I'm not an atheist anymore...

[Archaeopteryx]

Cold be the hands and the heart of the man who is away from God.

Does it comfort you to think that?

 

[GrimKingGrim]

Cold be the hands and the heart of the man who is away from God.

Oh now I believe

 

[Eudaimonist]

I've come to the decision that I'm no longer going to call myself an atheist. People attach too many negative things to the term. I'm now simply a person who thinks it's highly unlikely there's a God, and doesn't follow any religion. And uses science to understand the world. As for the meaning of it all, I'm an existential nihilist. So the reason I even get up in the morning is just to learn more about the universe of which I'm a part of. I guess understanding is my life's goal.

You're still an atheist to me, but there are no negative things that I personally attach to the term.

I can understand labelling oneself with a more meaningful label than "atheist". I call myself a eudaimonist, after all. Atheism says very little about oneself. You are probably better off with a more descriptive label.

In any case, good luck with calling yourself an "existential nihilist". Sorry to say, but I do attach negative things to that term, and I doubt that I am the only one.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Eudaimonist]

Cold be the hands and the heart of the man who is away from God.

What leads you to say that?


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Messy]

I saw the title in new posts and I thought: Hey did my prayers work that fast? I thought you got saved.

 

[GrimKingGrim]

I saw the title in new posts and I thought: Hey did my prayers work that fast? I thought you got saved.

 

[nonbeliever314]

Let me clear the air a bit. For all practical purposes I'm atheist. To me it just seems like too many atheists are starting to act just as dogmatic as religious people, and start organizations to promote atheism which I can't stand. I don't think there are fairies, but I'm not going to label myself an "afairyist" because I find it too ridiculous to even do so. And for that same reason I don't want to label myself as an atheist. I'd rather just say I don't think this or that is real. The non-existence of a god is so evident to me that I treat god, like I would a fairy, demon, or any other ridiculous thing people think is real. HOWEVER, when people's ridiculous beliefs start to directly affect me I'll stand up for what I THINK (not believe).

PS I'm falling asleep writing this so I hope I didn't botch my explanation... Ha. Probably did though....

 

[Colter]

"The roadblocks of indifference, fancied self-sufficiency, prejudice and defiance often prove more solid and formidable for these people (those who have lost faith) than any erected by the unconvinced agnostic or even the militant atheist."
- from Step 2 in 12 and 12

 

[Cearbhall]

To me one sounds like "I'm not sure" and the other sounds like "I'm sure".

Atheism and agnosticism are part of two separate dichotomies. Agnosticism is a knowledge statement. Atheism is a conclusion. I'm an agnostic atheist.

 

[Ken-1122]

I've come to the decision that I'm no longer going to call myself an atheist. People attach too many negative things to the term. I'm now simply a person who thinks it's highly unlikely there's a God, and doesn't follow any religion. And uses science to understand the world. As for the meaning of it all, I'm an existential nihilist. So the reason I even get up in the morning is just to learn more about the universe of which I'm a part of. I guess understanding is my life's goal.

So what happens when people start attaching negative things to the term "existential nihilist"? You gonna quit calling yourself that to?

 

[Davian]

"The roadblocks of indifference, fancied self-sufficiency, prejudice and defiance often prove more solid and formidable for these people (those who have lost faith) than any erected by the unconvinced agnostic or even the militant atheist."
- from Step 2 in 12 and 12

 

[JGG]

I am curious as to why you would care so much about negative things others might attach to the term atheist that you would abandon it as descriptive of yourself because of that? I do not understand that position. As both a christian and a conservative, I know how many negative things others attach to those labels yet I also know what I mean when I say I am those things. I would not discard the labels due to someone else's ignorant or purposely skewed characterization of them as something other than what they are. If you do not believe in a god, then I would encourage you to refer to your position as that of an atheist and if others see that as indicative of something more sinister than simple lack of belief despite your innocence of anything other than simple lack of belief that is their problem not yours. Further, you now run the risk of people thinking you are devious and disingenuous because you refuse to call yourself what you are in order to "pull the wool over their eyes". Since that practice, i.e. of to mis label or redefine oneself or one's position in order to deceive others, has become very popular in political circles, people are naturally suspicious of how people use words. What you are doing may well be seen, by those same people you are trying to placate, as being even worse than being "an atheist".

I love the bolded part: Christians, who already believe you are devious and disingenuous if you call yourself an atheist, might think you are devious and disingenuous if you don't call yourself an atheist.

Darned to heck if you do, darned to heck if you don't, huh?

 

[nonbeliever314]

So what happens when people start attaching negative things to the term "existential nihilist"? You gonna quit calling yourself that to?

Read post #27. I clarified.

 

[nonbeliever314]

You're still an atheist to me, but there are no negative things that I personally attach to the term.

I can understand labelling oneself with a more meaningful label than "atheist". I call myself a eudaimonist, after all. Atheism says very little about oneself. You are probably better off with a more descriptive label.

In any case, good luck with calling yourself an "existential nihilist". Sorry to say, but I do attach negative things to that term, and I doubt that I am the only one.


eudaimonia,

Mark

I'm not labelling myself an existential nihilist, but that's how I think about everything for now until I can somehow overcome it. I had a nervous breakdown a year ago trying dig my way out of that, but I fell pretty far "down the rabbit hole" when I tried... Ooops.

 

[Cearbhall]

I've come to the decision that I'm no longer going to call myself an atheist. People attach too many negative things to the term. I'm now simply a person who thinks it's highly unlikely there's a God, and doesn't follow any religion. And uses science to understand the world. As for the meaning of it all, I'm an existential nihilist.

I don't personally subscribe to this logic when it comes to labels, but more power to you.

I agree in the sense that "atheist" says only what I'm not. It's a useful term to other people who care that I'm not a member of their religion, but it's not really useful for me when I want to tell people what's important to me. That's why I have "Other-Religion" on the side instead of atheist. Being Unitarian Universalist is more important to my identity than not being a theist.