An Atheist's Creed

[NLN]

I thought you folks might be interested in reading An Atheist's Creed, by physicist Mano Singham. It's an exceptional piece.

 

[PassionFruit]

Wow, thanks for that.

 

[Paulos23]

I thought you folks might be interested in reading An Atheist's Creed, by physicist Mano Singham. It's an exceptional piece.

Sorry, but to me being an atheist is just about one thing. Not believing in God.

The rest is all rational stuff that may or may not accept regardless of whether your an atheist or not. Or hard line positions that not all atheists accept.

 

[Eudaimonist]

At least it's "an" atheist's creed, instead of "the" atheist's creed. It reads like the typical secular humanist's creed.

I have to say that I have quibbles with the items of the creed starting from the first point.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[cantata]

Cantata's Creed:

I believe I shouldn't sign up to any creeds which claim to be "atheist" but which contain a number of clauses that have nothing to do with atheism.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Cantata's Creed:

I believe I shouldn't sign up to any creeds which claim to be "atheist" but which contain a number of clauses that have nothing to do with atheism.

Yes, it is certainly misleading on that count.

And it is kind of silly to think of atheism involving a creed at all -- even one that only asserts non-belief in god(s). It's not like being an atheist requires any kind of commitment.

You either are an atheist or you aren't. You are either convinced that gods exist or you lack belief. There isn't any choice in the matter. To repeat non-belief to oneself in a creed is to chant voodoo magic.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[TheManeki]

Sorry, but to me being an atheist is just about one thing. Not believing in God.

The rest is all rational stuff that may or may not accept regardless of whether your an atheist or not. Or hard line positions that not all atheists accept.

Good point. I'd hate to hear someone say, "If you don't follow the Atheist Creed you're not a Real True Atheist, but just an agnostic pretending to be an atheist to confuse the faithful."

 

[Madcoil]

If you just put 'doubt' instead of 'believe' in every sentence of that creed it might be worth reading.

 

[stan1980]

If you just put 'doubt' instead of 'believe' in every sentence of that creed it might be worth reading.

Erm, no it wouldn't. Just for arguments sake I tried it with the 3rd one.

"I doubt in the power of science and reason and rationality to further deepen our understanding of everything around us and to eventually overcome superstition and erase the petty divisions sown by religion, race, ethnicity, and nationality."

Ignoring the glaring grammatical problems, I suppose it does actually sum up how a lot of religious people think.

Anyway, this is my last post around here for a while. I'll never fully understand how the religious can fool themselves, or why they are so gullible, but what can you do.

 

[Madcoil]

Erm, no it wouldn't. Just for arguments sake I tried it with the 3rd one.

"I doubt in the power of science and reason and rationality to further deepen our understanding of everything around us and to eventually overcome superstition and erase the petty divisions sown by religion, race, ethnicity, and nationality."

Sounds good to me.

 

[Verv]

Well, here is the thing: atheism means lack of a belief in the existence of a higher power...

That is like saying the "Theists" creed, when in reality it is merely the belief in tens of thousands of ways that people have had for God...

People are atheists because they just do not believe in God; it could be because they simply never had the thought enter their minds or think it is improbable or think the world is too cruel for there to be a God or they're Communists or subscribe to one of a thousand ideologies or simply have an entire lack of ideology.

I cannot write something about the 'creed of a Theist' because simply... What kind of theist?

And even what values do we even hold collectively as theists? none.

Everyone from Pol Pot to very morally minded folks like Cantata are atheists. They have about as much common as me and Osama Bin Laden.

 

[The Nihilist]

no way, this is dumb. it doesn't even mention eating babies or drowning kittens!

 

[selfinflikted]

A "creed" of any sort, especially for an atheist, just feels too confining and constricting to me. The only thing that any atheist will have in common with another is a simple lack of belief in any diety.

 

[MoonlessNight]

This seems more like a creed for the federation in Star Trek.

 

[SiderealExalt]

When I read it, I really didn't take it as the author wanting to define how all of us atheists think. Rather I took it as how that particular atheist was expressing himself. Both within his atheism and beyond it. So I can't really say any of it irritated me.

 

[Eudaimonist]

This seems more like a creed for the federation in Star Trek.

As I said, a secular humanist creed.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[quatona]

I cannot write something about the 'creed of a Theist' because simply... What kind of theist?

The very kind of theist (or atheist) the person speaking thinks of herself as and wants to describe.
I must say I don´t see the problem.