Is Atheism a guilt response?

[rjr6]

rjr6-theists implies that there are more than one of you, or you are stating it in a-smack self in the head,"Theists!"-way. My issue is that I don't know how to help you without you being more specific. It infuriates people when I say things like,"What is blue?". It's tough to answer an amorphus question. What information would you like? I think the matter of whether a study has been done has been beaten sufficiently to a pulp. Your newest question, are there different types of guilt or just different causes, can be answered simply, or with complexity. Simply guilt is one thing which can be caused by many things. A drop of complexity for you, Things which make me feel guilty probably have little or no effect on Simon Anders. Perhaps if he was my best buddy from next door who I did everything with... Even then, totally different paths to guilt. I step on a bug, I feel guilty. Does he feel guilty for me stepping on a bug? How about that he didn't stop me? Maybe he liked the squish, and feels guilty for liking it.

And I'd just like to point out to the side discussion about communists being atheists, communist governments which try to impose atheism have a hard time controlling their populace's thoughts and beliefs. Individuals who are communists are probably split between theists and atheists.

My question on type/causes of guilt were specifically directed at jdawg, only as he used it in his explanation to the question of this thread.

And your explanation of guilt and the vagaries of it's causes does invite an entire discourse of it's own.

 

[Simon Anders]

OK, so unresolved guilt means you feel bad about having run out of gold leaf before you were done or does it mean you still have some left?

In a real life discussion the pun works since we hear the word(s) and can confuse them, but three times now when it's written....?

 

[ylooshi]

Don't have one yet, gathering information. Atheism has many sects so it would be hard to test.

First, you would probably need to define what you mean by "sect" and provide some supporting examples of these sects. Next, you would need to show what the correlation is between these alleged "sects" and the alleged "guilt" that atheists, as a group, are supposed to have.

What sort of "guilt" are you expecting to find? Why would there be any "guilt" at all?

There are, without much doubt, atheists that are "guilty" at this moment of a variety of things ranging from infidelity to murder, from gullibility to being overly trusting of others. But what would be the reason to suggest that there might be different amounts of "guilt" among atheists than theists.

Indeed, it would seem more logical to argue that atheists feel less guilt than theists since they have no supernatural agent with which they perceive a requirement to appease. Atheists do, however, still have parents, spouses, children, employers, friends, etc to appease and failure to do so can create guilt, but, ostensibly, theists have have all these entities as well, with the addition of one more: a god.

Haven't given much thought to it.

I don't disagree.

 

[SANDMAN]

Everythig is it all in the MIND?

to do or think
our mind is very powerful
think of anythig
imagine what you want
ask your self
confuse your self
get out of reality and get in
eveyrthing is blank

 

[iceaura]

investigating guilt and it's maybe connection with atheism, or the act of seeking and holding atheistic beliefs.

I doubt most atheists have ever actively sought or held "atheistic beliefs".

I wouldn't be surprised, though, if a fair number who were raised in theistic cultures found themselves rejecting some particular kind of theistic belief at one time or another, and that reaction against an attempt at inculcating unwarranted or perverse guilt was part of that rejection.

 

[StrangerInAStrangeLand]

There's no such thing as atheist sects.
1111

 

[mike47]

The thread topic developed from an honest question in my attempt to understand atheist. Though it could be construed as antagonistic, agreed.

From the hip response: Have you seen a dog look guilty?

I guess all dogs look guilty..... .

Atheism is a belief and not a guilt because not all atheists are criminals although some of them might be...Aha-ha .

 

[StrangerInAStrangeLand]

-=-

Atheism is not a belief.