Scrap all religion?

My nanny (grandmother, not child carer) believes in the christian god. She lost her sister when she was young and so clings to the hope that they'll be reunited in heaven.

I don't believe in her god - I am atheist about all gods including hers. We have discussions, during which I am constantly aware of her reason for worship and belief (although admittedly some days I may be in a funny mood and not have the patience for such considerations).

I take the view that if it makes her happy then what's the problem? Also by the time that she does die it won't matter what she believed during her life because she'll be no more and none the wiser. 

But there are people out there who do cause suffering to others because of their beliefs. For the sake of the harmers does this mean that all religion should be scrapped? How can you permit some people to believe but deny it to others, when belief is the same across the board?

Because everyone else does?

Do you hate people taking others from their loved ones?

Things like old age or unpreventable illness are one thing but when someone kills another person because it makes their life easier, is that not hateful?

The problem is we are doing it all the time when we waste money on things we don't need. I bought a coffee machine because I drink a lot of coffee to counteract the sedating side effect of my anti-psychotic medication; but couldn't I drink instant instead?

Like Tim Minchin enjoying his bottle of Chardonnay (because it is the equivalent of an immunisation for an African child) I am aware of what I am doing. I put that down to the necessity to be aware of everything for fear of a relapse creeping up on me.

I wonder if other people are aware or because everyone else does, do they just keep on ignoring the horrible reality until they eventually forget about it?

CTRL

It's weird to think that this world will go on after I die. There'll be a world without me as a part of it - I mean there was one for billions of years but for me it began 27 years ago and it'll end for me when I eventually die.

I don’t care that I didn’t exist for so long but I don’t like knowing I won’t be a part of the future. Why does the future seem different to the past though? I feel like I’ll be missing out on everything that proceeds my death – as though I could have continued but wasn't allowed!

Because of the time that I have existed, the ripples from my splash will continue to spread out; like if I have children then they could have children and so on. My DNA will probably perpetuate so in a way I will carry on.

Is that where art comes in? In making these visual tokens does the part of you that I would call the consciousness continue? 

In effect doesn't creating art ensure that the part of you that isn't passed on as DNA continues?

The extinction of humanity

Have you ever questioned whether there's a difference between the killing of one rhino and that of the chicken you just ate?

Both are individuals with their own lives like you or me and they have each gone extinct as a single being. It doesn't matter to you whether the species survives if you're the individual animal, right?

We talk about stopping a species from going extinct but because there are plenty of chickens it somehow becomes ok to kill individuals (so long as you only kill a proportion of them). 

Isn't it interesting the way people's minds work? They seem to see a species of animal as an entire entity and they fear the disappearance of that entity. But for the individual animal all it really has at the end of the day is it's own life.

Interestingly, since humans are animals do the same standards not apply to us? There are plenty of us on the planet so does it matter if a number of people are killed (so long as it's only a small proportion)?