[_ Old Earth _] Self Esteem

[ArtGuy]

Sorry if I was not verbose enough for you. I prefer to keep my comments to a minimum. I don't really see the point of typing six paragraphs when six words will say the same thing.

It's just frustrating when a thread is full of people chiming in to basically say, "Me too!" or "This side is dumb, my side is wonderful!" without any explanation as to why people feel as they do. This is what results in arguments that consist of nothing but, "I'm right because it's so very obvious that I am!" and "No, you can't be right, because I obviously am, and the fact that you can't see that makes me so very sad. I will pray for you, that you may be as smart as me."

 

[Slevin]

Sorry if I was not verbose enough for you. I prefer to keep my comments to a minimum. I don't really see the point of typing six paragraphs when six words will say the same thing.

It's just frustrating when a thread is full of people chiming in to basically say, "Me too!" or "This side is dumb, my side is wonderful!" without any explanation as to why people feel as they do. This is what results in arguments that consist of nothing but, "I'm right because it's so very obvious that I am!" and "No, you can't be right, because I obviously am, and the fact that you can't see that makes me so very sad. I will pray for you, that you may be as smart as me."

I think it's the result of a terrible OP. Threads that start out bad usually end up bad.

The "Evolutionist" view of self-esteem seems to be less about science (a descriptive system) and more about what Christians think Atheists think. A gross assumption, if you ask me. I wonder what would happen were I to post what I think Christians think?

I cannot comment on the Christian view of self-esteem because I'm not a christian.

 

[Hogan]

OK, my perspective -

I do not relate the origin of my existence to self esteem. If some people feel better that they came from some supreme creation, that is great. If the thought of them coming from the primordial soup is depressing, scary, or unsettling in any way, then perhaps that person needs to stick with the supreme creation idea. Additionally, there must be something glorious at the end, because it is too scary to just be the end. That is the individual choice of that person.

On the other hand, I do not find the idea that we came from the "soup" so terrible. My day goes on just like everyone else. I wake up, I go to work and come home, I do a good job at work, and I do chores and other home related activities while there. I have family, friends, responsibilities, etc. All these things make up my esteem. I feel good about myself because I do good things. I volunteer, I donate, I love, etc etc etc. When my end comes, I hope that I made some sort of difference in the world and I am remembered for at least one generation after me.

I fail to see how our differing view of our origin and final destination determine the quality of our individual lives. I know plenty of Christians that have a total lack of self esteem... take anti-depressants, get divorced, murder (ok, I don't know a murderer personally), etc. Self esteem has nothing to do with which side of the fence you choose to stand on, it is a combination of the things that make up your life.

To summarize - life to me is not about the beginning and end, it is about the middle and what I do while I am here.

 

[ArtGuy]

Now that post had actual content.

Thanks for elaborating.