What is the difference between an Athiest/Agnostic and a Religious/Godly person when...?
What is the difference between an Athiest/Agnostic and a Religious/Godly person when the first denies the existence of spirit/energy aka 'soul', and the second denies the validity/needs of the body?
To me, not much. Both try to make me a half-wit by insisting that i am.
But no. As a living being i have both body and spirit, and may be something else that i don't know about, so i am not going to deny either or any. Instead i'm going to keep nurturing both major aspects of my person as long as i can because it's not about any intellectual debate, it's about my life.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.A big difference defined by one little word, evidence.
HeathenFarmer
Level 8
Dec 16, 2017
1
Evidently...
Well to begin with your premise is wrong. An agnostic is simply one who doesn't know whether God exists or not. That has nothing to do with the soul. An atheist simply doesn't believe in God. Again nothing to do with the soul. There are atheists and agnostics who believe in spirits and souls and even an after life. They simply neither know or believe God exists. Many cultures have had beliefs in such things without gods. I.e. several native American tribes believe in spirits, respect them and yet do not deiefy them. Saying atheists and agnostics deny the existence of a soul is patently false. They make no such claim.
As to the religious, depending on the religion or subset of a religion they do not deny the flesh. In Christianity the bible says to take care of your body. It gives instructions on how to keep it healthy and clean. Not the best instructions but they are there and many Christian's take it to heart, treating their body like a temple.
Now physical well-being may not actually be what you meant however the question I would say was poorly worded and not specific enough. If you made it more clear what you meant then I can answer that too, to the best of my abilities.
Reydereyes227
Level 5
Dec 12, 2017
2
It means there are different sects and POVs on both sides; i'm talking about the followers of one kind of POV displayed on both sides with different words/terms, and you are pointing to another set of POV displayed on both sides.
Yes, all these and many other shades exist between the black and white of atheism and religion.
Without benefit of a scientific perspective, the ancients didn’t have the same understanding we do of the concept of ‘mind’ and particularly of ‘subconscious mind’. But they could observe that SOMEthing was animating the body. They called it ‘soul’. We now call it ‘mind’ and claim there’s no such thing as ‘soul’. It’s not a reality problem; it’s just a linguistics problem. Every time you hear the word ‘soul’, just replace it with the word ‘mind’. No extra belief required. I’m not aware of anyone who doesn’t believe in mind.
skado
Level 9
Dec 11, 2017
1
It sounds like you are not willing to bet against Pascal's wager. I'm betting my life that he does not exist. According to the bible, sitting on the fence does not count. Either your in or you out.
Pascal's Wager is an argument in philosophy presented by the seventeenth-century French philosopher, mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal. It posits that humans bet with their lives that God either exists or does not
Arasmuson
Level 6
Dec 10, 2017
1
No doubt, human history is full of all kinds of gods and goddesses.
The body exists. The soul is a word people used back in the olden days to try their best to explain consciousness, feelings, love etc. it doesn't exist as a separate thing.
Eazyduzzit
Level 7
Dec 10, 2017
2
Okay, @Eazyduzzit.
What makes the body function?
I'm not the best person to answer that question, but when people say "the soul" they're just being too lazy to research and find the answer. With the internet today, doing research is a lot quicker than in the days when you had to go to the library and dig through tons of books.
I'll bet if you're really interested in what science has found to run the body, you could find it in less than a day by doing a serious Google search.
What makes the body function? The Central Nervous System, AKA ‘soul’.
I feel there is middle ground to the extent that we would all be better off to have at least some semblance of mutual respect for each other's POV. As an American, I understand it's a constitutional right to believe whatever you want, and as a patriot, I am obliged to defend that right. But it's a two edged sword; the religious must also acknowledge my right not to believe, and as soon as they try to make law based on their beliefs, they are violating my constitutional rights.
godef
Level 7
Dec 10, 2017
3
The term 'patriot' has since acquired some scary connotations, are you sure you want to identify yourself as such?
It's like morality or spirituality; these terms have been high jacked by those from the right and we need to claim them back. A lot of people who consider themselves patriots are actually cowards unwilling to face up to the notion that this country has some real social issues.
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