Just makes me want to puke to see otherwise capable people believing in heaven, hell, Jesus, God, Allah, Mohammad without so much as a single bit of science and fact to back it up.
Jeff, I find it more and more disturbing how, since you've gone from being a Christian to being an athiest, you suddenly seem to think that everyone else should follow suit, lest they be considered somehow not as intelligent as an athiest. Why does it "sicken" you, that someone else should believe in something spiritual just because it can't be randomly studied in a lab or in a controlled setting? Who died and left science as the ultimate authority on all the answers in life? Like many others on here, you've simply gone from one extreme belief (JW) to the other end of the spectrum (athiesm) with absolutely no tolerance whatsoever for anything inbetween, which is usually where the truth lies.
I completely understand the hesitation in taking anything on 'faith' after the way we were lied to by the Organization, but just because this religion is nothing but a scam does not automatically mean that there is nothing out there beyond what science can explain. People leave the Organization, they read Dawkins and suddenly he is the be-all and end-all of life and anyone who is dumb enough to believe in anything spiritual after reading The God Delusion is just plain stupid.
Yes, the people you overheard sound like a bunch of wingnuts, not too different from the average Dub and if there is a God, I doubt he is anywhere near as judgemental as what humans are. And yes I agree, the bible is probably a culmination of writings from the ancient Jewish culture which in many cases, should have no bearing on our lives today. There are parts in it that are truly horrifying. Yet, I also find that there are parts in it that are truly beautful. Why do so many feel that it has to be "all or nothing"? 'The bible was not written by God, therefore, God does not exist'.
One subject I have found quite interesting is the subject of life-after-death and I have often wondered if there is any sort of scientific evidence that something does survive the physical death. Instead of automatically pooh-poohing the notion as being "unscientific", I actually found a book that I thought presented the case quite well. It's called Science and the Near Death Experience: How Consciousness Survives Death" by Chris Carter (no, not the guy who created X-Files). It does not claim 100% proof (as it is difficult to studying something outside of the material world), yet it provides what I would call very strong circumstantial evidence that something survives the physical death. What I liked about it, is that there is no religious agenda to it, no quoting of scripture or any other hidden agenda and to anyone interested in the subject, I would highly recommend it.
And in reality, what makes you think for one minute that the world would be such a better place without any religion whatsoever? I don't recall any Communist country ever achieving "peace" or a better world because they had gotten rid of religion. Yes, religion has caused untold misery to millions over the centuries. It's also helped millions lead a happy life and overcome alcoholism, drug abuse, etc. It's the religious fanatics that cause most of the problems in the world, not the moderates who just want to lead a normal life. And if that life includes believing in a higher power, then who are you or I to tell them that they're wrong? How do you or I really know whether or not there's something else out there? Sometimes, the arrogance of the human race astounds me.
Jeff, don't throw the baby out with the bath-water. While we might think we have all the answers, we don't really. IMO, atheism and belief in a creator both take a huge leap of faith. We have no idea what the generations that follow us will discover with regards to life, religion or God. In time what's accepted as 'fact' may some day be exposed as 'fiction'.
In re-reading one of your old threads, you've become exactly what you were against a few years ago: