Agnosticism

the closest on that comes to mind is Socrates who died in 399BC

The Stoics, a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BCE were essentially agnostics and were present at the same time as the historic Jesus.. The stoics considered that "virtue is sufficient for happiness". Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, written between 170 and 180 covers many of the Stoic's views. The Roman Empire saw Stoics as being at odds with the Christian faith.

To be moral we need to have some higher ideal. The philosophy that says it is enough to be a good person without faith in a higher power is one of the six main philosophies that existed in ancient India and it was called Karmamimamsa. The problem with this philosophy that if we do not believe in some higher power than eventually our mind will convince us anything that gives us pleasure is OK, since really if there is nothing higher than this material body there is no higher value than giving it pleasure.

I can say with certainty from personal experience that some times I might get into something that is a bit in my gray moral area, and with time I convince my self it is fine, more over things that I thought were totally wrong now seem not so bad. Thanks to the fact I do believe in a higher power I know that satisfying my own egoistic needs is not the highest thing, and that by maintaining a high moral standard I can advance spiritually to a goal beyond this material world. Other wise there is no logical pragmatic reason not to enjoy fully on others expanse, only education and sentiments which can not lust.

Religion should not be the de facto moral system where a religion tells people what is right and what is wrong. Right and wrong cannot be a derivative of a belief when there are obvious and logical methods to derive what is right and wrong, independent of belief.

If someone needs a religion to see what is right and what is wrong, that person has to be brainless.

• The natural feeling of repulsion that accompanies witnessing violence, deceit, and dishonesty.

• if by morality you mean knowing right from wrong then i was taught this as a child by my parents and teachers. religion is not tied to morality. there are many moral atheists and there are many immoral theists. im prety sure that most of the people on death row call themselves religious but i wouldn't call murder a moral activity. i believe that most people naturally seek to help others and try to avoid upset or discomfort. everyone gets enjoyment from making another person happy, we don't need a god to tell us to do it

• The golden rule: if I wouldn't want it done to me, I won't do it to someone else. It should be noted that this forms the basis of every religious moral code, and there is no relevance as to the source of this code; theists and atheists alike share the same basic principles.

To some extent, the history of Christianity is to die in one area but grow in another area. Evidence of this is to be found in areas as diverse as Britain and China. In the past, both growth and decline have depended on politics and military power. These are far less relevant today, but there are new forces that impact on the growth and decline of Christianity.

It is true that Christianity is declining rapidly in affluent and well-educated nations of the West, but it is spreading among poorly educated people of Africa and rural Asia. The decline of Christianity in the West is exacerbated by revelations of financial and sexual crimes commited by Christian clergy and lay members, but these have little impact in areas where Christianity is continuing to grow.

There's little evidence that atheism is actually dangerous; occasionally some atheist apologists "over" attack theists, but it's difficult to imagine atheist extremists blowing up statues of the Buddha or becoming suicide bombers - why would they?

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Answer.

I am going to try to precise the answer above.

As any religion or ideology, the danger is not in what one believes in.

As a book has never killed a man. But Men have.

The danger in a system of thinking appears when this thinking (whatever it is political ideology or Religion) is considered more important than mankind : it is called Fanatism or Intolerance.

An opinion often used by believers to criticize those who don't is : Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot or other dictators were atheists.

First, Hitler was a catholic. But this is not the point.

If I follow the same logical path, as there are some pedophile priests, Christianity is a religion for pedophiles.

In France (i take this example because it is my country), you are free to believe in what you want.

I am a atheist but I can attend church for Christmas because I think it is a nice way to share with others. I also attended the funeral in a church when my father died : it was his will. What I believe in is not important compared to my responsabilities as a man and a son.

You may ask : why do you if you don't believe ? or you can claim I am not an atheist.

I am an atheist, but I think that my beliefs are my own, that they should never be a source of division with others. That is what I call respect.

A friend of mine is a Muslim, we sometimes debate on religion but it has never been a problem because we do not try to convert each other. Islam is his faith, and as a friend and a human, I considere what we have in common much more relevant than our differences. Same for him.

I've met so many good men and woman that believe in God to reject them only because they were believers. As I met "militant atheists" who disgusted me because their behavior was only based on their rejection.

The problem in the Theism-atheism debate (war ?) .

In Europe, there is no such a debate : religion does not interfere in political life and seldom occurs in social life.

The main problem is this debate in the US is a gordian knot. And it always comes down to a deafs dialogue. And the blame is often on both sides, because it is passionate and irreasonable.

The faith over facts.

Take a look at some videos about atheism. The "facts" used to argue always lead to

- you cannot prove ... so I am right.

or as atheism failed to explain this or that, so Religion is right.

What is Atheism ?

Atheists are people who do not believe in a religion. That's all.

Some are good, others are bad. Some are clever, some are not.

Atheism must not be a rejection of religion, but a rationnalistic way to live and to think.

Atheist should also stop to think that Religions are "the root of all evil" on Earth.

And religions should be a way chosen to become better.