Any atheists on this website? If so discuss your thoughts on atheism and religion, and possible oppression from religious people. (Dont blatantly hate on religion though, keep it civil)
Atheism Thread
- Thread starter SmileAsTheyDie
- Start date
Me. Well. More of an agnostic with strong atheist leanings. I've never seen anything that irrefutably disproves OR proves the existence of god(s), but right now the evidence isn't in religion's favor. I'm open to all faiths though, and won't hate on anyone because beliefs, unless they start it of course. I keep my beliefs to myself, and generally I find that once people get to know me, when the issue comes up they're surprised. I don't actually run into a lot of oppression, but then again I don't go looking for it either.
I just draw the line where I draw the line with bronies and rapists. - when they start to cram it down your throat.
You cant really disprove something like that. When a claim is very extraodinary it needs evedince that is on par. Its theists part to prove it since in this situation they have the burden of proof. A atheist would have to "disprove" it when theists prove it
Teaching evolution as though it's the only explanation for life on planet earth, trying to ban the pledge of allegiance in schools, and probably trying to turn our kids gay or something.
But evolution has been proven and is just a simple fact. God has no reason to be in the pledge, its not like we are trying to get "in god we do not trust" or anything to that effect, we just look to remove it, along with in god we trust on money. Also if gay marriage is legalized that dosent mean kids are going to be turned gay, it just gives equal rights which should have always been there
A: "But evolution has been proven and is just a simple fact"
Well if evolution is soooo true, and we evolved from monkeys, than why aren't today's monkeys evolving into half-human monkey people? How do you explain how a banana fits perfectly in the hand, and has a tab so it can be peeled open, and changes colour to indicate ripeness? And if Evolution is soooo great, how come it only got a 43% score on Rotten Tomatoes?
B: "God has no reason to be in the pledge, its not like we are trying to get "in god we do not trust" or anything to that effect, we just look to remove it, along with in god we trust on money.
Yeah, no reason to be on the pledge... except that this is a Christian nation founded on Christian values by Christians. Remove god from the pledge and next thing you know our kids are pledging allegiance to the devil in school and wearing trench-coats and shooting each other.
C: "If gay marriage is legalized that doesn't mean kids are going to be turned gay, it just gives equal rights which should have always been there"
Nothing can send a more destructive message to the sexually confused trying to overcome their illness than the legalisation of gay marriage. Marriage is defined as the holy union between a man and a woman, and allowing two men to marry ruins the sanctity of the institution, like how people with the same birthday as you makes your birthday less special. And suddenly kids will start to wonder if maybe they should try having gay sex, and next summer they'll be wearing yellow jeans and white short-sleeved v-neck shirts and calling everyone "honey". Not to mention next thing you know after gay marriage it's legal to have sex with animals, dead bodies, the under-aged, and the comatose.
A: Sorry, thats not how evolution works, the monkey as we know it can still exist as is while we evolved from it due to conditions we were in long ago. You also seem to be ignorant as the banana you are referring to is a product of scientific engineering and does not exist naturally.
B: This country is not a christian nation, this is a nation that was founded on freedom OF religion and the freedom of how you choose to live, not to have a specific groups beliefs and morals forced upon you (Such as in britian, pre-american revolution). They wont be pledging allegiance to the devil, same as kids werent before god was added to the pledge in the 50's, you are also inferring that without "one nation under god" being said in the pledge then nobody has morals and will just kill each other, that is ridiculous on so many levels.
C: Sexually confused? Maybe confused on why a group would try to deny their natural sexual desires, im sorry to tell you but homosexuality isent a "illness". Allowing 2 men or 2 women to marry does not ruin anything, just it being legal dosent mean you have to go out and get gay married, it only allows equal rights and opportunity for all people. Kids that are gay already wonder about having gay sex, same as hetero kids wonder about having straight sex. You have no right to criticize what clothing people decide to wear or how they decide to refer to people. Nobody is trying to get any of those things legalized so no need to worry
I've found the average Atheist I've met (and I'm not saying ALL atheists here) seem to have no interest in any alternate point of view. They just tend to want to point and laugh at how silly they feel the other party's outlook on life is and try their very best to preach the wonders of atheism.
I think it's ignorant to feel that you have all of the answers in life, which makes disregard for alternate points of view foolish.
One of the key understandings behind atheism is that current science doesn't explain everything, we don't have all the answers in life. What atheists do recognize however is that these holes cannot be filled with the lazy, simple concept of a deity. It is better, so to speak, to realize you don't know, than to pretend you do.
Atheists "point an laugh and disregard" these "alternate viewpoints" because they involve unsubstantiated claims of superior beings that tend to favor discrimination and oppression. What's more is that people feel entitled to have their personal faith affect law, to affect people of different beliefs, ethnicity, and ideology. Why should I be willing to listen to someone who believes a fairy story developed by Emperor Constantine's circle of monks in the 6th century is true, when it's original purpose was to distribute social and political ideas favorable to the Eastern Roman Empire at the time? Why should that affect the laws in my country, in 2013 mind you, and affect how I live my life?
The best part is, when I find the notion of that silly, and when people outright reject evidence because of their "feelings" and "faith", I'm the ignorant and close-minded one.
As a Catholic, I've been taught not to stereotype anyone. If anything, we're all human. What we choose to do with our lives right now is the most important.
Imagine this - if a human was born in a place with absolutely no contact with anything, would he know the difference to whether or not a God existed or not? That being said, it's the same thing when you take it to right now. Even though we're in community, nothing mankind will discover or has discovered can ever be substantial enough to sway the needle the other way and keep it there. Every theory has its flaws (mind you, it's a Theory of Evolution because there are more flaws than just a theist perspective). Although I believe the needle is swaying towards the atheist side, it's only a matter of time before it reverts.
Either way, we're still in the forest. We'll never know fully about creation because history wasn't recorded at that time. Obviously, we'll never know what'll happen in the future. So let's choose to learn from the past we can agree on, and apply that to right now, so that we'll have a peaceful future together. If and when the time comes, we'll see who's right and who's wrong.
Until then, peace be with us all. Let us have open minds and work selflessly towards a better future for humanity, wherever that path may take us.
Imagine this - if a human was born in a place with absolutely no contact with anything, would he know the difference to whether or not a God existed or not? That being said, it's the same thing when you take it to right now. Even though we're in community, nothing mankind will discover or has discovered can ever be substantial enough to sway the needle the other way and keep it there. Every theory has its flaws (mind you, it's a Theory of Evolution because there are more flaws than just a theist perspective). Although I believe the needle is swaying towards the atheist side, it's only a matter of time before it reverts.
Either way, we're still in the forest. We'll never know fully about creation because history wasn't recorded at that time. Obviously, we'll never know what'll happen in the future. So let's choose to learn from the past we can agree on, and apply that to right now, so that we'll have a peaceful future together. If and when the time comes, we'll see who's right and who's wrong.
Until then, peace be with us all. Let us have open minds and work selflessly towards a better future for humanity, wherever that path may take us.
Yes there are many holes in much of Religious teaching and yes people have used Religion as a form of abuse time and time again throughout History. Yes I think Religious teaching shouldn't have broad reaching affects on those who don't choose to follow that particular faith and it seems that any fair society should base it's laws around allowing the individual to choose their own spiritual path. Abuses of Religious doctrine as a form of control are entirely unacceptable but they don't automatically invalidate the teachings or views of that Religion.
Religion was used for centuries as an avenue to explain the unexplained and to expand ones knowledge of themselves as the world around them (in much the same way as Science). I don't think it's fair or reasonable to disregard hundreds of years of collective human thought as many do. As you say Atheists recognize that we don't have all "answers" (and probably never will) so it's not unreasonable to at least listen to the opinions of those with a different outlook on things without feeling the need to belittle or convert them. We should let people find whatever comfort they can with themselves and refrain from calling their beliefs "lazy" and "simple".
So what I'm trying to say is not all Religious people are trying to force their views down your throat and impose their laws onto you, just as not all Atheists are closed-minded and choose to belittle and laugh at those who don't share their views, I just think there's a lot of growing up to do on both sides of the debate as many are.
SMILEASTHEYDIE, you were right and I was wrong. I acknowledge your superior brainy-head. From now on, I will always follow your sound opinions.
I had something written, but I think the list of common misconceptions says it best:
Either this is the first time someone has pointed out to you that evolution is no different from "the heliocentric theory", or you just choose to ignore that whenever it's brought up. Something tells me you'll never be able to believe in evolution even if you were willing to ask questions about your misunderstandings and hang-ups, because you'd be unwilling to give up the presupposition that god made humans.
Don't forget to blow out the candles before you make your wish(ful thinking).
So I suppose you've read the Koran and are familiar with the customs and beliefs of Hinduism. What, you've never read ANY of the major scriptures attributed to Hinduism? That's o.k, you've probably been too busy reading the Torah, the first of the Tanakh. Wait whaaat? You've never read the Torah? Next you'll be saying you've never read the Koran. I don't think it's fair of you to disregard hundreds of years of collective human thought as you are. And what about the tens of years of scientific though in Mormonism and Scientology? Surely it's not unreasonable to at least listen to those opinions?
I refuse to enable you in the delusion that you'll live forever, or that the universe is a just place where everyone gets their comeuppance. If you're not mature enough to handle being alive, I'm not going to baby-sit you through it.
Lets review shall we:
That was the first sweeping general statement towards atheists and/or the religious of the thread. It's the only one actually. There's definitely a lot of growing up to do.
I had something written, but I think the list of common misconceptions says it best:
Either this is the first time someone has pointed out to you that evolution is no different from "the heliocentric theory", or you just choose to ignore that whenever it's brought up. Something tells me you'll never be able to believe in evolution even if you were willing to ask questions about your misunderstandings and hang-ups, because you'd be unwilling to give up the presupposition that god made humans.
Don't forget to blow out the candles before you make your wish(ful thinking).
So I suppose you've read the Koran and are familiar with the customs and beliefs of Hinduism. What, you've never read ANY of the major scriptures attributed to Hinduism? That's o.k, you've probably been too busy reading the Torah, the first of the Tanakh. Wait whaaat? You've never read the Torah? Next you'll be saying you've never read the Koran. I don't think it's fair of you to disregard hundreds of years of collective human thought as you are. And what about the tens of years of scientific though in Mormonism and Scientology? Surely it's not unreasonable to at least listen to those opinions?
I refuse to enable you in the delusion that you'll live forever, or that the universe is a just place where everyone gets their comeuppance. If you're not mature enough to handle being alive, I'm not going to baby-sit you through it.
Lets review shall we:
That was the first sweeping general statement towards atheists and/or the religious of the thread. It's the only one actually. There's definitely a lot of growing up to do.