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Atheism
Atheism is the disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.
1,002 Questions
What is the difference between traditional atheists and conceptual atheists?
These are descriptions usually given by religionists to try to describe our atheism. We do not wear labels well. Atheists may have different philosophical directions, but no name tag is needed.
What do atheists believe about women rights?
Atheists' political beliefs cover an extremely wide spectrum. Many atheists are conservative and don't think that womens' rights are an important issue, or who are misogynists, especially the most common form of atheist seen on the internet. However, there are plenty of atheists who are outspoken feminists as well.
What are common objections to Atheism?
Among intolerant parts of the population, atheism is a sin. Atheism is wrong according to fundamentalist Christians and Muslims because:
1. they think that it is 100% certain that their belief is right and think that atheists are deniers of god and destined to hell. (Atheists hate this, because it leaves no room for differences in opinion and forces Christianity/Islam/Whatever on them)
2. Many people think that Atheists are Satan-Worshipers. This is kind of funny since the whole point of atheism is to not worship anything, since they don't believe that Satan or God or any gods or demons or anything supernatural exists!
In short, there's nothing wrong with being atheistic from the tolerant perspective. Atheists can be moral just like Christians or any other religious group. They can also be nasty, but so can believers.
In support of atheist morality, a useful citation is from the French author Pierre Bayle (1647-1706) who, in his Dictionnaire historique et critique, was highly critical of religious absurdities and maintained that atheists could be more moral than Christians, and that religion did not necessarily provide a basis for ethical conduct
Answer
From a logical and objective perspective, there are no objections. Atheism is the stance which people take when they observe the world objectively and without using bad logic. Since there is zero evidence to suggest that gods exist, atheists are merely taking the most rational and logical view of the universe.
Nobody ever really wins in the ongoing debates between any of the existing religions: they all start off with the assumption that their own idea is true, and go from there. Nobody can ever win, because both arguments are entirely based on different assumptions. It's like having an argument about whether dogs are blue or dogs are purple. Noboday can ever win, but they have lots of fun going around in circles. In the meantime, atheists are looking at various dogs, and saying: "actually, they appear to vary in colour, and some are lots of diffferent colours all at once". At which point, some of the theists turn around and start screaming: "NO! THEY ARE BLUE! How can you not see that? It says they are blue in this book. And this book must be true, because the book itself SAYS that it's true."
Some theists have objections to atheism because it challenges their most basic assumptions in a way which makes perfect sense. They find this very distressing.
Answer
The intolerance of Atheism is one common objection. The film expelled, on a subject dear to many atheists such as Richard Dawkins, that of academic and professional freedom, highlights the intolerance of Atheists towards other views in connection with the promotion of the theory of evolution. Atheists also delight to 'put down' those who don't agree with them, and suggest that they don't like to be challenged. Such comments are a comment more on the mentality of the atheists, rather than a true statement of fact.
How can an atheist become Christian?
There are two types of atheists which might meet the requirements of this question:
1. The "never was member of a faith community" atheist: In this case they just show up at the door of whichever Christian sect they may want to join and they will be provided with instruction.
2. The "once were Christians but left the fold and want to return" atheists: Many atheists have become such after discarding Christianity as a non-starter, not because they haven't heard the Christians "good news" but because they've thought it through. Either they change their mind and want to rejoin, in which case they just show up at the door of whichever Christian sect they may want to join and they will be provided with instruction, or well meaning friends or family decide to pressure them to rejoin. In that case it is like approaching a divorced person to explain all the good points of the abusive spouse they have left.
What would an atheist think about suicide?
There is no set of tenets or moral guidelines attached to atheism, so no-one speaks for all atheists, least of all me. Having said that, most atheists I've met get their morals and ethics from society at large, and thus find suicide reprehensible.
From my point of view as an atheist this life is the only life I know I'll have. The afterlife, while it would be nice, seems very unlikely. Once I die, its over (once again, not necessarily the belief of all atheists, some may believe in reincarnation). With this mindset, this one life I have becomes infinitely more valuable and I feel very motivated to make the most of it. However my biggest objection to suicide is the impact it will have on those around you, your pain may be over, but its not gone, it is multiplied many times over and passed to everyone who knew you. It is a very selfish and immoral act.
Doctor-assisted suicide is another matter however, and many atheists are in support of it in cases of terminal illness or whatnot.
Atheism means disbelief in all gods but what word means disbelief in Christ specifically?
Non-Christian would cover the non-belief in the divinity of the Christians' Jesus. This would include about 2/3 of the world's population who either have no faith or believe in faiths other than Christianity. Muslims believe in the Jesus as a prophet, but not as a divine being and could be seen as a separate case. People who disbelieve in the existence of a historic Jesus whether simply on the basis of lack of evidence or as an extension of older myth figures like Horus do not have a specific designation.
Morgan Freeman has stated that he is not sure if he is atheist or agnostic.
A excerpt from an interview he did with FOX411 back in 2012:
"My belief system doesn't support a creator as such, as we can call God, who created us in His/Her/Its image." Additionally, Freeman said it was "hard" to say whether he was an atheistor agnostic because he thinks "we invented God." "So if I believe in God, and I do, it's because I think I'm God," he added.
How do you win a theological argument with a fundamental Baptist?
You can't. To win an argument with anyone, you have to be able to discuss things in a rational, logical manner. That is not possible when it comes to religion. It is a belief with nothing to prove it so there can be no logical argument about it.
Answer:
Generally to "win" an argument it means one side or the other must admit that his was the incorrect view. In religious arguments the position is generally "I'm right, no matter what you say!" and the argument is just sounding off about positions. See appended flowchart for the requirements for a real argument.
Answer: One should never go into an argument with the intention of "winning". One should only enter into argument with the intention of putting across their point of view, as YOU could be the one in the wrong, maybe even both of you.
Are humanists atheists or theists or agnostics?
Any of the above I would think, but I've met some who were deists.
Are there any celebrity atheists theists or agnostics who will give reasons for their opinions?
Richard Dawkins could be considered a "celebrity atheist". He is Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He wrote The Blind Watchmaker as a defence of science against creationism and wrote The God Delusion as an explanation of his opinion on religion.
Celebrity theists would presumably include television evangelists and perhaps senior clergy. Tune into a religious broadcast and with luck you may find the evangelist's reasons for his beliefs.
I do not know of any celebrity agnostics who would give reasons for an opinion that means "I do not know the answer to the question of whether there is a God.
Why do some people become atheists?
Many people start out with religious beliefs because they were brought up in a religious environment. However, when they begin to question those beliefs they may find inconsistencies and errors, which they can not reconcile with their own understanding of the universe. They begin to realise that there is no God and thus become atheists.
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For plenty of individual examples, see the related links at the bottom of the page.
AnswerThere are many different reasons. The first answer above gives a very common reason. Some people become angry at their religion after suffering a trauma - the loss of a loved one, for example. Many of these people, once they stop believing (for whatever reason) then look back and wonder how they ever did believe that stuff.Religion basically depends on a circle of faith. If that circle is broken then the faith is fatally weakened.
Answer:
Strangely enough the Christian's own Bible explains this. In first Corinthians it states "When I was child, I talked like a child, i thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things." This seemingly refers to the childish belief in invisible friends and magic giving way to the adult's acceptance of the real and rational world without religious considerations.
How do you share the gospel with somebody who is an atheist?
Trust will be engendered when your friend realises that you are not seeking to preach, but really do want to share each other's views. The answer depends on what is the reason for a person being an atheist. As mentioned above, listening is a prerequisite, for any such conversation, as is caring about the person as a person for whom Christ died, not just as a number.
It would also be necessary to know at least in a general sense, the reason for a persons atheism. Most would know their own mind on the matter and it might be quite instructive. Many atheists have had previous church connections and have rightly been 'turned off' by very real wrongs done by persons claiming to be Christians. So understanding is important, as is the patience and the reality of personal faith, so that it can be demonstrated that you are not of that kind.
Objections to belief in God can only be dealt with if there is some degree of openness. This may not in reality be the case as, for many, but certainly not all, atheism is a choice to support a life in rebellion against God. Intellectual objections may indeed be real and can certainly be answered, but there may be every answer given and still a 'barrier,' as the atheism is essential to the life-style. In this case there must develop a sense of need, otherwise the Gospel is unnecessary from that persons viewpoint - even though the Christian can see its necessity. Certainly some knowledge of intellectual objections would help and this will also test if the person is fair-minded and searching or are unwilling to consider reasonable explanations.
Having a personal understanding of how faith in Christ relates to every area of life may also help, as would understanding flaws in major intellectual constructs which underpin atheism such as the theory of evolution, which is unsupported by science, but is essential to an atheistic world view.
Answer: Consider how you would feel if the shoe were on the other foot. If one of your friends was a user of hard drugs, a swinger, Pastifarian (worshipping the Flying Spaghetti Monster), a member of the Church of the Subgenius (or any of the more mainline religions like Moslem, Hindu or Buddhist) and asked you to come to meet with him and his friends. Assuming it was pretty obvious that your friend fully expected that you would "see the light" and join up after this introduction. How would you feel? The answer is obvious, a person prefers to find their own way in these matters. Leave your friend alone or you'll have neither a convert or a friend. You might also ask yourself what an atheist would have to do to convince you that there is no God. An atheist will be as strong in his convictions as you are. What will you do if his arguments are better than yours?
What is the difference between an atheist and free thinker?
An atheist is simply someone who does not believe in a god or gods.
A freethinker is someone with a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of logic, reason and science and not authority, tradition, or other dogmas.
So, while the term "atheist" only answers the question of belief in gods, the term "freethinker" describes a person's philosophical viewpoint. In short, yes, you can be both an atheist and a freethinker.
Death is the country from which no traveler has returned to give that answer definitively. But many people believe as this answerer wrote: the soul rises, and leaves an empty shell of the body behind.
Many others believe that the soul or the mind reincarnates in a new lifetime following death. Others believe that there is no further life after the body dies. You have to make up your own mind according to what your heart tells you, after listening to the opinions of those who have contemplated this deeply.
A hijab is a person that wears a hijab, anybody canIf your question scan a muslim be an atheist, if you are an atheist then you don't accept any religion. You could be a poser.
What do atheist existentialist means by sensory input?
Sensory input refers to what you see, hear, taste, touch and smell. Anything else is supernatural and therefore only in the mind of the beholder. The human brain is built to play tricks on its' owner.
Due to many factors.
Humans have always believed that what is "real" is what you can see, taste, touch and hear, but there is no way to really do any the previous when it is referring to "God".
For some, gods are merely constructed in man's mind: therefore without raising too many questions about the "existence" you only need to look at the facts.
Some believe that god created well everything and is everywhere: hence this brings comfort to people knowing that a "supreme being" is watching their every move.
Another way to look at it is to see that humans are the only species on earth who feel the need to pay worship to "god", attend church, and pray. The "commandments" laid down by the church are there for only humans to follow. No other species is bound to these rules.
AnswerYes, almost certainly mankind has made up the idea of gods. The gods are always so very like humans, and many gods even take on human form: the Roman and Greek gods looked human, for example, and Christians believe that their god became a man literally.
But there is no evidence to suggest that any of the gods are real, and the myths and legends told about gods are your standard legend material, really.
Most religions have been influenced by previous religions. Much of the Christian religion, for example, came from the cult Mithras, including eating bread and drinking wine to represent the body of the god-man who was the saviour.
When you examine religions closely, they look less and less miraculous and more and more like things which people just made up.
Too many logical fallacies, bias, and debunked information in these answers... is this tongue in cheek humor?
Is Utilitarianism is a moral theory that focuses mainly on one's intentions?
No, it focuses on opinions.
If it is your opinion that intentions mean more than actions, then your relative morality does.
If it is another's opinion that actions mean more than intentions, then that other's relative morality doesn't.
Relative morality is just the variation in moral opinion from person to person, or from society to society on a larger scope. It doesn't give any values or demerits in and of itself.
In your opinion do atheists have souls?
Opinion
Absolutely. Everyone has a soul/spirit. Not everyone takes care of them, but they are still there.
Opinion
The soul would be regarded by many as something which is evidence of us as being somewhat 'higher' beings than the animals. The fact that we can choose to be either Christians or Atheists or anywhere in-between cannot be explained by mere biology or brain chemistry. Humans have a soul. Some choose to believe in it, while others don't. The evidence is there in many of the 'discussions' we have. Animals do not 'fight' over different opinions about how the world was made, or religious practices though they will over food, territory, or a mate.
The fact of Atheists, or even Christians for that matter, believing that all people have souls or don't, is irrelevant to the issue. What is to the point is whether or not Atheists do or do not have souls. Not believing in something will not make it go away.
Since the soul is the expression of the person it is not at all surprising that there are many different understandings or expressions of the soul and what it is. This is because people are incredibly complex beings and we have different ways of viewing the same reality and different ways of describing it. This makes this whole area rather interesting since it relates to human personality and what it means to be human as compared to non-human.
Opinion
Ask 100 people from different religious and cultural background what a soul is and you'll get 100 different answer. Until such time that soul, ghosts, spirits or whatever it is called can be proven scientifically exists or do not exist, then your question will have to wait for answer. all we have now are theories and hypotheses regarding what a soul is.
Opinion
No. Souls are merely what the bible says to justify the killing of animals and to show how humans are far superior to animals. This, according to "God" was the difference between man and animal. Yet aren't people animals too? Don't we eat, move, yearn to survive? Yes. So if Christians had souls, so would Atheists, and if any human had a soul, so would all the animals. If God didn't exist and our existence was merely to reproduce and survive, no one would have a soul. If you have a soul, so does everyone else.
Opinion
People call me an atheist which is pretty accurate.I do believe i have a soul, its nothing to do with religion at all its the connection between heart, emotion and mind. If you go through a rough time emotionally or mentally, something anyway, is exposed and hurt. Its strange.
Opinion
It's not really a question of do Atheist have souls but more of a personal question of wether you believe in souls or not or what your definition of a soul is because there are some that believe animals have souls as well. If you believe people have souls in a Christian sense than yes Atheists do have a soul because after all Christians always tell everyone who doesn't believe in their specific religion that person's soul will burn in hell. If not then no one has a soul.
Opinion
If your world view is purely scientific, then a soul is probably just as fictional to you as an aura or a sixth sense. If your world view is religious, then we probably all have souls. I personaly believe both are partially wrong; we do not have souls.
Opinion
While it is a wide spread belief among believers that everyone has a soul, it is disproved by the fact that the mind (equated with the soul) is affected by drugs and brain injuries. If the mind was somehow separate from the material brain, as dualists believe, then the mind should not be affected by such things. So, no, there is no soul that is separate from the body. When the brain dies, what made you 'you' in life, is gone forever.
Why did they spanish want gold glory god?
Many people want wealth and fame. Religion was a justification to conquer other people.
Does an atheist value family in their life?
Whether a person values their family in life isn't down to their religion in most cases, it's mostly down to their relationship with their family and what type of person they are. Athiests shouldn't be generalised all under the same banner, jsut because someone is an athiest doesn't mean they don't have religion, or morals or principles and so on, and it doesn't mean that whatever morals they have will be wrong. Buddhism is one example of an Athiest religion, as they believe in no God, merely in the soul, and they encourage family values and togetherness jsut as much as monothiestic and polythiestic religions.
Does having no religion mean you're an atheist?
Having no religion does not necessarily mean one is an atheist. It could also mean a person is agnostic, which means one believes there is not enough evidence to prove or disprove a god. Having no religion can also mean a person has not yet decided.
What is Richard Dawkin's argument against Nonoverlapping Magisteria NOMA?
Richard Dawkins, in The God Delusion criticizes NOMA on two points. First, he notes that many, if not most, of the pronouncements of religion lie within the domain of science, according to this scheme. Since claims such the efficacy of prayer, the historicity of scriptures, the authenticity of miracles, and the very existence of a creator, are all claims about the natural world ("what"), according to NOMA, they are within the realm of science, even if they are not currently testable in any practical way. To strip religion of these teachings would leave something unrecognizable as modern religion.
Indeed, religious institutions have occasionally ventured into scientific (and pseudoscientific) inquiry into their religious beliefs, and have certainly not discounted any apparently positive results as being outside the scientific magisterium.
Secondly, Dawkins questions whether religious institutions are any more qualified than science or any other method to address the issues of purpose.
"If science itself cannot say where the laws of physics ultimately come from, there is no reason to expect that religion will do any better and rather good reasons to think it will do worse."
Rather bad luck I'm afraid
Rather bad luck I'm afraid
Any decent priest ought to be able to spin it either way depending on circumstances. If he wanted a bad omen, he could say that the Eagle, which represents strength, was being outnumbered by the falcons, who would bring him down.If he wanted a good omen, he could say that the three hunters showed a good, strong omen, and that the future would be paved with mighty deeds.
