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> when it doesn't impact your daily life or choices I don't think this is correct. Theism vs atheism has pretty drastic impacts on how you live your life. If

> when it doesn't impact your daily life or choices I don't think this is correct. Theism vs atheism has pretty drastic impacts on how you live your life. If you believe that you are going to hell unless you do X, Y and Z, you are going to make sacrifices to accomplish those requirements.

cweagans 4y ago
Living by any strict moral code sometimes requires sacrifice to be in compliance. Theism is not the only moral guardrail in peoples' lives.
s1artibartfast 4y ago
The point was more general, about peoples need to eliminating uncertainty in favor of belief, but we can talk about religion too. I agree theism vs atheism might make a big difference, but I don't see a meaningful difference between agnosticism and atheism in how I would approach life. Even when it comes to ruling out theism and Gods, it only really matters if you rule out vengeful gods that might punish you for not worshiping them. If I were 90% certain that a god did not exist, What would I stand to gain by committing to atheism and holding it to be, absolute truth. I think a more mundane topics are a better example, e.g. the political or social topic of the day.
- waterhouse 4y ago
  Well, there's the Pascal-style argument. If you think there's a 10% chance that a Christian God who will send you to hell if you do xyz exists, then, well, that seems like a very significant risk (compare to a "10% chance of death") and worth taking pains to avoid. On the other hand, if you think it's more like 1 in a million, and furthermore that there's a similar chance of other versions of God or other gods existing who have completely different demands on your behavior, then it's a lot more sensible to say "fuck it, I'm going to ignore such possibilities". Which is a practical difference. I do agree that lots of people would probably do better if they were more comfortable maintaining uncertainty in general.
- lisper 4y ago
  > What would I stand to gain by committing to atheism and holding it to be, absolute truth. It might motivate you to more actively oppose policies motivated by religion which are harmful to society. It might motivate you to openly express your views and thus provide emotional support to other non-believers who are trapped in situations where they cannot express those views without risking physical harm. In Saudi Arabia, for example, being an atheist is a capital offense. And even in the U.S. there are many people in situations where coming out as an atheist puts them at risk of ostracism and destitution.

cweagans 4y ago

Living by any strict moral code sometimes requires sacrifice to be in compliance. Theism is not the only moral guardrail in peoples' lives.

s1artibartfast 4y ago

The point was more general, about peoples need to eliminating uncertainty in favor of belief, but we can talk about religion too. I agree theism vs atheism might make a big difference, but I don't see a meaningful difference between agnosticism and atheism in how I would approach life. Even when it comes to ruling out theism and Gods, it only really matters if you rule out vengeful gods that might punish you for not worshiping them. If I were 90% certain that a god did not exist, What would I stand to gain by committing to atheism and holding it to be, absolute truth. I think a more mundane topics are a better example, e.g. the political or social topic of the day.

waterhouse 4y ago
Well, there's the Pascal-style argument. If you think there's a 10% chance that a Christian God who will send you to hell if you do xyz exists, then, well, that seems like a very significant risk (compare to a "10% chance of death") and worth taking pains to avoid. On the other hand, if you think it's more like 1 in a million, and furthermore that there's a similar chance of other versions of God or other gods existing who have completely different demands on your behavior, then it's a lot more sensible to say "fuck it, I'm going to ignore such possibilities". Which is a practical difference. I do agree that lots of people would probably do better if they were more comfortable maintaining uncertainty in general.
lisper 4y ago
> What would I stand to gain by committing to atheism and holding it to be, absolute truth. It might motivate you to more actively oppose policies motivated by religion which are harmful to society. It might motivate you to openly express your views and thus provide emotional support to other non-believers who are trapped in situations where they cannot express those views without risking physical harm. In Saudi Arabia, for example, being an atheist is a capital offense. And even in the U.S. there are many people in situations where coming out as an atheist puts them at risk of ostracism and destitution.