There was a movie about this called Flatliners. Don't know if anyone saw it. It was a pretty good movie. Here's the summary of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatliners Kevin Bacon plays the role of an atheist in the movie. it got a 6.5 rating out of a possible 10: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099582/ It was a pretty good movie.
I wonder at times if being an arrogant prick is a requirement for being an atheist. I know I was like that when I was an atheist, but in retrospect it just made me look childish and hard to take seriously. Also, I've had an NDE, as well as ingesting the chemical in question. They are nothing alike, you are far more lucid in an NDE and it is not "trippy", it is very clear and vivid. So in my experiential opinion, said chemical has nothing to do with it.
i know i don't know you, but you sound just as arrogant making such a brash generalization and by the looks of it, nothings changed. so, I think you just answered your own question.
That would be like me saying, "I guess it's a requirement for Christians to kill their kids so they could go right to Heaven just like Andrea Yates did to her kids." Or "I guess it's a requirement for Muslims to fly planes into buildings." Does that sound foolish? It should.
And because you were an arrogant prick when you didn't believe in gods, it must mean all atheists are.
I'm just going by the way I see people conduct themselves on these forums. Rarely is there an open minded debate where an atheist will be polite and open to ideas, there is always sarcasm (sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle) and a mocking nature to the posts. The poster above me for example with the little eye roll face is a good example, and all of Postal's posts are prime examples as well. If you want to be taken seriously and viewed as the intelligent philosophical thinker that you think you are, then conduct yourselves as such. You dish out harsh criticism but then get your panties in a bunch when someone directs even polite criticism your way. It makes for an aura of insecurity and being atheist "because it's cool and sophisticated." Not quite sure how I'm being arrogant in my post, since nowhere in my post did I try to present my opinion as being infallible. In fact, I made it a point to state that it was my experiential opinion that the two experiences are not similar, as the number of people who have experienced an NDE who have ALSO ingested said chemical isn't very high.
And theists on these forums don't do the same thing? There are certain regular theists that can be accused of everything you just accused atheists of. And the eye roll smiley face is part of these forums for a reason. If something deserves an eye roll, why wouldn't I or others use it to help convey our thoughts on a post? A few posts back you made the statement..... trying to make a connection between atheism and being arrogant. You even said you were like that. Hopefully, you have enough sense to see how ridiculous that statement is. Certainly not all atheists are arrogant, just as all theists aren't. Just because you were that way and you perceive many of us on here that way, doesn't mean you should come to the conclusions that arrogance is a requirement for rejecting the belief in gods. That certainly deserved the eye roll. I, by the way, did not call you arrogant directly. I was merely using the information you gave me. You said you were an arrogant atheist once. Oh, and when have you or others tossed some "polite criticism" our way? I have yet to see that.
Your criticism contains nothing constructive. So thanks, I guess? Here's an idea: put me in your ignore list and stop reading my posts if you just don't like them. I get so much shit just for asking questions when people can't answer them and that's not my fault. If you make yourself a waste of words you can't expect me to take you seriously for very long. Earn it. You should notice how you have dismissed me as trying to be "cool and sophisticated" as if you know one thing about me and it's obvious you don't. Condescend much. Whether that's better than my posting is for others to decide. ps. "all" is demonstrably wrong.
Pretty interesting read, thanks op.. I'm not getting involved in the argument though, have fun kids. Sent from my SGH-I317 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Trust me I"m not saying that there aren't theists who are the same exact way, I've just observed on these and other forums and in life that atheists tend to exhibit these traits the most, at least as far as forums that have free discussion about these things as opposed to a purely atheist or religious forum (because on religious forums, the theists are absolute monsters to their "opponents"). Like I said in my other post, I too was guilty of behaving in such a manner before, I'm not judging anyone for it, I just wish everyone could conduct themselves like good hearted humans who happen to have a certain opinion about God. edit: actually Postal, that comment about "cool and sophisticated" wasn't even directed at you. I don't have a need to add you to my ignore list, since your posts don't bother me, nobodies posts really bother me. The only member who ever got under my skin was DirtySix, and he got banned for the way he conducted himself.
Yeah, using my name as an "example" while you're taking giant dumps on a general group tells me whatever you're saying is meant for me. Also, you are completely wrong about me. Read my posts in this thread. They're almost all serious.
Let's not forget that a man, AJ Ayer, from one of the most dignified schools of empirical philosophy, analytic-empiricism, openend his mind to the idea of life after death, because of a very existential, i.e., subjective, experience.
Almost all atheists are open to new ideas. That's a revelation to you? Absolutely nothing insulting about your attitude, no sir. You remind me of Bill O'Reilly, marveling at how he was able to dine at a restaurant owned by blacks and not a single "motherfucker" was even uttered! He clearly knew he was working with a subjective experience, which is probably why he didn't change his view on the concept. It was interesting how the whole first page was filled with questions and observations about the apparent pointlessness of this thread, and no one picked up on the subtly insulting undertone.