I always hate that argument. Why be a decent human without the threat of eternal damnation? I mean that threat doesn't seem to stop a vast number of religious people from being unbelievably cruel to their fellow humans, so....
wtf this guy is still around?! I watching some cringy debate video with him vs Christopher Hitchens (RIP) or someone like 15 years ago when I was an edgy teenager and YouTube was new (shit it's actually like 20 years ago fml)
The main issue is that religion is something that makes you feel better when you have emotional pain, like a loved one dying. Like any painkiller, it has a purpose and if you abuse it you can deaden your response to actual issues that need your attention.
Originally Christianity was mostly about helping the poor, sick, dying, etc. That genuinely makes you feel better about yourself. Judaism has a lot of references to remaining strong in the face of adversity. Religions are just mental tools. What you do with that tool is up to you. If you hurt other people, it's your fault.
Please don't misunderstand. I was not saying that that was the be-all-end-all of religion. I wasn't speaking against religion in general, just in regards to the irony of suggesting that religion makes people more good. At all.
I don't. It tells you, in clear language, the type of person that this "loving Christian" is. They literally can't imagine altruism, and that says more about them than what they think they're saying about me.
That kind of person is revealing an innate sense of right and wrong that's independent of their teachings. You should fear the Christian who's envious of your disbelief in hell.
Yep. Even though I'm not an atheist, I still don't understand this argument. I'm a good person (or at least try to be) for the sake of being a good person, because I don't need to be threathened with eternal damnation in order to not murder people.