The Liberating Truths of Anarchism, Atheism, and Nihilism (ASMR)

[@EphemeralRift]

As stated in the description, I forgot to talk about how we are anarchists and atheists by default from the day we are born (i.e. we don't know about any god until it's taught to us). Not sure if that particular discussion is worth its own video in the future, but something to bring up again at some point.

[@r.j.tindell9728]

No sir,we are absolutely not born atheist.god says before you were in the womb I knew you.we are born with Christ already in our hearts.of course as a baby you don't have the capacity to know the difference either way.doesnt mean that you by default are atheist lol that makes no sense,you are without mental capacity at that stage to know or decide,being atheist is a decision.

[@rrubyrred]

@@r.j.tindell9728 that’s a fantasy, like Santa. Get it out of your thin skull

[@bobbyvelveteen]

That sounds more like agnostic from birth, not knowing of any deities. Being born with a lack of belief, if you define atheism as a lack of belief due to no cognitive, logical rejection of deities, then yes, babies are born atheists. 🙂

[@spencer1854]

In your opinion. You cannot say objectively that humans, who aren't exposed to religion, wouldn't still be compelled to look up at the stars and ponder about something greater than themselves. We are exposed to the ideas of both God and a lack of God (though this idea is more subtly implied through various ways and culture than explicitly taught like religion can be). I'd say the fact that man has always, as long as we've had a conscious mind to think, pondered the idea of God, long before organized religion existed, points to this. It seems to be in our very nature to ask this question. We seem to have the free will to choose what to believe. The biblical worldview hashes this out, starting with the story of the garden of eden. If you're open to changing your mind on this idea, Jordan Peterson has many good thoughts regarding the psychological and social implications of the claims of the Biblical stories. It gets you thinking deeper and questioning your preconceived beliefs, anyway.

[@r.j.tindell9728]

God lives

[@GuildmasterMuri]

Something i kinda figured out on my short life up until now (25m) Is that is not about accepting one ideal and sitcking to it, but rather learn what you can from various standpoints and see what works out for you. Im not really relegious, not an atheist either, i simply never connected with the concept, to me it makes enough sense there is something ''greater'' than us, but who is it? what is it? WHY did it bother creating us and etc, all of that kind gets in the way. So to me it ends up boiling down to the idea of: We are all going to die at some point, but every single day we strive to find peace of mind and happiness in a way, or at the very least, to easy the pain on our shoulders or on others, we learn to value things as life goes on and thats what makes things worth doing, even if things dont have an inherent ''value'' atributed to them, it is our experiences and how we relate to them and how they affect others that end up making said ''value'' real. Thats why i think a lot people hear the word ''nihilism'' and run from it as if its telling you to jump off the nearest bridge. I dont know if my interpretation of things makes sense, and certainly theres always room for discovery and change, but honestly i kinda like seeing things this way for now. Love your videos Uncle E ! Love from brasil !

[@АклызМелкенды]

for past two years I've been kinda into chinese philosophy, I think it's really interesting 'cause it raises so many topics that are relevant to these days and gives different perspectives. So many different schools of thought that didn't exist in a vacuum, but rather had a discussion. People often know only about Confucious, but for me it's exactly almost everything other that the Confucious school of thought is immensely interesting. Taoism is basically really close to nihilism at some aspects, although it would be an understatement to say so. Yanism is an ancient chinese version of egoism, even totalitarian philosophy of legalism has its appeals if you research what lies underneath. I don't vibe with Confucious, but the principle of zhèngmíng seems fundamental for the society to properly function

[@jorgewinter4621]

For a long time, I felt bad experiencing Nihilism, being raised in a christian environment and realizing nothing of that really represented reality for me. Your insights today gave a new perspective on how I should feel: not anxious, frustrated and in anguish, but relieved and free to do my own thing without fear of divine punishment or anything alike. No karma, no destiny, no afterlife hell or paradise. It somewhat feels relieving. THANK YOU.

[@Chucky_the_killerdoll]

Death chases us all, enjoy your " new perspective ".

[@swaritho6294]

thank nietzsche then lol

[@Yeetus_Bett69]

Uncle E I gotta say these are my favorite asmr videos. Awesome video!

[@EphemeralRift]

Mine too!

[@zeno3630]

its nice hearing someone whos older(sorry) having these ideas, and isn't yelling it at everyone they see. Thanks E

[@EphemeralRift]

You’re giving me ideas ! ;)

[@reznorrokicki3407]

I appreciate yr input upon these topics, I’ve found it hard to completely divulge understandings of philosophical ideas and perspectives all on my lonesome, from the bottom of my heart I do appreciate it

[@definetelystraight3963]

thank you so much I've been feeling depressed as hell but you calm me down. thank you my hero

[@iwannabeyourdog4195]

Thank you for getting people interested in stuff they might have not known about. I have always seen nihilism as an edgy philosophy made for teenagers but I realized it's a very weak ad hominem because people on reddit were kind of vile about absurdism and nihilism calling them edgy and ascribing them to teenagers. After reading Kropotkin I realized that the whole meaning of nihilism has been distorted and it's sad

[@lildiabeto]

Love this stuff! As much as I may disagree, I really admire your conviction in your beliefs and thank you for keeping me educated!

[@andrewbosak8941]

Nihilism is beautiful because while life has no inherent meaning, YOU get to decide what the meaning is.

[@mac1414]

This isn’t nihilism this is existentialism. Nihilism means basically that even your life has no meaning.

[@SilentKid]

No, you just counterfeit a meaning that is still meaningless, I suggest to lean towards absurdism

[@quasistellar3594]

If your meaning is artificial, it doesn’t exist. It’s a fantasy

[@soukainaMeha]

i think its more you liying to ur self because you knowe thats not the real meaning of life

[@light2990]

Look into how the east view being meaning less and having no future.

[@collector6457]

Excellent content as always ephemeral rift 👌

[@StareIntoTheSun]

I was raised in an evangelical christian environment. That means my brain is heavily modelled for a certain kind of framework, a way of viewing the world and all of existance. The loss of faith initially creates a huge void, and for a long time you try to substitute with something else. You resist it with all your might. Until you realise that it is not going to work. I have just recently begun moving towards acceptance of the fact that absolute values don't exist. It is a tough pill to swallow but once you stop fighting it there is peace of mind on the other side. I know that I am not alone in this experience.

[@idealfather3547]

This is a recurring theme.

[@wilburforce8046]

This is a challenge even non religious people face. I personally just go back to religion but I can understand the sheer cope you can experience when you realize all your cherished morals and values technically mean nothing and you aren’t “good” in any way in an atheist world.

[@recfin23]

@@wilburforce8046treat others how you wish to be treated. You don’t need a religion to tell you this

[@Christian___]

Religions have been saying for millennia that mortals don't have access to absolute truth. This is a problem peculiar to new religions, like Evangelical Christianity, which are more like cults and claim to have all the answers in exchange for a small monthly fee. False Prophets.

[@galacticdust7993]

I was raised in an evangelic christian household as well, the struggle of not being able to share those kind of concerns with others out of fear of being judged and threated like you got posessed (speaking from experience) is very hard. After sometime now i learned to question people that claim to know how to preach and keep my faith separated from that, it has given me some peace of mind

[@a1-user]

Thank you for sharing, I generally disagree with all of this but it is nice to see the whole picture. I am not a nihilist because I find that it can get into life negation, misanthropy, and antinatalism very easily. On atheism, I have always doubted the “truth” it describes because if there was a God, why would they have to be provable to the human mind? Atheism makes God out to be an object that we should be able to interact with, so that we can apply our conceptions about the observable universe onto this God. A God who created the universe implies that they would exist outside of it to some extent, so it doesn’t seem far-fetched to think a God can exist without us ever coming close to “proving” anything about them. I find atheism to be pretty useless to me for this reason. I can say there’s no God and say that is true, but I have no basis or evidence for that, so I don’t. Just as easily, I can describe the realm of God as all that you cannot know or interact with. It just doesn’t seem important to dwell on what I can’t know. Anarchism is probably the most practical aspect of this world view especially in our more liberal society where we value choice, but nature clearly has hierarchical structures, no matter how we think about it, so anarchism seems to be liberating in a limited way: only when you already live in a society that lets you have the choice of no governance or not following a governmental structure. Anarchism seems great while you are experimenting with social structures, but if you had a true anarchist world, we would quickly recreate society and government based on inherent threats, such as r*pe and murder. There would be a lot of injustice in the name of no governance. In my opinion, “no governance” acts as a form of governance whether we intend it to or not. The will to power that we all have deep inside boils up and creates inherent exploits and leverage. Even in a no government environment, some group or organization would leverage enough power to function as a government at some point. That is just my other side of the coin, so people can see you can believe in the opposite and still respect the will of others who don’t see it like you do.

[@DrPonner]

Anarchism doesn't mean no government... Also I am an atheist because the notion of a creator is pointless if there is no tangible evidence of its existence. Believing in any god imagined by humans is about as useful as believing unicorns exist, probably less useful even. So I choose not to believe pointless things.

[@DrPonner]

@@notchbeard9007 Names are often approximations, not always exact to-the-letter descriptions. The people who first came up with the political philosophy/ideology of Anarchism defined the word anarchy/anarchism in the sense of "no rulers", not "no government" and they felt there was a distinction between the two.

[@a1-user]

@@DrPonner What is it, more succinctly, then? At the end of the day someone is leveraging power to decide what constitutes as an institution that needs to be demolished. On atheism, that is the point, repeated. You can’t say it is true one way or the other, so I’m not going to say people who believe in all sorts of things are inherently wrong for doing so.

[@DrPonner]

@@a1-user What barelytamedmodels said in another comment thread described it very good: _"Anarchist systems have the common thread that they're concerned chiefly about unjust and unjustified hierarchies, not "no system of government ever!" There can be government in an anarchist framework, but it needs to be justified (there needs to be an actual need being met), just (it can't just serve the whims of the powerful, and needs to apply itself to everyone on an equal basis, whatever that might mean under that specific anarchic systems philosophy), and (usually but not always) local and democratic - usually in service of those first two points."_

[@DrPonner]

@@notchbeard9007 Go ask any other person who subscribes to anarchist philosophy and they will tell you the same thing that they're not about lack of order, structure, or government or whatever the common layperson's definition of anarchism is. The common anarchist slogan of "no gods no masters" does not imply no government. Don't be like those dumbasses who sit there all day saying that the Theory of Evolution is false and unsubstantiated because the layman's definition of theory just means conjecture or hypothesis. Those kinds of people are fucking annoying.

[@TheSomeoneNamed]

Love your content and have for a decade. This was so refreshing and well put together. Not to share too much of my personal story, but I was raised Catholic and later on also shed this belief. I received by bachelors degrees in political science and journalism. The political, sociological, and philosophical frameworks of anarchism are incredibly interesting. Thank you for sharing your perspectives Uncle E. Much love. ❤️

[@magikarpslapper759]

Hey Rift, on Nihilism and meaning: I see many people saying a lack of meaning gives us the opportunity to craft our own, but what if one loses faith in 'meaning' itself. My dilemma has been that I can no longer believe in external meaning nor self-constructed meaning - I see it as just fantasy we craft to avoid looking directly at the void. I have a feeling that humans beings have evolved to depend on meaning, and that's why a lack of it causes us to self destruct. In any case, I have always felt empty, and I will probably die empty too, but I really have enjoyed all the kicks along the way. Thanks, peace.

[@EphemeralRift]

at the end of the day it’s up to the individual to decide how they want to live, what to think, etc

[@magikarpslapper759]

@@EphemeralRift Agreed. I'm interested, do you think meaning is any different to self delusions? Solaire found his "sun" in the end, and we both know how that was.

[@grayaquatics852]

I don't really concern myself with those other things, but I am recently a proclaimed agnostic atheist and secular humanist. I've learned a lot since my journey six months ago of being a christian til now. My Father recently passing away from complications of dementia has also been a big part of steering me towards being an atheist and humanist. I've come to the conclusion mainly that all religion is man-made garbage, that this life is what matters most and how we treat others, and there isn't really a way to ever know whether any god exists or not.

[@mr.l5783]

I’m similar, but not exactly the same. I spent a long time thinking about religion, faith, etc.. I’ve come to the self realization that I will never truly know which religion is true or not, but I’ve also come to the conclusion that I don’t really care about which one is true. I genuinely think the way I operate my life right now would not change drastically (if at all) if I found out the truth. All I know is that I love my spouse, my family, and my pets. All I deeply care about is making them happy and keeping them safe. I don’t care about what comes afterwards. I’m at peace in not having all the answers. Not needing them.

[@grayaquatics852]

I concur. Personally, to me, no religion is accurate. The whole question to whether there is a god or not is not something we can ever answer as human beings. I care about my family, living a good moral life and caring for others and treating others with respect, love, compassion and equality regardless of whatever creed, gender, sex, or sexuality that they might be. This is my own personal truth.

[@KING-FMJ]

Nihilism is definitely something. But i get over it really easy by filling my life with meaning. Such as: oh i have a birthday next week gotta make it to that, oh i have a trip im going on after that lets keep living.

[@DrPonner]

That's the point of nihilism

[@KING-FMJ]

@@DrPonnerman. fu-

[@mr.l5783]

What we choose to believe in and how we perceive the world is a direct reflection of our personal experiences. I’ve always believed that if I was in someone else’s shoes I would most likely believe in the same ideals they do, but of course I don’t because my experiences are different. My upbringing is different. My perception of the world around me is different. I do my best to respect that with conflicting religions or beliefs. So long as they do not pose any danger to my physical or mental well being.

[@EphemeralRift]

respect what an individual believes or not? Sure. Respect organized religion? Respect abuse of power, abusing & brainwashing other human beings that often are vulnerable? Yeah I'm kinda not down with that y'know

[@TheMentorOfMomos]

There's a Spanish philosopher, Ortega y Gasset that said: "I am me and my circumstances". What makes a person is not their DNA, but their upbringing. A person born into my circumstances would have resulted in me, just like if i was born into another person's circumstances I would have been that person. We're not inherently unique, chosen, or special, our circumstances were.

[@HeartfireAce21]

I don’t think anyone really wants full anarchism, just like nobody wants full capitalism or full authoritarianism. At least, if anyone does, they are ridiculed. The perfect government will always be a mix of the lot, and the debate is over what is the best concoction. A good government shouldn’t be focused on profit, but on the wellbeing of their people. Profit should always come second.

[@DrPonner]

Anarchism doesn't mean lack of government or order, it's about opposing or _limiting_ hierarchy.

[@HeartfireAce21]

@@DrPonner I have a good amount of respect for anarchism, limitations to hierarchy are always good. If we were to go the opposite direction, the; we would end up back in feudalism, except more technologically advanced. I’ve found that anarchism is often misconstrued.

[@EphemeralRift]

we need what was taken from us, and that's the "greatest heist in the history of the human race" video i'll be doing in a week or so

[@Willyisverysilly]

@@EphemeralRiftI agree that anarchism should be the main goal where people don’t have to be told what to do and we just know the difference between right and wrong and do the natural, good thing.

[@yawntyy]

profit should not even be part of the calculus

[@haemophiliac.]

I can recommend a video called Optimistic Nihilism by Kurzgesagt, it has some interesting aspects and is a short explanation of nihilism in general. There is also a great quote in there that has helped me a lot not to be afraid of death: "Close your eyes. Count to one. That's how long forever feels". 😊

[@danieleziaco7092]

It baffle me how there are really people convinced that anarchism works in community bigger than 5 people, eventually the community self destruct or create a new form of "government"

[@RebleGreyWarden]

Bro loves the government boot 👅

[@voltage9157]

It buffles me too

[@addictedtochocolate920]

People are afraid to be controlled and forced to fulfill the desires of others, so much so that they develop a rejecting attitude towards order, structure and organization themselves, which are necessary to archive any kind of progress. I don't like the government in my country either, but it is PRECISELY because everyone does what they please and refuse to follow even the most basic and human rules that it has fallen in this state of corruption and poverty, because not even the higher ups have a proper structure in their lives.

[@Yeetus_Bett69]

Worked for the Native Americans

[@mr.l5783]

True. I feel like Anarchism (or at least the way I perceive it to be) is the exact antithesis of a functioning community. Its like trying to mop the ocean’s surface. It just doesn’t make sense if your goal to make a functional community. In my opinion.

[@Christian___]

The intersection on that Venn Diagram in the thumbnail is called Generation X.

[@thankz2them]

def not theyre the ones preaching ab god and all of that 😭

[@Christian___]

@@thankz2them that's an interesting take, are you sure it's GenX and not Boomers? I've known a few Gen Xers who turned religious but they were mostly scientologists and moonies and evangelical baptists and things like that.

[@thankz2them]

​@@Christian___ thinking more ab it, yeah, that seems to be more right. being a genz (older gen z) i tend to blur the lines between boomers and gen x. my parents are very preachy and religious, and i've seen gen x tend to act like that around the south, so i guess i made a generalization.

[@oliverw.douglas285]

Followed the ER Channel & all the creative/interesting paths it's taken us. Thank you for the journey. Any thoughts on what to make of life, when we keep meeting the brick walls, whether it's in our personal life or our work life. At near a 1/2 century in this world, it's feeling like a turning point. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. I'm not one to give into the 'knee-jerk' reactions, but I feel like saying to hell with it all, & start fresh. Just can't give up on my family responsibilities.

[@EphemeralRift]

same

[@ethanzimmerman1998]

My thoughts are that, although I personally don't forsee myself in these beliefs, i do find them interesting. I'm not afraid to admit that i dont know too much about any of these three. However, having grown up with the Brethren belief, and having personally walked away from that belief, I've since made it a point to seek understanding in any way i can. I try to keep an open mind on what people believe and seek to understand why, if that makes any sense. Now with that said, i think I'm at the point of my life where I'm trying to find my own meaning of life, existence, and well, everything. And i think that starts with science

[@thedoctor9936]

As someone who made the journey from Jehovah Witness to atheist (was brought up in the religion), I find it refreshing to see all the comments of others who were able to escape their respective “beliefs” and have opinions that reflect their views of the world and powers beyond (religion is *somewhat* fine as long as “love of God” isn’t forced). Thanks for the enlightenment as always, Uncle E.

[@wormywrm]

wild

[@johnnopeyy4129]

I've always been agnostic maybe, maybe not. I have a real hard time believing that an all knowing incredibly powerful entity felt the need to write a book.

[@EphemeralRift]

i'm more agnostic-atheist as i just don't think a god exists (atheism) but is there a possibility (agnostic)? i don't know. i'm just a grain of sand on the beach.

[@fel24thecat]

@@EphemeralRiftfor me an agnostic-atheist is someone who is 99% sure there is no god, but also accepts the possibility that humans can be wrong. So calling themselves agnostic isn’t really fair because they aren’t 50/50 at all but also not totally atheist because they aren’t 100% against the idea

[@thepopulationofkazakhstan1116]

​​@@fel24thecat For me agnostic is just believing that it is unknowable whether there is a God(s) or not so Agnostic-Atheism would be no belief in a deity but recognizing that it's impossible to truly prove the non-existence of a (non-personal) God

[@MtnAdew-dn1gx]

I myself am of Christian faith but videos like this are intriguing. Shows others perspectives.

[@dogewoods1]

Man u became my favourite philosopher, by saying this I mean u really say what I’m currently thinking about as the teenager. I don’t speak English fluently n I don’t have like a C1 but I can understand ur whole videos cause u tell ur thoughts in a calm, slow n interesting way. That’s kinda support for me. Really. Thank u

[@EphemeralRift]

I try my best to just be as real, honest, authentic and human as I can be because that's what I am: human.

[@JanneSala]

I used to be quasi-agnostic at best, but recently I've found a lot of fulfillment from an animistic personal spirituality, deifying the beauty of life, existence, and the world around me.

[@Jack-TheGhostOfBidensPast]

I think nihilism is an incomplete analysis of the situation, and there's something more significant right around the corner from it. When we say that there's no inherent meaning to life (or the universe) we're assuming that meaning will be proscribed to us somehow, by some observable mechanism we might have someday found "out there." Enter anarchism, which acknowledges our condemnation to be essentially free until we restrain ourselves, and even then this restraint is arbitrary and often harmful. Yet it is not *only* the case that we *may* make meaning for ourselves; our individual perspective on the universe is, as far as any one of us is concerned, our *entire* universe. No - we cannot *help* but make meaning of things. We are *compelled* to make meaning, and thus this meaning-making is proscribed to us by the very nature of our consciousness. So, what do we do when all other needs are met? We either make art, or we become so terrified of our own mortal need to do things that we drive ourselves and others away from making the art which is most meaningful. Then, in retrospect, we deny what makes us distinct from other animals, or even machines. Rather than acknowledge our natural role as the supreme artists of the universe (as we know it) we kill our creativity. We box it up as early as possible. Because you have to make a living, right? You have to #survive! And as many of us have been told, creativity is only worth something if someone will pay you for it. The implied message there, though, is that payment is the source of all meaning. You can see this take shape in pop culture, in the form of influencers and blockbuster films and pop music. "Meaning is money," capitalism tells us. So instead of applying our natural drive towards meaning effectively, we pour it into excessive and pointless labor in the hopes that it will appear once we've finally "made it." Or we use it to dominate others and drive them to carry out the meaning-making for us. But even that is a kind of art, although a dark one. Still, boredom and emotion draws us toward activity whether we like it or not, and even after we're exhausted from our our daily hustle and grind we take up hobbies. Although even if you leave everything behind and learn to meditate more deeply than anyone ever has before, you're merely creating art (and thus meaning) within your own mind. You can build a whole world in there or empty it out; maximalism or minimalism. Denial of our fundamental artistic, meaning-making nature, is a means of depriving us of the inherent meaning that we automatically create as we explain our actions to ourselves, in order to direct us towards the truly meaningless - endless, pointless toil for others' profit. And so to give your triumvirate a final symmetry, I would recommend replacing "Nihilism" with "Artistry," yielding three interlocking A's. We are born artists, anarchists, and atheists; we learn to suppress our own creativity and exploit others', obey, and practice faith. ⒶⒶⒶ

[@loudpackV2]

i’m 15 life long christian, and this has opened up my view on atheism and the though process behind it but it’s also hard to believe that there’s no creator. i feel like the universe is to complex to be coincidental it’s all confusing because there is good points to both sides.

[@ghun131]

I miss the time when you read Jung's Red book. I departed from both nihilism and atheism when I found Nishitani and Tillich. Now I understand the point of religion

[@EphemeralRift]

To each their own!

[@christiantanner2587]

Hey brother. I was recently watching one of your vids from years ago, it was about addiction and I would enjoy if you made another mental health video. I'm heavily addicted to substances right now and its hurting me really bad. I'm out of it all right now and I'm fully sober, but you said minutes turn to hours and hours turn to days and eventually it turns to years so I'm hoping I can stay sober. I'm a heavy Christian it's even my name and you can think however you like brother at the end of our lives it may or may not matter that's how I see it. and that's why I believe because if it does matter I'll be in paradise but if it dont then I'm a crazy mf having a relationship with my head. all love papi rift

[@EphemeralRift]

best of luck, but as far as another video on addiction and such, we'll see ;)

[@cing9545]

Nihilism means "everything reduces to nothing in the end" in this plane at least. I think we all know that, which is why we humans should relax more about getting everything, greediness... because we know it is for a while. So while we need the right resources to live well, that is true, we don't need to obsessively pursue them. We should better explore our own talents, what makes us and others happy.

[@JGmoney88]

Haven’t listened in on an in depth talk on these topics in a while. It’s interesting to put “truths” as you have to make points to back it up. I like to use the word “antitheism” in the same light as Christopher Hitchens did. If not for these culturally ingrained grandiose beliefs about one’s corner of land or divine providence, would many wars have still happened? I was wondering do you think of the Jordan Peterson types who would probably use the word “insights” or bash all those ideas altogether? (I personally think it’s obvious the dude is a hack with the DailyWire and PragerU collabs) and his debate skills are quite bad when chalked up to Sam Harris or Hitchens.

[@bobrze]

I already follow all 3 ideas lol, thanks for this vid

[@elinope4745]

The theist says that there is a god, the atheist says that there is not a god, the igtheist asks what is a god? The igtheist stance is that the term "god" is not well defined and that we cannot ask a question about the existence of god without first defining what god is and what god is not. To ask if there is a god is similar to asking if there is a xiftrohghe, and that is to say, if we don't know what it is, we can't posit existence or nonexistence. Different people asking the question of existence or not of gods are talking about different things than other people who are asking the question of the existence or not of gods. A pantheist and an atheist simply have a disagreement over what it means to be god. What a pantheist means by the word god is what the atheist means with the word Universe.

[@kimrose80]

Problem is if one is really ill with chronic illness, it’s hard to create a meaningful life and of course all the youngsters who died too soon..😢

[@HotSauceTears]

Everything has a cause, and nothing can occur without a cause. Similarly, no natural body or material in the universe may cause itself, because it is impossible for some material to bring itself into existence before it existed, this must be done by a cause that existed prior to the aforementioned material. So every event and effect that exists today must have had a cause before it, and those causes before them, and so on. This cannot go on forever, because the oldest particular material body cannot cause itself, because that would require it to come before itself. So we must attribute a power to that which is a fundamental cause of reality, that is immaterial, and that cause is often referred to as God. Humans, animals, and that which has a principle of self-motion or self-determination are indeed self-caused, and have been said in the past to be 'ensouled'. The self-caused, as mentioned before necessarily must exist beyond material existence, and this is why humans and these things with self-determination are said to have souls, and a share in divinity. Since these souls exist beyond perceivable reality nobody, I think, should be ashamed to admit they are immortal and can exist separate from the body. I'm only presenting these arguments here, none of which I am the original author of, because I find that they are rarely heard or discussed in modern society. I find it incredibly disappointing that I went through a full catholic education without hearing these arguments. Too many people pin down the belief in God as an irrational belief that only idiots posses, even though the development of monotheism was heavily influenced by philosophy and specifically platonism in the early intellectual communities. That said, I enjoyed the video, I respect the beliefs presented here with intellectual charity, and I love the channel even though fundamentally I disagree with the metaphysics presented here.

[@SpookySkellyingtons]

so who created god then?

[@dogdude2457]

I never understood religion. At its basic level... you are to treat god like a dictator, fear him and love him. Why the hell would you want a relationship with someone like that.

[@kerimgumus9944]

my family forced me to be muslim, they probably broke 2-3 chair on my arm I was muslim but then began to think about whats real and whats not them their action changed against me. islam is not "friendly" as they said.

[@Big_Jeevs]

I personally don't understand religion

[@kerimgumus9944]

@@Big_Jeevs I became apatheist nihilist.

[@salimbarak3857]

Çocukluğumuzu siktiler kılmak istemediğimizi söylediğimizde o bakışlar bağırışlar omuza vuruoan yumruklar... Bugün 18 yaşında olmama rağmen hala her an kapıdan biri girecek diye seccade yayıp öylece bekliyorum bazen telefonumu alıyorum ses duyunca korkudan yatağa fırlatıyorum bu ekonomiyle bir işe girip ayrı eve çıkmak da çok zor kısaca ne çocukuğumuzu yaşattılar ne de psikoloji bıraktılar dua okumak yerine sayı sayardım 6 yıldır sayı sayma takıntım devam ediyor geçenlerde psikoloğa gitmek istediğimi söyledim ve bu yaşta uyuşturucu mu kullanacaksın dediler bakalım aynı boktanlıkta devam ediyor hayat :/

[@kerimgumus9944]

@@salimbarak3857 dostum derhal spora git inanılmaz derecede ise yarıyor

[@kerimgumus9944]

@@salimbarak3857 bir süre sonra sava zarar verebilen insan müsveddeleri senin yüzüne bakamaz hale geliyorlar. psikolojik açıdan kendini toparlarsın. geçmiş olsun

[@FloraDay444]

I'm into this. I'd like to add (unless you mention it further into the video) that animals (the majority mammals) respond with emotion (they love, comfort, protect, cry, and so on) as well as do many plants. And they get sick and heal themselves (or let another species heal them) or they die naturally. It's quite incredible. I think we really need to pay more attention to nature, which includes the plethora of species on this itty bitty earth.

[@stickydolphin5038]

I would characterize my philosophical stance as atheistic, grounded in the belief that life was not guided by any deliberate intention or purpose. It is my view that a nihilistic perspective does not necessitate a despondent or pessimistic outlook. On the contrary, I believe in the idea that life's meaning is self-determined; the absence of an inherent purpose does not diminish my motivation or capacity to lead a fulfilling existence. While individual needs for purpose may vary, I recognize that not everyone shares this sentiment. But I believe that anarchism is incompatible with the complexities of contemporary global society. The notion of establishing a functional anarchist community in the current age is, in my opinion, impractical. Those who are inclined towards anarchism might consider seeking a life more in tune with their principles in remote areas, such as the wilderness of Canada, where the constructs of modern governance aren't intrusive.

[@thelichking8487]

This video was definitely something. I’ve been opened to a “new” way of thinking.

[@jacobeberhardt1649]

Nihilism had been a disaster for my life. It wasn't until I rejected its premise that I could find happiness.

[@follerbr]

That's not the first time ER brought up anarcho-primitivism and it's still a childish idea. Every type of anarchism (anarchocapitalism, anarchocommunism et al) is based on a completely idealized view on how humans act and behave in groups. Primitivism is turning back the wheel of time and making fun of it has been a philosophical pasttime for the last 200 years.

[@LetMeAtom]

Anarcho-primitivism and anarcho-capitalism are kind of the opposite of anarchism. Ironically, these two groups use these names - I guess they're confused by the term like many people are: “without government,” but most serious anarchists see anarchism as “without ruling class.” To me, primitive societies MAY not have had ruling classes long ago, but if we were reduced to that again, the ruling classes would immediately seize power. ER seems to be confused about anarchism, too. “No rules” and “no government (no library?)” - this isn't what anarchism is about. I have friends who are anarcho-primitivists. I love plants and nature, but my friends are romantic, and they don't understand that they share ideology with fascists (some eco-fascists love it). Anyway, whether the ruling class is abolished or not, most anarchists are peaceful people who try to help in small ways, like many other political ideologies, to keep too much power out of the hands of the ruling classes. Anarco-communism is not like this. It’s workers making an attempt at not having their labor exploited.

[@Christian___]

@@LetMeAtom It's still a weak philosophy. A ruler is someone who controls you. Someone who controls you is anyone who has the power to do so. The strong do as they will, the weak suffer what they must. The belief that we can create a world without leaders is the naïve belief that we can create a world without power imbalances; but even dumb luck creates power imbalances: the alpha male who trips and breaks his ankle is at the mercy of any weakling who walks past--he lives or dies according to their will.

[@LetMeAtom]

@@Christian___So, if someone is stronger than you’ll just sit there while they take all the stuff you've worked for and beat up your family? Seems to go against every instinct in my body but everyone's different I guess.

[@LetMeAtom]

@@Christian___ An anarchist doesn't have to be utopian, there are strategists. To believe the cycle ends is ridiculous just like believing sickness will come to an end. That doesn't mean I won't take medicine.

[@Christian___]

@@LetMeAtom If you can prevent them from doing what they want, then they are not stronger than you. Violence is the ultimate authority and the 'medicine' that you're referrring to, is not the removal of authority, but the establishment of or submission to additional authorities. A good guy with a gun is exerting control just as much as the bad guy with a gun.

[@6desk]

"for it is quite possible you have *never* had an original thought in your entire life."

[@justsomeguywithahollowmask1429]

I was particularly raised in a Roman Catholic environment with my family. Get baptized, cleansed of your sin and try to live a good life. Confessing your sins were also a part at the time. Salvation was basically dependent upon your good works that you did. And so after some time doing research about what is really true, I stumbled upon the Bible. So I definitely believe there's an objective right and wrong standards of morality so that's scratches atheism for me. In the bible, it never says that life has no meaning but rather it's meaning is not clear. "Fear the Lord and keep His commandments for that is the whole duty of man".

[@jesse396]

Finally, been waiting for a talk video. Please do more of these, still heaps of topics I want to hear more of, prisons, factory farming, deforestation and more.

[@EphemeralRift]

lol can't tell if trolling or serious

[@jesse396]

@@EphemeralRift I'm being serious man. These talk videos are the ones I really enjoy, since you get deep on the topics.

[@Aleksandr_Skrjabin]

@@jesse396 Cool pfp

[@stephaniecormier3589]

As a recovering Catholic and someone who has embraced the absurd with a touch of nihilism, thank you for being you.

[@Raccccs]

“Recovering catholic” lmao your parents made you wake up early on Sunday. What horror!

[@stephaniecormier3589]

@@Raccccs it was more the brainwashing that bothered me. I get up early anyways

[@EphemeralRift]

from one absurd being to another: it's the least i can do.

[@SleepyHollowKnight]

@@stephaniecormier3589I get ya man, growing up I felt like I never had an option and I only even knew about atheism from my teacher

[@soldierman3828]

Absurdist + nihilist?

[@fbi3579]

Religion and such, for some people, gives them hope and comfort. These may be your views, but for other, they find no confort or strength in them. What is the possible appeal of knowing that there is nothing after death and life is meaningless? What do you have to look forward to?

[@contentmachineabstractions3136]

Nothing, you have nothing to look forward to, but at least you aren't lying to yourself.

[@fbi3579]

@contentmachineabstractions3136 that's your prerogative that religion is fake, don't enforce it onto others.

[@possumofantikka8160]

the eternal glistening NOW

[@EphemeralRift]

who are you asking OP? if it's me, i think I pretty much addressed that in the video

[@fbi3579]

@EphemeralRift just as a question about atheism and nihilism in general. Seeing as how it was a discussion on the topic.

[@noahsandon2031]

uncle rift please talk about absurdism and your experience with the concept 🙏

[@noahsandon2031]

if you have had an experience with it

[@mreoutdoors3748]

I swear he makes everything so understandable then what schools be explaining

[@EphemeralRift]

ha! i try my best to keep it simple, because i'm simple

[@kaedizz]

dude i love this

[@proto6086]

It's always good that you touch this subjects here. Salud y Anarquía, compañero Paul ✊🏼🏴

[@Filius_Tonitrui]

Yeah. Thinking that life has no meaning, that we have the same value as the grossest of vermin and that our journey through this flawed, suffering filled world (however beautiful it can be) is our only life. Soooooooo liberating...

[@EphemeralRift]

You okay there?

[@Filius_Tonitrui]

@@EphemeralRift I could ask you the same thing, having in mind all the copium you are into.

[@norminious1581]

@@Filius_Tonitrui based

[@thepopulationofkazakhstan1116]

The point of Nihilism is to show there's no _INHERENT_ meaning to life, not having to limit yourself and your actions to appeal to a non-existent god

[@Filius_Tonitrui]

@@thepopulationofkazakhstan1116 whatever helps you sleeps at night, as if that was supposed to be somehow comforting.

[@EmperorRyu1]

Nature abhors a vacuum and Anarchism will always be filled by something with direction and purpose. We have the capacity to not just perceive the Universe, but to manipulate it. It is our destiny to eventually Master it.

[@ryanirvine7418]

Given the tie between mental health issues and nihilism, do you not worry about preaching this to a potentially impressionable audience could end in catastrophe?

[@EmptycatArt]

I think everyone that's not a Christian has to deal with Nihilist thoughts eventually

[@Aleksandr_Skrjabin]

I have mental health Issues and am a Nihilist, the only negative thing about these combinations is that I can became insane at any given moment, but even I believe nothing is there forreal, I do believe that in our 'reality' things are there, like I can have a job, experience happines and fun, I am working on my dream job and will do that till it happens, and then live that job forever.

[@unzkipriime4283]

i read liberating and thought this was a helldivers II vid

[@addictedtochocolate920]

For super earth

[@Jodogio]

These three ideologies are self refuting. They all presume that truth exists and that we ought to seek it. But that is an ethical principle. Atheism and naturalism seem to completely undermine ethics.

[@gta_essentials]

You believe in a miracle which is nothing created something. You can't be an atheist and believe in human value at the same time. Because if we are just made from cells and organism. Than why is killing someone wrong. If were just created from science, why do we have value?. Why do we know the difference between right or wrong, Why is love so precious, why do we have emotions, feelings, thoughts and a free will to make our own choices. Why is there justice or punishment for wrong doings. Even though we are just cells created from science. If we are just science. Then murdering wouldn't matter because it's just a chemical reaction: stealing, cheating, lying, every evil doing wouldn't be evil because it's just a chemical reaction. We aren't science, we are human beings created from the image of god, with a soul purpose to do good in this world and we all have meaning and that is what makes us truly valuable. Because we are all different from one another, we have different personalities, different perspectives, different ways we handle tough situations. We also have different body shapes, voices, and different dna that comes from our blood line. Life doesn't come from non life, nothing doesn't create something.

[@multitruth372]

Well said sir

[@sketcher2459]

"God is dead" can capture all three of these concepts nicely!

[@apex9177]

God is Dead, God Remains Dead and We have killed him ~Friedrich Nietzsche Dead in the sense he never existed There is No Church in the Wild We are the Gods walking this earth I hope you have a happy and healthy life brother, Our lifeform energy is our God, believe in yourself

[@rrubyrred]

Bro god was never a thing. Just like Santa

[@uhe3431]

Santa is not real??​@heroin-blanket

[@thepopulationofkazakhstan1116]

​@@rrubyrred"God is dead" is talking about the _concept_ of an all-powerful god, not the deity itself

[@Aleksandr_Skrjabin]

@@rrubyrred Nooo! Why is bro shooting down Santa!

[@bobd9116]

These videos are my favorite ones

[@EphemeralRift]

Same!

[@blargh65]

Each according to their ability, each according to their need

[@addictedtochocolate920]

Agreed

[@EphemeralRift]

each to however the fuck they please!

[@Aleksandr_Skrjabin]

@@EphemeralRift Man, If I curse I get warned and taken off KZbin, am I really that vile?

[@the_argonaut540]

I subscribe to Absurdism as outlined by Albert Camus. The absurdity of the human condition comes from the futility of a search for meaning in an incomprehensible universe, devoid of God or meaning. According to him, you can either kill yourself, be religious, or rebel against the absurdity. From the chaos you make your life. From the meaningless, you find meaning.

[@elad5889]

Nihilism scares me and makes me depressed and anxious

[@EphemeralRift]

nihilism can be your best friend! it's not the monster under the bed! ;)

[@norminious1581]

Its good to have a god to pray to. When you dont have that what do you do when times are harsh? Who do you pray to? Yourself? Having God to believe in is great, it gives life meaning and its something you can look up to, but you do you, I wont judge.

[@TheUltimateToad]

My nihilism and atheism is a curse. Raised in religion but left because I realised that we are here by chance, everything is a coincidence and life is ultimately meaningless. Life was easier when I believed a mythical being held the carrot string and that everything happens for a reason. I have adhd, things have to have a reason for me to do them. I cannot find that reason, therefore I am miserable and loosely floating through life.

[@schwoondoggle]

I'm atheist and dyspraxic and I definitely struggle with finding a meaning for things too. Sometimes I wonder why I try when I'm inherently worse at certain things than normal people. In October I came very close to suicide because I didn't have any value attached to myself or this world. Would I commit suicide now? Absolutely not. It may sound weird but if it had one main regret in life its that I stopped going to school that often in September because I was depressed. Obviously depression isn't something you can just turn off, even now for me its very episodic and will likely never go away fully, but now I've attached meaning to myself and to this world through loved ones and friends not to goals and morals or higher beings. I've learnt to live for my family and friends instead of beating myself up over accomplishing very little. I'm lucky enough to have a loving extremely supportive boyfriend who I would follow to the ends of the Earth and I basically live for him. So try and attach meaning to more tangeable things rather than overarching goals or philosophies basically. And it may sound cliched as hell but you will come out of this stage of your life and emerge better than ever. I really do wish you the best in any case ❤

[@Christian___]

Everything has a reason and a consequence; there cannot be an uncaused cause. We cannot know for certain what those causes are because the amount of data required to do that is infinite, even over short time-frames. Nihilism is about despairing in the face of that fact; religion (true religion) is about accepting that we can never know causes and consequences for sure, but, instead of giving up, we persevere by looking for trends and patterns that serve as low resolution heuristics for these inaccessible truths. Religions arm us with values and beliefs that are not 'the truth' per se, but they have been tried and refined for thousands of years. They serve us well enough that we can navigate the world successfully, like a blind man holding a cane.

[@Christian___]

@@schwoondoggle That's the truth. You can't be a nihilist when you hold your wee new born baby in your arms--it's as much purpose as a person can ever need.

[@EphemeralRift]

@TheUltimateToad sound like you just need to alter your perspective a bit so that all this meaningless pointless stuff we do is funny! absurd! that's what gets me through: jokes!

[@TheUltimateToad]

Wow thanks for a response. Ill try changing my outlook, it can be hard though. ​@EphemeralRift

[@miketempleman6144]

I think the truest thing I can say about reality and exsistence is I don’t know what it is, I don’t know if there is or isn’t a god and I don’t know what happens after I die, and that’s all true

[@Hellspawn13]

I may not fully agree with everything you say - and you may not agree with most of the things I choose to believe - but the fact that we can coexist in the same world and mutually respect the fact that we may not agree is really beautiful.

[@EphemeralRift]

8 billion and counting of us are never going to get on the same page thus ain't nuthin' ever gonna get better lol

[@h24812h]

although i dont agree/relate with much of this i still enjoy to listen

[@ania_j.l]

I'm of the opinion that we as a species are just too immense. We can't possibly get along or be governed at this scale. I don't have a solution for that though, because I'm simultaneously NOT in favor of most propositions for population control (i.e. murder is not cool).

[@EphemeralRift]

Too many ppl in too small a space too, like the cities/apartment complexes etc

[@govenormayor87]

Do you consider starting a channel where you can talk about your thoughts without having to conform to ASMR? You seem to be diving into other areas: nature and now this.

[@raduromanesti6408]

i dont think its either "White beard god " or no god, if you look at buddists and atheists they say the same thing, god is nothingness , the only difference is that Hindus and Buddists say that nothingness is Blissfull

[@EphemeralRift]

I can dig it

[@h24812h]

god being nothingness actually makes sense in some weird way

[@raduromanesti6408]

@@h24812h yea

[@nobodyspecial1553]

Haven't listened yet, but when it comes to anarchism, I think Malice's position about anarchism being a relationship was neat. Still don't understand it, exactly, but it was easier to understand his position than most other anarchists.

[@EphemeralRift]

no idea who Malice is but ok

[@OMFG_Mute]

Anarchism, well- the ideal form of it with cooperation and all that- would be an absolute utopia. But i feel like people (well, us "civilized" folk) have just become incapable of accepting that so it will remain just that: a utopia, an ideal out of our reach

[@EphemeralRift]

Aside from the “people” factor, I feel the main reason “true freedom” will never happen because “property ownership”. Even if you got 100,000 people to start an anarchist community, where would you do it? Then if you found “free” land, there’s always the risk someone can buy it all up and kick you out. Sigh, good times!

[@asmrdude8487]

Belief gives power over you no matter the subject which can lead to limitations. Anarchy can only remain prevalent in society and as soon as it succeeds or a disaster strikes people will form a new key of leadership and as history has shown… it’s often worse. Still respect your opinions and props to you for keeping them! Love the content, great food for thought.

[@Jack-TheGhostOfBidensPast]

I would say that the there's an expiration date on being able to have rulers, and here's why: Imagine it's a few decades from now, and anyone can use AI to cook up a bioweapon in their kitchen. Imagine it's a few decades later and a group of people can throw together a functioning nuclear missile in an afternoon. On a long enough time scale, mutually assured destruction becomes a personal problem. If we don't grow up and accept the *reality* of anarchism, we will eventually annihilate ourselves from the bottom up, rather than the traditional top down method.

[@SpookySkellyingtons]

It seems so obvious to me that post-death will be no different than before birth. Thank you ER. On another note, I find it quite funny the amount of "reddit moment" comments being posted given that 4chan was originally anti-religion, and only became so as a reactionary response to reddit.

[@michaelrodriguez3011]

We will all find out what’s waiting for us in the afterlife one day. Live every day to the fullest. I do disagree about your thoughts about there being no God, so I definitely don’t think these are liberating truths, but more so ideologies denying any type of afterlife. You can’t with 100% certainty say there is nothing after death, as we all have yet to die. To think all of this life is a coincidence from the cosmos is insane imo, but for many others it’s vice versa. A lot of people think that believing in God, Jesus; or a creator is insane. Everyone has a different outlook on life, but I follow Jesus and try to be the best self I can be day to day. I’m not out here saying, “hate the gays or you’re going to hell” or anything extreme like that, but I do believe in Jesus Christ. He’s real, and I hope many more of us can find him. I love you Ephemeral Rift, as I have been a LONG watcher since the “I hate school” video, and I love everyone in this comment section as well. At the end of the day we will all live on this earth as we wish, and imo meet our maker. Love from Texas ❤

[@leetrom]

Society built on atheism and nihilism will eventually die off, leaving space for other cultures and religions (basically what happens today in Europe with islam)

[@GeminautVA]

I create my own meaning in life. Nihilism is just giving up. If you are a nihilist, you inherently agree that your opinion means as much as your ideology: nothing. The world does not care what you do, people do.

[@nebulongalaxus7212]

Except they dont Like at all if your not famous no one will ever care about what you do in the slightest everyone mainly cares for themselfs if you aint at the top your considered to be at the rock bottom just a resources for the ones on the top to use and exploit

[@GeminautVA]

@nebulongalaxus7212 the people around you bro, not the world at large. And the people around you are the only ones you should value. All this clout chasing has left everyone with eyes bigger than their stomach

[@addictedtochocolate920]

Nihilism isn't necessarily giving up, friend, but I'm glad you understand the true meaning of life can only be found on a personal level, not by following a philosophy

[@mr.l5783]

Thats not exactly what nihilism is about. At least what I’ve learned about it.

[@nebulongalaxus7212]

@@GeminautVA Well that makes a bit more sense sadly there are times when even that doesnt do it since even those people can value you less then a bag of potatos not necesarily talking about myself just saying theres those who have Bad lives and then they got to face the suffering of living on their own

[@TITANIUMFIREWOLF]

Great video

[@SlothSkeleton]

If god is all good, then he cannot be all powerful. If god is all powerful, then he cannot be all good.

[@justsomeguywithahollowmask1429]

​@@apex9177Megachurches are currently milking it but it's particularly man's selfishness and greed, not God. Sin is the problem, I have it. Everyone else also has it and that's why we live in a fallen world. God's original purpose was for us to be in fellowship with Him, not in rebellion against Him.

[@justsomeguywithahollowmask1429]

@@apex9177 He didn't give up. Well in spite of our rejection and rebellion against Him, God loves you. He loved you so much that He was willing to let His own son to die on the cross

[@apex9177]

@@justsomeguywithahollowmask1429 but... Why does he give aids and cancer to babies if he loves us? Why does he let babies and children die? Is all life not equal? If he was willing to let his own son die on a cross because he loves me, a random person, then that tells me that he didn't love his own son, if he doesn't love his own son how am I supposed to believe he loves me? Why would he allow death in the first place if he loved? Love and death are opposites, you either love me or kill me he can't have both

[@justsomeguywithahollowmask1429]

When sin came into the world, death was the consequence for rebelling against His will. We were ultimately given the free will to obey or not. God didn't give AIDS nor does he give cancer. That's the consequence of sin. AIDS if I remember correctly is overindulgence in sex in which God had warned against sexual immorality. The commands He gave were to protect you but you were free not to obey. Sex was designed in the confines of marriage. God ordained it, it's beautiful. If we're to give in to lustful desires, there are always consequences and they don't always show up in time. Now on the subject of God sacrificing His own son to save you, does that mean God didn't love His son. No, of course not. Here's the gospel in a nutshell. We are not good, nobody does good nobody does perfect, we all fall short of God's standard. I live under the wrath of God on judgement day. But God is also rich in mercy. And He desires to saves sinners but He can't just pretend the sins I've committed didn't exist because if He did that would make God unjust. So what He did in eternity past was to send His own son to die on the cross, He didn't sin, he was the perfect spotless person you could think of and he willingly bled and die on a cross for you. Now God says, believe in him, put your trust and confidence within him and I will forget your sins and I can guarantee you eternity in a place called heaven. Because when your sins are under the blood of Christ, God says I will forget them. What a wonderful thing to know that my sins are buried under the depths of the sea as far as the east is to the west.

[@SlothSkeleton]

@@justsomeguywithahollowmask1429 Free will? If God knows everything and everything that happens is according to his plan, then there is actually no free will. Everything happens the way he decided that it's going to. He already knows in advance who will worship him and who will not before they are even conceived, so which is it? Is everything according to his plan? or do we have free will? Christianity is full of inconsistencies such as this, which just blows huge holes in the whole thing. A little bit of thought is all it takes to realize just how ridiculous and inconsistent religion is.

[@caiden5855]

Thoughts on ted kaczynski?

[@EphemeralRift]

love what he wrote, not what he did

[@HawayTheLads]

I personally believe in God but do not push my religion down anyone’s throat and respect anyone who does not share the same belief as me as we all have our own personal beliefs, it is my choice to believe in God and it is the next persons choice not too, if that is their happiness then I am happy for them, however I do have to ask out of curiosity and I am genuinely not trying to challenge your beliefs of there being no existence of a God at all, but I do have to ask, what is your belief of the afterlife? Do you believe there is anything at all after death? Or just blackness, I feel like a lot of people go to religion with fear of not going to “Heaven” or “Hell”, I personally believe religion was created to divide us, even tho I believe in God and Jesus I don’t believe in a religion, if that makes sense? But my belief to your question as to why we weren’t born with a Godly connection of some sort is because we were given free will by God wether to follow him or not, but that’s my personal belief and I respect yours, hope all is well and your doing good, keep up the hard work Rift, all the best friend.

[@jackwestfall3897]

You are a great person and I am the same. My Relationship with God is between me and him. I try to keep faithful, kind and loving. I think your are great and It’s great to meet someone like you.

[@UrineDeity]

There's no such thing as "not pushing beliefs down people's throats". God and Jesus and all that shit was made with the sole purpose of shoving it down people's throats, you're supposed to indoctrinate your children and shame/punish them if they resist. No there is no heaven, hell is right here right now, magic isn't real and no obviously there is no god

[@LauraLanford]

Where the agnostic fits into that diagram?🤔

[@EphemeralRift]

top middle?

[@Suomi80Finnish]

Ephemeral Rift have you ever experienced NDE? what you think about it? because it is real and we have no idea what it is. i have experienced it when i was 15 year old "10 year ago" and i can say this, it was real as real life. i woked up in black tunnel about 50 meters there was bright light and i started to walk there road to there was steep. so i was walking there but i was so weak and i didn't have the strength to go there, i was on my knees there over 2 minutes+ and i watched to my behind there was only black. there i was and i was watching bright light it felt like i was there long time. I had all my senses in there, everything like in real life. why i was there? because my parets is shit and they did not feed me never. i was so malnourished

[@EphemeralRift]

i don't believe in any of that. but that's me!

[@Suomi80Finnish]

@@EphemeralRift but it has nothing to do with religions, all religions are made by men. so i don't believe in religions, like you.

[@Suomi80Finnish]

​@@EphemeralRift also how you would believe it when we don't even know what it is? like me i don't believe it but it happened to me and i don't know what it is, no one does. Near-death experience, out of body experience are real but we can't believe it because we don't know what it is. excample, there is no letters or numbers we made it so we can understand each other and develop as a civilization so this mean you can't believe this because it is not exist. what does it even mean?

[@puginator2711]

Bro finally did it 💀

[@mattfoster8682]

Everything you just said…I believe the opposite. Good times

[@EphemeralRift]

lol @notchbeard9007 I know what's up, but nice try.

[@EphemeralRift]

Shocking news at 11: People can believe what they want!

[@uncleebenezer8599]

@@notchbeard9007 notice how he won't back anything up, just lol's at comments. Clearly, he doesn't actually take it seriously.

[@apex9177]

​@@uncleebenezer8599no he nor does anyone take god seriously, look at yous go, angry at the fact you can't control his mind, you need a cup of concrete, harden the fuxk up

[@Aleksandr_Skrjabin]

@@uncleebenezer8599 Because who cares, live life and take a hike, go care for someone else who needs it.

[@thee20thdoctor18]

How to be a chaotic neutral speedrun

[@porua7723]

I think of nichilism and atheism as a means, more than an end on their owns, for better understanding anarchism

[@MochiMan.122]

Personally, i just like chicken

[@Aleksandr_Skrjabin]

Mhh mhh mhhh! Them wings do make ME fly!

[@TheSergio1021]

No. All three together is what leads to disaster.

[@EphemeralRift]

lol clueluess

[@TheSergio1021]

@@EphemeralRift I love you Uncle E, but I never liked your philosophy. It only can really exist in a first world bubble with social barriers already in place. I doubt you nor I would survive in a society where nothing matters, theres no governing forces, nor uniting virtues. You would be rejecting core tenets of what makes society and humanity prosper, and would therefore return all of us to base animalist nature, meaning only hedonism and "might makes right" will rule humanity. Disaster.

[@plapapa72]

They would work better together than separate

[@UrineDeity]

​@@TheSergio1021wow that might be some of the dumbest shit I've read in my life, beautifully done

[@tipsythecat]

very informative

[@TheRemaindersYT]

I like sillyisim!

[@jerrysmith8814]

Reddit moment

[@EphemeralRift]

not sure if insult or compliment! i'll go with the latter knowing that while reddit overall is trash, like most everything humans create, the Atheism and other intellectual subreddits are nice like gems. So I guess compliment after all! Thanks!

[@govenormayor87]

@@EphemeralRiftthe atheism subreddit is known for being toxic as shit, if that’s what you’re referring to.

[@solgato5186]

after 30y+ i dropped anarchism, never had a the to apply atheism to, and kept nihilism. i cringe when people talk about it like it's about grumpy pessimists tho.

[@nellyc1066]

These idea will explode in the modern era man will always try to rebel against god

[@EphemeralRift]

well I mean.. there is no god, so.. nothing to really rebel against ;)

[@TheCazzer28]

what about communism my man

[@kerimgumus9944]

private property, I just fucked private property.

[@Christian___]

I think it caused a bit over 100 million deaths.

[@EphemeralRift]

@Christian___ no that was people. Words and books can't kill.

[@EphemeralRift]

communism is okay i guess. all depends on the mood i'm in

[@Christian___]

@@EphemeralRift Well, words and books are made by people and encourage or even exhort action in others, the people who write these books might be considered responsible, in part, for those actions; if not then we have trouble apportioning blame to people like Hitler or Charles Manson, for example.

[@TsarButterfly]

Hello Reddit

[@EphemeralRift]

ba-dum-tsss

[@CelticToiletSeat]

You defo did the frenzy flame ending in Elden ring

[@EphemeralRift]

i actually think i did a few of them? i remember reloading and doing certain things to get a 2-3 diff endings. i THINK. it's been like what 3 years now