NationStates

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?

My reasoning behind knowing Christians and likely all other religions are wrong is this:

The reasons why we cannot prove or disprove the existence of a god is because of this:
God is only a word. If you wrote on a piece of paper the word "GOD" other people would look at it and see different things, interpret the word as meaning something different. If you wrote a word like "GUN" everyone knows what it is.
God is a word with no clear definition, that's why we can't prove or disprove it. We don't know anything about this god to take any definitive stance on the issue of whether or not he exists.
That's why I am an Agnostic Atheist in that regard.
I don't know if there is a god, because we have no information on what the hell a god is.
However, the problem arises when you take away the mystery and ambiguity surrounding the very basic and abstract concept of god.
If you define god in a way that we could test the definition, we wouldn't really disprove the existence of a god, we would just disprove the existence of that particular definition of a god.
Religions go as far to describe how god thinks, what he wants, what he looks like, how he operates, his personality, his involvement in human affairs.
These thing are described in the holy book or scriptures of this god.
Now we have something testable!
The Christians' problem is that they make positive assertions about what their god is like! If you can prove that god doesn't fit into just one of the Christian criteria, he becomes null and void no longer applicable for consideration.
They call god all powerful, this is impossible because can god create a boulder so massive even he himself cannot lift it?
They say he's omniscient, yet if he is all knowing, can he know that he doesn't know something? And if he did, he still would not know something.
They say he's omnibenevolent, yet he has caused so much suffering and death and evil to transpire. You may argue that what he says is good, is good by definition, but when we say something is benevolent, we are applying it to the standards of today's morals, not the bible's
They say he's omnipresent, but he isn't because that means we would be him by definition and would have to both worship and not worship ourselves and him, he also Is described as not being omnipresent in the bible.
They say he makes miracle happen, yet there are more reasonable and more likely explanations for "miracles" occurring then the idea of a god intervening, and even so, there is no evidence of him actually committing these miracles.
Top this off with disproven ideas contained within the bible, stories with parallels with other, older mythologies that denotes some degree of plagiarism, the unreliability of the bibles's information, archaic rituals, magic, etc.
They thought the earth is flat, diseases could be cured with spitting in the wound, dragons, sea monsters, unicorns, zombies
It is clearly false. The god of the bible cannot exist by definition because of the paradoxical nature of the Christian definition of god, as well as the unreliability, and clear plagiarism found in the bible.
That's why the Christian definition of god is not the right one, it is false because the definition makes no logical sense and the dogma and stories are clearly ripped from older religions.

As an atheist I'm pretty indifferent towards it. Just because your an atheist doesn't make you a good person or anything plus I've meet plenty of atheist that piss me off simply because they're assholes.

My thought is that it is strange you'd capitalize it in the title but not in the post.

God is an atheist. He doesn't believe in a higher power than Himself.

Lunatic Goofballs wrote:God is an atheist. He doesn't believe in a higher power than Himself.

Ahahaha... sounds about right!

Insaeldor wrote:As an atheist I'm pretty indifferent towards it. Just because your an atheist doesn't make you a good person or anything plus I've meet plenty of atheist that piss me off simply because they're assholes.

This.

As in regards to why i became an atheist is because i just felt nor saw anything in regards to religion, i did not care for it, did not believe a god or god like beings existed and just stopped really. I felt i could do more important things or just stuff i like with my time.

I don't care what your beliefs are. If your Atheist and I'm Theist, I'll just talk to you about other things. I got better things to do than to bash on Atheists or be bashed on other Theist and Atheist.
And I just can't seem to be an Atheist, something about my religion just holds me tighter than a grandma's hug.

It's an irritating word. I always mix up the 'e' and the 'i'.

I'm apathetic towards it.

Not because of lack of curiosity. I simply just don't care.

It's the same with Christianity. I have the curiosity towards my own religion, and I love learning. I simply am not passionate about it and I don't care much about talking to others about it.

Indifferent since I used to be a rather ardent one. Now I see it as a curiosity because of how it evolves in different situations.

I don't sit around thinking about it much.

Nothing convinced me to not believe in some god or another, I simply lack any such belief

Being an Atheist myself I believe that some people dont understand what an atheist is, and dont really care anyways due to the fact that they have different views on certain religious topics. Not all atheists are assholes, or hate on other religions and hate on churches and anything of that manner, most actually just dont believe in god, heaven, the devil, and so on. Most Atheists tend to avoid telling people their "religion" due to the fact that when they do tell people, it doesnt end well. So to sum it up, I believe Atheists are misinterpreted and misunderstood, and need to be recognized that they deserve respect just as much as any other religion.

I'm fine with most atheists (one of my closest friends is one), but I do not like the ones who actively seek out Christians/Muslims/Hindus/other religion (choose one), and ardently try to convince them that they are idiots and there is no God.

Transyl wrote:Being an Atheist myself I believe that some people dont understand what an atheist is, and dont really care anyways due to the fact that they have different views on certain religious topics. Not all atheists are assholes, or hate on other religions and hate on churches and anything of that manner, most actually just dont believe in god, heaven, the devil, and so on. Most Atheists tend to avoid telling people their "religion" due to the fact that when they do tell people, it doesnt end well. So to sum it up, I believe Atheists are misinterpreted and misunderstood, and need to be recognized that they deserve respect just as much as any other religion.

Well, like always, it's the assholes that makes the rest of us apathetic

In a more serious note though, I've talked to atheists before and I don't really try to convert them or anything. In fact I love learning about their views, because to me understanding another person and where they're coming from is a good thing; it helps me understand that I'm not the fucking center of the universe.

Soldati senza confini wrote:

Transyl wrote:Being an Atheist myself I believe that some people dont understand what an atheist is, and dont really care anyways due to the fact that they have different views on certain religious topics. Not all atheists are assholes, or hate on other religions and hate on churches and anything of that manner, most actually just dont believe in god, heaven, the devil, and so on. Most Atheists tend to avoid telling people their "religion" due to the fact that when they do tell people, it doesnt end well. So to sum it up, I believe Atheists are misinterpreted and misunderstood, and need to be recognized that they deserve respect just as much as any other religion.

Well, like always, it's the assholes that makes the rest of us apathetic

In a more serious note though, I've talked to atheists before and I don't really try to convert them or anything. In fact I love learning about their views, because to me understanding another person and where they're coming from is a good thing; it helps me understand that I'm not the fucking center of the universe.

The more atheists the better, I hope you become one.

Creepoc Infinite wrote:

Soldati senza confini wrote:
Well, like always, it's the assholes that makes the rest of us apathetic

In a more serious note though, I've talked to atheists before and I don't really try to convert them or anything. In fact I love learning about their views, because to me understanding another person and where they're coming from is a good thing; it helps me understand that I'm not the fucking center of the universe.

The more atheists the better, I hope you become one.

Eh, you'll be waiting for a while then

Soldati senza confini wrote:

Creepoc Infinite wrote:The more atheists the better, I hope you become one.

Eh, you'll be waiting for a while then

One of us! One of us! One of us!

I added my reasoning behind knowing Christians are wrong on the original post, check it out

Creepoc Infinite wrote: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.

Creepoc Infinite wrote:I added my reasoning behind knowing Christians are wrong on the original post, check it out

What does the refutation of Christianity have to do with your thoughts on Atheism?

The New Velociraptor Empire wrote:

Creepoc Infinite wrote: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.

Awesome explanation.

I see you know the youtuber the Amazing Atheist.


Anyways........


If you are one, what convinced you to be atheist?: A lot my friend. All I can say is logic and science.

I think that by 2 decades of it, the only conclusion is that it is, uh, comfy and really makes sense to me?

Soldati senza confini wrote:

Creepoc Infinite wrote:I added my reasoning behind knowing Christians are wrong on the original post, check it out

What does the refutation of Christianity have to do with your thoughts on Atheism?

It's one of the reason I'm atheist. I just apply the same process to other gods and boom done.