Are atheists pagans?

John J. Bannan said:
Isn't calling yourselves "atheists" really a new age label for paganism? Aren't atheists really just trying to run away from the negative perception on pagans - instead of embracing their ancient heritage?
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I really dont think we non-believers called ourselves Atheists...
I, for one, dont bother to call it anything. I just dont believe in any God. Its the theists the feel the need to name us.
 
Isnt Pagan just kinda name-calling by Christians, Jews and/or Muslims towards anyone that is outside their religion ?
 
Quote:
There is no generally accepted, single, current definition for the word "Pagan." The word is among the terms that the newsgroup alt.usage.english, calls "skunk words." They have varied meanings to different people. The field of religion is rife with such words. consider: Christian, cult, hell, heaven, occult, Paganism, pluralism, salvation, Witch, Witchcraft, Unitarian Universalist, Voodoo, etc. Each has so many meanings that they often cause misunderstandings wherever they are used. Unfortunately, most people do not know this, and naturally assume that the meaning that they have been taught is universally accepted. A reader must often look at the context in which the word is used in order to guess at the intent of the writer.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/paganism.htm

Therefore the question, are all atheists pagans? Is a non sequitur, it is a loaded trick question.
 
You're site also says that "The term "Pagan" was widely used by Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, etc. to refer to themselves."
 
You are all getting too bogged down in my comparison of the N word to pagan. Its not saying that they are on the same level at all.

I was merely responding to Johns assertion that it is foolish for atheists to not accept a name for them merely because it has a bad connotation. He painted athiests as cowards becasue they are afraid of this identity as a pagan because it has a bad connotation. That is similar to the bad connotation of the N word, which African Americans also try to escape being called.

Don't take the comparison too literally. Im just making the point that nobody wants to be called by a name with a bad connotation, and its not "denying your heritage" to not want to be called a slanderous vague word.

Now frankly, I dont care what you call me regarding my beliefs, but dont call me a coward for not accepting a name that doesnt identify me correctly.
 
Wow! Is that what I said? I think not. When did I say it was foolish to run from a negative label? Give a dog a bad name and you might as well hang him. Since when is "pagan" a slanderous word? Last time I checked, slanderous words per se comprised only of crimes, unchastity, contraction of loathsome diseases, and occupational misconduct.
 
Slander at its broadest is defamation.
Any negative comment could be seen as defamation should the recipient so take it that way.
 
Allright, It's settled then.
All you atheists here are officially pagans now!!
Welcome!

Let us join together at the temple of Goddess Hathor (Hetheru).
If she was good enough for the SGC ..she is good enough for the rest of us!:D



250px-Stargate_Hathor.jpg
 
John J. Bannan said:
Why, was ICEAGECIVS an attorney?
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:roflmao:
Ah, you know not how I laugh! The answer is no, hardly... and no reason for asking other than blind curiosity.

However, I believe it was Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) that said: "The lawyer's truth is not Truth, but consistency or a consistent expediency."

Seems apt.
 
John J. Bannan said:
Words can mean whatever people want them to mean. When people use a word to describe another group of people, that tells you something about the people and the word.
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Very sloppy.
It doesn't tell "you" (used in the universal sense) anything - it tells the people WITHIN the group something about how they are supposed to react to a certain other group.

John J. Bannan (emphasis mine) said:
It also tells YOU something about the people who don't want to be called by the word. This is not a playground game. This is a thoughtful exercise.
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It tells YOU jj bannan something, but that meaning you perceive may be derived from a miscommunication or misunderstanding, and as such i wouldn't put too much value in it.

The fact that the christian culture uses the word "pagan" as an epithet doesn't apply any universal negative value to the word. Also, defining the irreligious as pagans when the word is better used to describe a loosely defined religion is kind of a christian faux pas. Even if there was a reason for authors of the bible to use the word to describe the irreligious way back in the day, there seems to be reason enough not too now that centuries of religious practice has been classified as "pagan".
 
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