I was just being a sarcastic ass. Along with the "i was one you" which is inevitably wrong given the diversity of atheism. That part of the wager pisses me off.

Its like former atheists are stuck in there own perspective and cant conceive of someone outside it.

Not sure I understand what you're saying. Which part of the wager? Also, former atheists can't conceive someone outside of what? Atheism? Whichever new found belief system with which they currently associate? Specifically can't conceive anyone can't also be an atheist turned theist? Sorry I'm confused by your last few statments.

When the wager comes up something along these lines is often said.

He assumes non believers will live a better more peaceful life if God is accepted. Sure that might be true for him. But it might not be true for all.

He doesn't seem to be able to see outside of his perspective and just assumes non believers will live better more peaceful life's since he did. We aren't all the same and believe it or not you can live a good peaceful life without Jesus.

I agree. I kind of gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed he was talking specifically about his personal situation. Based on the rest of his posts he seems to be very cognizant that this is how his situation worked out and not how most of us would feel.

*** Quoting to (hopefully) get an answer ***

Id give the benefit of doubt if i didn't see it said so many times. Im jaded.

i agree 100% with you. sometimes i over generalize. but i was really talking about myself. no way do i think everyone should do what i'm doing.

don't forget, i still think i'm living a lie --but i don't care. it would be foolish for me to think that everyone should live this lie.

but who knows maybe there is a God so it's not a lie.

Alright good im glad im wrong.

confession bear time: If I weren't in the field of science/medicine, I might fake it too.

Maybe Horatio777 could help me understand, but I don't really see how I, personally, could ever fake it (inwardly, not outwardly). He refers to praying, but I don't understand how this works for a non-believer. It would be like me praying to Mr. Snuffleupagus. It would only serve to make me feel silly.

Same difference

When I read the OP I was skeptical as were most of you. Now however I received my very own sign from god. I will move at the end to the year and my fiancee and I were looking at a few places last week. Still torn between renting and buying. It's huge decision and I keep weighing the pros and cons. So many aspects to consider.
Then lo and behold, a sign from god. I watch season 2 of "Louie" and he is looking for a new place to live,too. He is facing the same questions. Should I rent? Should I buy? In the end he decides he really wants to buy a nice house.
This cannot be mere coincidence. Why did I watch it exactly that week? Why not last year? Why not next? Why not 5 years from now? It's a sign from god. He has a plan for me and wants me to be a property owner. Thank you for your guidance, lord.

Lol...it's statements like these that have made me come to see atheism as fostering a kind of group antisocial personality disorder.

People can't even speak freely these days for all the haters.

http://www.bing.com/health/article/m...ality+disorder

Antisocial personality disorder symptoms may include:

Disregard for right and wrong
Persistent lying or deceit
Using charm or wit to manipulate others
Recurring difficulties with the law
Repeatedly violating the rights of others
Child abuse or neglect
Intimidation of others
Aggressive or violent behavior
Lack of remorse about harming others
Impulsive behavior
Agitation
Poor or abusive relationships
Irresponsible work behavior

A group induced antisocial personality disorder. Think of that!!!

Nazism might have been a group induced antisocial personality disorder for the whole German nation. That's one reason why Bonhoeffeur was a martyr. He tried to redeem the Germans from a group antisocial personality disorder. He said as much. He felt he had to kill Hitler to redeem the Germans honor as did Stauffenberg.

People always influence people towards the negative or the positive unless the person is able to keep himself set apart from the group.

The word holy means "set apart".

Horatio777 isn't really talking about Pascal's Wager, which has nothing to do with having a better life by being religious. However, in answer to your specific inability, I would say that rather than faking it, you should think of ways of being religious that don't involve accepting the supernatural. This form of practicing religion could still involve prayer, worship, and the other traditional practices of religion (see here for an explanation for how this could work).

I was actually speaking to a Jewish couple I met on holiday the other day and one of them basically said they followed Jewish traditions and considered themselves Jewish but that they didn't actually believe in god.