 | | | Subject: Why atheists should trust believers.
Posted Jul 2, 2012 by Elektragheorgheni -Please read 'The Post'
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 | | Why should atheists trust believers? I frankly am very tired of the badmouthing of anyone who chooses atheism and dumps, spams , and browbeats every believer they meet, in h2g2 and in RL. I am not in denial about how hypocritical or destructive believers can be. However, most religions teach that people need to be more considerate of their neighbours and not be so selfish and greedy.
Even science is coming around to the conclusion that believers could possibly be GOOD for society for whatever reason . This article from a self avowed atheist in Salon.com describes this research. I apologise for the derogatory cracks the author makes about Ireland.
http://www.salon.com/2012/07/01/don...rust_the_godless/?source=newsletter
To explain herself the author states, 'Well, trustworthiness is a different thing altogether from intellect, and I suppose I’m ever the social pragmatist in my dealings with other people.'
To be human people need to cut everyone else slack and avoid being self righteous. Forgiveness and mercy are underrated virtues no matter what your philosophy is. I challenge readers to think of all the situations you have ever been in that a stranger has come to your assistance. Think how different real life would be, if everyone acted like this.
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| | | Subject: Why atheists should trust believers.
Posted Jul 2, 2012 by  Dmitri Gheorgheni
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 | | The research the author refers to appears to indicate that people behave more considerately if they think somebody's watching. Interesting, I hadn't thought of that. 
I wonder if you could get the same effect by convincing people that an ethically more evolved group of extraterrestrials were monitoring the internet and critiquing the behaviour of users on Planet Earth? 
By the way, I don't know how religious that cab driver was in Dublin, you know, the one who picked us up and took us to his family's B&B that time. I know why we trusted him, though: he had his little boy with him. We didn't expect him to be up to mischief with a well-behaved kid in tow.
So maybe add 'family values' to the list of reasons people act well?
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| | | Subject: Why atheists should trust believers.
Posted Jul 2, 2012 by Vip
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| | Actions are what we should judge, regardless of whether they are motivated by a desire to please a god or just because it feels right. Atheism is never an excuse to be nasty or belittling of others; there is no excuse for that behaviour.
I'm pretty sure that believers tend to succeed and make places better, because of the kinship and community they create. The same could be said of any sort of club, I suppose, but the mandate of most religions is to look out for others, regardless of how they implement it. Win!
I seem to remember an article in New Scientist that proved there was an evolutionary bias towards belief, because people who work together are more likely to survive than those who don't.
I had mor to add but I am having difficulty stringing together a sentence today!
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| | | Subject: Why atheists should trust believers.
Posted Jul 2, 2012 by Dmitri Gheorgheni
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| |  I hope it's just the weather, Vip.
You know, that's a good point, about people working together. Last night, I was reading about Gobekli Tepe (there should be an umlaut on that 'o', it's Turkish), the world's oldest temple.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/gobekli-tepe.html
It's something like 11,000 years old. Apparently, it was built by hunter-gatherers. Right in the place where, shortly thereafter, they started growing grain and domesticating animals...
The Big Step that led to us. 
The conclusion of the researchers is that people have been wrong about the idea that survival came first and religion later. Apparently, working together to do something you consider transcendent leads to the kind of cooperation that produces spin-off technology.
Okay, when I read it, I said, 'Kind of like NASA and Tang,' I will admit.  But hey...
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| | | Subject: Why atheists should trust believers.
Posted Jul 2, 2012 by Willem
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| | Hi everyone, Elektra, thanks a lot for this. The issue is far bigger than most people seem to realise or understand. In my view religion is vital for the ongoing prosperity of humanity as a whole. But it has to be the right kind of religion. In my view it has to be about love and compassion. Looking in my own country, I see many religious people who do not have much of that, which doesn't help much. There seem to be so many misconceptions about religion, from all sides. There are justified criticisms of just about every religion out there, and there are also justified criticisms of atheism. I wish I could say more ... I'd have to write a book ... and I don't really have the courage.
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