Quote:
Originally posted by MuadDib
Religion is ultimately a personal and faith based part of peoples life. The expression that you can lead a horse to water but not make him drink is very fitting here. There is no way to "convince" someone who doesn't want to believe in god(s) if they don't want to or aren't prepared to. The most you can do is try have them see that there is something unifying and greater than mankind. That doesn't make it god(s) nor is it in anyway conclusional evidence, but its a premise that needs to be grasped before someone can accept religion and it the thing that many atheists/agnostics have a hard time with.
|
You make it sound as if religious people are somehow special (or even "better") than atheists/agnostics, because the latter cannot or will not accept the notion of a higher power. I'm sure you don't mean it like that, but you say it anyway.
You cannot make me "see that there is something unifying or greater than mankind", simply because there isn't. It's like telling me to accept that there is a pink unicorn standing behind me.
How's about this: someone who beliefs in God is simply unwilling/unable to accept that there *isn't* anything greater than mankind, that there *isn't* an afterlife, that there *isn't* any reason or meaning in life, that we just *are*. That's a premise that needs to be grasped before someone can grow beyond the childish idea of a father-figure in the sky following and judging our every move. This is something religious people have a hard time with.