Closed_Pockets

Thanks for the link, that explained a lot. I also looked at the library today for some of the books that were mentioned in this thread, but none were available. However, I did pick up Anthem, The Virtue of Selfishness, and Who is Ayn Rand. I somehow managed to read Anthem twice today; it was a surprisingly quick read. Hopefully another library in a neighboring city will have a better selection of the titles I desire.

Well, Ethical Egoism was solely represented by Rand in my Ethics course. My professor's final was a simple one however, for most of the people in my class are those who don't read at all, and the professor didn't want everyone to fail. Nietzsche was completely left out of any part of our class, with the focus of the better half of the class on what is my favorite philosopher......drum roll.....Imannuell Kant. (sarcasm) Just to let you know that your replies are not going unread, or unwelcomed, I agree that there is no hard evidence for a belief in God, and likewise for a heven or a hell. However, since the religion is based on taking everything on faith, it is it difficult to throw things away that were not built on a solid truth. If I had believed the sky were purple all these years, and had never seen it, and walked outside to see it blue, I would know that I had been wrong all along, or as wrong as my senses allowed me to be. However, if I believed the sky to be purple for no good reason, and someone came to me and said that there was no reason to believe the sky was purple, I may agree with that statement, but it doesn't give the irrefutable evidence that I need to change my mindset. Religion has contorted my brain to actually need proof that there isn't a God for him not to exist...twisted, very twisted.

I guess I'm afraid I'll burn in hell, that possibility is somewhat daunting...

Yeah, the teacher was a nice guy, Ash, but he was always trying to pawn off his liberal views on the class. And by liberal, I mean save the poor, feed the hungry, you aren't doing enough for the needy, come to my Methodist church meetings liberal. I would have much preferred a less biased teacher, but it gave me an opportunity to sharpen my wits in defending my own beliefs against his propaganda. As much a blow as this is to my ego, I would really appreciate you stating this so I could understand it more clearly.

Sorry for the mistake, but as I am sure you all could have guessed, I care for a great many people in my life, however there are a great many people that I care nothing for, and this was the basis of my rather rudimentary worded statement. I do intend on continuing my quest for the truth. This past year I took a night course at a local college dealing with ethics, and I was quite happy when we came to the ethics of Rand. The teacher was a liberal who depicted Ayn Rand as a silly woman whose ideals were flawed and evil. I was aghast, and spoke up, and eventually pointed out that the man knew nothing of the subject and he apologized to the class. It's hard to find people to discuss her views with, because they are difficult to grasp if you haven't read her books, not because they are too difficult for the average person, just that most don't follow logical pathways in their thinking. Thanks for the replies, and as I love to read, I'll try to tackle some of those books that were mentioned.

I've read over a portion of the posts on this site, and have been moderately intimidated by the concepts discussed, so I think I will choose this section as the platform for my first real post. I have read Atlas Shrugged twice and also The Fountainhead. Atlas Shrugged profoundly changed my life by destroying the mounting guilt that I felt for never caring about anyone. However, over the past two years I have struggled with my religious beliefs due to the enlightenment showered upon me by Rand's books. I presently agree with most of the simple concepts presented in the aforementioned books, but I am having trouble discarding my religion. Questions of creation and afterlife constantly echo in what seems at times my mindless skull. I am sure that everyone here has spent some time in the situation in which I find myself stuck. Any thoughts or advice would be much welcomed, and ongoing dialogue in an AIM or MSN setting would be great. AIM:Whoisbateman MSN: p_cake02

My name shall be Closed_Pockets. AIM=whoisbateman msn=p_cake02 This site appears to be wonderful, I hope it continues to fascinate me.