To feel good about life, believe in God. To make rational sense out of life, be agnostic or atheist?

Question

Not to insult believers or say that agnostics and atheists can't feel good about life.

But this is the general conclusion I've reached after much thought and debate on how people explain their existence. Faith usually boils down to people explaining life in a way that is appealing to them, thus making sense according to the pleasure principle. While atheists and agnostics usually seek to explain life scientifically, seeking explanations that can be proven or tested with solid methods and logic, thus making sense according the reality principle.

Simply put: For believers, feeling good makes sense. For, non-believers, making sense feels good. In my experience, that seems to be the main divide between these two ways of thought.

What do you think?

Answer 1

I like making sense AND feeling good, that's why I'm a Christian. You don't have to sacrifice one for the other!

Answer 2

It seems so strange to me that atheists and agnostics always refer to their patterns of thought as "rational" while generalizing all Christians as "irrational" or "touchy - feely."

Is it rational for a human being with a finite mind and finite senses to assume that there is nothing beyond what his finite understanding and finite perception can grasp?

This being said, if one were truly rational, there would be no such thing as a true atheist, for one to claim for a fact that there is no God, one must know that there is no God and must therefore know everything there is to know about the universe. So either that person is completely irrational or he himself is God, and therefore complete insane since he denies his own existence.

The only difference between a believer and a non-believer is not his rationality or lack thereof, but rather where he choses to put his faith. I've said this elsewhere, everything takes a leap of faith. The Christian puts his faith in Jesus Christ (who, by the way, has more historic evidence for his existence than the theory of Evolution does for its accuracy... but that's another long argument) , the atheist puts his faith in his own limited existence and understanding, and the agnostic either doesn't put his faith anywhere or he puts it everywhere... and how rational is that?

Answer 3

that's barely because of the fact which you're encountering extreme, uncooked perspectives on the two matters, perspectives that have not been subtle by using years of introspection and adventure of existence. i hit upon that i'm unable to brush off technology. to accomplish that may well be infantile and delusional. Rational information and enquiry leads us to project many of the innovations of classic faith. however the belief of God or, as I prefer to call it, a actuality previous the show up isn't inevitably purely a experience-good element. There are some questions technology does not answer. what's the character of consciensness, as an occasion? to declare that understanding is led to by using concepts interest tells me not something approximately its nature, what it ability to declare that i'm me, and no different being interior the Universe. Why is there rely? Is ethics purely an evolutionary mechanism? what's the actual element of imaginitive expression? and so on..., and so on... So the two innovations at the instant are not incompatible. what's incompatible with technology is a definite relatives of non secular perspectives which infringe on scientific questions. Take the belief of evolution, as an occasion. Do species evolve? basically the intellectually cheating have ever concluded they don't after extreme enquiry. Others have confidence them to be honest. whether it won't be a non secular question, risk-free for the reality that is been spoken of in a non secular text textile. whether species evolve variety one yet another or not says not something approximately whether existence is sacred, approximately whether the Universe has an intelligence of its very own we can't comprehend - that's purely a descriptive theory, like a number of scientific theories. And descriptive theories do not enter into the area of metaphysics, that's the area of non secular enquiry suitable.

Answer 4

Here's what I think...
Do you think that it makes us feel good to deny ourselves some things because that is the way that God has said do..there is more to it than "feeling good". It's not always the easiest thing to do-when God said to love those that hate you. It's more than just faith..It is a day to day walk and experience with God. A knowing that God is real. We as Christians are not weak or dumb..we, as others, seek for that meaning and purpose in life...and we find that in God. Some can not understand this so they push it of as being stupid, just because they've never experienced it first hand.

Answer 5

Me thinks you have created a circular argument. Why do ath. make sense - to feel good. Why do bel. feel good - because it make's sense. You've created a wheel.
Just for the record - Unless you read and travel a great deal more, you might want to tone down the "usually" etc. Bel. have chosen that which does not feel good far oftener than the other options.

Answer 6

there is no rational way to figure out why we're here to be an atheist/agnostic. the big bang is far from rational. an explosion in space that created Everything today is pretty ridiculous.

Answer 7

I like things to make a lot of sense to me, instead of having faith about irrational things.