I (Dave — John apparently wants to make it clear I’m the one who posted this) consider myself a devout athiest who came to it as a teenager after studying science, history, religion, the history of religion (something very few people learn about–quite eye opening), sociology, psychology and many other fields. Put it all together and I had the how and why religion developed, plus a more plausible, observable explaination of the universe to replace the theory that an invisible being created the universe. No God, god or gods required.
Atheists Put Their Faith In Ethical Behavior
Melissa and Chanse nibble on club sandwiches and french fries at a local coffee shop. To look at them, they’re just another young couple enjoying lunch on a weekday afternoon.
She wears stylish glasses, and her thick black hair is swept up in a ponytail; the only hint of a slightly rebellious streak is the tattoo that peeks from under her shirtsleeve. He is a slight, soft-spoken man with a laid-back demeanor and a full beard.
Melissa and Chanse are young atheists. They don’t believe in God. As such, they’re part of a small but substantial minority that swims against the overtly religious mainstream of America, a spiritual tenor that has grown more strident in recent times as issues of faith increasingly become entangled with politics and public policy.
“Right now, the fastest-growing religious identity in America is the nonreligious,” says Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF).
Dave sez:
For those who think athiests believe in nothing, make sure to read the whole article.
I knew there were a few more good reasons why I enjoy working with you.
Rock on!
AGH…just doing anything to stir up trouble! And on Sunday NO LESS.
Personally I find atheism to be another form of organized religion. And it does involve a “belief.” Whereas agnosticism makes more sense to me.
God exists. If you’re up to a real intellectual/
spiritual challenge, check out the Urantia Book.
It covers the religion-science-philosophy-
cosmosogy like nothing else in print…
And the Life of Jesus, yup. Totally
politically incorrect too about many things.
Dvorak blog readers should love it.
It’s online in a number of places too.
peace,
les
I’m not an antheist, but I think organized religion is nothing but a big money making scam.
Catholics are the worst. I was working one day when I responded to a first aid call at a local cathlolic church. As we were tending to the victim waiting for the first aid to arrive, the collection plate was being passed around. You would think, maybe they would wait a few minutes until the victim was tended to, but no, the collection continued almost right over the victim. I have no use at all for them.
As James Randi once said, “Atheism is a religion like not collecting stamps is a hobby.”
I’m an atheist, and I don’t belong to any organization that promotes Atheism, nor do you need to. The main reason people are not religious anymore is having to deal with going to boring church every week.
I know some organizations like this exist, but the real point of Atheism is NOT about having a disbelief of Jewish/Christan premise of God. It’s about living life with out worshiping a god. The literal translation of atheist is “with out god”
Steve that is not the meaning of “atheist”. you are correct “A” means without, but “theist” doesnt mean “belief in god” it simply means “god” so the translation is “without god”. Has nothing to do if you actually BELIVE god exists or not, that’s a different issue. Atheists live their life without god.
Thanks for the link, John. That was an excellent article on atheism.
Though this body of comment is obviously way too small to serve as any kind of sample, it’s equally obvious that the understanding of material reality that leads to atheism isn’t rooted in anything “conservative” or “liberal”. Just folks taking the time to learn enough science to backup the understanding they drew from reality in the first place.
An old bud of mine used to say “everyone is a spontaneous materialist”. You don’t actively worry about your favorite shrub bursting into flame and talking to you. You don’t consider the internal combustion engine to be a miracle when you start up your car to go to work. But, if the “prophets” whose interpretations of an ill-understood reality served as the foundation of contemporary religion — could be time-shifted to the 21st Century — they’d fall to the ground in the face of miracles surrounding them.
If you still consider all these processes miraculous in the face of an ever-expanding body of accumulated knowledge — if you think there are certain processes which are “unknowable” rather than “not yet known”, your problem is emotional, sociological, and, perhaps, clinical.
A bit off topic but a great read:
an exerpt from a new book about Bono, U2 lead singer, talking about religion:
http://tinyurl.com/96ycm
FTA:
You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that “as you reap, so you will sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.
which prompts my question, “Where is the Love in Athiesim?”
Author forgets one crucial point: people led by the pure reason and no religion are extremely unlikely to become zealots. Religious people are opposite. Hence, atheism despite all the reasoning is doomed to be a miniscule part of the society. If and when it gains any foothold it must be a part of some politically oppressive regime (example: communism, where the atheism was an official religion). It is just our nature to have organized irrational beleif system in order to be able to keep successful civil system (if you imagine civil society based on the dominant atheism, one can argue that it would be soon overun by some zealot-based religious system [ever heard of “dying for atheism” or “killing for atheism”? Now replace atheism with the religion of your choice…]).
Jim;
I don’t understand the question. What do you mean, “Where is the love in atheism?” Why do you think there isn’t love in an atheist’s viewpoint?
John;
“Personally I find atheism to be another form of organized religion. And it does involve a “belief.”
Of course atheism involves a belief. It is a belief system as much as anything else. But be careful when you use the word “religion” to describe atheism. Most people would define “religion” as a belief in a supernatural power. You almost make it sound like atheists believe in something which is just as lacking in evidence as Jesus.
When will athiests learn? The only way to win is not to play. Assertive athiesm is just as bad as any other understanding of metaphysics. They are neither provable nor disprovable. Since, they all boil down to “well, that is how I feel.” The arguments are unproductive and silly, you can’t persuade someone emotionally with the rational.
I too am an atheist. It’s the only thing that makes sense. If religion does not destroy the world first, than the human race will one day outgrow religion. It’s only a matter of time.
Religion props up a weak mind. Have the courage to look at your own mortality objectively.
Thank GOD, I`m an atheist
Excuse me?!?!…
I MUST be stupid, or something. HOW is not believing in any “supreme being or beings” a belief?
As Bob Heinlein once printed “Where’s your DATA? What are the FACTS?
History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.”
Contrary to popular OPINION, NOT believing is NOT equal to stating “There ain’t no such thing”, nor is it equal to agnosticism
Most of us simply find;
Too much bullsh-t in Organized Religion,
Too much Hypocrisy in god-of-your-choice drum-beaters,
Have had NO “revelations”, “proving” there is some sort of god,
and found too much data showing the universe doesn’t give a shit. What you get out of it is EXACTLY what you put in!
There ARE, of course, more reasons than those listed, but why would I want the “god-police” after me?
As for atheism being “an Organized Religion”…
hmmm, Where’s the church?… When are the “holy days”… Who is the “infalible leader[read “pope”]?… What are the tithes?… Where and when do we meet?… Any sorta hymn-book or prayer-book?… How “organized”, and by whom?… And what sort of “agenda” if any, is there? WHY do you “ass/u/me”, if we don’t believe in any sorta god, we MUST “believe” in something else?
If you’ll actually use the brain you were born with, you’ll see it’s not “organized”. Nor is it a “religion”. You can be damned-sure, if it fell under religion regulations as defined by the laws, everyone would pay less taxes and use more write-offs…
#19. Because it will be used against them. Look at the bulk of the arguments against atheism and you’ll see what I mean. If I were an atheist I’d be embarassed by some of these “I’m the victim” tactics. You aren’t a victim of anything except people not understanding the cosmos the same way you do. It isn’t like you are winning anyone over with the whining, quit it. People become atheist on their own, evangelical tactics just harm the movement.
Interesting, and some great food for thought. Ethics can be really important in life. It seems that the most un-godly shark/snake type people are sometimes the most mummified and militant religious people. In this new world, their own resistance to accept Ethics and general respect for others might cause destruction. Not only of themselves, but the entire human species.
Paul’s right in that there is a difference between religion and a belief in a god. Belief in a god(s) was the non-scientific era’s attempt to understand how and where we came from. It got codified in religions which were the tool of kings and emperors to control their people. Easier to get peasants to pay taxes and go to war by promising a better life after death. If you don’t, you go to a far worse fate. Best part for the rulers was they didn’t have to prove these fates existed (as if they could). Many just claimed they talked to God or were gods themselves.
Like I said in the post, understanding how and why religions were created and evolved (to coin a word) goes a long way to understanding the whole issue.
Cripes.
#22 So, being an atheist isn’t disobeying the majority? Why do you need to advertise the fact that you aren’t a believer of invisible men?
God doesn’t believe in atheists. I guess it works out well.
http://tinyurl.com/eclx9
Hey Dave/John,
What is a dyslexic agnostic with insomnia?
It’s someone who lies awake at night wandering if there is a Dog.
But seriously, does being an atheist mean not being spiritual? Do atheists have spirits? souls? or nothing?
Sharp,
As I was reading through all these posts I was trying to come up with something witty and profound. Then I get to the last post, yours. Nothing could say it better. That is a two thumbs up !!!
Atheists want to know the truth. The Religious don’t want to know the truth, they have faith that what they believe is the truth.
From the article:
“Green says atheists/agnostics as a group tend to be well educated and politically liberal (although, he says, there are atheist Republicans). They tend to cluster in big cities on the East and West coasts. They tend to be younger, not older. They tend to be male more than female.”
You can also find some here at: http://www.dvorak.org/blog/
“Nihilist: We believe in nothing, Lebowski. Nothing. ”
That pretty much sums it up for me.
I’m agnostic. Sure, I have epistemic and metaphysical reasons for it, but they’re mostly incidental to the pleasure it brings me. The fact is I have a perverse affection for rubbing the self-assured the wrong way.
I’m a Realist, not an Atheist although I don’t believe in God I do believe in reality. We are Realists practicing realism. The Church of Reality – if it’s real, we believe in it.
http://www.churchofreality.org
I think being atheist is more prevelant among the well educated, but I think that includes quite a few Republicans……and lets face it, when you remove the constraints of religion then people probably do tend to be more Liberal in their outlook.
Before anyone who is Liberal and believes attacks me, I don’t mean to imply being Liberal is being Godless…..lol….(Pat Robertson may disagree with that)
As someone said above, Morals, and Ethics don’t require belief in a God.