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Atheism
Atheism is the disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.
1,002 Questions
What are some atheist beliefs on euthanasia?
The only common "belief" of atheists is that there is no god or supernatural beings. There is no united atheist position on euthanasia (or for that matter on the best flavour of ice cream). Each person must determine their own position.
What is the alternative to an atheist but who is open to the idea of religion?
The phrase you are probably searching for is "agnostic.' It is generally used for people who are undecided or uncaring about religious/spiritual issues.
In reality, most atheists are open to the idea of religion. Atheists are commonly divided into two categories. "Strong" atheists make a positive assertion that there is no god. While "weak" atheists say that it is possible that gods exist, but they dont believe such is the case.
Basically it goes like this.
Strong atheist - "I believe that there is no god"
Weak atheist -- "I dont believe that there is a god"
The difference appears small at first, but logically, "weak atheism" has a much stronger footing as it is open to evidence, and is by far the more common type of atheism.
Do atheist churches have a 501-C?
First, as others have noted, most Atheists do not go to church.
However, assuming that you are talking about "Community Mission Chapel" led by Atheist former-Pastor Jerry DeWitt, or similar institutions, which provide a "church-like" atmosphere for Atheists who still want that, these have incredible difficulty in achieving 501-C status. Most religious organizations fall neatly into a 501(c)(3) because its activities clearly have a religious purpose. Conversely, Atheist Churches do not have such a clear religious purpose since they start from the premise that they do not pertain to any religion. There are other grounds for granting 501(c)(3) status, which include: charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering amateur sports competition, or preventing cruelty to children or animals. None of those seem to apply to an Atheist Church. You could make a weak argument that an Atheist Church is educational, but given that there are no certified teachers, no curriculum, or anything similar, that argument would likely fail.
The other 501(c) groupings are even less applicable.
Can atheists believe in guardian angels?
What is it called when you question the existence of a god?
It depends on your starting point:
* If you are a non-Christian questioning your present god(s) and coming over to Christianity, it is called "seeing the light" or "being saved". * If you are a Muslim questioning Allah you are seen as an apostate * If you a non-Christian, non-Jew, non-Muslim questioning your own god(s) you are probably not even noticed * If you are a Christian questioning your God in favour of another religion you are called "lost" * If you are Christian questioning your own God and all other gods you are an agnostic * If you are anyone questioning your god(s) and landing on a "does not exist" answer you are an atheist
Is the definition of an Atheist really someone who denies the existence of God?
Sigh. The short answer is no, not at all. Here is why:
In order to "deny" something of existing, the thing would have to actually be evidentially existent. In this case there is no proof of God so, therefore, you can not deny it.
Atheists believe, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary is: "one who believes that there is no deity." What this means is that they do not believe in any God or supernatural creator.
The best question to ask is "Is the definition of a theist really someone who denies physics, astronomy, evolution, and modern science to believe in a supernatural creator or God?"
For more information on Atheism see " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism "
In addition it may be worth looking at " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_humanism " as well.
Answer:
The question is posed with a "and we all know there is really a God" part unsaid. An atheist does not deny the existence of god any more than an adult would deny the existence of the monster under his bed that he believed in when he was child. In both cases there really is nothing there to deny the existence of
Should religious phrases be removed from American money?
Technically, Seperation of Religion and State says that the government shall not endorse religion or religion in general. "In God We Trust" Is a phrase endorsing religion on a Federal bank note, so it could be lawfully considered Unconstitutional Government endorsing of Religious views. Of course, its easier to just remove the phrase instead of adding "In Allah we Trust,In God we dont trust, In The Supreme Being we trust",etc to neutralize what could be considered a religious endorsment. The US constitutionally must strive to be as neutral as possible in the matters of Religion.
What is the philosophical justification of atheism?
This is, as you can imagine, a large topic. Probably a good start is to study the sayings of Epicurus - the Greek philosopher; here are a few:
Why should I fear death? If I am, death is not. If death is, I am not. Why should I fear that which cannot exist when I do?
-- Epicurus, quoted by Robert Green Ingersoll in "Why I Am an Agnostic"
If the gods listened to the prayers of men, all humankind would quickly perish since they constantly pray for many evils to befall one another.
-- Epicurus, quoted from Eugene O'Connor, The Essential Epicurus
Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; Or he can, but does not want to; Or he cannot and does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent. If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked. But, if God both can and wants to abolish evil, then how come evil is in the world?
-- Epicurus (attributed: source unknown)
Who was a radical philosopher in 1960's?
Perhaps the most well known radical philosophers of the 1960s was Abbie Hoffman. He co-founded the Youth International Party who were known as Yippies. Others were Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, Lee Weiner, Bobby Seale, and David Dellinger.
What percentage of Harvard undergraduate students are non-religious?
There is no official data available regarding the percentage of Harvard undergraduate students who identify as non-religious. However, it is estimated that the percentage of non-religious students at Harvard may be higher compared to the general population, given the university's diverse and inclusive environment that encourages independent thinking and exploration of different belief systems.
What is the meaning of atheist?
I am pretty sure you mean Atheist, anyway an Atheist is someone who does not believe any religon at all, they are just there in fact Atheist means 'Without God" but actually a true Atheist studies othe religions yet doesn't choose one as their own. They just look at all the view points wether it be Satanism, Christianity, Paganism, everything..
Can a religion exist without a belief in the direct relevance of God?
A religion can exist without a belief in the afterlife or of individual survival of death- Jainism is an example, as well as some (but not all) forms of Buddhism, but NOT without the acknowledgement that there is a supreme Higher Power who has relevance to human existence.
Why do atheists use fallacies when arguing?
The use of fallacies and fallacious arguments is more the province of the religious. Atheists usually rely on facts, science, observation, reputable demonstrations and provable points rather than argument like "Everyone knows", "The Bible says"."We just can't see any other explanation but divine intervention" and such so common in in theist "explanations of worldly events.
Why is Andy Biersack an atheist?
Andy Biersack was raised as a Catholic and attended Catholic school as a child. Atheism is a personal choice made after a person, through their own thoughts, observations and analysis, decides they do not accept the religious view that supernatural entities control the destiny of humankind. As for his personal reasons, you would need to ask Andy.
There are atheists all over the world, in every country. We aren't all concentrated in one area.
What are the atheism dress code?
Lets see - the only thing an atheist foes is accept that there is no god. He does not have nay codes, beliefs, practices, diets, secret handshakes, food preferences or anything else past this fact.
How to deal with atheist friends?
Why would you need to "deal" with them? We're all people, generally with similar desires and failings as anyone else.
Wikipedia is a system of information. It holds no particular belief in any of its data. It presents the information without emotion.
If being Atheist means not believing in god what year is it if you're an atheist?
We use the same calendar as Christians for practicality's sake. Same reason why Christians accept the names of the planets even though most are named after Roman Gods or the names of the months which are mostly named after Roman and Greek Gods.
In the west, most people use the Christian calendar, but this doesn't make them Christian - after all, we use Roman names for months and Roman/Nordic Gods' names for the days of the week (Sun, Moon, Tyr, Woden, Thor, Freya, and Saturn) without all becoming neopagans!
Answer:
There are other year dating systems available in the world.(e.g. In Jewish notation 2009 CE is 5769-5770 , and in Moslem notation 2009 is 1430) Many non-Christians refer to the present date as 2009 CE (Common era) rather than 2008 AD (Anno Domini = Year of the Lord). In the same manner years before 1 CE are noted as BCE (Before Common Era) rather than BC (Before Christ)
If Using a Christian calender makes you christian, does going to the garage make you a car?
Answer
History used to be divided into BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini...In the year of our Lord). Today many use BCE (Before the Common Era) and CE (Common Era).
When did people begin to consider Atheism as an answer?
Well if I understand your question correctly your asking me how people become atheist, and for me: I'm nihilist (Hardcore atheist). I just started seeing how if there was a god .. he is hateful. Look at this world: its full of death, violence.. its endless. So much for an "all loving god" eh? But really it's just seeing how people are scared of hell and getting out of that trend of being scared of it. If that doesnt your question, sorry. The ancient Greeks began to consider that maybe the gods were just human inventions. Protagoras (490- 420 BC) said: "As to the gods, I have no means of knowing either that they exist or do not exist" which we would today consider to be atheist. He was followed by Aristotle, Epicurus, and many others. There may have been atheists before that, but their names have not come down to us.
Is President Reagan's son Ron Reagan Jr an atheist?
Yes, he has stated this fact on the record numerous times.
See the related link for one example, documented by CNN.
What are atheism followers called?
Atheism is lack of belief in gods. A person who fits into that description is called an atheist.
Do atheists lack the values of the holy?
No. Atheists in general have the same moral and ethical values as do Christians and members of other religions. If there is a difference, it is that atheists hold the values that they do hold because they believe in their intrinsic merit, rather than in the hope of reward or fear of hellfire.
Apart from religious faith, atheists do not lack values attributed to followers of religions.
