Anyone can be a fan of eternal life, regardless if they are an atheist, agnostic, or if they believe in God. I personally don't believe in God but I don't look down on anyone for believing in God. I realize that their belief in God is not their choice, just as my disbelief in God is not my choice. Contrary to popular opinion, people do not get to choose what they believe or don't believe. Beliefs are inflicted on people similar to how one catches a virus. Beliefs are forced on us by an involuntary mental process in our brain. Some brains readily believe claims on bad evidence or wishful thinking, and other brains are more skeptical and thus require good evidence or proof to believe (most atheists). This physical difference in brains, in combination with environmental factors and upbringing, naturally separate the population into religious and non-religious people. Beliefs also should not be confused with knowledge claims. I fully BELIEVE there is no God. That doesn't mean I KNOW there is no God. I spread atheism because I think it's most likely true and is generally more helpful to the world than the belief in God. Though I do realize that for some people, the belief in God is the only way they could function in such a frightening and uncertain world. Karl Marx once said that "religion is the opiate of the masses". Some people would become very mentally unstable without religion. Many people cannot handle the thought that their loved ones have died and ceased to exist forever... Such a thought is unbearably painful and there is no better consolation than to think your loved ones are still alive in heaven. Without religious faith, many people would quickly sink into a deep depression and become suicidal and possibly lash out in violence. Another advantage of religion is the fear of God. God serves as the policeman in the sky that sees everything and instills fear in the people. Some people do need the fear of God in order to behave morally. Without people believing in a hypothetical God, I think society would need to create some alternative to the policeman in the sky, to keep people's morality in order. But as of yet, we don't have an eye in the sky that keeps people accountable for their behaviors, so for right now, I think it's best that most people believe that a powerful God is keeping a close eye on them. For this reason, my aim is not to turn everyone into atheists, but only those people who are ready for it. (Those of us who understand the multitude of alternative reasons to behave morally at all times, besides a hypothetical punishment.) Many atheists harshly judge religious people because they think the belief in God is silly and childish. I don't think this is good. We should not judge people for their beliefs. We should judge people by their ACTIONS. And we should realize that some people really do need their beliefs as a way to numb and cope with the pain of living in a world filled with death. The invention of God is a natural result of living in such a cruel and hellish world. But this popular coping strategy for death becomes a huge problem when the belief in heaven causes people to gladly accept death and be generally unconcerned with extending human life. In the religious person's mind, physical death is not the enemy... Instead, physical death is the doorway to paradise. The more certain someone feels about their belief in heaven, the more problematic it can be and the more likely they are to accept death and spread this attitude of death acceptance. Secularization is great for the progress of society for this main reason -- without the false security of heaven, people will be driven to pursue physical life extension. After we've achieved indefinite life extension and aging is a thing of the past, religion will naturally shrink, but it's unlikely to disappear completely. There will always be a fragment of people who need the comfort of religious belief and that's OK just as long as they do not interfere with our eternal life. I believe that a lot more people could be ready for atheism right now if they had an alternative for God. I think transhumanism can be that alternative. Transhumanism offers a hope for salvation from death, based on science and technology.... and without this hope for eternal life, humanity is lost and life is meaningless. via Eternal Life Fan Club http://ift.tt/1Vn873u
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