What exactly is atheism? (offshoot of same sex thread)

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

This seems to be deterring the other thread a bit, and while I'm declining to post in it , would rather not see atheism hijack the thread (but I also want to see/possibly participate in an atheism thread). However, as I am a lutheran and while I have an atheist brother, and know a bit about their philosophy/belief, it would be better for someone else to explain it all. So hopefully someone picks this up to explain the belief, and the thread doesn't die before it begins.
EDIT: sorry if this is in the wrong place, was not entirely sure where it would fit.

 

[granfire]

defense mechanism of religion damaged people....

At least it seems to me that a lot of people who claim to be atheists have suffered greatly from over zealous 'spiritual' guidance.

Of course, there is a less cynical explanation, I am sure.

 

[jezr74]

Well for me, I don't believe in any of the gods.

None of it makes sense to me, and I can't logically convince myself they are real. I have never found any credible evidence of anything divine.

I generally don't associate labels with it, but is easy to say atheist. So for me, it's not a philosophy, it's not a belief, it just how I am.

 

[Carol]

Disbelief in the ethereal.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Well for me, I don't believe in any of the gods.

None of it makes sense to me, and I can't logically convince myself they are real. I have never found any credible evidence of anything divine.

I generally don't associate labels with it, but is easy to say atheist. So for me, it's not a philosophy, it's not a belief, it just how I am.

This may be the labeling you're referring to, but they're the easiest way to understand these things..wouldn't that be closer to being agnostic than atheist?

 

[jezr74]

This may be the labeling you're referring to, but they're the easiest way to understand these things..wouldn't that be closer to being agnostic than atheist?

When I was younger I guess I was agnostic, but definitely not for a long time now. You have to consider too that its not a way of life, for Christians, your in a lifestyle.

I don't really think about it other than when it comes up in conversation, it doesn't make me behave a certain way or have judgments or any rules to stick by.

I have human values and morals like anyone else.



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[Carol]

What is common to atheists I think is a disbelief in a deity, but what is not necessarily common is an agreement whether the existence of a deity is a condition that is always false. I think this has less to do with the a variability in personal beliefs and more to do with the complications of an unconditional negative proof.

Apologies to all if I sound a bit terse...just a bit tired tonight.

 

[jezr74]

What is common to atheists I think is a disbelief in a deity, but what is not necessarily common is an agreement whether the existence of a deity is a condition that is always false. I think this has less to do with the a variability in personal beliefs and more to do with the complications of an unconditional negative proof.

That might better be described as agnostic in my opinion

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[Drasken]

The truth is that Atheist is a term that means a lot of things, depending on who you ask. The only thing that one must have when identifying themselves as an Atheist (as per modern definition) is lack of belief in God, Godess, or any plurals and or combination of the Deities.

A great website to look at is Religioustolerance.org as they have a team made up of followers of many faiths, they even have Atheists, that work to define and provide information to the general public reguarding any and all belief structures that they can. The information is pretty good and for many entries there are numerous links to find more information.

Now keep in mind, not everyone will agree on definitions and heated debates usually spring up from religious topics. I hope this link helps.

 

[jezr74]

The truth is that Atheist is a term that means a lot of things, depending on who you ask. The only thing that one must have when identifying themselves as an Atheist (as per modern definition) is lack of belief in God, Godess, or any plurals and or combination of the Deities.

A great website to look at is Religioustolerance.org as they have a team made up of followers of many faiths, they even have Atheists, that work to define and provide information to the general public reguarding any and all belief structures that they can. The information is pretty good and for many entries there are numerous links to find more information.

Now keep in mind, not everyone will agree on definitions and heated debates usually spring up from religious topics. I hope this link helps.

To be honest, to me there are no gods, deity etc. I have nothing to debate on it, end of story. I have no problem with religious constitutions, I've met some <Insert any faith based religion here> people in my life time that disgust me, and equally that delight me. I believe people's actions speak louder than words. Sometimes people stand behind a religion to pass judgement and justify their own ends. The exact same goes for non-religious people. Some humans are just #%holes, Its irrelevant background is it can be a priest, it can be a CEO a soldier a cleaner, anyone. And again the exact same can be reversed, people are capable for extraordinary acts of kindness, compassion and understanding.

Religious people need to tread lightly though, since as humans they are prone to mistakes and hypocrisy just as much as anyone. (But Job 28:28 is a good example of where I think a lot of people fail)

Your correct in previous posts, I am skeptical of claims made by religious groups that put forth fantasy ideas that can and are proven by science. I don't know why they try to cross the boundaries or try to include faith in science. Things like, 10,000 year old earth, creationism vs intelligent design the list goes on, but they are generally fringe groups.

It sounds like the Atheists on your website are more of the type that granfire mentioned, have been wronged in the past and now are struggling with their internal demons. So I would question if they are really Atheist but more Agnostic (they just can't admit it), religious doctrine is very hard for some one to completely loose. Otherwise, why would they bother having to justify it or argue the point if not that they have doubt in their own resolve.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Atheism

Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.[1][2] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.[3][4][5] Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.[4][5][6][7] Atheism is contrasted with theism,[8][9] which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists.

Agnosticism

Agnosticism is the belief that the existence or non-existence of any deity is unknown and possibly unknowable. More specifically, agnosticism is the view that the truth values of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, as well as other religious and metaphysical claims—are unknown and (so far as can be judged) unknowable. Agnosticism can be defined in various ways, and is sometimes used to indicate doubt or a skeptical approach to questions. In some senses, agnosticism is a stance about the difference between belief and knowledge, rather than about any specific claim or belief. In the popular sense, an agnostic is someone who neither believes nor disbelieves in the existence of a deity or deities, whereas a theist and an atheist believe and disbelieve, respectively.[2] In the strict sense, however, agnosticism is the view that humanity does not currently possess the requisite knowledge and/or reason to provide sufficient rational grounds to justify the belief that deities either do or do not exist.

 

[celtic_crippler]

Atheism is the religion of bashing other religions. Ironically, they seem to talk about "God" more than anyone else. A "true" atheist would have no cause to discuss religion at all, any more than they would crusade against the Easter Bunny, but they take out ads and dedicate their time to bashing "God".

Personaly, I think many of them became "atheists" because something bad happened to them at some point in their life and they "blamed" God for it. So now, they lash out agasint "God" the same way a child lashes out at a parent when they don't get their way. At least that's what I've observed from self-professed atheists.

I doubt very seriously you'd hear much from a "true" atheist and would likely not even know they were an atheist unless you asked.

 

[crushing]

Atheism is the religion of bashing other religions. Ironically, they seem to talk about "God" more than anyone else. A "true" atheist would have no cause to discuss religion at all, any more than they would crusade against the Easter Bunny, but they take out ads and dedicate their time to bashing "God".

Personaly, I think many of them became "atheists" because something bad happened to them at some point in their life and they "blamed" God for it. So now, they lash out agasint "God" the same way a child lashes out at a parent when they don't get their way. At least that's what I've observed from self-professed atheists.

I doubt very seriously you'd hear much from a "true" atheist and would likely not even know they were an atheist unless you asked.

I'm trying to figure out if this is a bit of satire poking fun at the martyr complex so many religious people have, or if you really have run in to a few 'ugly' atheists.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Atheism is the religion of bashing other religions. Ironically, they seem to talk about "God" more than anyone else. A "true" atheist would have no cause to discuss religion at all, any more than they would crusade against the Easter Bunny, but they take out ads and dedicate their time to bashing "God".

Personaly, I think many of them became "atheists" because something bad happened to them at some point in their life and they "blamed" God for it. So now, they lash out agasint "God" the same way a child lashes out at a parent when they don't get their way. At least that's what I've observed from self-professed atheists.

I doubt very seriously you'd hear much from a "true" atheist and would likely not even know they were an atheist unless you asked.

A good friend of mine is an atheist but he does not say much about any religion, he did say that after being raised Catholic and reading the Bible a few times that there were questions he had that no one, not even the priests he talked to, could answer and that as well as a few other inconsistencies between what the bible said and what the church did lead him to atheism

What is very interesting is he was a LEO and he saw a lot of young adults brought in that had no religious affiliation what-so-ever and many had the answer of “I don’t know” when asked what religion they were. He (the atheist) felt that a big issue with crime and younger people had to do with a lack of religion and a lack of some sort of ultimate punishment.

Although he was not religions, did not believe in a deity of any sort he did feel that if there were a stronger religious attachment for some of those he arrested that they likely would not have been arrested at all. However that did not apply to all he arrested

 

[celtic_crippler]

I'm trying to figure out if this is a bit of satire poking fun at the martyr complex so many religious people have, or if you really have run in to a few 'ugly' atheists.

A little of both perhaps? LOL But don't "self professed atheists" who wear the title like a badge of honor participating in a form of martyrdom?

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/good-without-god-atheist-subway-ads-proclaim/

It's become a religion in and of itself.

A good friend of mine is an atheist but he does not say much about any religion, he did say that after being raised Catholic and reading the Bible a few times that there were questions he had that no one, not even the priests he talked to, could answer and that as well as a few other inconsistencies between what the bible said and what the church did lead him to atheism

What is very interesting is he was a LEO and he saw a lot of young adults brought in that had no religious affiliation what-so-ever and many had the answer of &#8220;I don&#8217;t know&#8221; when asked what religion they were. He (the atheist) felt that a big issue with crime and younger people had to do with a lack of religion and a lack of some sort of ultimate punishment.

Although he was not religions, did not believe in a deity of any sort he did feel that if there were a stronger religious attachment for some of those he arrested that they likely would not have been arrested at all. However that did not apply to all he arrested

I think that points to the fact that some form of religious upbringing involves developing a set of values. When this is absent in one's childhood and the child is left to learn ethics by watching "Survivor"... they don't particularly grow up with any.

That being said, an argument can be made that certain suppressive religions can lead to deviant behavior; i.e.: the Catholic Schoolgirl Syndrome. LOL

 

[jezr74]

Atheism is the religion of bashing other religions. Ironically, they seem to talk about "God" more than anyone else. A "true" atheist would have no cause to discuss religion at all, any more than they would crusade against the Easter Bunny, but they take out ads and dedicate their time to bashing "God".

Personaly, I think many of them became "atheists" because something bad happened to them at some point in their life and they "blamed" God for it. So now, they lash out agasint "God" the same way a child lashes out at a parent when they don't get their way. At least that's what I've observed from self-professed atheists.

I doubt very seriously you'd hear much from a "true" atheist and would likely not even know they were an atheist unless you asked.

I think your mixing things with skeptics, which many atheists may be. As I said before, anyone can be a jerk, and from any background.

 

[celtic_crippler]

Nope. I'm talking about "self-professed atheists" who parade the title around every opportunity they get in an effort to appear superior. Personally, I think it makes them look just as asinine as bible-thumpers so perhaps we&#8217;re on the same page concerning the &#8220;jerk&#8221; thing.

 

[jezr74]

I think that points to the fact that some form of religious upbringing involves developing a set of values. When this is absent in one's childhood and the child is left to learn ethics by watching "Survivor"... they don't particularly grow up with any.

That being said, an argument can be made that certain suppressive religions can lead to deviant behavior; i.e.: the Catholic Schoolgirl Syndrome. LOL

Yeah, people try this one a lot. Straw-man.

 

[celtic_crippler]

Yeah, people try this one a lot. Straw-man.

Which argument? There are two there. LOL

 

[crushing]

A little of both perhaps? LOL But don't "self professed atheists" who wear the title like a badge of honor participating in a form of martyrdom?

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/good-without-god-atheist-subway-ads-proclaim/

What martyrdom is there in simply being good? If that's their martyrdom, they are failing at it. lol