Atheism: Is it a religion?

[TooCurious]

Here you may be blurring the lines between Atheism and agnosticism.

There is no "line between" atheism and agnosticism. They are not points on the same spectrum. In fact, atheism and agnosticism are positions with regard to entirely different questions. Observe:

Do you think it is possible to know with certainty whether or not any gods exist? No. I am an agnostic.

Do you hold the position that any gods exist? No. I am an atheist.

I, for instance, am both an agnostic and an atheist. Both of the above statements are true of me.

Atheists believe (have faith) that there is no G-d, while agnostics have no such faith. Faith, in fact, is what separates the two.

You're mistaken here, which is startling, since many atheists here have already told you that atheists do not have "faith" in the non-existence of gods, but rather simply fail to believe in any gods. Please amend your understanding of the term.

 

[Holy Roller]

I don't see how faith is necessary in order to not believe something exists. I haven't been convinced that there is a god, so I don't believe in one. If I had a good reason to believe, I would. Where is the faith in that?



You must be using some definition of "religious" that I've never heard of.

You obviously see faith as some kind of emotion. It's not.

 

[Eudaimonist]

You obviously see faith as some kind of emotion. It's not.

Nowhere in the quote you reply to is the word "emotion" mentioned. How did you get this interpretation of his post?


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Holy Roller]

Atheists on this message board: please come to a common consensus. We can't have a consistent discussion if one Atheist has one definition of his faith and another Atheist has a different definition.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Atheists on this message board: please come to a common consensus.

Christians on this message board: please come to a single denomination. We can't have a discussion if there are differences in doctrine.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Bombila]

the beliefs are easy, there is no God, those who believe in God are dumb, blind sheep, science proves there's no God as well as reason dictates it, and lets not forget that 9/11 would not have happened in a world with no religion.

Practices, go to court to have, all offensive religious symbols in public removed, eliminate the "in God we trust" from all currency and change all governmental precedures including the pledge of allegiance to eliminate any verbage referencing God.

Can I link coversations from other boards to demonstrate exactly what atheists believe, preach and insist proves they are right and those who believe there is a God are wrong?

Since, like most atheists, who in case you've forgotten, are ordinary people with families and friends and co-workers and teachers and students, there are a lot of people around me who I love/like/respect, and the vast majority of them are Christians, your inference that I and other atheists think all these people are dumb blind sheep is insulting and certainly not true. Please retract this portion of your post.

Some of us are of the opinion that something like 9/11 would have occurred eventually even without the undoubted influence of religion wrt the motivations of men to commit murder and mayhem. America has many enemies, and some of them feel very justified in their anger by America's past interferences in their countries.

Apparently atheists all around the world want "in God we trust" removed from American currency, and wish to change American laws regarding separation of church and state. Well, no. Some of us, particularly those of us next door, not wishing to be exactly like America and worried about American influence, may have opinions on these matters, but we are extremely unlikely to really care much - certainly not enough to take some American to court. Oh wait - perhaps there are no atheists in other countries! Or the US is in fact the only country. That last must be it.

 

[GryffinSong]

Sigh.

Holy Roller, you keep saying it takes faith to be an atheist, but you seem to be linking random posts/thoughts of atheists on this board with what defines an atheist. That's like saying that Christians all believe that bunnies make great pets, just because I know a couple of Christians who have bunnies. They have nothing to do with each other.

Does it take faith to disbelieve Santa Claus? The Easter bunny? Elves and dragons? Of course not. That disbelieve is ALL it takes to be an atheist. Everything else is personal stuff BEYOND the definition.

 

[thaumaturgy]

Atheists on this message board: please come to a common consensus. We can't have a consistent discussion if one Atheist has one definition of his faith and another Atheist has a different definition.
Thanks in advance.

Theists on the planet earth: please come to a common concensus. We can't have a consistent discussion if one theist has one definition of "god" and another theist has a different defintition.

Thanks in advance.

Luke 6:31

 

[Braunwyn]

Atheists on this message board: please come to a common consensus. We can't have a consistent discussion if one Atheist has one definition of his faith and another Atheist has a different definition.
Thanks in advance.

If you don't like the way the discussion is going, too bad.

 

[TooCurious]

Atheists on this message board: please come to a common consensus. We can't have a consistent discussion if one Atheist has one definition of his faith and another Atheist has a different definition.
Thanks in advance.

I think we do have a consensus; it seems pretty unanimous among the atheists on this thread that your characterization of atheism is completely inaccurate. Atheism is the lack of belief in any gods (the Christian god, the Greek gods, the Hindu gods -- all of 'em). Given that this is the only criterion to determine that someone is an atheist, and atheists need have nothing else in common than that lack of belief -- and certainly have no shared "faith" or religious practices to draw them together -- it's unsurprising that individual atheists have different opinions on other matters. What do you find confusing?

 

[UncleHermit]

You obviously see faith as some kind of emotion. It's not.

What?

I have no idea how you came to that conclusion about my post, but that's not what I was trying to say at all.

Maybe it would help if you tell us what you mean by "faith", since there are several definitions for the word.

 

[thaumaturgy]

What?

I have no idea how you came to that conclusion about my post, but that's not what I was trying to say at all.

Maybe it would help if you tell us what you mean by "faith", since there are several definitions for the word.

Uncle, you seem to be under the impression that Holy Roller is actually reading what others post. He apparently is much more interested in what he has to say about what atheism is or isn't, as opposed to the actual atheists who are attempting to educate him.

Remember, strawmen are hard to light on fire when someone keeps dumping water on them.

 

[ravenscape]

Because that's agnosticism; not Atheism.



(I changed your quote a little...)

That is not agnosticism. Agnosticism is the philosophical position that it is IMPOSSIBLE to know whether God(s) exist(s) or not.

 

[ravenscape]

Atheists on this message board: please come to a common consensus. We can't have a consistent discussion if one Atheist has one definition of his faith and another Atheist has a different definition.
Thanks in advance.

That's as likely to happen as all Christians having a consistent definition of their faith.

Let me know when you've got that all worked out.

 

[Rasta]

If atheism is a religion, bald is a hair color.

If atheism is a religion, not playing checkers is a hobby.

If atheism is a religion, not playing football is a sport.

If atheism is a religion, not being a bear is a species.

What you fail to acknowledge HR, is that atheists define their stance as the "disbelief in God or gods".

Seems pretty simple to me.

 

[Holy Roller]

Gentlemen If You Go To My adultry: Should It Be A Misdemeanor Thread In The ethics And Morality Forum Under society You Will Note That One Atheist Says Christians Are Blind, Stupid Sheep And Several Atheists Reply In Concerted Agreement.

 

[Holy Roller]

Uncle, you seem to be under the impression that Holy Roller is actually reading what others post. He apparently is much more interested in what he has to say about what atheism is or isn't, as opposed to the actual atheists who are attempting to educate him.

Remember, strawmen are hard to light on fire when someone keeps dumping water on them.

Yesterday I was "swimming in the sea of ignorance" and today "strawmen are hard to light on fire when you keep dumping water on them." Looks like you are not keeping your day job like I suggested you do; you're still going after the poet thing.

 

[CaDan]

Atheists on this message board: please come to a common consensus. We can't have a consistent discussion if one Atheist has one definition of his faith and another Atheist has a different definition.
Thanks in advance.

*shnort*

Perhaps this lack of a common consensus indicates atheism is not really a religion. Maybe.

 

[TooCurious]

Quite the contrary. If you expect us to believe Atheists do not regard the Christian as dumb, blind sheep, then you take Christans to be fools!

You'd get a lot farther with the atheists here if you'd stop trying to tell us what we believe -- especially when you refuse to listen when WE tell you what we believe.

Please visit my other thread that more or less proves Atheists inherently think Christans have a lower intellect than the Atheist.

Really? Did you get a consensus on every atheist in existence, in that thread? Because demonstrating that a few atheists share an opinion proves nothing. I'm sure many atheists like the color blue, but liking blue is not a tenet of atheism.

What's lol funny is most the Atheists I have met on this message board are, well, dumb, blind sheep.

You know, you'd get a lot farther with atheists here if you'd stop INSULTING THEM. Even if you think that "Atheists," the monolithic entity you seem to think we all are, have insulted you, two wrongs don't make a right.

And I'm a completed Jew.

Then, I'm curious: why does your signature imply that you think atheists want to, or should, become Christians?

 

[dlamberth]

Seeing as how the original poster has moved on to other subjects in his own thread, it's seeming to me that all of us have now come to a common agreement that atheism is not a religion.

It's a rare moment in CF time when everyone can come to a common agreement like that.

.