over the last forty years. So we have their
experience to guide us if we use that model / experience. These statistics are
being discussed in a parallel thread.
Impact on Goan Society:
1. If Goans CHANGE their religion or moral codes, that they and others rightly
or wrongly identify them with, can we then claim to have a cultural identity -
called Goan?
2. Does / can a religiously and culturally UNDEFINED "Goan identity" be
protected and preserved as a socio-political unit called State of Goa?
3. What makes Goa and Goans DIFFERENT from Maharastrian or Kanada? Is it just
the territory that had 450 years of Portuguese rule with no lasting impact on
its populace?
4. What is the common BOND between Goans with widely differing cultural
practices and moral values?
5. Do parents who do not practice a cultural code have a MORAL RIGHT to expect
their kids live by the same cultural code?
6. What LEGACY (cultural codes and practices) do Goans who are 50+ years old,
will leave behind to the next generation?
On a professional level, it is my experience that people who have faith accept
death and dying more easily and peacefully than those who do not have faith.
Though some believers are angry with God for their plight and impending
situation.
As it tends to happen on Goanet, you may produce papers and web links
contradicting the following. In my conversation, our social worker with hands
on experience of terminal patients, tells me that, "definitely, atheist
patients accept death and dying with much more 'kicking and screaming' compared
to patients with faith and family support. Some atheists reconnect with the
faith of their youth and find peace prior to death." And I am sure there are
exceptions to this rule.
Regards, GL
PS: Response to your questions below: The world needs less hypocrites and less
labels. Hypocrites are those who are not honest with themselves and with
others, in spite of their public pious pronouncements. Hypocrites are
show-offs, and those who are not up front with their facts and information.
The specific answers follow each questions.
--- Aristo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Do you sincerely believe that Theists ARE MORE LIKELY THAN ATHEISTS to be
morally good, or commit less crimes?
Answer: Spirituality is a central theme of religion. Atheists can be
spiritual. But this may or may not be their central theme. Specially if they
are being atheist just to sound intellectual / different.
In other words, are criminals in prisons MORE LIKELY TO BE Atheists?
Answer: It would not surprise me if they are. I do not have the incarceration
rates for true-believers and fake-believers.
Do you sincerely believe that the world requires more Theists rather than
Atheists?
Answer: The world needs "less hypocrites" be they self-professed believers or
non-believers.
Do you believe that Theists are ignorant and everyone should convert to Atheism
for the greater good of humanity?
Answer: Every one should have and practice a well-defined and well-tested set
of moral and cultural codes. Then, they can be true to themselves, and they
live up to the accepted standards, and not their own just-contrived moral codes.
Do you intend on enlightening Goanet in the future about how Atheism is better
than Theism?
Answer: No, I have more interesting things to pursue like the mundane and the
practical instead of the theoretical and the sublime. Through the years, I've
seen enough individuals (Goans and non-Goans) try to beat the time-tested
systems with new and innovative thinking. When they fall flat on their face,
all I can say, "What was he / she thinking?" Likely, many others have had the
same experience. Yet soon, the failures are buried and forgotten.
Regards, GL
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