What are your thoughts on Atheism?

[Herargon]

I don't believe in atheism.

(This is true atheism).

[Storybr00ke]

Atheism is a strong topic and is very debatable for me. I believe that when we die, your bodies rot. That is fact. But no one knows what happens after we die. I know that there is an idea of something to believe in, so we can hope for another time after we die. But no one knows and that is the point I would like to make clear. I mean some people may believe that there is a light at the end, but maybe they're hallucinating. Maybe they are merely making themselves believe that there is, just because they don't want to accept death. I like to believe that there is more. Most religions retain to the belief of some higher power. its just hard to tell if they're beliefs are worth believing. People can be convincing and deceiving. Its up to you whether you believe, and hope, or be totally realistic. I believe that both are okay, there may be nothing there and I am okay with that. I know that science is right but I like to hope.

[The Laxus Union]

So, to everyone, religious and otherwise.
What are your thoughts on atheism, and why?

Also, if you're not an atheist, what would convince you to be one?
If you are one, what convinced you to be atheist?

Well I am an atheist and I think it is an accurate position on one question (Is there higher beings that created the universe or specific aspects of it?). It is a position that has been largely villainized by the religious majority, and needs to be reinforced by scientists and skeptics.

How I became an Atheist? Well once upon a time there was a very intelligent boy that loved science and craved knowledge with a very religious mother whom he loved dearly. This led to the boy to be not very skeptical, embracing creationism, cryptozoology, and ufology. And that was how he was for quite a while. Then one day in high school, he grew up, realized evolution answered questions about the natural world where creationism just raised more. He had long thought his mother to be wrong on many things (it didn't help that he was the one she came to for answers to things not spiritual). Slowly he questioned wether there really were higher beings, the existence of the soul, and monsters in the woods. After he had seen what he missed he embraced the new ideas quietly. Then one day he broke his mother's heart in the museum of natural history, a wound only time would heal.

And that is how I became an atheist. Mother has gotten over it for the most part, but holds crazier beliefs now that she discovered youtube. Whenever I want to rage at ignorant creationists, I have to remember to be gentle, as I was once one of them.

My story is similar to yours only I became an atheist at age 11. I am now 14

[Degenerate Heart of HetRio]

I don't believe in atheism.

(This is true atheism).

More like gourmet atheism.

Everything but theism, deism, pantheism, panentheism and whatever other sorts is atheism.

[Creepoc Infinite]

Atheism is a strong topic and is very debatable for me. I believe that when we die, your bodies rot. That is fact. But no one knows what happens after we die. I know that there is an idea of something to believe in, so we can hope for another time after we die. But no one knows and that is the point I would like to make clear. I mean some people may believe that there is a light at the end, but maybe they're hallucinating. Maybe they are merely making themselves believe that there is, just because they don't want to accept death. I like to believe that there is more. Most religions retain to the belief of some higher power. its just hard to tell if they're beliefs are worth believing. People can be convincing and deceiving. Its up to you whether you believe, and hope, or be totally realistic. I believe that both are okay, there may be nothing there and I am okay with that. I know that science is right but I like to hope.

Regardless, only one or none or the religions can be right. If one of them is right, the odds are that we're all fucked anyway. It's more possible they are all wrong, for the same reasons Christianity is false.
It could be some god we haven't even discovered yet, the possibilities are infinite.
It could even be Gozer the Gozarian
Regardless, the most possibly correct side is atheism.

[Creepoc Infinite]

Well I am an atheist and I think it is an accurate position on one question (Is there higher beings that created the universe or specific aspects of it?). It is a position that has been largely villainized by the religious majority, and needs to be reinforced by scientists and skeptics.

How I became an Atheist? Well once upon a time there was a very intelligent boy that loved science and craved knowledge with a very religious mother whom he loved dearly. This led to the boy to be not very skeptical, embracing creationism, cryptozoology, and ufology. And that was how he was for quite a while. Then one day in high school, he grew up, realized evolution answered questions about the natural world where creationism just raised more. He had long thought his mother to be wrong on many things (it didn't help that he was the one she came to for answers to things not spiritual). Slowly he questioned wether there really were higher beings, the existence of the soul, and monsters in the woods. After he had seen what he missed he embraced the new ideas quietly. Then one day he broke his mother's heart in the museum of natural history, a wound only time would heal.

And that is how I became an atheist. Mother has gotten over it for the most part, but holds crazier beliefs now that she discovered youtube. Whenever I want to rage at ignorant creationists, I have to remember to be gentle, as I was once one of them.

My story is similar to yours only I became an atheist at age 11. I am now 14

Good for you, I became atheist at age 14 as well. That was three years ago.

[The Blaatschapen]

I'm an atheist.

I'm fairly indifferent about the concept of a higher being. And the people who have a very clearly defined concept of a highber being and try to sell it to me, only do it to get me to conform to some arbitrary ruleset. Supposedly made by said higher being, but with no way of verifying that it actually comes from said being. In other words, they want me to comply to their arbitrary ruleset with no proper reasnoning behind it except "because I say so". And since those people are not my mom.... it won't work

[Dyakovo]

My thoughts on atheism?
Ummm, it's a lack of belief in a deity... Someone telling you they're an atheist tells you literally nothing else about them.
What convinced me to be an atheist?
Nothing. I've always been an atheist. Not everyone was a theist at some point. A better question to ask would be to ask theists what convinced them to convert as everyone was an atheist at some point.

[Blakullar]

I am an atheist, so it'd be pretty silly for me to have anything but a positive view of it.

I am not, however, one of those idiots who actively go out of their way to harass people who are religious. An atheist that does this ranks alongside Tony Blair on the list of people I would love to give the most ear-blistering public bollocking they've ever had, if not punch out on sight.

[Valaran]

Ambivalent about atheism. I suppose I agree with the general standpoint on many things, but I don't feel strongly either way.

I do draw a distinction between atheists and anti-theists, but again not much of one.

[Conserative Morality]

I have way more fun than my fellow atheists, because my atheism is founded on a philosophical opposition to the concept of the divine.

[Dyakovo]

I don't believe in atheism.

(This is true atheism).

No, that's just a moronic statement.

[Blakullar]

I don't believe in atheism.

(This is true atheism).

No, that's just a moronic statement.

They're almost certainly trying to be funny.

[Soldati Senza Confini]

So, to everyone, religious and otherwise.
What are your thoughts on atheism, and why?

Also, if you're not an atheist, what would convince you to be one?
If you are one, what convinced you to be atheist?

Well I am an atheist and I think it is an accurate position on one question (Is there higher beings that created the universe or specific aspects of it?). It is a position that has been largely villainized by the religious majority, and needs to be reinforced by scientists and skeptics.

How I became an Atheist? Well once upon a time there was a very intelligent boy that loved science and craved knowledge with a very religious mother whom he loved dearly. This led to the boy to be not very skeptical, embracing creationism, cryptozoology, and ufology. And that was how he was for quite a while. Then one day in high school, he grew up, realized evolution answered questions about the natural world where creationism just raised more. He had long thought his mother to be wrong on many things (it didn't help that he was the one she came to for answers to things not spiritual). Slowly he questioned wether there really were higher beings, the existence of the soul, and monsters in the woods. After he had seen what he missed he embraced the new ideas quietly. Then one day he broke his mother's heart in the museum of natural history, a wound only time would heal.

And that is how I became an atheist. Mother has gotten over it for the most part, but holds crazier beliefs now that she discovered youtube. Whenever I want to rage at ignorant creationists, I have to remember to be gentle, as I was once one of them.

To be honest, as a religious person even I think Creationism is hogwash.

Why? Because my father, even though he wanted us to be religious, he also fostered in us a very critical mind and to accept science as it is because they have data, we do not; and religion shouldn't be messing with science.

It's why I can both believe in God and I can also say Creationism is nothing but bullshit.

[Ifreann]

No, that's just a moronic statement.

They're almost certainly trying to be funny.

And failing.

[Intaglio]

I'm fine with atheists, as long as they are polite and don't constantly go around bashing people with faith

[Blakullar]

They're almost certainly trying to be funny.

And failing.

Well, there's a reason I said trying...

[Ifreann]

I'm fine with atheists, as long as they are polite and don't constantly go around bashing people with faith

No dice.

[Herargon]

Actually, I am agnostic. That is because NOBODY really sure knows if there is a God or not. And nobody alive knows if there is an afterlife." If there is a god, why is he then not present?" is an atheists argument. "If there is no god, then how can there be wonders?" is the deists argument.
My argument is as following: Wonders might be statistically very unlikely, but that doesn't make them scientifically impossible. That nobody alive knows if there is an afterlife or not, doesn't make an afterlife impossible. Thus it's impossible to say if He/She/Pasta/Helix exists, or not, in my opinion.

[Degenerate Heart of HetRio]

I have way more fun than my fellow atheists, because my atheism is founded on a philosophical opposition to the concept of the divine.

My atheism is not originally based on anything. I simply sucked at theism. All that giggle about philosophy came just as pretext for me to accept myself and come out.

[Ifreann]

Actually, I am agnostic.

That's not incompatible with being either a theist or atheist. It's not a middle ground between them. It's not the rational alternative to two extremes. You do not look smarter for identifying yourself as an agnostic.

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

My story is similar to yours only I became an atheist at age 11. I am now 14

Good for you, I became atheist at age 14 as well. That was three years ago.

It took me a bit longer (18), but I regret nothing, the experience helped form me and my sense of humor.

To be honest, as a religious person even I think Creationism is hogwash.

Why? Because my father, even though he wanted us to be religious, he also fostered in us a very critical mind and to accept science as it is because they have data, we do not; and religion shouldn't be messing with science.

It's why I can both believe in God and I can also say Creationism is nothing but bullshit.

I am happy to hear that.

I wasn't totally brainwashed, even though I dipped into conspiracy theorist territory at times. I never bought it when my mother said "Demons make people act bad," and "Spirits jump out of images" because in her mind there was so much of that going on, I should have been able to see it and free will shouldn't exist (I now believe that free will doesn't exist for other better reasons). Now I know that it is all a big steaming pile of BS that changes every time you poke it.

[Utilitarian Garibaldi]

why do people care about god and atheism so much? On one side are the theists who are loud and usually stupid, and the other side are the Atheists who for some hypocritical reason have made it their live's meaning to say how stupid the theists are.

[Al Nahar]

Too much evil is in the world for a god to exist, if a god exists then he must be really cruel to allow all this hell to happen.

[Oceans Haven]

Actually, I am agnostic. That is because NOBODY really sure knows if there is a God or not. And nobody alive knows if there is an afterlife." If there is a god, why is he then not present?" is an atheists argument. "If there is no god, then how can there be wonders?" is the deists argument.
My argument is as following: Wonders might be statistically very unlikely, but that doesn't make them scientifically impossible. That nobody alive knows if there is an afterlife or not, doesn't make an afterlife impossible. Thus it's impossible to say if He/She/Pasta/Helix exists, or not, in my opinion.

that sums me up pretty well. i attend weekly church meetings because my dad wanted me to but i dont mind because you can still learn good things from the bible. as for atheism, i view it the same as anything else. you have youre ideas, i have mine. long as we dont impede on each other or other people i dont care. but i will note tho being agnostic and open to ideas that im leaning towards there being a God but wouldnt say for certain without knowing more.