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(Kennedy)
The framework set forth by Ninian Smart, commonly known as the Seven Dimensions of Religion, is widely accepted by anthropologists and researchers of religion as broadly covering the various aspects of religion, without focusing on things unique to specific religions.
The seven dimensions proposed by Smart are narrative, experiential, social, ethical, doctrinal, ritual and material. Not every religion has every dimension, nor are they all equally important within an individual religion. Smart even argues that the secularisation of western society is actually a shift of focus from the doctrinal and ritual to the experiential.
Atheism: A religion
Please give me time to refute the quoted text. It is a rather large wall of text that I have to research, deconstruct, and analyze. It will take time to formulate a response. I do apologize in advance, I feel that the resulting post will be extremely long.
-Atheist Alan
I apologize if there is too much information; I thought that is for what you asked.
Are you, at least, open to the possibilities of miracles?
\It is not too much information. It will just take time to formulate a response. Please bear with me.
-Atheist Alan
That depends on your definition of the word miracles. As we can observe in this very thread, different definitions of the same word can be vastly different things.
For instance, if it is that supernatural, or non-natural things are can happen, then I submit: why do amputees never regenerate their limbs? Are they not worthy of supernatural events or miracles?
-Atheist Alan
\
Do please take your time. I would hope that you will allow it to simmer and percolate a bit... and realize there's no reason to fear the definition? TTYL
Yes, I forgot to define the word "miracles," but I will go with your definition. Do you want all or some of the amputees to be miraculously healed?
Since when is materialism a prerequisite for atheism? I can point you to places full of non-theists that believe in magick and spirits and all sorts of things like that. Atheism is lack of belief in a deity; it does not necessarily preclude other supernatural occurrences.(Kennedy)
They have their own worldview. Materialism (the view that the material world is all there is) is the lens through which atheists view the world. Far from being the open-minded, follow-the-evidence-wherever thinkers they claim to be, they interpret all data ONLY within the very narrow worldview of materialism. They are like a guy wearing dark sunglasses who chides all others for thinking the sun is out.
Atheism does not equal evolution, nor does it equal science. This is like saying because most NBA players are black, being black is a part of the professional basketball "orthodoxy".They have their own orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is a set of beliefs acceptable to a faith community. Just as there are orthodox Christian beliefs, there is an atheist orthodoxy as well. In brief, it is that EVERYTHING can be explained as the product of unintentional, undirected, purposeless evolution. No truth claim is acceptable if it cannot be subjected to scientific scrutiny.
In this context, this is the definition of tergiversation:They have their own brand of apostasy. Apostasy is to abandon ones former religious faith. Antony Flew was for many years one of the worlds most prominent atheists. And then he did the unthinkable: he changed his mind. You can imagine the response of the open-minded, tolerant New Atheist movement. Flew was vilified. Richard Dawkins accused Flew of tergiversation. Its a fancy word for apostasy. By their own admission, then, Flew abandoned their faith.
Because atheists must also be socialists? A patently ridiculous claim, to be sure.They have their own prophets: Nietzsche, Russell, Feuerbach, Lenin, Marx.
Atheists existed before Darwin was even born. Evolution =/= atheism.They have their own messiah: He is, of course, Charles Darwin. Darwin in their view drove the definitive stake through the heart of theism by providing a comprehensive explanation of life that never needs God as a cause or explanation. Daniel Dennett has even written a book seeking to define religious faith itself as merely an evolutionary development.
Openly challenging theism and asking people to consider things from a different viewpoint is hardly evangelism, but alright, however you wanna define it.They have their own preachers and evangelists. And boy, are they evangelistic. Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, and Hitchens (Speaking of which, our prayers goes out to Christopher Hitchens in hopes of a speedy recovery for his cancer, we need more time with him Lord) are NOT out to ask that atheism be given respect. They are seeking converts. They are preaching a gospel calling for the end of theism.
You don't say.They have faith. Thats right, faith.
They would have you believe the opposite. Their writings ridicule faith, condemn faith. Harriss book is called The End of Faith. But theirs is a faith-based enterprise.
If I look at the evidence available for the existence of God (or lack thereof, perhaps), and I remain unconvinced of God's existence, where is the faith there?The existence of God cannot be proven or disproven. To deny it takes faith.
Evolution is change in allele frequency over time. It accounts for the biological diversity we see today and how species have changed. That's it. I really wish people would stop trying to make evolution claim more than it does.Evolution has no explanation for why our universe is orderly, predictable, measurable. In fact (atheistic) evolutionary theory has no rational explanation for why there is such a thing as rational explanation.
Hardly. It does not take faith to know that we are self-aware, and the simple answer to those questions is that our brains are sufficiently complex to allow it. Beyond that, questions of "why" in this sense are philosophical in nature, not scientific.There is no accounting for the things they hope you wont ask: Why do we have self-awareness? What makes us conscious?
Morality is far from universal among human beings.From what source is there a universal sense of right and wrong?
I wish all amputees were able to regenerate missing appendages. However that isn't a very plausible outcome however much I desire it. One day scientific advancement may unlock a way to have our bodies regenerate itself on level with today's medical care.
I would like to see an example of one amputee that, for whatever reason, lost an arm or a leg, and was later able to regenerate said appendage without medical or scientific assistance. I would very much like to see such an example.
-Atheist Alan
On the whole 'Atheism is a religion' thing going on in this thread...
It's silly to think atheism it is a religion.
It's not a belief. It's a lack of belief.
Not believing in Zues. Baal or the egyptian god Ra is NOT considered a religion. Just like not believing in the god of the bible isn't a religion. But because Atheist don't believe in the same god you do...it doesn't make it a religion.
But hey, if it is a religion...let's make it official. That way Dawkins teachings and foundations and other atheistic buildings and resources are tax free!
Say, for the sake of argument, God regenerated all missing appendages of all the amputees living on planet earth in a couple of hours. What will be your response? Will such an action benefit you?
Atheism is not just refraining from belief in God! It requires one to hold the belief that there is no God! Take a look at the following definitions:
Atheism and Agnosticism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Atheism | Define Atheism at Dictionary.com
On the whole 'Atheism is a religion' thing going on in this thread...
It's silly to think atheism it is a religion.
It's not a belief. It's a lack of belief.
Not believing in Zues. Baal or the egyptian god Ra is NOT considered a religion. Just like not believing in the god of the bible isn't a religion. But because Atheist don't believe in the same god you do...it doesn't make it a religion.
But hey, if it is a religion...let's make it official. That way Dawkins teachings and foundations and other atheistic buildings and resources are tax free!
If all amputees on Earth were healed, likewise if all sickness was gone or some other global greater change in a significantly small amount of time without scientific or medical assistance, I would say through proof of observation that miracles exist.
For the sake of argument, if God is proven to behind such an act, I would of course both both believe in miracles and God.
-Atheist Alan
Childs makes the case:
Atheism is a religion.
Let's just stick with amputees.. What benefits do YOU have if all amputees regenerated their limbs? Also, once you accept that there is a God, what characteristics would you ascribe, to that God?
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