Thread: Athiest vs religion? sorta

Originally Posted by marlie

why isnt the word athiest simply stated as "none"

That's what I usually answer when asked about my religion. I really don't like to use the word 'atheist', it sounds like some sort of religion or ideal, even though it isn't.

The reason why atheists have a title at all is because many people are religious, and because religion is generally considered important to many.

Similarly, many people drink alcohol, which is why those who don't earn the title of teetotallers, instead of there being a name for people who consume alcohol.

Atheists sometimes seem to treat their belief as more of a religion than some Christians do.. At least on here..

They spend a lot of time trying to find reasons why other belief systems are wrong, because if they aren't wrong, it means bad things for them. It's like studying a holy book, but instead of taking advice/wisdom from a god they're taking it from scientists.

Gotta agree with Tarsier here. There are Atheists out there who have turned the lack of belief in God/gods into a crusade of sorts; the kind of atheists who find it admirable to destroy faith of all sorts. I wouldn't be surprised if soon that kind of atheist starts preaching door-to-door right alongside the Jehovah's Witnesses. We already have a Church of Atheism.

Yep, I strongly believe there's no floating man in the sky, how militant of me.

There are some atheists out there . . .

Note that this was not directed at all atheists. I'm an agnostic atheist myself. I've just observed this trend of militant atheism around. There are some hardcore atheists who seek to convert others to their point of view with the same zeal as some Christians. It's a minority, as I believe it to be in Christianity, that does this, but it's the vocal minority.

EDIT: Just realised I didn't even put "some" in my original post, but the point still holds true: I did assert in there that was not referring to all atheists.

Kiza, I"d like to respond to your point. I've been guilty at times of posting atheist rants. But I only do it in response to religious rants posted by others. I used to feel like "to each their own" and "let sleeping dogs lie" etc, and not feel any need to respond when people post religious ideas.

But after a while it became clear to me... if we (atheists) just sit back and turn the other cheek and let religious posts go up all over the place without posting an alternative viewpoint, then we're letting religious views dominate. Young people who haven't formed a viewpoint yet could see all these religious posts without any balancing alternatives, and just simply accept the populist religious viewpoint. It's not that I think that would be the worst thing that could happen... I have nothing against religion or religious people unless they're extremists or fundies... I just think it's important for voices to be heard on both sides.

Originally Posted by Tarsier

It's like studying a holy book, but instead of taking advice/wisdom from a god they're taking it from scientists.

Yes, it's exactly like that.

Like those people that take medical advice from doctors instead of seeking a reiki guy.

Originally Posted by Scatterbrain

Yes, it's exactly like that.

Like those people that take medical advice from doctors instead of seeking a reiki guy.

Pure ownage. Two perfect analogies.

Nice difference between faith and science: science adjusts its views based on what's observed. Faith is the denial of truth to preserve belief. If you could show to me that, say, there really is a floating man in the sky, I'll be happy beyond all reason, I'll spin on a dime. I'd be embarrassed as hell, but I'd run through the streets shouting, "Take physics and bin it! God is real!" As an atheist, I'm fully willing to shift my stance if enough evidence for a different argument comes to light. Interestingly enough, though, the amount of evidence available for such a divine being has refused to grow at all; in fact, the further along we go, the less likely it is seeming that any sort of higher power (at least in the Judeo-Christian sense) exists. I don't care if people study Christianity and believe it, but if they're going to spread it around and voice their opinions on the matter, I'm going to voice my opinions on the matter.

Come on, plagiarism isn't cool.

Really Mario? At least quote it.

Lots of that taken from Tim Minchin's 9-minute beat poem "Storm"