The boasts of atheists (Atheist self-deception)

I have. And await a reply.

No, I'm not a Christian. I don't believe that Jesus is God. I don't believe in any religion.We are products of a mindless universe. We live for awhile and then we die. That's the end of it. We rot in the ground. Why we exist I don't know. No reason, I suppose. It just happened. It might not have happened. We stumble through life trying to figure out how to live. By the time we figure it out, if we ever do, it's too late. We die and the world goes on and none of it is of any objective significance.However, we possess something called "consciousness," which is a great mystery. Nobody knows what it is and how we got it.

Actually let's not go there.Edited by CK, : No reason given.

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Oh, ok. I have lived many years in this world, and I have never known anyone with an exemplary moral character. They all had flaws, many of them serious.

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But maybe I ran with the wrong crowd.

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Maybe you did, but exemplary doesn't mean flawless. Everyone has flaws.As I said in Message 17, just because you don't know anyone with a moral character worth imitating (exemplary), doesn't mean that those people don't exist.As I said in Message 41, boasting or bragging carries the idea of flaunting or "puffing up".The examples you gave weren't flaunting anything. They were responding to the discussion.Please show how their posts exuded pride or that they were flaunting their virtues.

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"Peshat is what I say and derash is what you say." --Nehama Leibowitz

If somebody says, "I am a man of exemplary moral character," that is a moral boast. I understand the context. He's saying that an atheist can have an exemplary moral character just as well or better than the believers. That's what this thread is about.But it's still a boast.

How is it boast if it is fact?

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

It doesn't matter if it's a fact or not. A boast is self-praise.

How is a simple statement like those you have posted self-praise?

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

If by "simple," you mean ordinary, I don't think it is ordinary at all for someone to say, "I am a man of exemplary moral character."Somebody might think that, of course, but it's not normally said because it's obnoxious.The other comment about being robustly enthusiastic for the wonders of life is a little less unusual, although if you said that to somebody in person, and meant it seriously, they might be apt to laugh in your face.

You might think that but I imagine I can think of several hundred such people right off the top of my head. Hell, there are over 30 that belong to Team EvC. No, Robin thinks it is obnoxious. So far most of the folk posting don't see the problem. Maybe in your circle, but frankly I am constantly in awe at the wonders of life.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

No it isn't self praise. Otherwise every time we go on a job interview we are boasting. There is more to boasting. BoastingYour examples were in response to a discussion and weren't done to flaunt, IMO.

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"Peshat is what I say and derash is what you say." --Nehama Leibowitz

If I'm the only one who thinks it's obnoxious, then my sensibilities must be screwed up. Constantly? Don't you ever take a break?

Probably a reasonable inference. The universe runs on even when I look otherwhere. And guess what, it is still awesome.Here's a chance for you too to become someone exemplary. Why not sign up for the World Community Grid.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Well, they certainly spoke vaingloriously.

I don't think you would find believers claiming exemplary moral character. Quite the opposite in fact. Believers claim (or rather accept) that morally they are quite bankrupt.This is the difference between a nihilist and a believer (and though different they share more similarily with each other than the exemplary moral atheist). The nihilist claims no basis for morality at all, the believer claims a basis and that they fall so far short of it that their bankruptcy is absolute before it.