Re: bugs and men

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: : : What you have just presented is an argument for belief rather than evidence. : : You are arguing for the benefits of a belief and the dangers of accepting : : an alternative belief. Even if your argument is right, we could still be : : living in an atheistic reality. I think we should pursue the truth even if : : the truth may be uncomfortable. : There really isn't any objective evidence of what happens to us after we all die. One has to die to find out : BTW, I feel bad when I kill a bug, not because I think that it it has a soul or anything like that, but because it is a life. I usually just put it outside. I don't know I'd do if I saw a roach though, never seen a real one before. <g> : : In response to your argument, I would say that a soulless existence may have : : the opposite effect. Since this is the only life that we'll have, we might : : as well enjoy it to its fullest (I'll have to admit that I haven't learned : : how to do this yet). In the movie "Unforgiven" there is a scene where : I've heard what some describe as the soul as being out meteprogram. : If one looks at it and its conponents one can see that this is a very good description, and one which makes a lot of sense. : : Clint Eastwood's character says, "It's a terrible thing to kill a man. You : : take away everything he has and everthing he ever will have." (These aren't : : the exact lines). It's through this kind of logic that we can have empathy : : and respect for other people's lives. I have respect for human life because : : of empathy and rationality, not because of a supernatural C.S. Lewis style : : "natural law" in my mind. : I do as well. : : In addition, another reason why we don't go out and murder and rape is : : because we would soon find out it won't be in our best interest. Imagine a : : world where you constantly have to watch your back, you can't trust anyone, : : and you have to kill or be killed. Morality works because of logical : : reasons. There is nothing inconsistent in saying, "God does not exist but : : torturing little children is objectively wrong." Therefore, I think : : humanists have every right to condemn people like Stalin and Hitler. : Yes, we should make the most of this life because we don't know if there really is a next one. : I also believe that those who think so little of life, such as Stalin and Hitler, lose their right to life themselves. : : Finally, this is off topic, but I noticed you mentioned Carl Sagan. I was : : a little distraught to see him go. I consider him a model humanist and a : : heroic man. I really enjoyed his book, "The Demon Haunted World." : I too will miss him, he made science interesting, especially astronomy.

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