****** easter

Xenth said:
Today was leg day dammit :mad:
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This made me :D because I've never called it that. I'm going to call it Leg Day from now on.

BTW, the main gym that I use closes for all of the Jewish holidays, and at certain times of the year, that's a LOT of days off! In particular, in the autumn, it's a couple of days a week for something like a month.
 
I'm guessing it has to do with people's aversion to big muscles, because they're insecure, threatened, etc.

Joe Rogan is probably the buffest famous comedian out there, but he hides it well, unlike Carrot Top...but Carrot Top's routine is ****ty to begin with...lol
 
As for not being afraid of hell....

I guess that makes sense that the only people afraid of it are those who believe in it. I mean, if you believe there is no soul/heaven/hell/afterlife, then the fear of being punished for making the wrong choices wouldn't be very scary.

I am not a Christian out of fear of hell, but out of love for God. What would scare me though is the "what if" factor, you know? I mean, I could easily see where the concept of eternal punishment and torment in fire doesn't exactly fit into human scientific logic. But to stop and think of the "what if", seems pretty damned scary.

I mean, matters of faith & spirituality cannot be proven, that's what makes it faith. However, it can also not be disproven, either. So, either way, it is all about faith - faith that there is something, or faith that there isn't. The only way to find out for absolute sure is to get there.
 
deschain said:
As for not being afraid of hell....

I guess that makes sense that the only people afraid of it are those who believe in it. I mean, if you believe there is no soul/heaven/hell/afterlife, then the fear of being punished for making the wrong choices wouldn't be very scary.
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I tend to think of hell as a relatively immediate sort of thing. You live with what you give, and if you do what you know to be a wrong or immoral or hurtful thing, then your own hell unfolds in the consequences.

Most of my friends who are atheists are also hardcore researchers/scientists. I've known several of them for >25 years and they haven't wavered in their beliefs, have never doubted their stance. Given that, I was curious to read Knuth's book (Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About) since he's a world-class researcher/scientist and he's also a devout Christian. My friends use Knuth's TeX and have read and re-read all of his maths & CS-based books; ironically, I think they equate his work--especially his "Art of CS" volumes--with being the engineering equivalent to the bible. But they won't touch his Christian writings. I think they see that aspect of his life as a weakness or a lapse, a sort of character flaw. It's interesting.
 
deschain said:
As for not being afraid of hell....

I guess that makes sense that the only people afraid of it are those who believe in it. I mean, if you believe there is no soul/heaven/hell/afterlife, then the fear of being punished for making the wrong choices wouldn't be very scary.

I am not a Christian out of fear of hell, but out of love for God. What would scare me though is the "what if" factor, you know? I mean, I could easily see where the concept of eternal punishment and torment in fire doesn't exactly fit into human scientific logic. But to stop and think of the "what if", seems pretty damned scary.

I mean, matters of faith & spirituality cannot be proven, that's what makes it faith. However, it can also not be disproven, either. So, either way, it is all about faith - faith that there is something, or faith that there isn't. The only way to find out for absolute sure is to get there.
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I know far to many people who believe just for the sole reason of "Fear" of hell or social persecution or because their scared they wont fit in if they do not have "faith". I believe that most people of your faith are no different then myself. Because their reason of belief stems from fear.

To me if you believe because your afraid of going to hell because of the thought of "what if im wrong" well then thats not faith, thats just playing it on the safe side. So in a way most people of faith i think are truly no different then someone like myself.
 
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I know exactly what you mean. There are many who are a particular denomination or go to a certain church b/c that is what they feel is expected of them. There are also those who are Christian out of fear of the alternative.

Christians believe hell is a real thing, and, frankly, who would want to go there? So, there is automatically going to be a fear of it. However, that doesn't make the basis of their faith a fear of punishment. The desire to be with God and the fear of hell are two different things. There are some Christian denominations that don't believe in an actual hell, yet are still Christians.

Fear of punishment plays a role in any decision we make, be it getting grounded, going to jail, paying a fine, or hell. That doesn't mean that is the basis of our decisions. Saying most Christians only believe so they don't go to hell, is like saying the only reason most people don't kill anybody is for fear of spending life in prison. Sure, it's going to be a factor, but the desire to do what you believe is right/just/moral is often a larger factor than fear of punishment.
 
I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.
Stephen Robets
 
deschain said:
As for not being afraid of hell....



I am not a Christian out of fear of hell, but out of love for God. What would scare me though is the "what if" factor, you know? I mean, I could easily see where the concept of eternal punishment and torment in fire doesn't exactly fit into human scientific logic. But to stop and think of the "what if", seems pretty damned scary.

I mean, matters of faith & spirituality cannot be proven, that's what makes it faith. However, it can also not be disproven, either. So, either way, it is all about faith - faith that there is something, or faith that there isn't. The only way to find out for absolute sure is to get there.
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Well, based on the requirements to go to Hell, most of the worlds population are going. As Silent said about dismissing other Gods, there are just too many to be able to believe in one. They all lack servere evidence. Also if you were burning for eternity, you couldn't be killed. Part of pain, is the fear of death. To feel the pain, you need nerves, which would require a body. Even if you did burn, you would learn to ignore it after 100 years or so :p.
Btw, I thought Hell was just the 'absense of God'. The fire etc, is just to scare people. I also love the argument that we are living in purgatory now, and we have until the end of our lives to either be judged for Heaven or Hell. It's fantastic :D
 
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