Atheism
- Thread starter nursebee
- Start date
a non believer in what?
Yeah. Coming from a country where almost everyone is atheist, religious people viewed as being not all there.
Not sure you need to become atheist, it should be the default option.
A book from another region from 2000 years ago and more won't dictate my life, especially since there is little to no proof for most of it - the stories are made up over the years by various people.
Not sure you need to become atheist, it should be the default option.
A book from another region from 2000 years ago and more won't dictate my life, especially since there is little to no proof for most of it - the stories are made up over the years by various people.
There's a little more to it than either atheist or religious. I'm neither. Too many people confuse religion with belief in something that may be out of our realm. Too many people confuse atheism with belief in nothing at all. It's not an either or question, unless of course you want it to be.
I know good people who are atheist and I know good people who are religious. I also know assholes who fall into those categories. The assholes are the ones who think they have all the answers.
I know good people who are atheist and I know good people who are religious. I also know assholes who fall into those categories. The assholes are the ones who think they have all the answers.
Perhaps everyone on earth is a believer in something! Even a trader is a firm believer in her/his trading system/philosophy/theory/psychology!
An atheist is a believer in "No God".
imo, the world's problem of never-ending conflicts/wars has been too many many fundamentalists in believing merely their own faith according to their own rules/books, without any respecting others' faiths.
A better society i think should be an inclusive one! To enjoy the diversity of faiths and food/music/culture/etc/etc.
An atheist is a believer in "No God".
imo, the world's problem of never-ending conflicts/wars has been too many many fundamentalists in believing merely their own faith according to their own rules/books, without any respecting others' faiths.
A better society i think should be an inclusive one! To enjoy the diversity of faiths and food/music/culture/etc/etc.
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I am not a believer.
IMV, people are religious because they are taught to be as youngsters by their parents.
There are what, hundreds (thousands?) of religions on this planet? They can't all be right... though they can all be wrong.
I was schooled in science. Scientists don't "take things on faith", generally. Scientists who are religious take that on faith, of course.
Even the pope this week encouraged the notion of (1) a one world religion*, and (2) Christians breeding with Muslims. (Didn't see that coming...)
I have a cousin who had a very religious upbringing. Spent years in the Catholic seminary. About 2 months from his being ordained a Catholic priest, he claims to have "woken up"... saying, "This is all bullshit. None of it is real."
Who am I to argue with an expert on Catholicism?
* No doubt in my mind that there will eventually be only one religion on this planet... Islam.... as they will kill everybody else who doesn't accept or convert to Islam.... unless the rest of the world wakes up and kills them first... or at least sends them all back to the ME and corrals them in where they can do their thing amongst themselves and leave the rest of the world alone.
IMV, people are religious because they are taught to be as youngsters by their parents.
There are what, hundreds (thousands?) of religions on this planet? They can't all be right... though they can all be wrong.
I was schooled in science. Scientists don't "take things on faith", generally. Scientists who are religious take that on faith, of course.
Even the pope this week encouraged the notion of (1) a one world religion*, and (2) Christians breeding with Muslims. (Didn't see that coming...)
I have a cousin who had a very religious upbringing. Spent years in the Catholic seminary. About 2 months from his being ordained a Catholic priest, he claims to have "woken up"... saying, "This is all bullshit. None of it is real."
Who am I to argue with an expert on Catholicism?
* No doubt in my mind that there will eventually be only one religion on this planet... Islam.... as they will kill everybody else who doesn't accept or convert to Islam.... unless the rest of the world wakes up and kills them first... or at least sends them all back to the ME and corrals them in where they can do their thing amongst themselves and leave the rest of the world alone.
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You last line is a good one. Just a few observations, if I may. Atheism need not be militant; it simply does not accept as a given that which has not been meaningfully proven. Until it is meaningfully shown to exist, for all intents and purposes it does not exist. Occam's razor and all that; don't add filler that does not stand on its own two feet. It's an uncluttered way to go about life.
Some people prefer faith, which by definition means the belief and acceptance of something for which there is no evidence (otherwise there would be no need for faith). Others prefer science and logic to guide them. One approach is somewhat romanticized while the other is comparatively stark. While we sometimes tend to mix and match between the two, at the end of the day there is a choice to be made. If you were gravely ill, would you be inclined to go to a faith healer in whom many believe, or would you got to a credentialed physician?
As for the crux of the issue between theists and atheists, I yield to Stephen Hawking, who is the smartest guy in any room he finds himself. Several years ago, when asked if there was a God, Hawking replied that he didn't know, but that one wasn't needed. (He has since become somewhat more definitive in his answer.) Remember Occam?
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Good can be a relative term, and temporal as well.
A patient has good Faith in a physician's skills is good, as long as the outcome is good!
A person has good Faith in Hawking's sayings is good (Believing he is the smartest), as long as the outcome is good!
A mathematician has good Faith in the existence (Evidence?) of a square root of minus one is good, as long as the outcome is good - Otherwise!
Before Einstein, Newton's scientific findings were Believably true and good.
...
A patient has good Faith in a physician's skills is good, as long as the outcome is good!
A person has good Faith in Hawking's sayings is good (Believing he is the smartest), as long as the outcome is good!
A mathematician has good Faith in the existence (Evidence?) of a square root of minus one is good, as long as the outcome is good - Otherwise!
Before Einstein, Newton's scientific findings were Believably true and good.
...
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Life is a journey. The idea is to use the guideposts to move forward rather than remain in place or regress. As you get meaningful new information, you use that information rather than discard it or pervert it for fear of acceptance or change. Sometimes the newest information contradicts earlier information, and so you make adjustments. Trends seldom move in neat, straight lines. Faith is mostly about feeling good and secure in an uncertain world. Science and logic are about moving forward and progressing; learning and facing an objective reality, whatever it may be.
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anybody here believe in Karma?