Ask an Atheist

[dblack]

Great idea for a thread. Should give us a chance to clear up some common misconceptions.

My first question: How do you live your life and think about death without religion?

Pretty much like everyone else. Just without religion. My conception of an "afterlife" lies in the legacy of the things I do when alive. I'll "live on" in the souls of my children, friends and family, etc.

Where do your ethics come from?

From the same place most religious ethics come from - rational norms of behavior that enhance the human experience (the "Golden Rule", for example).

How can you ask an Atheist anything when they don't believe in anything?

It's not true that atheists "don't believe in anything". We believe in most of the same things as the rest of you, just not gods.

One of my questions to atheists:

If during your lifetime on earth, all the believers in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior disappeared, would you believe God's Word as 100% truth?

Hmmm. I suppose its possible, depending on the circumstances. But it still leaves the question of what is "God's Word"?

Another question for atheists:

Are you an atheist or agnostic?

What is agnosticism?

Question: "What is agnosticism?"

Answer: Agnosticism is the view that the existence of God is impossible to be known or proven. The word “agnostic” essentially means “without knowledge.” Agnosticism is a more intellectually honest form of atheism. Atheism claims that God does not exist—an unprovable position. Agnosticism argues that God’s existence cannot be proven or unproven, that it is impossible to know whether or not God exists. In this, agnosticism is correct. God’s existence cannot be empirically proven or disproven.

I'm both. And I'd take issue with the bolded part above. Agnosticism and atheism are only indirectly related. They deal with different questions. The question of whether beliefs can be proven is independent of whether you hold them or not. In other words, you can be a true believer AND an agnostic. Or neither. Or any combination. The concepts aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[bobgnote]

If all the believers went "poof" Peace would reign on earth.

Do you really believe that? Atheists do not "war" or fight? They never argue? All have the same moral values?

What about other "religious" people who do not believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? And/or what about all the muslims? They'll still be here; so atheists and muslims would never , ever "war'? Or will the nations be diivided into "what we believe" nations - ones who have Sharia law, and ones with no laws at all for the atheists? Who gets to decide who are the kings of these nations? Who will be kings of these nations? Who's in authority?

People war because of wanting plain "power" also; not just what they believe in as their faith. We have a sin nature, a fallen nature.

That's the whole reason that Jesus Christ came to save us. From ourselves/sin

What about how Christians co-opted the Old Testament, to educate Romans, regarding the invasion of Canaan, by Habirus, who killed every man, woman, and child they could catch, in the area of the Sea of Galilee? I suppose Christians tried to learn how a crowd of Jews beat Jesus, he developed an attitude about the 'holy spirit:' "Get behind me, Satan," and set about to rob money lenders, so he could then feast and impregnate Mary Magdalene, who allegedly had a son, who accompanied her, for the rest of her life.

But what did Christians learn, really? Do Christians understand how Jesus urgently told Peter and Judas, to snitch him out, to the Temple Authority, as opposed to letting the Authority snitch, to the Romans, since the Romans would then kill everybody in the company, of Jesus? Christians have real trouble, with all this, and with the story of Moses, who was stoned, when he threw down the tablets, on which the 10 Commandments were etched.

The gospels of Mary Magdalene, Thomas, and Judas, with others were withheld, from the Bible, making that book a tool of fools, who pitch resurrection and life after death, to idiots, who support Israel, where Zionists are busy, bulldozing, never mind Moses and the Torah.

Christians are formed by Catholics, which are mad people, who won't accept global warming or the need to re-green, and who cares if any of it is man-made? Here comes the carbonic acid exchange, which can stop the oceanic food chain. Do you ever ask yourself 'the question,' anymore? Do you realize, you may be part Jewish?

The smart part! The dumb part supports Israel. For any smart part you may have, know a rebel named Shimon preceded Jesus, as messiah, and so Jesus is the 2nd coming, of something like what you mistakenly believe. Sorry about your luck, if you wanted an actual 2nd coming, but like a broken TV, no more re-runs will show, on your screen, or any nailed, un-plugged TV, named Jesus or idiot-box, ever again. Israel is a second coming of a nuisance, and it hides the several comings, of Crusades, which Christians just can't quit. Watch TV, smarten up.

And when the industrial revolution happened, Christians and poorly-assimilated Jews all knew, an invasion of the Holy Land would need to be concocted, which would not get too much of a Jihad going. So in 1882, the year between the Boer Wars, Zionist settlers left, to start pushing for a Jewish state.

They pissed off Egyptians, who revolted under a Mahdi, 1886, the same year Christians met, to adopt a version of the story of Moses, which distorted how his brother Aaron made the golden calf, to teach the Habirus how they were moving from the values of Isis, the Egyptian goddess, who had a bull, to kill Canaanites and raise cattle, in the area of the Sea of Galilee. Then Moses dropped his rocks, and Koufax and Co. threw inside.

Lousy Christians distort all this and any other media they get their filthy hands on!

Dodge that, not. Fighting and killing and poor stewardship of land has followed, since the 14th Century B.C. eruption of Thera, where is now Santorini, if you must know. Humans could go down, by the next big eruption. If you keep warming the planet, and the seas keep rising and heating, they massage up explosive trouble.

I'd rather have a US Constitution and statutes, without constantly violated separation, standing army, and enumeration of powers clauses, USCA 4, 5, 14, RICO, and Sedition Act, than a load of rioting, idiotic Christians, some of whom kept evolution out of schools, until 1958, when the Soviets launched Sputnik. Go poof, already! The planet is heating up, for you.

If any Christians were smart, they started and ended, with Jimmy Carter, who is old. If only poof and you'd all be smart as Jimmy. But you aren't. So crime pays, for Jesus.

 

[uscitizen]

How can you ask an Atheist anything when they don't believe in anything?

How can one with such a narrow viewpoint believe in anything?

 

[uscitizen]

The world would be more peaceful if the religious observed the 11th commandment:

11. Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

In the United States, we have freedom OF religion, not freedom from religion.

the constitution specifies that we will not be ruled by any one religion.

 

[Peach]

Because Buddhists are non-theists, not technically atheists.

Semantics.

If Buddhists used the term atheist they would lose their religion's tax exempt status.

So they use non-theist so they can still qualify as a religion.

It's not semantics. There is a difference between atheism and non-theism. Atheism is opposed to all religion and no belief in God or gods. Buddhism is a non-theistic religion that employs the use of meditational deities in visualization practice and sadhanas.

Oh boy; what if the visualization practice continues after physical death? My belief: there has gotta be something out there, as Lou Reed put it. The idea that humans are the ultimate beings in the universe strikes me as conceit.

 

[uscitizen]

Semantics.

If Buddhists used the term atheist they would lose their religion's tax exempt status.

So they use non-theist so they can still qualify as a religion.

It's not semantics. There is a difference between atheism and non-theism. Atheism is opposed to all religion and no belief in God or gods. Buddhism is a non-theistic religion that employs the use of meditational deities in visualization practice and sadhanas.

Oh boy; what if the visualization practice continues after physical death? My belief: there has gotta be something out there, as Lou Reed put it. The idea that humans are the ultimate beings in the universe strikes me as conceit.

We Beta Trangulans agree with that.

 

[Peach]

If you don't buy into a story of a talking snake and Adam and Eve in the Garden, no original sin was committed and there and no need for a "savior".

Nothing is impossible, and humans "translated" the original writings anyway. I see a need for salvation myself; though the word can be interpreted in differing ways. We are all imperfect, and should strive for perfection.

 

[Big Black Dog]

One of the funniest things I ever heard said was "I swear to God I'm an Atheist."

 

[Kiki Cannoli]

Sartre says that God is a desire for completeness and self-sufficiency for man.

The concept of God is merely faith, we all we need faith and hope. Some define the search for positive energy as the celebration of the existence of a deity. I prefer an existential approach:

II. The Existentialist View of Human Nature.
Existentialism is defined by the slogan Existence precedes Essence. This means:

1. We have no predetermined nature or essence that controls what we are, what we do, or what is valuable for us.

2. We are radically free to act independently of determination by outside influences.

3. We create our own human nature through these free choices.

4. We also create our values through these choices.

Existentialism

 

[Sky Dancer]

If you don't buy into a story of a talking snake and Adam and Eve in the Garden, no original sin was committed and there and no need for a "savior".

Nothing is impossible, and humans "translated" the original writings anyway. I see a need for salvation myself; though the word can be interpreted in differing ways. We are all imperfect, and should strive for perfection.

I understand that you see a need for salvation. It's different for me. In Buddhism, we take as true, that Buddha nature is within every sentient being, so we are pure primordially.

Nonetheless, our Buddha nature is obscured by attachment, aversion, jealousy, pride and ignorance. When these are refined away by accumulating merit, (by good deeds), and wisdom, (through meditation and non-meditation) our Buddha nature is fully evident as radiance.

 

[Avatar4321]

I don't need a lot of crazy rules to know the difference between right and wrong.

Then how do you know the difference between right and wrong?

 

[Avatar4321]

If you don't buy into a story of a talking snake and Adam and Eve in the Garden, no original sin was committed and there and no need for a "savior".

If you dont believe in the fall then you dont see the inherent corruptness of mankind and thus you are at a disadvantage of rooting it out of your soul.

 

[Avatar4321]

I think the world would be more peaceful if those who want to convert everyone to their way of thinking went "poof".

No offense, but there wouldnt be any peace if that happened. There would be outright bloodshed on a global and catastrophic level.

It's a good thing the rapture is an 18th century concept and not a Biblical one.

 

[Avatar4321]

The world would be more peaceful if the religious observed the 11th commandment:

11. Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

In the United States, we have freedom OF religion, not freedom from religion.

Some would love it if we had freedom FROM religion.

And they would be seriously misguided.

 

[dblack]

I don't need a lot of crazy rules to know the difference between right and wrong.

Then how do you know the difference between right and wrong?

You replace the crazy rules (though they're by no means all crazy) with sane rules that promote the most basic human instinct - life.

 

[Sky Dancer]

In the United States, we have freedom OF religion, not freedom from religion.

Some would love it if we had freedom FROM religion.

And they would be seriously misguided.

No, they want peace of mind, and freedom from being proselytized.

 

[Sky Dancer]

I think the world would be more peaceful if those who want to convert everyone to their way of thinking went "poof".

No offense, but there wouldnt be any peace if that happened. There would be outright bloodshed on a global and catastrophic level.

It's a good thing the rapture is an 18th century concept and not a Biblical one.

You may be missing how irritating some religous people can be to others.

 

[Sky Dancer]

If you don't buy into a story of a talking snake and Adam and Eve in the Garden, no original sin was committed and there and no need for a "savior".

If you dont believe in the fall then you dont see the inherent corruptness of mankind and thus you are at a disadvantage of rooting it out of your soul.

Don't believe in the fall, don't believe in a "soul". I know the inherent purity of every being and the path to revealing buddha nature.

Can you accept we see things differently? You go your way and I'll go mine.

 

[Truthmatters]

We have an "Ask a Mormon thread, I thought why not one for asking atheists questions?

My first question: How do you live your life and think about death without religion?

Where do your ethics come from?

An atheist believes what they can see and have proof for.

I dont believe there is any afterlife of anykind.

There is no proof that one exsists.


When you know this is your one shot at it and that you are EXTREMELY lucky to get even one shot at it you live life like it is precious, because it is.

Now most human beings are mostly good, there are saintly people and their are complete rat bastards.

I love people.

that is human nature to love others.

We are and have always been pack animals.

It is built into the cells of our brain to enjoy and desire the company of other human beings.

I feel good when the people arround me are happy.

It makes my life happy.


Why given these facts would I do anything but try my heart out to promote a world enviroment that was designed arround anything BUT the betterment of human kind.

Now I also love other animals and the natural world and seek to protect them because man needs them as well to be happy.


Morals are common sense and make me happier in life.

Now that means I have NO conflicts with my moral code UNLIKE someone who follow a religion designed before this world saw that Kings and queens were NOT good, that women are not equal to cattle and that children were not property.

 

[amrchaos]

Since Buddhists do not believe in God, heaven, or hell, they are atheists.

So why don't you answer the OP question yourself?

Because Buddhists are non-theists, not technically atheists.

What is the difference between a "non-theist" and an atheists.

Remember--Atheist contains the prefix A- meaning "not or non"