[qroolen]

i do not think an atheist perception of unity is about the same theme of a religious person. as far my empirical experience goes, atheists vary a lot how they felt it. (mine for example was in a dark room with P. cubensis that i could only hear my heartbeat, then i accessed, in my perception, unity; which was a white slightly blue orb of energy [something that all organic life can access or have in it perception]) religious people most of the time believe in the same thing. and considering the hypothetical (and not theoretical) state of explaining how life appeared or was formed, is at least curious that a vast majority of people interpret these questions the same way.

but as an atheist myself, you probably know my repulse towards a belief in a god, specially if it mimics or mirror itself in humans...

off topic: i am reading a book about elements on periodic table and the author mentions at some point about people observing that a mass extinction happens after 20 million years or so... and if we can prove it, it makes the existence of life way more interesting. as nowadays, i think the more we get closer to god, or a divine, unity thing, more i believe we should trust the scientific method, and go look for a sustainable way to get out of this solar system, secure, and maybe find some relatable life that maybe believe in something closer of what we have today: a god or entity that made this all possible

edit: i am drunk and it is new year eve... take it with a dose of compassion :P

[sammalloy]

That’s a fair assessment. To paraphrase Haldane, the universe is not only stranger than we imagine; it is stranger than we can imagine. Religion and religious people have a tendency to narrow this perception of majestic strangeness because they tend to be wary of uncertainty. Atheists on the other hand tend towards embracing uncertainty and like to revel in the strangeness. In my opinion, of course.

Happy new year!