EX-ATHEIST

1. So, my reason for being an atheist must conform with every one elses? Oh no wait, There is only one reason to become an atheist? Maybe, I must not have been a "true" atheist if I didn't know why all atheists are atheists. I got it. Thanks

2. Would you prefer I call it a cult where it's members are routinely brainwashed with silly propoganda and stupid, self centered ideas? cuz I could if you want. Ever goto a university meeting for atheists? I went with my roommate in college a couple of times when I was an atheist and it was a bunch of people sitting around talking about how they don't need faith, they don't need religion, the only need unbelief. Uhm, sounds quite a bit like a religious gathering. This may not be what all such gatherings are like, but hey...my experience.

hezekiah jones

Yes, please. Some of us don't have anything special to do tonight.

Reverend Ruin

Your reasons, no. I misread your original post. My mistake. Get over it.

</strong>

Call it whatever the fuck you want to call it. It won't make it true, and it won't matter a bit to me. So sorry to disappoint.

</strong>

IMAGINE THAT happening at a meeting for atheists! By that definition every meeting of like-minded individuals would be a religious meeting. All those folks to get together to watch and discuss football are OBVIOUSLY Footballists. And what about those folks to like to gather for wine tasting? WineTasterist bastards.

Toto

Well, since you brought it up, why were you an atheist? Were you raised with a religion that you rejected to become an atheist, or were you just non-religious to start off with? And what made you change?

Dr Rick

It has a lot to do with the non-existence of gods.

<strong> No, these things are called "Christianity."

<strong> Did you seriously expect them to say otherwise?

Mageth

1. So, my reason for being an atheist must conform with every one elses? Oh no wait, There is only one reason to become an atheist? Maybe, I must not have been a "true" atheist if I didn't know why all atheists are atheists. I got it. Thanks

It pretty much boils down to one reason, IMO: coming to the conclusion that there is no god(s). If you believe there is no god(s), you're an atheist. If you believe there is a god(s), you're a theist. If you're not sure, you're agnostic.

The path we take to get to our respective belief or non-belief varies, of course, as is indicated by the thread I provided a link for earlier.

Eudaimonist

As has been pointed out: atheism, agnosticism, and humanism are not religions. I'm surprised that an ex-atheist would think otherwise. Well, enough has been said on that subject.

My atheism (or non-theism) is founded in the lack of credible argument and evidence for the existence of supernatural powers. It's as simple as that. I regard my lack of belief in Yahweh as a trivial aspect of my life though.

If by "religion" you are really asking me why I subscribe to a particular way of life, and are not simply polling me for why I have rejected Christian beliefs, I'll just say that I take a philosophical approach to life that has its earliest roots in ancient Greece, which can be called <a href="http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=eudaimonism" target="_blank">eudaimonism</a>. I like this approach for its rationality and emphasis on achieving happiness in this life. I have found the <a href="http://www.kindreason.com/" target="_blank">Fellowship of Reason</a> to have better ideas than Christians on how to live well, at least for me.

[ February 15, 2002: Message edited by: Eudaimonia ]</p>

ex-preacher

God is an unnecessary hypothesis.

Undercurrent

Now let's see. We live in a world where a majority of the population has spent, since shortly after their birth, an hour a week on friday, saturday, or sunday going to hear stories the've been hearing since before they were old enough to understand the words, go through ritual standing/sitting/kneeling/kow-tow-ing sing various chants, repeat ritual phrases in mindless unison, and the people who don't do this are the ones who are brainwashed?

m.

emotional

Layer 1: Evidential: there is no evidence for any personal deity. The whole natural universe behaves precisely as if such a being does not exist. The theory of a Personal God only complicates things, and in no way deepens our understanding of the universe. It is as needless as a Rain-God theory for understanding meteorology.

Layer 2: Presuppositional: theology is usually gleaned from books. However, books cannot form the basis of presupposition, because a) some of them make mutually exclusive claims to being the Word of God (eg Bible and Qur'an) and b) we know books can be written by human beings. We know only of the natural universe (stars, planets, trees, animals etc) that it is not a human creation. Therefore the only sound presupposition is what we have before us in Nature. The evidence of nature leads to atheism.

Layer 3: Emotional: the description of God in such books as the Bible and Qur'an make it perfectly clear that he is not the most cute and cuddly person around. People cry in outrage when reporters are held prisoner in Afghanistan, but when God tortures people in hell for eternity, they call it "justice". This isn't justice, this is sub-Stalin cruelty. Even if all evidence pointed to the existence of the Abrahamic god, there is strong emotional pressure to disobey that fiend.

Happy now, Exo? Looking forward to your becoming an ex-ex-atheist