What are your thoughts on Atheism?

[The Archregimancy]

Why do you believe Christians 'of old' thought the world as flat?

The bible implies it and everyone thought the world was flat at that point in time when the Old Testament was written.

This is demonstrably incorrect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_Earth

[Dyakovo]

wrong again. when will the LACK of belief defintion sink in?

We do not lack in belief, our belief is that god doesnt exist.

Wrong.

[Infected Mushroom]

its not more open-minded. It does one of two things.

1) it just assumes a default position of their being no God

2) it demonstrates a lack of faith

Neither of the above two options necessarily demonstrates a more open mind

1. conclusion based on evidence
2. a nessecity of the above
but they don't demonstrate a closed mind, either.

1. It's more like just a starting assumption. They just assume the default position is... if it can't be proven, it doesn't exist. That's really a subjective call mascarading as unchangeable rationality. Its also a very self-serving position for scientists.

2. If you mindlessly assume the supremacy of the scientific method and its assumptions (it's just a man-made tool/framework), then I would say the close-mindedness is comparable to that of many religious fanatics

[Creepoc Infinite]

It doesn't have to offer you value because atheism doesn't offer anything but a more open mind.
(In regards to science and evidence)
There is no evidence that directly contradicts a deist god. May I ask why you waste your time believing in something if there's no reason for you to? And that's not supported by science?

A flat world doesn't flood, also Greeks are accurate to within 1% of earth's circumference.

1. Where's your citations?

2. Who said that the bible ever made total sense?

3. The flood didn't happen so who cares

[Dyakovo]

It is not logical to assume anything without evidence.

The skeptical view is absolutely insane and illogical. You would need proof that Zimbabwe exists! Or some other country. All of the maps could be lying you know

There is evidence that Zimbabwe exists.

[Manhat]

Sad to see they are the most hated group in the US

[Conserative Morality]

Whereas I have evidence that is the best way to treat people if you want a healthy, safe society.

Whose health and safety are we concerned with?

and their of plenty of people who take it on principle that minorities should not be treated equal and as long as they justify it by faith you have no claim that they are wrong because that is exactly what you are using.

Why would I have no claim that they're wrong?

regardless of evidence = without concern to evidence in any way, I think you just proved my point.
and I can show that is how it is used with a single phrase.
"sometimes you just gotta have faith"

Not at all. In fact, both of my examples say the exact opposite.

[The Smith Protectorate]

A flat world doesn't flood, also Greeks are accurate to within 1% of earth's circumference.

1. Where's your citations?

2. Who said that the bible ever made total sense?

3. The flood didn't happen so who cares

and the greeks?, the flat world was a play on words and you didn't Google globus cruciger and your last number was very ignorant, citation for OP?! no. so please don't contradict, it's a discussion not a bash.

[Dyakovo]

its not a rational position...

God COULD exist. It can't be disproved.

Familiarize yourself with the Null Hypothesis and what atheism is.

[Creepoc Infinite]

It doesn't have to offer you value because atheism doesn't offer anything but a more open mind.
(In regards to science and evidence)
There is no evidence that directly contradicts a deist god. May I ask why you waste your time believing in something if there's no reason for you to? And that's not supported by science?

its not more open-minded. It does one of two things.

1) it just assumes a default position of their being no God

2) it demonstrates a lack of faith

Neither of the above two options necessarily demonstrates a more open mind

1. Atheism is the LACK OF BELIEF IN A GOD. A response to a claim, and is not a positive assertion. (Unless you're talking about gnostic atheists)

2. It is a lack of faith. So how is that a bad thing? I don't believe anything without a good reason, faith is the opposite.

[Infected Mushroom]

its not a rational position...

God COULD exist. It can't be disproved.

Familiarize yourself with the Null Hypothesis and what atheism is.

the null hypothesis is itself a religion.

''I believe/assume nothing exists until it has been proven by a man-made tool known as the Scientific Method.''

This is a form of belief, not intellectual superiority.

[Conserative Morality]

Why is he unlikely? The universe is a big place?

And who's to say, if he exists, that he would even be in this universe?

It would be like me siting on a spec of dust in a closed cardboard box, telling you how light doesn't exist because there is no evidence of it.

There's no way anyone could tell you that light exists because it is impossible to see outside of the box, and if you look for that evidence of light in the closed cardboard box, you'll never find it.

Because there isn't any evidence for them. When you find some evidence, tell me, and I might bump up the probability from practically nil to nearly nil.

This is why no one can explain the existence of God to an atheist, because if a god was to exist, he would be beyond naturalistic boundaries and comprehension.

If you can't explain something within naturalistic bounds, even wrong naturalistic bounds, you can't explain it and you don't understand it. If you think the Divine is incomprehensible, fine - but if you do anything regarding the Divine, you're playing with fire, because by your own admission you understand nothing about it. Why would prayer please a God more than murder? Truth more than lies? You're hedging your bets not on the idea that some sort of divine power might be out there somewhere, but on a very narrow cultural conception of a creator born from bronze-age desert tribes and refined through a bunch of backwoods farmers who just got over losing all semblance of civilization.

[Crysuko]

Sad to see they are the most hated group in the US

maybe not THE most hated, but I see what you mean

[New Socialist South Africa]

its not a rational position...

God COULD exist. It can't be disproved.

I assume by that you mean Gnostic Atheism and not Agnostic Atheism? As Agnostic Atheism already observes that truth and expresses that we believe in things based on evidence that they do exist rather than on a lack of evidence that they don't exist.

[Crysuko]

Familiarize yourself with the Null Hypothesis and what atheism is.

the null hypothesis is itself a religion.

''I believe/assume nothing exists until it has been proven by a man-made tool known as the Scientific Method.''

This is a form of belief, not intellectual superiority.

sorry, what. the null hypothesis states that there is no connection between two observred phenomena. how in blue blazes is that even close to a religion.

[Infected Mushroom]

its not a rational position...

God COULD exist. It can't be disproved.

I assume by that you mean Gnostic Atheism and not Agnostic Atheism? As Agnostic Atheism already observes that truth and expresses that we believe in things based on evidence that they do exist rather than on a lack of evidence that they don't exist.

i suppose...

[Infected Mushroom]

the null hypothesis is itself a religion.

''I believe/assume nothing exists until it has been proven by a man-made tool known as the Scientific Method.''

This is a form of belief, not intellectual superiority.

sorry, what. the null hypothesis states that there is no connection between two observred phenomena. how in blue blazes is that even close to a religion.

it was brought up by Dyakovo as a cornerstone of Atheism...

[Creepoc Infinite]

1. Where's your citations?

2. Who said that the bible ever made total sense?

3. The flood didn't happen so who cares

and the greeks?, the flat world was a play on words and you didn't Google globus cruciger and your last number was very ignorant, citation for OP?! no. so please don't contradict, it's a discussion not a bash.

The Greeks did not live in mesopatamia at the time the Old Testament was written.
The areas in which it was written suffered from many unpredictable floods, and the way it was written, the writers of the bible viewed the world as if it was a flat world with a firmament sky, witha dome shape, because that's how it looks. Like we're inside a really really big snow globe is how they described it.

[Crysuko]

sorry, what. the null hypothesis states that there is no connection between two observred phenomena. how in blue blazes is that even close to a religion.

it was brought up by Dyakovo as a cornerstone of Atheism...

it means that it's a tool often used in arguments against god, nothing else.

[Creepoc Infinite]

Sad to see they are the most hated group in the US

maybe not THE most hated, but I see what you mean

We are just below Muslims.

[New Socialist South Africa]

Sad to see they are the most hated group in the US

maybe not THE most hated, but I see what you mean

According to a poll we are just slightly less hated than Muslims in the USA.

http://www.salon.com/2014/07/21/the_numbers_are_in_america_still_distrusts_atheists_and_muslims_partner/

[Infected Mushroom]

it was brought up by Dyakovo as a cornerstone of Atheism...

it means that it's a tool often used in arguments against god, nothing else.

to the extent that it is used as an argument against God, the irony is present that it is itself a system of assumption.

"If I can't prove it using the limits of the man-made Scientific Method, I will assume it does not exist and will tell anyone else who believes otherwise that they should learn about the Null Hypothesis.''

[Creepoc Infinite]

maybe not THE most hated, but I see what you mean

According to a poll we are just slightly less hated than Muslims in the USA.

http://www.salon.com/2014/07/21/the_numbers_are_in_america_still_distrusts_atheists_and_muslims_partner/

The study I saw on secular talk says we are about the same with Muslims except Muslims are hated slightly less.

[The Rich Port]

maybe not THE most hated, but I see what you mean

According to a poll we are just slightly less hated than Muslims in the USA.

http://www.salon.com/2014/07/21/the_numbers_are_in_america_still_distrusts_atheists_and_muslims_partner/

There was another one I heard about where we were the most distrusted.

[New Socialist South Africa]

I assume by that you mean Gnostic Atheism and not Agnostic Atheism? As Agnostic Atheism already observes that truth and expresses that we believe in things based on evidence that they do exist rather than on a lack of evidence that they don't exist.

i suppose...

Great, because I have literally never met a Gnostic Atheist. The vast majority of us are Agnostic Atheists.