I could not agree more.przyk said:
All that is left to do is remind everybody to be sure to fill in the "Religion" section of their application.
The Atheist Republic
- Thread starter Pi-Sudoku
- Start date
All that is left to do is remind everybody to be sure to fill in the "Religion" section of their application.
I wouldn't call atheism a religion, but I do think it is a belief system. One can not prove that God exists, nor can one prove that God does not exist.
As such, theists believe in the existence of God...without proof.
Atheists believe in the non-existence of God...again, without proof.
As for myself, I am an agnostic. I have no proof either way. As such, I feel my only rational choice is to wait for proof of one or the other. Which I feel is not likely to happen.
As such, theists believe in the existence of God...without proof.
Atheists believe in the non-existence of God...again, without proof.
As for myself, I am an agnostic. I have no proof either way. As such, I feel my only rational choice is to wait for proof of one or the other. Which I feel is not likely to happen.
C
charles cure
Guest
Poincare's Stepchild said:
i'm an atheist and i dont believe in anything. it just seems obvious that there is no god and so i continue on with my life. the existence of god is inconsequential to me. what bothers me is religion.
Everything is a belief system. I've heard this a billion times.Poincare's Stepchild said:
Yes, but the assertion is made that god exists. We look and see no god. Being asked to prove the opposite is just plain stupid. I can postulate an infinity of things. One of my favorite is the flying spaghetti monster. God is on the same footing, only much less likely given the thousands of years of questing with no results. We've only just begun seeking the FSM.
No. Absolutely wrong. Atheists do not believe in anything. Saying that is the same as saying that I believe in the non-existence of the FSM. No. We simply don't postulate something for which we have no proof, no matter what it is or who suggests it.
That's nice. But why make a choice at all regarding a fantasy suggestion (as god is without evidence)? Just simply refuse to postulate something that is in no way suggested by any evidence. Just be an a-theist. It's easy.
charles cure said:
As far as I am aware atheism is simply a point of view which is 'do not believe in existance of a 'god'......... the end.
Atheism isn't a country or town or city, it is NOT a religion or political party, alliance etc so it really shouldn't have any laws should it?
When you start asking that people use this 'point of view' to form an alliance with others who share this point of view, start electing leaders, initiating rules, giving out prizes, you have something MORE than a point of view thats now being expressed.
You have yet another 'group' that wishes to separate itself and mark itself out as different to the rest of the population. Who else does this?...............ah yes the religious, the political, the cults.
Now as this is NOT a religion and it's NOT a political party, that only leaves CULT.
Of course this 'cult' only relates to Pi's intent to make it a 'group'. Without the group it is again, merely a point of view again.
Theoryofrelativity said:
Athel, I have already stated atheism in itself is nothing more than an opinion expressed, its Pi's group that I define as having the makings of a cult
Athelwulf said:
well our Pi is attempting to (note his new tag ... 'president of ' ) set himself up as 'prime leader' with followers who he 'can banish' and 'reward'....for the record, I actually don't really think Pi's party is a cult, but what the heck is it??????
It will be yet another nuisance group like all the rest...don't we have enough division with out atheists dropping their 'just expressing an opinion' stance and forming a great big group of separateness?
copied from web:
"ATHEISM IS NOT A RELIGION OR A FAITH!
Atheism, by definition, is the absence of theism. If you cannot say "I believe in a Deity/God/Supreme Being" then you are an atheist. If you are not a theist, then you are an atheist.
As mentioned in the Introduction page, there is a subtle but important difference between "believing there is no God", and "not believing there is a God". The first is a belief, the second is a lack of that belief. I don't know any atheists who "believe" God (take your pick, there are plenty) does not exist. All the atheists I know simply do not believe God does exist.
There is a big difference between positively believing that a thing does not exist, and simply lacking belief in it's existence. In many cases, atheists will say "That God does not exist", not because they choose to do so, but because, from the description of the God, it cannot exist due to contradictory attributes. In the same way that a square circle cannot (and therefore does not) exist, a God defined as (for example) all-knowing, yet cannot see into the future, cannot and does not exist because the definition is self-contradictory. If you describe your God with self-contradicting attributes which make it logically impossible, then I may safely say that such a thing does not exist as described. This is not faith - this is reason.
If someone asked you about unicorns, would you say "I believe there are no unicorns", or would it be more honest to say "I do not believe in unicorns"? These are two different answers. Nobody disbelieves in unicorns purely as a matter of personal faith.
Again, apply the same reasoning to the Gods of other religions. Example : if you are a Christian, do you believe the Hindu God Ganesh does not exist? Or do you not believe in Ganesh?
If you believe that unicorns do not exist, then may I say that you a member of the "No unicorns" religion? Is it a matter of faith that unicorns do not exist? Can I come along to your non-unicorn church with you tomorrow?
If you are a Christian, do you believe Ganesh does not exist? Why, then you must be a devout follower of the "No Ganesh" faith!
Do you see where this is going? [ Sarcasm may be the lowest form of wit, but it's excellent for getting a point across. ]
If me not believing in your God is a faith, then you not believing in other Gods is an equal faith. How many Christians do you know who would say they do not believe in other Gods as a matter of faith?
If my atheism with respect to your deity is a religion, then your atheism with respect to other deities is also a religion.
Atheism is neither religion nor faith, but the happy freedom from them. Declaring it to be otherwise, sadly, will not make it so."
Pi's feeling the need to form a group of members, with banishings and rewards, rules and guidelines of conduct makes it seem 'more' religion point of view' he is taking, see below:
"Atheism is a religion", for some strange reason, is often used by theists to criticise non-believers. A couple of examples from my email and guestbook:
"Do you have a belief that atheism is true? If no, then you're lying, if yes, then you are acting on faith. If you don't believe in God, you must believe in something or someone else. An atheist doesn't simply lack positive belief in God. The atheist has positive belief in the non-existence of God."
There are Ulterior Motives to Atheism, namely : Admitting the obvious of an INtelligent Creator introduces accountability and someone who is bigger and more important than oneself ...and, it impedes on the present less than desirable and/or immoral (incl. sexually, in most cases) lifestyle that the Atheist has chosen for himself. Both of these can be summarized by Pride."
Pi desiring to make his atheism more 'real and true' implies faith in atheism.
"ATHEISM IS NOT A RELIGION OR A FAITH!
Atheism, by definition, is the absence of theism. If you cannot say "I believe in a Deity/God/Supreme Being" then you are an atheist. If you are not a theist, then you are an atheist.
As mentioned in the Introduction page, there is a subtle but important difference between "believing there is no God", and "not believing there is a God". The first is a belief, the second is a lack of that belief. I don't know any atheists who "believe" God (take your pick, there are plenty) does not exist. All the atheists I know simply do not believe God does exist.
There is a big difference between positively believing that a thing does not exist, and simply lacking belief in it's existence. In many cases, atheists will say "That God does not exist", not because they choose to do so, but because, from the description of the God, it cannot exist due to contradictory attributes. In the same way that a square circle cannot (and therefore does not) exist, a God defined as (for example) all-knowing, yet cannot see into the future, cannot and does not exist because the definition is self-contradictory. If you describe your God with self-contradicting attributes which make it logically impossible, then I may safely say that such a thing does not exist as described. This is not faith - this is reason.
If someone asked you about unicorns, would you say "I believe there are no unicorns", or would it be more honest to say "I do not believe in unicorns"? These are two different answers. Nobody disbelieves in unicorns purely as a matter of personal faith.
Again, apply the same reasoning to the Gods of other religions. Example : if you are a Christian, do you believe the Hindu God Ganesh does not exist? Or do you not believe in Ganesh?
If you believe that unicorns do not exist, then may I say that you a member of the "No unicorns" religion? Is it a matter of faith that unicorns do not exist? Can I come along to your non-unicorn church with you tomorrow?
If you are a Christian, do you believe Ganesh does not exist? Why, then you must be a devout follower of the "No Ganesh" faith!
Do you see where this is going? [ Sarcasm may be the lowest form of wit, but it's excellent for getting a point across.
] If me not believing in your God is a faith, then you not believing in other Gods is an equal faith. How many Christians do you know who would say they do not believe in other Gods as a matter of faith?
If my atheism with respect to your deity is a religion, then your atheism with respect to other deities is also a religion.
Atheism is neither religion nor faith, but the happy freedom from them. Declaring it to be otherwise, sadly, will not make it so."
Pi's feeling the need to form a group of members, with banishings and rewards, rules and guidelines of conduct makes it seem 'more' religion point of view' he is taking, see below:
"Atheism is a religion", for some strange reason, is often used by theists to criticise non-believers. A couple of examples from my email and guestbook:
"Do you have a belief that atheism is true? If no, then you're lying, if yes, then you are acting on faith. If you don't believe in God, you must believe in something or someone else. An atheist doesn't simply lack positive belief in God. The atheist has positive belief in the non-existence of God."
There are Ulterior Motives to Atheism, namely : Admitting the obvious of an INtelligent Creator introduces accountability and someone who is bigger and more important than oneself ...and, it impedes on the present less than desirable and/or immoral (incl. sexually, in most cases) lifestyle that the Atheist has chosen for himself. Both of these can be summarized by Pride."
Pi desiring to make his atheism more 'real and true' implies faith in atheism.
Why has athiests 'leader' Pi been banned from sciforums?
he got banned for using the term 'fucking jews'
And everybody knows Jews don't fuck, eh?
[/sarcasm]
One has to wonder if the same censorship (if, indeed, that was the only thing that got him banned) would apply if someone said, "fucking Christians" or even "fucking atheists." I'm betting there's more to his banning, but it still has to be acknowledged that there exists a different sentiment toward the Jewish faith than to other faiths with regard to criticism.
[/sarcasm]
One has to wonder if the same censorship (if, indeed, that was the only thing that got him banned) would apply if someone said, "fucking Christians" or even "fucking atheists." I'm betting there's more to his banning, but it still has to be acknowledged that there exists a different sentiment toward the Jewish faith than to other faiths with regard to criticism.
If you had read it, you would've seen that Atheism doesn't fit the dictionary definition – not the layman's definition – of either "religion" or "cult". Instead you daftly restated your assertion as if it made it any less of a misconception.cool skill said:
I'll wait until you can read my post and comprehend it properly.
i am Pi's friend from school and have read the thread that got him banned, the moderator was james rSkinWalker said: