If God is real, why are there atheists?

[BlueCat]

Buddhists are great! I Love them...They are more christ like than most Christians, imo. Gentle, Loving, compassionate, and kind; I think they are true beacons to mankind. We could all learn something from the Buddhist philosophy, imo.


Much Love,


~Junk~

Yes I agree we could all learn from the Dalai Lama

BlueCat Reviewed by BlueCat on 12-26-2006. If God is real, why are there atheists? The biggest problem with the God hypothesis, so far as I can tell, is accounting for the fact that there is absolutely no concrete evidence for God anywhere. My question is: what kind of God would set things up that way? Why would God create a universe in which it is possible to be an atheist, if he wants us to believe in him? There are a four ways of explaining this that I can think of: (1) There is a God, but he doesn't want anybody to believe in him. (2) There is a God, but he doesn't Rating: 5

[mrdevious]

i believe (im not entirely sure, mr.D a little help?) that the place within ourselves full of peace and harmony would be the buddhists nirvana....or is that hinduism? idk, ima go wiki it right now

Your right Masta, but the hindu's have a concept of nirvana that is very similar too. Also, the Bon religion which was prominant in Tibet for some 7,000 years and is one of the oldest religions in the world, is based on a man who was said to have attained enlightenment. Unfortunately they didn't have nearly the time the Buddha offered to spread his teachings, so it's hard to say if it's the same type of enlightenment. Probably not, but something similar; however the Tibetan's picked up buddhism so enthusiastically because it was very compatible with the beliefs they already had.
I can't speak about the Hindu form of enlightenment since I'm not especially well versed, but it is unique and perhapse less detailed than the buddhist enlightenment known as "nirvana" (extinctions of self).

The buddhist concept of nirvana is not one that can be fully understood without actaully having attained it. When the Sidhartha attained nirvana and became the Buddha, he attained the extinction of self. This is often misinterpreted as a sort of self-anihilation, a death without leaving life, but that's incorrect. The extinction of self is the extinction of the ego, a mindset where the sense of self is extinguished and one comes into perfect harmony with existence. The mind ceases to separate your body, mind, and the external world as separate entities. (This is why Taoism has often been very compatible and practiced along side buddhism, and buddhist and taoist philosophers often congregated on a special occasion to have several-day-long discussions).
Nirvana does not entail a supernatual omniscient understanding of everything and anything. When one attains nirvana, rather, they reach a point of perfect wisdom. They see the world as it truely is, and understand how to make decisions and guide others in a way that will create perfect harmony between the self and the universe. This can be a bit confusing since it entails extinction of "self", yet there is a "self" that exists. That is, there is an egoless entity that makes up yourself as the newly enlightened being, who no longer exists as a being separate from anything.

EDIT: yes, i was right
maybe all the christians should throw down their beliefs and pick up buddhism while the athiests adopt this
i dont think buddhism is really a religion, but more of a philosophy

I don't think so actually. Some people need to stay with the religion they are engulfed in culturally to have the support of the majority of their peers. Jesus himself was a very wise man and a rolemodel completely worth following by example. It's the extra, often hatefull or abusive nonsense, that gets added into the bible by several authors over hundreds of years that seem to be the problem. These are the parts that some more hate-filled people like to adopt then blow WAY out of proportion, giving it extra attention and exageration, and twist the core message of the bible as an excuse to still call themselves "christian". Though thankfully non of such types of people seem to reside here. The main point I'm trying to make here, one philosophy can't be for everybody, they have to have a mind that is willing to adopt the practices, and above all understand them which many unfortunately fail to do. Buddhism can at times be very confusing to the untrained mind in its complex simplicity.

And yes, I do agree that it is more a philosophy than a religion. Religion isn't really accurate, but it's a title attached to any philosophy followed by enough people I suppose.

Buddhists are great! I Love them...They are more christ like than most Christians, imo. Gentle, Loving, compassionate, and kind; I think they are true beacons to mankind. We could all learn something from the Buddhist philosophy, imo.

I'm sorry, but I can't agree with this either. There are tons of buddhists who act nothing like the Buddha would want, just like the tons of christians who act nothing like Jesus, and the tons of Muslims who act nothing like the Quran tells them. The Tibetan system eventually became a rather lousy one, where 80% of the population slaved as surfs to support the temple and lifestyle of the 20% buddhists who exploited the wealth of the many to support the few. The problem is not buddhism, islam, christianity, any of it. The problem is that people spend more time obsessing over the mythology attached to every religious leader (including buddhism, as the Hindu's attached a whole bunch of extra mythology to Buddha's life, that Buddha himself never actually claimed or discussed). IMHO, people need to stop obsessing over the words of scholors and mythological beings, and more on the way their religious/philisophical leader would have lived himself.

[JeenYuss]

i am god

end of subject

[BlueCat]

hey Mr.devious thank you so much for your input...I agree with a lot of what you have said. Masta was right to a degree about Nirvana it is suppose to be within us but it is rarely if ever reached in Buddism. According to the Dalai Lama who I have had the joy of hearing speak it IS total enlightenment and the Dalai Lama the 14th himself has said he has never reached it....
Buddha himself stated I am not a god. Please do not worship me.


I think we can learn from all these religions. Have you read Understanding Suffering? It is the writings of several famous religious leaders. I was amaze by the peace and understanding it promotes. The teaching of Jesus and Christianity in its pure form is one of the most beautiful teachings that exist. It is just rarely if ever followed in its pure form. How many times have you heard what would Jesus do? I have only met a very small group that actually follow Christ. The (CPTers Christian Peace Keeping Team is one group I admire for their courage in following the teachings of the New Testament.

The Koran also has many peaceful teachings. A lot of the Koran has been taken out of context and used as propaganda to promote this war. Religion has been a hobby of mine for a while. Man has contaminated these religious teachings. There will always be those that distort the teachings for their own benefit. I think if a person reads these texts they will be a better person because of them. I don't feel you can go to a church to learn it. I have always had a problem with organized religions and preachers.


I feel religion has a purpose in society and for many that are suffering it is the only way they can tolerate their situation it is for this reason I respect religion. I wish everyone would read these texts and make up their own mind but sadly I don't see that ever happening.

[BlueCat]

i am god

end of subject

Then end the war in Iraq and Afganistan PLEASE!

[Reefer Rogue]

If there was a God there would be no mysteries.

[JunkYard]

If there was a God there would be no mysteries.

Wow, who could argue with that logic? <Insert sarcasm icon here> Seriously, why would you think that? Life is mystery and that my friend is what makes it so intriging...Same with God.


~Junk~

[Reefer Rogue]

Relying on the existence of God isn't philisophically sound as it masquerades as an explantion when really it explains nothing. If we could rely on the existence of god to prove every theory, like idealism, then there would be no mysteries.

[JunkYard]

I see what you're saying, [I mis understood] but would you want, or even like a life w/o mystery? I think it would be kinda dull . . .


~Junk~

[JunkYard]

Yes I agree we could all learn from the Dalai Lama

Heck, we could learn from him, Ghandi, Jesus, [John Lennon] and a host of other beacons, so why don't we? Perhaps we are too enveloped in our own philosophies to gain anything from them . . .

I read somwhere that it's best to seek first to understand, then to be understood. Many of us [me included] are so busy trying to push our own views that we fail to hear what others are even saying. Maybe we should just sit back and listen sometimes...


Much Love BlueCat,


~Junk~