Atheism

[Alan Evil]

Geniush is how you pronounce genius after a really good birthday party.

-

[JB]

I don't jam godlessness down your throat and wage fights/wars/agendas based on my beliefs, so please don't use your religion to attack lifestyles/decisions/etc. of myself or others.

really? i guess you're just fighting back against how all of religiondom has wronged you then?

let's see: there's your vociferous proselytizing in this very post, and then there's your post in the "Mile High Murders" thread where you blame religiocity for pretty much everything. That seems like you're using your lack of belief to attack others as well. i personally felt attacked by your post.

you that define yourself by your unbelief and proudly fly your anti-faith flags are fighting a war against something you say doesn't exist. that's just silly. if folks started telling you they still believed in zeus, you wouldn't bother ranting about it on the internet (well, maybe you would), so why not let christians have their religious version of pagan holidays and then fight only those who truly do jam their faith down your throat.

i have faith in something, so you atheists tend to then go ahead and generalize me and lump me in with all the religious nut-jobs out there. welcome to being human and being influenced by culture (atheism is way cool right now) and the books you choose to read. you're just as fucked up as me.

my guess is that none of you who are railing against religion (which i also hate by the way) was raised in an atheist home. I'd bet you had parents or grandparents or friends who at one time tried to convert you and get you in church and get you "saved". well. let me tell you, a PERSON did that. somebody just like you or just like me. I don't blame you for being an atheist, but please don't blame me for whichever PERSON it was that made you so pissed off.

make your decisions, live your life. It's a personal thing. I get just as pissed as you at religious fanaticisim. get over yourself and let it be.

was i just a religious person being intollerant? whatever...

[Atl]

I see atheism and religion as being equal. To declare yourself as either is exhibiting attachment towards the idea of a personal God. I prefer to make decisions on what is practical here and now, and I do not worry about the unprovable existence of an afterlife as it would not perform any rational function. All I have is only here and there is only now. On the other hand, I would not call myself an atheist.

[Shamis]

you that define yourself by your unbelief and proudly fly your anti-faith flags are fighting a war against something you say doesn't exist. that's just silly.

Just because the being doesn't exist, doesn't mean the idea doesn't affect our lives. Have you listened to the politcal debates lately? Religion and god are at the center of half the debates. Its ridiculous.

if folks started telling you they still believed in zeus, you wouldn't bother ranting about it on the internet (well, maybe you would),

I would if there were millions and millions of them trying to change laws to adhere to their belief system.

i have faith in something, so you atheists tend to then go ahead and generalize me and lump me in with all the religious nut-jobs out there. welcome to being human and being influenced by culture (atheism is way cool right now) and the books you choose to read. you're just as fucked up as me.

When was the last time you heard a SINGLE politician admit to being an atheist? If its so cool, then why can NOBODY in any position of power in the US admit to being one?

[Shamis]

I see atheism and religion as being equal. To declare yourself as either is exhibiting attachment towards the idea of a personal God. I prefer to make decisions on what is practical here and now, and I do not worry about the unprovable existence of an afterlife as it would not perform any rational function. All I have is only here and there is only now. On the other hand, I would not call myself an atheist.

I'm agnostic about unicorns and dragons. I don't think we can ever prove or disprove their existence, so for now, I will always do things that I think would make dragons and unicorns happy if they did exist. To deny their existence would be foolish, since you can't deny the existence of anything. Surely you must be prepared for their existence, just in case.

The dictionary is evil.

Making sure that they put the word "deny" into the definition of atheism, guaranteed that thoughtful people would give great pause before committing to such a concept. But they didn't really leave you many options.

Theist - nope
Deist - reasonable if you want to believe, but still no
Agnostic - Very tempting, not completely illogical, however, why do we need a separate category for something we're not sure doesn't exist? What about the other INFINITY things we don't know don't exist? You're an atheist, but they scared you out of it, or you scared your self, with pascals wager.
Athiest - Should be the opposite of theism, but it isn't (as defined by most dictionaries), deny. No rational person could EVER deny the existence of anything. Its not possible. Does that mean we give everything imaginable credence? No.

So we either need them to re-write the dictionary, or I need a new word, because I am NOT a believer, and I sure don't want to be made fun of by the rest of the rational community because I've decided to label myself, in a category of people who think something might not exist, or worse still, a category that is by definition a logical impossibility.

[heidiramma]

No no JB, don't get your panties in a bunch. I did not attack you nor generalize religion as the root of "pretty much everything". It tends to fuel a lot of chaotic situations, but is not all encompassing evil. I've been tempted by Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. but subscribe to none. Take it for what it is - I don't believe. So who cares? I'm not blaming you for what you do believe.

Did you honestly want us to think you blame "The Golden Compass"? Or was that humor? In response I simply jested:

I blame that whole 'God' illusion where people are mere symbols in a tic tac toe game, and no one ever wins. But alas, I'm biased by athiesm, here's your grain of salt.

Now, if you want to blow things up, fine, but use someone else as your target, I'm poor material for your argument. Did you miss how people seem to be the victims in that case? Or that my opinion is merely that, an opinion, to be taken lightly, as I myself do?
I was raised Roman Catholic, did the Sunday school thing, took confession, etc etc. Things went astray, I had a nun tell me as a young child that I would go to hell, for not understanding the stories. Thanks sister.
So, yeah, whatever. Science and physical proof I can see/touch/trace back in time makes more sense. You go on blind faith, a book, fine. I don't care what you do. Peace be with you.

[pigsteak]

but Shamis, you are a believer..a believer in the infallibility of your logical mind.


everyone believes in something. it sounds all high and mighty to deny "god", but by your own accord there is a 50-50 chance he does exist. you are taking a blind leap of, gasp, "faith" that he does not exist. and that is your right. you have nothing to prove or disprove your claim, so therefore the odds are better than a day at Keeneland.

and my buck is on number 4 in the 7th. (that'd be you shamis, the 99-1 longshot)

[Saxman]

Thanks for setting me up piggie. It doesn't matter what any ONE scientist believes. If he has no data and then no one else can reproduce the results, then it doesn't have a factual basis. Remember the crackpots who tried to claim they had cloned a human but then provided no proof? I will believe in anything than can survive rigorous scientific inquiry. Science makes mistake all the time, but the way we know this is the fact that people keep digging and following up on everyone else. No religion can prove any part of their god and never will. Scientists are evil for making religious people looking like idiots but those idiots thank god when that scientific MRI being utilized by a scientifically trained technician and physician save their pathetic ungrateful life.

[pigsteak]

you've got em pegged saxman..excellent insight....pathetic and ungrateful..and just when I though the libbies were the "no judgement" party, you came to the rescue.

given your strict, scientific inquiry of all things "real", may I deduce therefore that you don't believe in that unprovable thing called "love? careful, your wife may be reading.

[Atl]

I had a nun tell me as a young child that I would go to hell, for not understanding the stories. Thanks sister.

Don't worry. I myself have been condemned to Hell many times. I think it may just turn out to be the place to be...