Atheism

for me, i just don't worry about it. sort of like quantum mechanics and string theory. it's just weird.

personally, i think a lot of the questions about the universe and existence come from the way humans construct things in their minds. it's not surprising that we'd evolve to understand the environment we lived in at the expense of understanding the universe as a whole. our world is about beginnings and ends; cause and effect; up, down, left, right... so our tools have evolved to work in that domain. limitlessness simply does not compute.

 

Did Socrates come back from the dead and I missed it?

 

You're not dumb enough to misunderstand the difference between "evidence" and "proof." The losing side in every court case also presents "evidence."

 

Nope, just dumb enough to not understand how Plato and Socrates relate in analogous way to Biblical evidence of the supernatural that Nut was talking about.

 

And where in that evidence, written by men, do these men mention actually seeing this supernatural creature?

 

More than one source for Socrates' existence:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates

 

Fair enough, maybe you aren't just pretending. In that case, let me elaborate. There is very little record of Socrates' existence beyond the writings of Plato, just as there is fairly little record of Jesus beyond the Bible. Both accounts are evidence of their existence, while not being definitive proof or necessarily accurate depictions of their identities, experiences, or abilities.

 

Collin, I'm not going to turn this into a pissing contest, but feel free to continue to insult me. I realize I shouldn't have been so flippant in my response about Socrates returning from the dead. The tounge in cheek tone was inappropriate for any discussion involving you. I apologize.

Your analogy fails because of the specificity of Nut's post in regards to the supernatural. It is not a question of Jesus' existence. No more, no less.

 

Then why does a bracelet asking What Would Jesus Do? upset you so much? Are the lessons he taught not worthy of that sort of contemplation? Barring the supernatural, Jesus was a great man with a great message....he just happened to be crazy if he wasn't what he claimed to be.

 

Interesting that you should admit that. You should extrapolate that very real possibility in your mind and come to some sort of emotional peace with yourself once it is generally accepted to be true.

BTW, he says he is the son of God. Is he the only son of God? Aren't we all made in God's image?

Jesus was a man. He was a man who transcended his animal state and pointed humanity to a higher level of consciousness, compassion, and understanding. I know that sounds like a hippie call-to-arms, but that is the crux of his message. He is not the only one to have made that call, but somehow that particular man's message stuck in the heads of the more warmongering elements of humanity. It gave them reason. Not much has changed in that regard in 2000 years. Since Jesus, we still overwhelmingly kill for moral reasons...like "freedom."