Atheists: Do you feel good about your beliefs?

[Dyakovo]

Gnostic atheism = "There is absolutely no god"

Agnostic atheism = "I have no reason to believe in a god so I LACK that belief"

The majority of atheists are agnostic atheists. I hope that clears it up for you.

And if someone is simply an agnostic?

Not possible.

[Dyakovo]

Could you rephrase that?

What difference does it make if someone takes the "I don't know" position between "Yeah, there are gods" and "No, there aren't"?

It's intellectually dishonest.

[Blouman Empire]

And if someone is simply an agnostic?

Not possible.

Why not? Are all the people who say they are agnostic not?

The black-or-white crowd will continue to insist there are no other possibilities.

This is NSG, it is usually one or the other

Then they're really different mentally, because they are somehow able to hold the stance on a yes or no question of... actually, I don't think there's a word for it. If they say they don't know, that's not answering the yes or no question of what they believe. Just whether or not they know. You either believe in a god or gods or do not believe in a god or gods. There is no third option.

I will admit that Carl Sagan was defferent mentally, but that was a good kind of different. If you are asked the question, you can say yes, you can say no, you can say I don't care, you can say, I don't but there might be.

What difference does it make if someone takes the "I don't know" position between "Yeah, there are gods" and "No, there aren't"?

The main difference is one holds the belief that there is none, and the other doesn't hold the belief and sometimes may also hold the possibility that there could be one or more.

[Imsogone]

Not possible.

Why not? Are all the people who say they are agnostic not?

The black-or-white crowd will continue to insist there are no other possibilities.

This is NSG, it is usually one or the other

Then they're really different mentally, because they are somehow able to hold the stance on a yes or no question of... actually, I don't think there's a word for it. If they say they don't know, that's not answering the yes or no question of what they believe. Just whether or not they know. You either believe in a god or gods or do not believe in a god or gods. There is no third option.

I will admit that Carl Sagan was defferent mentally, but that was a good kind of different. If you are asked the question, you can say yes, you can say no, you can say I don't care, you can say, I don't but there might be.

What difference does it make if someone takes the "I don't know" position between "Yeah, there are gods" and "No, there aren't"?

The main difference is one holds the belief that there is none, and the other doesn't hold the belief and sometimes may also hold the possibility that there could be one or more.

How about those who hold the position that the question of deity is simply not important enough to consider?

[Tlaceceyaya]

Not possible.

Why not? Are all the people who say they are agnostic not?

Then they're really different mentally, because they are somehow able to hold the stance on a yes or no question of... actually, I don't think there's a word for it. If they say they don't know, that's not answering the yes or no question of what they believe. Just whether or not they know. You either believe in a god or gods or do not believe in a god or gods. There is no third option.

I will admit that Carl Sagan was defferent mentally, but that was a good kind of different. If you are asked the question, you can say yes, you can say no, you can say I don't care, you can say, I don't but there might be.

1: They are not, because it is impossible. If they say that they don't know, then they lack an active belief in a deity and are therefore atheists. I can call myself a space walrus, but that doesn't mean I am.

2: Carl Sagan (falsely) equated all atheism with gnostic atheism, as far as I can tell. He lacked a belief in a deity, and so he was an atheist. Not the kind he is quoted as talking about, though.

[Page]

"Every day when we wake we have a choice that we make between love and fear. So don't spend your life setting up for the next, 'cause Heaven and Hell ain't real." The Wild - Mudlines

Yes, I feel very good about my beliefs.

[Lestavia]

I'm quite content with my lot in the universe now that I've become an atheist, much more so then when I would be racked with guilt for having doubts as to whether or not a god exists.

[Christmahanikwanzikah]

Why not? Are all the people who say they are agnostic not?



This is NSG, it is usually one or the other



I will admit that Carl Sagan was defferent mentally, but that was a good kind of different. If you are asked the question, you can say yes, you can say no, you can say I don't care, you can say, I don't but there might be.



The main difference is one holds the belief that there is none, and the other doesn't hold the belief and sometimes may also hold the possibility that there could be one or more.

How about those who hold the position that the question of deity is simply not important enough to consider?

That's intellectually lazy and a cop-out to boot.

[Christmahanikwanzikah]

I'm a devout Christian and I've never understood how someone could happily live as an atheist who believes that they won't go to heaven.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFPajU-d-Ek

Heaven is a place on Earth...

... except digital copyrights and the like exist here for some reason.

[The Blaatschapen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFPajU-d-Ek

Heaven is a place on Earth...

... except digital copyrights and the like exist here for some reason.

God doesn't exist. But digital copyrights are clearly a work of the devil

[Christmahanikwanzikah]

Heaven is a place on Earth...

... except digital copyrights and the like exist here for some reason.

God doesn't exist. But digital copyrights are clearly a work of the devil

You can find him in Georgia.

Unfortunately, the RIAA aren't HQ'd there, too.

[The Blaatschapen]

God doesn't exist. But digital copyrights are clearly a work of the devil

You can find him in Georgia.

Unfortunately, the RIAA aren't HQ'd there, too.

Which Georgia?

[Christmahanikwanzikah]

Why are Christians specially immune from criticism?

Maybe Christians should pray for their immunity first.

I must be prayin' real hard, 'coz I haven't been sick in ages!

[Imsogone]

How about those who hold the position that the question of deity is simply not important enough to consider?

That's intellectually lazy and a cop-out to boot.

Oh, really?!?

And perhaps the perpetual argument about a figure whose existence rests solely on faith and cannot be proven is nothing more than intellectual masturbation and a refuge from facing things that are important..

[Christmahanikwanzikah]

You can find him in Georgia.

Unfortunately, the RIAA aren't HQ'd there, too.

Which Georgia?

Which one's hotter?

Though, admittedly, he would move out from a ex-Communist state...

[The Blaatschapen]

Which Georgia?

Which one's hotter?

Though, admittedly, he would move out from a ex-Communist state...

No idea which one is hotter, I'm not the weather man.

[Ygolonacoragi]

As a Theravadan Buddhist, I have no belief in any god. By seeing the end of my life as the end of me, I can weigh my time and actions and use them with consciously.

[Christmahanikwanzikah]

That's intellectually lazy and a cop-out to boot.

Oh, really?!?

And perhaps the perpetual argument about a figure whose existence rests solely on faith and cannot be proven is nothing more than intellectual masturbation and a refuge from facing things that are important..

Some of the greatest thinkers of time have come up with ideas that have changed philosophy because they have challenged why we're here and what our ultimate purpose is. To ignore the question because the answer is either trivial to you or just isn't sexy ignores how this question has changed the progression of human history and contributes nothing.

[Christmahanikwanzikah]

Which one's hotter?

Though, admittedly, he would move out from a ex-Communist state...

No idea which one is hotter, I'm not the weather man.

Pretty sure that's the state of Georgia (in these United States of Amurrika), rather than the State of Georgia (what with that Russian invasion and confused Texans and whatnot).

[Imsogone]

Oh, really?!?

And perhaps the perpetual argument about a figure whose existence rests solely on faith and cannot be proven is nothing more than intellectual masturbation and a refuge from facing things that are important..

Some of the greatest thinkers of time have come up with ideas that have changed philosophy because they have challenged why we're here and what our ultimate purpose is. To ignore the question because the answer is either trivial to you or just isn't sexy ignores how this question has changed the progression of human history and contributes nothing.

So you believe that spiritual and philosophical discussions must have deity, or lack thereof, somehow at the center? Are you of the opinion that, absent the concept of deity, there can be no intellectual progress?

[Manly Albanians]

I have only ever met one theist, I would like if there were a god, but there is just no evidence, make the most of this life, it's the only one you get.

[Christmahanikwanzikah]

Some of the greatest thinkers of time have come up with ideas that have changed philosophy because they have challenged why we're here and what our ultimate purpose is. To ignore the question because the answer is either trivial to you or just isn't sexy ignores how this question has changed the progression of human history and contributes nothing.

So you believe that spiritual and philosophical discussions must have deity, or lack thereof, somehow at the center? Are you of the opinion that, absent the concept of deity, there can be no intellectual progress?

No, I'm not. There's been plenty of philosophical debate outside of theology (or the assumption of a lack thereof) that's contributed to humanity. But it's just too big a question to just ignore, because it seems to hit at the heart of our natural curiosity about ourselves.

[Embara]

I'm a devout Christian and I've never understood how someone could happily live as an atheist who believes that they won't go to heaven. When I say atheists I don't mean Buddhists or anything, I mean the ones who think that death is the end.

Are you happy thinking that? Does it make you feel more intelligent? Would you LIKE there to be a God?

Personally if I was atheist I'd be depressed as hell going through life thinking like that. What are your opinions?

all right, lots of questions here, so...

I'm a devout Christian and I've never understood how someone could happily live as an atheist who believes that they won't go to heaven.

It means that you have a chance to do good on Earth and if that's all you have, you don't waste it. you go out, you do what you need to do to improve the world and society as a whole

death is the end.

Are you happy thinking that?

When you just bluntly put it that way, why no, it rather makes me feel depressed. However, Death isn't always bad.

Does it make you feel more intelligent?

I'm assuming you mean the death is the end bit, in which case....dafrack does that have to do with anything? I don't know, does believing that a bunch of middle aged white guys in power in the middle ages compiled and edited your bible make you feel more intelligent?

Would you LIKE there to be a God?

not necessarily because that would mean that this God also created evil, or the root of it, and thus, is at fault for evil rather than the human personality.

Personally if I was atheist I'd be depressed as hell going through life thinking like that. What are your opinions?

my opinion is that you say that because you're a devout Christian. I was raised as a strict, conservative Christian, and have grown to believe that Heaven and Hell are just things created by ancient civilizations to promote their own laws and orders.

[Imsogone]

So you believe that spiritual and philosophical discussions must have deity, or lack thereof, somehow at the center? Are you of the opinion that, absent the concept of deity, there can be no intellectual progress?

No, I'm not. There's been plenty of philosophical debate outside of theology (or the assumption of a lack thereof) that's contributed to humanity. But it's just too big a question to just ignore, because it seems to hit at the heart of our natural curiosity about ourselves.

My curiosity about myself and the rest of the human race is quite fulfilled by studying history, anthropology and various sciences. I understand that religion has played a huge role in the past. What I have trouble with is the why it continues to play such a substantial - and substantially destructive - role.

[Kubrath]

I'm a devout Christian and I've never understood how someone could happily live as an atheist who believes that they won't go to heaven. When I say atheists I don't mean Buddhists or anything, I mean the ones who think that death is the end.

Are you happy thinking that? Does it make you feel more intelligent? Would you LIKE there to be a God?

Personally if I was atheist I'd be depressed as hell going through life thinking like that. What are your opinions?

If that's how you think, then you have either never met an Atheist before or someone has lied to you and told you we were depressed and sad, because of our beliefs (priest are usually good at this).

No, personally, I'm even happier than I was when I was a Christian. Why? I no longer lie to myself saying "Even if this crap doesn't work out, I'd still make something worthwhile up there," now I tell myself "I'm gonna make the most of it, even if it kills me"

When I was a Christian (I'm 18 by the way), I didn't really have any prospect for the future or desire to solve the many problems I had then in school and such, because I knew there'd be something better awaiting me after I die. Then, as I grew up, I started getting myself, out of sheer curiosity, more and more informed about my own religion and religion as a whole.

The more I knew, the less content and happy I was with mine. Not only did I feel deceived, but also amazed by the things that were in the Bible I never even knew were written. Horrible, disgusting ideas that I as a human being could not make myself endorse in the name of Christ, whom I still respect but no longer view the same way.

The more Atheistic I became the more I took my life into my own hands. I now have a clear prospect of what I want to do with my life, I have gained the strength and courage to fix most of my problems and I no longer view life as just an elevator to a magical place. I'm not going to just get a degree, get a job, get married, buy a house, make a kid and die. That's what a religious person might be content with, but atheists usually tend to want more from life, because we know it's most likely our only chance at this.

To finish this up, from my observations, I actually find most Atheists I know to be more joyful and happier than most Theists I know.

Edit: Sorry, I forgot there were more questions than that!

Am I happy thinking that? Hell yes I am! I know longer live with the idea that I'm going to spend an eternity praising a dude who frankly doesn't deserve it. Eternal bliss sounds good at first, but then you start focusing on the ETERNAL part and realize the gratuitous amounts of boredom you will have to endure. Forever.
Sorry, but I'd rather accomplish something in real life and die knowing I lived my life the way I wanted than to know I'd have to spend forever with big daddy.

Does it make me feel more intelligent? I don't know how intelligence feels like but I do know I've gotten more intelligent by reading a lot and discussing a good deal about it.

Would I like there to be a God? It depends on which god. Definitely won't be Jehovah, maybe a collection of Gods. The Norse gods re awesome, I think I'd like it if they existed. At least they stand behind the virtue of honor.