Gregory has made the connection more than once between atheism and despair. But he wasn’t the first.
That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple of Man’s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins — all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand. Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.
– Bertrand Russell. A Free Man’s Worship
I’m thankful that my foundation is not one of unyielding despair.
The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with with a problem of pure metaphysics; he is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do, or why his friends should not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves.
– Aldous Huxley. Ends and Means
I am also thankful that I do not believe that there is no valid reason why I personally should not do as I want to do, and that my friends have no desire to seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves.
Moved a Gregory post to guano.
@ Gregory
Try to avoid attacking fellow posters, personally. Repost the substantive part of the comment, if you wish.
Grace is open to many, should they choose to seek it and commit themselves. Welcoming all others of faith doesn’t make me their judge.
The thing you don’t seem to want to understand (though you appear to try very hard to remain stuck in hatred and anger towards believers), walto, is that I am joining THEIR team too. We are not as stupid or as small as your little Farm College teaching resume makes you pretend you have some kind of egoist (now do you see what I mean, Lizzie?) authority to make.
Apparently I hold much greater hope in humanity than your petty elitism (what, as an accountant, bureaucrat, philosophist?!) allows you to see.
Gregory, please read the rules, and keep to them. Moved yet another post to guano.
Elizabeth,
I.e. meaning atheists (like Lizzie & Alan).
Now, that’s exactly the same comment as you allowed ‘walto’ to post. Let’s just check your typical double-standards in favour of atheism at TAMSZ.
Gregory, why are you so offended at the idea that some people don’t believe in your God?
I actually find the realisation, that my life will come to an end when I die, quite comforting. Also, it’s challenging: no second chances, no rehearsals. Our legacy will be our achievements, the memories we leave behind in others.
At least you reject the claim that atheism is just another religion. You should get involved with attempts to settle the Israel/Palestine problem.
Well, excuse us if we still remain open to any commenters who wish to express a view without rancour and discuss their differences in the hope of at least seeing where they lie.
Live and let live is what I promote. It requires tolerance.
Khrushchev telegram response!
What global conversation? Do you have the link?
It comes back to my earlier question. How do you know this? How did the universal creator communicate this to you?
This post (like pretty much all of Gregory’s) addresses the poster, no?
(The ad hom rule is unenforceable and must go.)
walto,
I think so. We try to give minority posters more leeway.
Y’all are ok. As I’ve patiently explained several times (again most recently on the Moderation Issues thread), the rules are both silly and unenforceable.
Gregory,
How you see it and what you are actually doing are not necessarily congruent.
Gregory,
That’s not a virtue.
walto,
I don’t see this as falling afoul of that rule. Elizabeth is asking a question based on Gregory’s observed behavior.
Why are you so angry? Why are theists so angry? I don’t get it.
Yes we are and you can do nothing about it. We won’t allow you to reinstate your brutal and inhuman theocracies.
In words and writing, yes of course. You can hold all the opinions you wish, and you can also express them. And those opinions, if they are sufficiently hostile and antagonistic, will naturally lead to certain consequences in the way those people about whom you express these opinions, react.
My life is not empty, nor relativistic. I do not wish to promote anything empty, nor relativistic.
What is it with these absurd caricatures of atheism? Holy hell did you buy into the whole shebang hook, line and sinker? I recommend you actually try and live your life as an atheist. No reason to stop caring about the people you love, or your friends, or experiences that give you pleasure and happiness. I think you’ll find it isn’t what you’ve been lead to believe it should be like. There are no orgies in blood, we don’t eat babies, we don’t worship Darwin, or Karl Marx, we don’t glorify despair and in fact, like everyone else, would rather avoid it and spend some time with friends, maybe have a party, go see a nice movie in the theater, have a nice dinner out, play games together, travel to foreign lands and see new landscapes, meet new people, visit famous places of history, hold conversations about the good old times etc. etc.
Gregory is a minority of one, and therefore ought to be given the most leeway.
The last brutal and inhuman theocracy in Denmark was when, exactly?
You have to break some eggs to make a Hamlet.
Gregory seems unhappy we are happy.
Gregory gets a lot of leeway.
For example, one of his posts was sent to guano for calling a member “depraved”. So Gregory slightly reworded that, still implying that the member was depraved. That rewording was not moved to guano.
If we did not give Gregory a lot of leeway, most of his posts would end up in guano.
It’s public knowledge here that Gregory is being targeted.
Oh, fair TSZ.
Your colors, streaming brightly in the night.
Posts shall not be disappeared. Unlike that other site.
Free speech for all. No moral blight.
Your post’s in Guano? An oversight.
Hail Lizzie!
So much for your promise not to be an asshole. Or was that promise thread specific?
? ? ? ? ?
Your asshole detection abilities are legendary. But given where your head is buried, I suspect that all you see is assholes.
All I need to do is read anything you post.
FFS, Adapa. What was the point of that.
Rich:
Without believing in God, even. It creates a lot of cognitive dissonance for him.