What are your thoughts on Atheism?

[Sternberg]

Personally, I think the courts of law should be just about that - the law. Nothing else.

EDIT: What I'm trying to say, for clarifications sake, is that the law courts are and should continue to focus on the rule of law and how it can best serve both the people and the nation in question. Whether someone has religious or non-religious beliefs simply shouldn't factor in.

What I think you are saying is that the law should be secular and that religion should not play a role in it, which is exactly what most Atheists, including myself, believe.

'

Maybe.

Alternatively, I think the question of whether someone holds religious or non-religious beliefs shouldn't be a factor within how the rule of law is carried out. As in, there shouldn't be biases for or against religion or philosophies when it comes to important matters of the state - the rule of law should be focused on what is best for governing the country and its citizens (who, mind, do have varying beliefs of their own).

Sorry for parroting on - I won't take up more of your time.

[Risottia]

Personally, I think the courts of law should be just about that - the law. Nothing else.

EDIT: What I'm trying to say, for clarifications sake, is that the law courts are and should continue to focus on the rule of law and how it can best serve both the people and the nation in question. Whether someone has religious or non-religious beliefs simply shouldn't factor in.

I agree. That is what I mean.

I guessed that.

[Domi concordia]

I personally dislike Atheism due to it's usually nihilistic perspective.
I also reaaaaalllly HATE militant Atheists, they are as bad as people who shove religion down your throats.

There may not be hard proof God exists, but it's called FAITH and BELIEF for a reason.

I'm personally a Deist, although I was an Agnostic before.

Honestly, there is no proof God exists, there is no proof he doesn't exist. (Militant) Atheists need to stop forcing he doesn't, and Theists need to stop forcing he does.

People honestly need to shut up and believe what you believe; not shove it at others.

[Banana Isle]

Do Atheists Really Exist?

[Kilobugya]

I personally dislike Atheism due to it's usually nihilistic perspective.

Wrong, atheism isn't usually nihilistic. In fact, the most anti-nihilistic school of thoughts, secular humanism and transhumanism, are actually based on atheism.

I also reaaaaalllly HATE militant Atheists, they are as bad as people who shove religion down your throats.

Yeah, they also put bomb, kidnap people, burn them at the skate, ... it's ridiculous to claim "militant atheists" are as bad "people who shove religion down your throats" when both ancient history and current events are full of people killing in the name of religion, while no one ever did it in the atheism.

There may not be hard proof God exists, but it's called FAITH and BELIEF for a reason.

Faith is the problem, indeed. As for "belief", no, a sane, rational belief is based on evidence, which there is none for the existence of a "god". And if absence of proof isn't proof of absence, absence of evidence _is_ evidence of absence (Bayes' theorem 101).

Honestly, there is no proof God exists, there is no proof he doesn't exist.

As there is no proof Harry Potter isn't real, or we don't live in the Matrix, or there is no giant pink tea pot orbiting Jupiter. Before even considering the existence of something of the magnitude and complexity of a "God" you need strong evidence towards it. As the saying goes, "exceptional claims require exceptional evidence".

(Militant) Atheists need to stop forcing he doesn't, and Theists need to stop forcing he does.

Again, never saw an atheist _forcing_ people to stop believing or praying. Atheists may (and should) try to explain why theism is very silly, but they don't _force_ their belief on others - unlike so many theists do.

People honestly need to shut up and believe what you believe; not shove it at others.

Belief have consequences, and having flawed belief on such fundamental issues is doomed to contaminate your belief network in many way - leading to wrong decisions, wrong policies being implemented, wrong priorities. So it's not just a personal matter, and saying "just let everyone believe whatever they want" isn't helping. We shouldn't _force_ people to have certain belief, it doesn't work and even if it did it would just be way too harmful, but we definitely should try to convince, educate, explain to people why believing in sky fairies in the 21st century is slowing down the progress of our entire specie.

[The United Districts of Wanderers]

Again, never saw an atheist _forcing_ people to stop believing or praying. Atheists may (and should) try to explain why theism is very silly, but they don't _force_ their belief on others - unlike so many theists do.

Apparently, you have never heard of the "Communist" nations of North Korea, China, and Vietnam (I use Communist loosely, because they really are not following Communist ideals). You also have never been to any public campus on US soil either, have you? People do force their views on people, whether Atheist, Theist, or otherwise. It is a natural instinct of domination in human nature, and it should not be overlooked because of preference.

[Dyakovo]

I personally dislike Atheism due to it's usually nihilistic perspective.
I also reaaaaalllly HATE militant Atheists, they are as bad as people who shove religion down your throats.

There may not be hard proof God exists, but it's called FAITH and BELIEF for a reason.

I'm personally a Deist, although I was an Agnostic before.

Honestly, there is no proof God exists, there is no proof he doesn't exist. (Militant) Atheists need to stop forcing he doesn't, and Theists need to stop forcing he does.

People honestly need to shut up and believe what you believe; not shove it at others.

[Domi concordia]

I personally dislike Atheism due to it's usually nihilistic perspective.

Wrong, atheism isn't usually nihilistic. In fact, the most anti-nihilistic school of thoughts, secular humanism and transhumanism, are actually based on atheism.

I also reaaaaalllly HATE militant Atheists, they are as bad as people who shove religion down your throats.

Yeah, they also put bomb, kidnap people, burn them at the skate, ... it's ridiculous to claim "militant atheists" are as bad "people who shove religion down your throats" when both ancient history and current events are full of people killing in the name of religion, while no one ever did it in the atheism.

There may not be hard proof God exists, but it's called FAITH and BELIEF for a reason.

Faith is the problem, indeed. As for "belief", no, a sane, rational belief is based on evidence, which there is none for the existence of a "god". And if absence of proof isn't proof of absence, absence of evidence _is_ evidence of absence (Bayes' theorem 101).

Honestly, there is no proof God exists, there is no proof he doesn't exist.

As there is no proof Harry Potter isn't real, or we don't live in the Matrix, or there is no giant pink tea pot orbiting Jupiter. Before even considering the existence of something of the magnitude and complexity of a "God" you need strong evidence towards it. As the saying goes, "exceptional claims require exceptional evidence".

(Militant) Atheists need to stop forcing he doesn't, and Theists need to stop forcing he does.

Again, never saw an atheist _forcing_ people to stop believing or praying. Atheists may (and should) try to explain why theism is very silly, but they don't _force_ their belief on others - unlike so many theists do.

People honestly need to shut up and believe what you believe; not shove it at others.

Belief have consequences, and having flawed belief on such fundamental issues is doomed to contaminate your belief network in many way - leading to wrong decisions, wrong policies being implemented, wrong priorities. So it's not just a personal matter, and saying "just let everyone believe whatever they want" isn't helping. We shouldn't _force_ people to have certain belief, it doesn't work and even if it did it would just be way too harmful, but we definitely should try to convince, educate, explain to people why believing in sky fairies in the 21st century is slowing down the progress of our entire specie.

Well, believing everything happened for no reason by some rare chance and after we die we just die, is kind of Nihilistic.

When did I ever once mention the past, I meant like people now adays that go "IF YOU DON'T BLIEVE YOU GO TO HELL, SO BELIEVE!!!1!one"
Also perhaps not in the name of Atheism, but some of the worst people that have commited extreme atrocities are prominent Atheists.

No, honestly, you don't need super hard proof He exists, you either have faith or you don't.
We have no proof the world even exists; it could just be in our minds.

You haven't met enough /Militant/ Atheists then. Hell, I've met more militant Atheists that force down God doesn't exist than I have theists that force down God exists; and I know a lot more Theists than Atheists.

It isn't slowing down, really. Yea there were some issues in the past with the Church execution people based upon heresy, but there was plenty of other religious groups HELPING science progress. I'm pretty sure a lot of scientists are religious.
I'm pretty sure idiots (which is sadly most of the population) are more of a hinderance than Religion could and would ever be.
Even if it was hindering Humanity like you say; in a way that's good. We need a bad to be able to see good. We need darkness to contrast light. If you remove the evil, you lose sense of the good.

P.S: Uh, what? What religion believes in sky fairies? What?

[Dyakovo]

Again, never saw an atheist _forcing_ people to stop believing or praying. Atheists may (and should) try to explain why theism is very silly, but they don't _force_ their belief on others - unlike so many theists do.

Apparently, you have never heard of the "Communist" nations of North Korea, China, and Vietnam (I use Communist loosely, because they really are not following Communist ideals). You also have never been to any public campus on US soil either, have you? People do force their views on people, whether Atheist, Theist, or otherwise. It is a natural instinct of domination in human nature, and it should not be overlooked because of preference.

None of those example nations opposed religion in the name of atheism, but instead in the name of eliminating a potential source of opposition to the ruling elite's power.
Give examples of atheists in the US preventing people from practicing their religion or trying to force the religious to be atheist.

[Teemant]

Wrong, atheism isn't usually nihilistic. In fact, the most anti-nihilistic school of thoughts, secular humanism and transhumanism, are actually based on atheism.



Yeah, they also put bomb, kidnap people, burn them at the skate, ... it's ridiculous to claim "militant atheists" are as bad "people who shove religion down your throats" when both ancient history and current events are full of people killing in the name of religion, while no one ever did it in the atheism.



Faith is the problem, indeed. As for "belief", no, a sane, rational belief is based on evidence, which there is none for the existence of a "god". And if absence of proof isn't proof of absence, absence of evidence _is_ evidence of absence (Bayes' theorem 101).



As there is no proof Harry Potter isn't real, or we don't live in the Matrix, or there is no giant pink tea pot orbiting Jupiter. Before even considering the existence of something of the magnitude and complexity of a "God" you need strong evidence towards it. As the saying goes, "exceptional claims require exceptional evidence".



Again, never saw an atheist _forcing_ people to stop believing or praying. Atheists may (and should) try to explain why theism is very silly, but they don't _force_ their belief on others - unlike so many theists do.



Belief have consequences, and having flawed belief on such fundamental issues is doomed to contaminate your belief network in many way - leading to wrong decisions, wrong policies being implemented, wrong priorities. So it's not just a personal matter, and saying "just let everyone believe whatever they want" isn't helping. We shouldn't _force_ people to have certain belief, it doesn't work and even if it did it would just be way too harmful, but we definitely should try to convince, educate, explain to people why believing in sky fairies in the 21st century is slowing down the progress of our entire specie.

Well, believing everything happened for no reason by some rare chance and after we die we just die, is kind of Nihilistic.

When did I ever once mention the past, I meant like people now adays that go "IF YOU DON'T BLIEVE YOU GO TO HELL, SO BELIEVE!!!1!one"
Also perhaps not in the name of Atheism, but some of the worst people that have commited extreme atrocities are prominent Atheists.

No, honestly, you don't need super hard proof He exists, you either have faith or you don't.
We have no proof the world even exists; it could just be in our minds.

You haven't met enough /Militant/ Atheists then. Hell, I've met more militant Atheists that force down God doesn't exist than I have theists that force down God exists; and I know a lot more Theists than Atheists.

It isn't slowing down, really. Yea there were some issues in the past with the Church execution people based upon heresy, but there was plenty of other religious groups HELPING science progress. I'm pretty sure a lot of scientists are religious.
I'm pretty sure idiots (which is sadly most of the population) are more of a hinderance than Religion could and would ever be.
Even if it was hindering Humanity like you say; in a way that's good. We need a bad to be able to see good. We need darkness to contrast light. If you remove the evil, you lose sense of the good.

P.S: Uh, what? What religion believes in sky fairies? What?

I don't know why some people don't like the idea that when we die it's all over. Simple.
Maybe people are afraid of death and it is used to make them feel better.

[Dyakovo]

Also perhaps not in the name of Atheism, but some of the worst people that have commited extreme atrocities are prominent Atheists.

Really? Name these prominent atheists that committed extreme atrocities.

[Grave_n_idle]

Again, never saw an atheist _forcing_ people to stop believing or praying. Atheists may (and should) try to explain why theism is very silly, but they don't _force_ their belief on others - unlike so many theists do.

Apparently, you have never heard of the "Communist" nations of North Korea, China, and Vietnam (I use Communist loosely, because they really are not following Communist ideals). You also have never been to any public campus on US soil either, have you? People do force their views on people, whether Atheist, Theist, or otherwise. It is a natural instinct of domination in human nature, and it should not be overlooked because of preference.

I've been on public campuses on US soil. I didn't see anyone being forced to be an atheist. Indeed, in Georgia, I saw quite the opposite - overwhelmingly religious population, a nod towards the idea of diversity, but lectures permeated with religious belief, and school functions started with prayers, etc.

This idea that colleges must be hotbeds of atheist indoctrination just doesn't match the reality.

[Dyakovo]

Apparently, you have never heard of the "Communist" nations of North Korea, China, and Vietnam (I use Communist loosely, because they really are not following Communist ideals). You also have never been to any public campus on US soil either, have you? People do force their views on people, whether Atheist, Theist, or otherwise. It is a natural instinct of domination in human nature, and it should not be overlooked because of preference.

I've been on public campuses on US soil. I didn't see anyone being forced to be an atheist. Indeed, in Georgia, I saw quite the opposite - overwhelmingly religious population, a nod towards the idea of diversity, but lectures permeated with religious belief, and school functions started with prayers, etc.

This idea that colleges must be hotbeds of atheist indoctrination just doesn't match the reality.

Completely off-topic, but... You need to put your blinky doll avatar back up... The default flag is messing with me.

[Grave_n_idle]

I've been on public campuses on US soil. I didn't see anyone being forced to be an atheist. Indeed, in Georgia, I saw quite the opposite - overwhelmingly religious population, a nod towards the idea of diversity, but lectures permeated with religious belief, and school functions started with prayers, etc.

This idea that colleges must be hotbeds of atheist indoctrination just doesn't match the reality.

Completely off-topic, but... You need to put your blinky doll avatar back up... The default flag is messing with me.

I'll have to see if I can track it down. Different computer. Hell, different continent.

[New Socialist South Africa]

Do Atheists Really Exist?

You are clearly confusing Gnostic Atheism with all Atheism, that is to say forgetting about Agnostic Atheism, which is what every Atheist I have met is, and which I am myself.

Gnostic Atheist: There is no god. No amount of evidence to the contrary could change my mind on that.

Agnostic Atheist: There is no evidence that a god exists, thus I assume that one doesn't. If evidence were provided proving that god existed, them I would believe in him / her / it.

[Domi concordia]

Also perhaps not in the name of Atheism, but some of the worst people that have commited extreme atrocities are prominent Atheists.

Really? Name these prominent atheists that committed extreme atrocities.

Stalin, Mao Zedong, Benito Mussolini, et cetera.

[Banana Isle]

It doesn't make any sense to be an atheist.

First off, Atheists claim a god doesn't exist.

To put this into perspective, imagine that people were trying to determine whether an invisible pink unicorn exists. If someone found an invisible pink unicorn, then all he/she would have to do is inform everyone where the invisible pink unicorn is.

On the flip side, for someone to say that the invisible pink unicorn doesn't exist at all, they would have to have absolute knowledge.

See where this is going?

If an atheist honestly could say a god doesn't exist, he, by exposing the fact that he has absolute knowledge, would be a god, himself. If he, as a god, says no god exists, then he is really saying that HE doesn't exist.

Therefore, true atheists do not exist.

[Socialist Tera]

Really? Name these prominent atheists that committed extreme atrocities.

Stalin, Mao Zedong, Benito Mussolini, et cetera.

Nice try but Stalin and Mao did not massacre people for being religious. That is an outright lie. Also, Mussolini worked with the Catholic church for personal gain.

[Chaunceys]

I became an atheist semi recently, I use to be somewhat Christian especially when I was younger I blindly followed the religion because it was what I grew up with. But as I became older I started questioning the religion about how we knew if God of not only the Christian religion existed but the God of any religion existed. I could not find any 100% proof, most things that I found that "proved" a God existing in my eyes made no seance what so ever. I then learned about how Science explained how life began in 8th grade and it just made seance to me. At first I became a Agnostic but as time began I decided to become Atheist and that is basically what convinced and or the history of why I am an Atheist.

[Conserative Morality]

Nice try but Stalin and Mao did not massacre people for being religious. That is an outright lie.

[Assorted Sucrose-Based Lifeforms]

My thoughts on atheism can be summarised thusly; I really don't care that someone's an atheist, all I care about is whether or not they reached that position through scepticism, and if they apply that scepticism to all extraordinary claims that they encounter.
This has been my opinion ever since I saw a shit-ton of atheists get sucked into the whole 'solar roadways' scam.

[Dyakovo]

Really? Name these prominent atheists that committed extreme atrocities.

Stalin, Mao Zedong, Benito Mussolini, et cetera.

Not an atheist, possibly atheist - unsure, atheist.
Well, at least you managed one definite and one probable out of your list...
Mind you, even if We grant that all three were atheist, I could still come up with a much longer list of religious people that have committed atrocities... Not to mention the detail that calling those three "prominent atheists" is dubious at best.

[Sacred Peoples]

Well atheists to my opinion are people with religion without admiting it. They all believe in a supreme form called Atheos and so they are the 3rd largest religion.

Let's stop with the fun don't you think? Atheists are not bad people, they just don't want to have a religion and I respect it, I am obliged to respect them, so I can have the repsect of them.

[Banana Isle]

Do Atheists Really Exist?

You are clearly confusing Gnostic Atheism with all Atheism, that is to say forgetting about Agnostic Atheism, which is what every Atheist I have met is, and which I am myself.

Gnostic Atheist: There is no god. No amount of evidence to the contrary could change my mind on that.

Agnostic Atheist: There is no evidence that a god exists, thus I assume that one doesn't. If evidence were provided proving that god existed, them I would believe in him / her / it.

Unless the agnostic has absolute knowledge of all the possible evidences, he is still claiming to have absolute knowledge.

To say something doesn't exist, whether on the grounds of "not enough evidence" or otherwise, is to claim to have absolute knowledge.

Your argument is invalid.

[Conserative Morality]

It doesn't make any sense to be an atheist.

First off, Atheists claim a god doesn't exist.

To put this into perspective, imagine that people were trying to determine whether an invisible pink unicorn exists. If someone found an invisible pink unicorn, then all he/she would have to do is inform everyone where the invisible pink unicorn is.

On the flip side, for someone to say that the invisible pink unicorn doesn't exist at all, they would have to have absolute knowledge.

See where this is going?

If an atheist honestly could say a god doesn't exist, he, by exposing the fact that he has absolute knowledge, would be a god, himself. If he, as a god, says no god exists, then he is really saying that HE doesn't exist.

Therefore, true atheists do not exist.

"I find no compelling evidence for God.

God is thus not likely to exist, according to my current knowledge.

Thus, I do not believe God exist."

Agnostic is not some middle ground. It's part of a spectrum that goes with belief.