What does it mean to be an Atheist ( not a mocking thread)

[oldbadger]

I've already accepted this is how you use the word atheism/theism. However, I haven't accepted this is what is generally considered the most appropriate use of the word. So, if you give some blog where some nutter talks about bonkers stuff I won't accept it, but if you give a more reputable and objective citation, it'll certainly be considered

I must start to collect such citations, a new hobby for me.
I'll go and search one out but can't now because I'm going out.
Originally the Romans classed anybody who did not recognise the accepted God's as atheists, a capitol offence. And thus, Christians were also classed as atheists.

I recently went to a church's tea-and-chat meet where a priest went in to a wild rant about a neighbouring church with ''They are not Christians!'
Very exciting.

You lot are beginning to remind me of him.

They are not Atheists!!!
He he!

 

[oldbadger]

Deism is separate from atheism.
You don't get to learn our secret handshake.

I don't need a job or discount from no secret atheists.

 

[Revoltingest]

I don't need a job or discount from no secret atheists.

The atheists aren't secret (though some believers wish we were).
Only the handshake.
But I could be bribed.

 

[charlie sc]

I must start to collect such citations, a new hobby for me.
I'll go and search one out but can't now because I'm going out.
Originally the Romans classed anybody who did not recognise the accepted God's as atheists, a capitol offence. And thus, Christians were also classed as atheists.

I recently went to a church's tea-and-chat meet where a priest went in to a wild rant about a neighbouring church with ''They are not Christians!'
Very exciting.

You lot are beginning to remind me of him.

They are not Atheists!!!
He he!

You collect while I get the atheist inquisition to rally up against the heresy I see here

 

[Spirit of Light]

I understand that Atheism is not a belief system. I really didn't know that before reading your post, but it makes sense. Thanks for the info.

Just curious; what do you think happens to people after they die? I'd be interested to hear an answer from someone like yourself who lacks a belief in god. Don't worry, I'm not going to proselytize you into believing in God or Jesus. I won't say a thing about that unless you ask. Like I said, I'm just curious

Take care...

Hi Rrobs

There is a few things that can happen to a human being when dying, but i dont see it as dying
1: if one attain enlightenment one go to the heaven or paradise one belong to according to what spiritual path we have followed. Example christians go to paradise, Buddhists to Nirvana and so on.

2: If we have lived a ok morally life we can be reborn as human beings, but if we have to much karma we can risk being reborn in the 3 lowest realm of animals/hungry ghosts or Hell. (hell in buddhism is not a permanent state of existance)

3: maybe it is over when we die?

When it comes to God i have no evidence of a creator God, but i do belive that gods exist, and i do not say Christian belief or other religious beliefs are wrong But i chosen Buddhism as the path i cultivate

 

[PureX]

According to the American Atheists website they state this

Atheism is one thing: A lack of belief in gods.
Atheism is not an affirmative belief that there is no god nor does it answer any other question about what a person believes. It is simply a rejection of the assertion that there are gods. Atheism is too often defined incorrectly as a belief system. To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods.
What is Atheism? | American Atheists

Basically, these atheists are liars. They believe that gods don't exist, yet they know they can't possibly defend that belief with the same requirement of evidence that they demand from everyone else for their beliefs, so they feign "unbelief" and claim they don't have to defend it. It's just linguistic misdirection meant to avoid being honest and forthright about what they believe and why they believe it.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Some atheists do maintain that God definitely doesn't exist, but a simple lack of belief is the one feature common to all varieties of atheist.
"Lack of belief" is the essence of atheism. It's definitive.

Agree. I'm really very sure there are no gods or supernatural "others" trying to help or harm us, but I will not say so definitively.

But since atheism is not an affirmative view of any kind, that leaves many people to suppose that atheists have no where to turn for "guidance" as to what is right an wrong, moral or immoral, and this is not the case. It is, I think for most atheists, a simple enough matter to root our values in our relationship with our fellow humans, and even further, out relationships with the rest of the natural world. Almost all of the atheists that I've ever known, or known about, have had little difficulty forming a strong moral framework on that alone.

 

[rrobs]

I don't think the OP is an atheist, so I'll field this one.

What *I* believe? When we die, our bodies rot and our consciousness ceases to exist. We are like a candle flame that has been blown out.

I also think whatever meaning there is in life happens when we are alive: how we influence others, how we contribute, etc.

Your idea is more aligned with the scriptures than what 99% of Christians believe.

Ecclesiastes 9:10,

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
​

I think the common belief is that immediately after death we all float up and either stay there or go back down, way down, to hell. According to the simple assertion in Ecclesiastes, that is obviously not the case.

Of course, as you may know, the scriptures do speak of a resurrection, but that comes down the road and is another story altogether. In any case, as you said, for now our bodies rot and our brains go blank.

Take care...

 

[LuisDantas]

The only things atheists bicker about regarding their belief or non-belief are these stupid definitions. I'd much prefer seeing less aggressiveness/forcefulness of religious people towards outsiders. Then we wouldn't need the term atheism at all.

I somewhat differ.

Clarity is a good thing, and so is respect towards what is, after all, a matter of deeply personal nature and that is not even meant to interfere with other people. If that means going out of our way not to presume to speak on behalf of someone else's understanding of those concepts, then so be it. We have no good reason to be forceful with fellow atheists on such a minor matter.

As for the term atheism, it is still needed even if theists are consistently wise and respectful. It just doesn't carry quite as much emotional significance.

 

[LuisDantas]

The atheists aren't secret (though some believers wish we were).
Only the handshake.
But I could be bribed.

I hear there will be an upswing in the market value of the handshake soon, too.

 

[LuisDantas]

Basically, these atheists are liars. They believe that gods don't exist, yet they know they can't possibly defend that belief with the same requirement of evidence that they demand from everyone else for their beliefs, so they feign "unbelief" and claim they don't have to defend it. It's just linguistic misdirection meant to avoid being honest and forthright about what they believe and why they believe it.

Uh, what?

In which universe did you find that definition of "lying"?

You are either seriously confused, seriously mistaken, or being very dishonest here.

 

[Aupmanyav]

It just doesn't carry quite as much emotional significance.

For me, it is an absolutely cold fact, not in the least emotional. But my atheism goes beyond the question of existence of God and includes the non acceptance of soul, superstitions and paramormal.

 

[We Never Know]

Some atheists do maintain that God definitely doesn't exist, but a simple lack of belief is the one feature common to all varieties of atheist.
"Lack of belief" is the essence of atheism. It's definitive.

As an atheist I can't say I have "lack of belief". There is no evidence that any gods exist and I can't claim they don't. To me it's more of a "no reason to believe".

 

[LuisDantas]

As an atheist I can't say I have "lack of belief". There is no evidence that any gods exist and I can't claim they don't. To me it's more of a "no reason to believe".

Maybe it is just me, but I fail to see why you could not say that you lack belief.

It sure looks to me like you do, in fact, lack such a belief.

 

[We Never Know]

Maybe it is just me, but I fail to see why you could not say that you lack belief.

It sure looks to me like you do, in fact, lack such a belief.

Lack of belief was a phrase conjured up to battle no belief is a belief, i.e. we don't believe in gods. I've always stood with "I have no reason to believe" which cannot be tied to a belief.

 

[charlie sc]

As for the term atheism, it is still needed even if theists are consistently wise and respectful. It just doesn't carry quite as much emotional significance.

I'm not sure how much I agree with this. We don't label people non-football fans or non-democrats. Instead, the precedence has always been in the positive aspect of belief not the non part. The non aspect of titling seems to increase with cultural relevance. For instance, I could classify myself as a non-smoker but I've never even thought of doing this unless I'm seeing a doctor. And it only really becomes relevant at airports or other areas. This term, non-smoker, has no meaning for me or personal identity/significance at all. Equally, we could say the same about non-alcoholic drinkers. No one cares so the distinction is meaningless. The only people that care are certain theists in conformance with their ideology. Therefore, atheism is reactionary. I don't see the need for this title if it's not important to theists in the first place.

 

[LuisDantas]

I'm not sure how much I agree with this. We don't label people non-football fans or non-democrats. Instead, the precedence has always been in the positive aspect of belief not the non part. The non aspect of titling seems to increase with cultural relevance.

Fair enough. But I don't think that the cultural relevance of theism is going to be forgotten any time soon.

For instance, I could classify myself as a non-smoker but I've never even thought of doing this unless I'm seeing a doctor.

Have you never had to point out whether you smoke or not? I feel safe to say that most of us have. I know that I had, fairly often at that - in airplanes, for instance.

And it only really becomes relevant at airports or other areas. This term, non-smoker, has no meaning for me or personal identity/significance at all. Equally, we could say the same about non-alcoholic drinkers. No one cares so the distinction is meaningless. The only people that cared are certain theists in conformance with their ideology. Therefore, atheists is reactionary. I don't see the need for this title if it's not important to theists in the first place.

For a long time still, there will be a need to tell the theistic from the non-theistic, don't you think?

 

[charlie sc]

For a long time still, there will be a need to tell the theistic from the non-theistic, don't you think?

Sadly, yes

 

[Subduction Zone]

By your definition.
This reminds me of Christian creeds that declare all other churches are not Christians!
You get more like a religion all the time.

No, not by my definition. I explained the different meanings of the word and it's usages. To communicate with others one cannot make up one's own private meanings of words.

 

[Hawkins]

According to the American Atheists website they state this

Atheism is one thing: A lack of belief in gods.
Atheism is not an affirmative belief that there is no god nor does it answer any other question about what a person believes. It is simply a rejection of the assertion that there are gods. Atheism is too often defined incorrectly as a belief system. To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods.
What is Atheism? | American Atheists

But in many discussions in this forum with many good Atheists i come across many ways to describe what atheism is.

Could i get some more info from Atheists in this forum? What is Atheism to you?

In my opinion, atheists are those following the educated line of reasoning that a belief must be supported by evidence. Or else doubting it is legitimate. This line of reasoning however is fallacious. While it's true that doubting a belief is legitimate, humans don't actually rely on evidence to approach a truth (of any kind). There are several reasons for humans to abandon such a an sound-to-be plausible approach. 1) digging evidence is never efficient. 2) humans lack the capability of digging evidence, thus 3) evidence are not available to humans.

The example I used many times as of late is,
When a friend told you that he had a big meal on Christmas, that remains the only way such a fact can convey. Demanding evidence for this historical event itself is a joke. You have 3 meals a day, 1000 meals a year. So by age 31 you already had more than 30,000 meals in your life. Show us the evidence of the food contents of any single 1 of them. If you can't, nor can the 7 billion humans in this world. You can't gather any evidence of 30,000 x 7 billion meals of today's humans by assuming an average age of 30!


Evidence? What is it, other than a joke?