Atheism

I know what you mean.Have a aquintance who likes to talk down on people for believing in a god.
That they are brainwashed.
Me,im not that religious,but i live with the concept that if there is a god,and i have done well,good for me.If not,
thats ok too,because i spent my whole life being a good person.

I can understand the angry athiest sometimes. Lord (lol) knows I've been there. It's just like any other issue for me, really. When I'm sitting there and just thinking about all the things that I feel religion brings with it, it's easy for me to get angry and want to make some big rant about it to wake up the sheeple or whatever.

I never do though, because I feel that anyone who actually uses sheeple as a word should be shot but that's it's own issue.

Sometimes when I see it, I usually just chalk it up to this person having probably just been exposed to their ultra religious aunt or something who went on an opposite side of the spectrum rant.

Soooo much I want to say. I'll put it this way:

If you believe in the "good" things you can accomplish with religion but don't actually believe the supernatural nonsense that goes along with it. More power to you. If you actually believe in 99% of what the Bible/Koran/etc tell you are "fact"? Then you've got more than 99 problems and I feel bad for you son.

Oh and just for giggles:

You do know,one can make a picture with as many brilliant people as your Atheism one,with people that believe in religion.
Being an Atheist dosnt make one "smarter".

Also..there's...there's some problems with that picture.

Hence the "for giggles". If you only took a look at the picture I posted and not the words I wrote, then damn. Dunno what to tell you.

yeah, i know Atheists/Agnostics/Deists like that.

This is why I go "Oh that's nice, could you please go fetch me a roll of toilet paper? I've had an accident."

Stops these dumb non conversations in their tracks most of the time, giving me enough time to flee.

I dislike anyone that tries to force their worldview on another, unprovoked, and with no reason, be it a religious person or an atheist. There are times when such discussion is warranted, perhaps even necessary, but most times it is not.

Shegokigo said:

Hence the "for giggles". If you only took a look at the picture I posted and not the words I wrote, then damn. Dunno what to tell you.

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The only thing I can comment on is the picture. If you want to say if you believe in the Bible/Koran etc, that you feel bad for them--well there's really nothing to argue about. I could say, "No, Shego, you're wrong" or "Yes, Shego, absolutely", neither of which would add anything to the discussion. I just thought the picture had some factual inaccuracies

Which in retrospect, also probably adds nothing to the discussion, so I bid everyone a good day..

Honestly, I think both the crazy religious and the crazy anti religious should be forced into a room together so their intolerance causes their heads to explode.

Saw a convo on FB where a die hard atheist and fundamentalist Christian were arguing back and forth and I wrote "Meanwhile the agnostics sit in the middle and wonder what all the fuss is about."

In the end, whether people believe in a higher power or not doesn't determine if the person is an asshole.

I try not to be the "angry atheist", but it's hard when the religious are holding back our progress as a nation and as a people.

Also, it's really hard for me to not think I'm smarter than anyone that believes in a god or two.

Jay said:

I'll simply state if there's one thing I hate about religion (beyond the fanatics) nothing turns me off from people more than those aggressive atheists. You know... THOSE.

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I call them members of the church of atheism, really peeves them off.

On a semi-related note I once saw people promoting an Atheist support group. I couldn't help but wonder what for. Then I wondered if they met every Sunday morning for about an hour.
Added at: 08:03

Charlie Don't Surf said:

I try not to be the "angry atheist", but it's hard when the religious are holding back our progress as a nation and as a people.

Also, it's really hard for me to not think I'm smarter than anyone that believes in a god or two.

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*Really awesome eyeroll gif that you can't see*

Well, he's honest at least.

fair enough.

FYI, you're exceeding your bandwith in photobucket

am I?

This is actually something that has been on my mind a lot lately. I in general cannot stand people with the attitude of "what I believe in is the only thing that could possibly be right. Everyone who doesn't believe exactly what I believe is not only wrong, they are also stupid. I will go out of my way to make these people aware of this, and they will thank me for doing them the favor of 'saving' them." It seems to me like atheists tend to be among the worst in frequency with this sense of holier-than-thou arrogance (though the absolute worst case of this I know is from a Christian girl, but most people I meet who identify as Christian tend not to be this way), to the point that we're typically labeled with such as a default stereotype.

This creates a problem for me while dating. Spiritual women seem to have an issue with me being atheist when they find out I identify as such even when they themselves aren't the most church-going of people, and atheist women tend to fall into the stereotype too well for me to want to grow an attachment to them.

As a scientist, I would just like to say that although there have been grand leaps in the understanding of the universe there is absolutely 0 progress in answering the fundamental questions of philosophy: why we're here, where we're going, what's the point?

Personally, I'm somewhat agnostic with a twist of Buddhism/Taoism, but I respect religion and faith and their place in humanity. I just can't bring myself to fully embrace the truth as what's already known. Take matter for instance. It's well defined. It can be grasped and touched, smelled and manipulated by our senses. Yet who's to say that how our brains' register what a chair looks and feels like is the true form of the object? Yes, we can quantify and things based on how we see the universe, but to say that's how it truly exists is, well... ignorant and close-minded.

People who believe in higher plains of existence, God, Vishnu, Jesus, whatever... They're not crazy. They're not deluded or brainwashed either. The best way that I've had Christian friends prove their faith in God to me is by asking me to prove that I love my kids. You can't. You can't measure love. You can't quantify it, but it exists.

And think about our very consciousness. It exists as part of who we are, yet we're made of everything that's been part of the universe since the beginning of time itself. We're made of the same stuff as a rock, an ant, or the Sun. Could you collectively say as such that we are an extension of the overall consciousness of the universe? Sure. But then so is that rock, that ant, and the Sun.

The conditions and events that lead to the rise of life on Earth. Do you guys realize how ridiculously absurd the requirements for life on a planet are? Granted, given a timescale of forever, probability does favor pockets of entropy to reduce.

To say that nothing exists in a higher order in the universe as an absolute, as many of these "aggressive atheists" do is really just as much baloney as saying God absolutely exists. The overall conclusion I have is don't be a prick over what someone believes. We all have our quirky worldviews and truths that we cling to to make sense of it all.

No, the thing is - that's wrong. There is right and wrong, there is fact and fiction. Something isn't true or real just because you really really hope it's true.

Also: a support group for atheists makes sense, since they are more hated/misunderstood than homosexuals. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistbigotryprejudice/a/AtheistSurveys.htm

Charlie Don't Surf said:

Also: a support group for atheists makes sense, since they are more hated/misunderstood than homosexuals. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistbigotryprejudice/a/AtheistSurveys.htm

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What.

Anyway, back to the reasonable people talking, as Ravenpoe put it, I dislike anyone forcing their worldview onto another. On another forum I used to go to, you could not have a discussion about religion or culture without a certain two guys showing up. One of them said all the questions or ideas being discussed were work of the devil, and that all non-Christian religions could be summed up as "the devil's lies", being very snide on his high horse. The other would have RAGE fits over anyone even discussing religion because it was "bullshit", and would fill his posts with all caps and exclamation points at even the mention of God.

The funny thing is, these two never acknowledged each other. They just each, in their individual, assholish ways, attacked and put down everyone else.

Charlie Don't Surf said:

I try not to be the "angry atheist", but it's hard when the religious are holding back our progress as a nation and as a people.

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Couldn't agree more. That's 100% serious too. No sarcasm.

I like the idea of atheist support groups. Basically, someone who can tell you, "Hey, you know what, it's okay not to believe in any gods." Peer pressure exists regarding religion as well. I could've done with an atheist support group back in school.

As for those "aggressive atheists," I tend to look at who they're arguing with. If it's an equally aggressive religious person then I break out the popcorn. If it's not, then I just sort of mentally shake my head and move on.

Jay said:

I'll simply state if there's one thing I hate about religion (beyond the fanatics) nothing turns me off from people more than those aggressive atheists. You know... THOSE.

I don't mind those who don't believe in Gods. I mind those who tell you, "Congrats on believing in an imaginary person".

I'm sure we got a few Atheists here... tell me how you feel about those people as well.

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I used to really dislike them. I thought they were overbearing assholes who did more harm to the cause than good.

Then I said to a friend in all honesty that I thought that every member of the catholic church should be arrested for conspiracy to commit child rape and that if I ever get the chance I will spit on John Paul the second's grave.

After that I realized I really didn't have any respect for religion and try to avoid the subject while among friends.

Shegokigo said:

Couldn't agree more. That's 100% serious too. No sarcasm.

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That I can also agree with, because that falls under 'forcing your worldview upon others.' Religion should not be a part of politics, other than a right to let people have theirs if they choose, but keep it as a personal matter.

Charlie Don't Surf said:

No, the thing is - that's wrong. There is right and wrong, there is fact and fiction. Something isn't true or real just because you really really hope it's true.

Also: a support group for atheists makes sense, since they are more hated/misunderstood than homosexuals. http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistbigotryprejudice/a/AtheistSurveys.htm

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You're an idiot. Fact and fiction get blurred all the time. 100 years ago, going to the moon was considered fiction. That's my point. Right and wrong are just buzzwords. The truth is humanity can probably never comprehend the vastness of what the real truth is. Stick that Socratic logic in your pipe and smoke it.

There's no logic there, just Westboro Baptist Charlie demonstrating his ironic lack of tolerance for people who don't believe the same things he does.

Einstein said it best:

"I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being."

Jay said:

I'll simply state if there's one thing I hate about religion (beyond the fanatics) nothing turns me off from people more than those aggressive atheists. You know... THOSE.

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Speaking as an existentialist (meaning I don't really care ether way if there is a God or not), wasn't the reason that aggressive atheists arose in the first place because of aggressive theists demeaning and discriminating against atheists, all the while using their privileged status as a shield to protect them from their human rights violations?

So there's an origin theory for the existence of religion as a byproduct of evolution. Which means that as a species, it's created as a part of the "progress." Sure that part might be "waste product" but the idea makes me giggle all the same when watching people argue about it.

AshburnerX said:

Speaking as an existentialist (meaning I don't really care ether way if there is a God or not), wasn't the reason that aggressive atheists arose in the first place because of aggressive theists demeaning and discriminating against atheists, all the while using their privileged status as a shield to protect them from their human rights violations?

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When I was an atheist, I felt that we as a group should hold ourselves to a higher standard of conduct if we were going to hold ourselves to a higher standard of science and reasoning.

Then I ran into a group of the aggressive atheists and felt a deja vu harkening back to when my mom used to force me to go to church.

Quotemander Prime said:

When I was an atheist, I felt that we as a group should hold ourselves to a higher standard of conduct if we were going to hold ourselves to a higher standard of science and reasoning.

Then I ran into a group of the aggressive atheists and felt a deja vu harkening back to when my mom used to force me to go to church.

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See, layman atheists blindly following scientific principles and theories just because "the smart people propose them" without any critical thought or understanding of the science behind them in my opinion is no different than a devout Catholic listening to the Pope without question.

I would like to make a proposition to Charlie: Why for example do you believe in evolution and how genetics plays a part of it? Do you understand how it works, or is it just because it's SCIENCE! I do, and I'll tell you I'm still open to new truths being discovered.

Honestly folks, for all we know, tomorrow God's booming voice could reign from the heavens and announce the end of days, just as much as an asteroid could ram into the Earth or the Sun stop shining. No truth is an absolute.

I don't like extremists about anything - religion, science, society, whatever. As long as I'm not hurting myself or others, the minute you start telling me your way is the only way, you need to get a firmer grasp on reality.

Emrys said:

I don't like extremists about anything - religion, science, society, whatever. As long as I'm not hurting myself or others, the minute you start telling me your way is the only way, you need to get a firmer grasp on reality.

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Is me not telling you how to live, the only acceptable way for me to live?

Or to turn it around, what gives you the right to tell me how to live?