im an atheist.
religion was created to make ppl feel better about themselves, give them hope and so on. its not a bad thing but believeing shit blindly and then arguing based on those believes is wrong tho.

___________________
Jesus Quintana: Let me tell you something, bandejo. You pull any of your crazy shit with us, you flash a piece out on the lanes, I'll take it away from you, stick it up your ass and pull the fucking trigger 'til it goes "click."
The Dude: Jesus.
Jesus Quintana: You said it man. Nobody fucks with the Jesus.
Walter Sobchak: Eight year-olds, Dude.

quote:

Originally posted by timmyboy im an atheist. religion was created to make ppl feel better about themselves, give them hope and so on.

You said it man. im *sure* we've had this discussion before. in large, (IMHO) i believe thats why ppl are so eager to and do follow religion... its comforting knowing that when u die that ull live on in heaven... its easier to get ppl to act a certain way (like dont covet ur neighbours wife or dont kill ppl) if they are faced w/ the possibility of hell if they dont act as they should... its nice knowing if bad shit happens to u, its not ur fault or its not just the randomness (and unfairness?) of the universe and life, but its whut god wants to happen (we cannot know his ways)...

meh, thats just the way i see things in this matter...

~Jem~

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TECHNO IS THE BEST NOISE ON EARTH.
Save Techno - Stop Minimal / Tech-House

quote:

Originally posted by Cyrus King Im not making cayce to look like a villian. Im showing you that he was an opportunist that, like religious figures, had influence over simple minded gullible people. How is this man evidence that a devine god exists? You were trying to validate him as a some special person to show that indeed.. since he was so "psychic" (which he wasnt), us atheists have nothing to say with respect to his "powers", and since its "unexplainable" he is somehow touched by divinity

Actually, it wasn't I that was suggesting EC is evidence that a devine god exists. However, I did not agree when you described him as a "crack head" and a "fucking moron". He is neither. His words and contributions are very well respected and his persona has always been that of a humble helper and not as someone that is touched by divinity.

I suppose that to some, he may appear to be touched by divinity...but his organization has never stated this.

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"People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character."- Ralph Waldo Emerson, US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

quote:

Originally posted by Jem_hadar I was thinking about this on the way home from werk last night... and then I just saw amb_'s gay thread, so I though, heck yes! why not? So how many of you TOTAs are actually atheists? Especially in those gay marriage threads, I know ive stumbled into more than a couple of yall. Let us see who we all are...

Add me to the aetheist list

quote:

Originally posted by MattVagrant Add me to the aetheist list

Very happy to do so. Welcome offically to the TOTA Atheist ranks!

Cheers... we got an awesome crew already forming here. Thats so fantastic!

Glad to be aware of yall!

~Jem~

___________________
TECHNO IS THE BEST NOISE ON EARTH.
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quote:

Originally posted by Jem_hadar Very happy to do so. Welcome offically to the TOTA Atheist ranks! Cheers... we got an awesome crew already forming here. Thats so fantastic! Glad to be aware of yall! ~Jem~

No offense but this looks like some exclusive "clique"

Whats next? Athiest Alliance in your sigs?

quote:

Originally posted by infinity HiGH No offense but this looks like some exclusive "clique" Whats next? Athiest Alliance in your sigs?

Its just good to know fellow atheists... nice to know there are others out there.

its not a clique... its a list of who happens to be an atheist. nothing more nothing less. its not like we're gonna start throwing atheist parties and not invite godblievers. and besides, atheist organizations do exist.. there are a great many in the US (our pseudo-equivalents to churches)

Well, there could very well be an "Atheist Alliance" in my sig.. who knows, i already have the Wite Wifebeater Alliance supporting going ace, and now we have a logo for our Double Fisters Alliance... this is the same deal, only a different theme

~jem~

___________________
TECHNO IS THE BEST NOISE ON EARTH.
Save Techno - Stop Minimal / Tech-House

quote:

Originally posted by Cyrus King Do you think it was a miracle that "mother mary's" image was on a piece of toast? By the way.. the people you mentioned in your post are probably crack heads like that loser "sylvia browne" who frequents Montel Williams and gives "psychic" anserws like "hes in heaven with god", "there will be an explosion in AMerica soon" fucking morons

First off, no, I don't believe the piece of toast was anything worth even paying attention to.

Next, calling the people I listed crack heads shows nothing but disrespect to people who have helped thousands. Until you can prove these people to be frauds, which would go against thousands of first hand experiences which were documented, don't comment with such stupidness. You're telling me that whoever Edgar Cayce helped really never was sick and just made everything up? I'm sure that 40 000 cases were all just made up right? And don't ever call him an opportunist, the man never charged money for his readings and never set out to make a profit. Nor was he some evangelist trying to scheme people. He was just like the rest of us and never asked for the gift he was given.

Tell me, would any of you atheists, if you had the chance, go and actually talk to Slyvia Browne and see for yourself whether she's for real or not? Or would you just brush off the opportunity for fear that maybe she would prove you wrong and shatter your current belief system and view of this life? I personally don't find athiests as open-minded as some of them claim, because keeping a mind open to the possibly of a supernatural and spiritual world isn't that far fetched.

It's funny how some of these solid examples of the supernatural exist yet the typical responce when addressed with these are: "ya, padre pio and edgar cayce must have been frauds, etc etc etc" without anyone ever being able to prove it and just ignoring facts from thousands of people who experienced these "gifted people" first hand.

And if im coming across as being disrespectful or anything like that to atheists, im not. But just as many atheists question religious or spiritual people, I question atheism, and try to put up solid arguements against it when fairly recent examples, and not just something wrote in a book thousands of years ago.

IMO god is something that humans have created to give humans hope and a false sense of security that someone is watching over them and is always there for them ...

however what i have begun to develop an interest in is the practice of buddhism ... it doesnt require you to beleive in god or anything else for that matter rather just in the power of the universe ... ive met several ppl who got into the practice and experienced miracles that defy common thinking ... this one guy a lil younger than me dropped out of school for 2 years since he couldnt pass math practiced for 6 months on the request of his parents came back and aced his exams ... lotta ppl have had medical and family problems also solved after getting into the practice ... ive tried practicing but ive been to lazy but i intend to get serious ...

i guess at the end of the day it boils down to what you beleive in... everyone needs to have faith in something to move ahead in life ... i dont mock people who beleive in god because maybe they see and feel something about their faith that i dont

Hey guys... I haven't posted in a couple of days, and since you've generated some interesting discussion, I'll reply to it here.

There are a lot of misconceptions going on here. ATHEIST DOES NOT MEAN NON-RELIGIOUS. IT MEANS NO BELIEF IN GOD.

First off, with respect to religion and spirituality, we need a couple of definitions:

A religion is comprised of two things: a set of beliefs, and a set of ideals. People who are part of the same religion share the same set of beliefs about how the universe works, and man's relationship with the universe. They also share a set of ideals - principles governing how they should live their lives (usually in effort to live in accord with the principles of the universe).

THEISM is the belief in god. There are many definitions of what god can be, but most people have a basic understanding. Depending on your beliefs, a god may or may not have certain properties, such as being "all-powerful", "all-knowing", "benevolent", etc.

There are two types of Theism: Polytheism is the belief in more than one god (ancient Greek and Hinduism are examples of polytheistic religions), and monotheism is belief in one god (Christianity, Islam, etc).

There is also ATHEISM... ie the opposite of Theism - a belief in no god. SOME RELIGIONS CAN BE ATHEISTIC. For example, some researchers believe that Buddhism is an Atheistic religion, because it doesn't state the existance of a higher power with god-like properties; instead it explains how all forms of life are connected. There are still beliefs (ie all life is connected, all humans are part of one spirit, if you do bad things to others then you're hurting yourself, etc) and there are still ideals by which buddhists live their lives (learn to be aware and respectful of others, be kind to others and yourself, etc).

MAJOR RELIGIONS are defined by the fact that they have many followers that share the same beliefs. A belief shared by 5 people is not a religion in the eyes of Canadian law. I think 500 followers is needed (but don't quote me on that). For example, it is legal to have policies against wearing hats in a public place, except for religious or medical reasons, but I can't declare that I'm an "Elyot-hat-ist" in order to wear my baseball cap in school. Doesn't work that way. Christianity is a religion; Elyot-hat-ism isn't.

There are many, many people who are Theists but don't live their lives according the beliefs and ideals of a major religion. A lot of people in here claim to be so, and you guys aren't alone. You can still be spiritual (kind of a half-assed way of saying that you're a theist; ie a believer in god), but not necessarily subscribing to one major religion doesn't make you an atheist.

I admire people who develop their own person beliefs and live by them instead of just following what the church tells them to do.

Also, I should mention that it takes a lot more then just theism or atheism to define how you view the universe. Atheists can still believe in life after death, karma, etc... they just don't believe in GOD.

Here's a bit more detailed outline of my beliefs (beyond just believing in NO GOD):

I strictly believe in the scientific principals behind life... I believe that humans are no different than animals and that when we die, we are eaten by worms with nothing more to come. I surrender to the fact that I don't really know why I'm here, and never definitively will, but I don't believe any intelligent or all-knowing deity is responsible for my existance. I don't believe in souls or even in free will, and I believe that every human being is at the mercy of the chemical reactions and electric signals that power his brain. I believe in determinism, which means that there is exactly one possible outcome for every event based on the conditions leading up to that even (see bohmian mechanics for a scientific description), but this belief differs from a belief in fate (which is a belief that one's future is controlled by destiny... determinism is like fate without purpose or intelligence).

So there's my beliefs... I'd love to hear more about other people's beliefs. Even though we are all atheists, I'm sure we have many, many varying opinions about how the universe works. 10 atheists talking about their beliefs is like 10 theists talking about their beliefs - jews, christians, and hindus certainly don't share exactly the same beliefs by any means, but their belief in a god or gods is what unites them.

I hope this wasn't too unbearably long. I'll post another one about religion and wars later. Religion is really a side-effect of more complicated causes. The relationship is actually very interesting...

___________________
I am nobody. Nobody is perfect. Therefore I am perfect.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_Elyot Hey guys... I haven't posted in a couple of days, and since you've generated some interesting discussion, I'll reply to it here. There are a lot of misconceptions going on here. ATHEIST DOES NOT MEAN NON-RELIGIOUS. IT MEANS NO BELIEF IN GOD. First off, with respect to religion and spirituality, we need a couple of definitions: A religion is comprised of two things: a set of beliefs, and a set of ideals. People who are part of the same religion share the same set of beliefs about how the universe works, and man's relationship with the universe. They also share a set of ideals - principles governing how they should live their lives (usually in effort to live in accord with the principles of the universe). THEISM is the belief in god. There are many definitions of what god can be, but most people have a basic understanding. Depending on your beliefs, a god may or may not have certain properties, such as being "all-powerful", "all-knowing", "benevolent", etc. There are two types of Theism: Polytheism is the belief in more than one god (ancient Greek and Hinduism are examples of polytheistic religions), and monotheism is belief in one god (Christianity, Islam, etc). There is also ATHEISM... ie the opposite of Theism - a belief in no god. SOME RELIGIONS CAN BE ATHEISTIC. For example, some researchers believe that Buddhism is an Atheistic religion, because it doesn't state the existance of a higher power with god-like properties; instead it explains how all forms of life are connected. There are still beliefs (ie all life is connected, all humans are part of one spirit, if you do bad things to others then you're hurting yourself, etc) and there are still ideals by which buddhists live their lives (learn to be aware and respectful of others, be kind to others and yourself, etc). MAJOR RELIGIONS are defined by the fact that they have many followers that share the same beliefs. A belief shared by 5 people is not a religion in the eyes of Canadian law. I think 500 followers is needed (but don't quote me on that). For example, it is legal to have policies against wearing hats in a public place, except for religious or medical reasons, but I can't declare that I'm an "Elyot-hat-ist" in order to wear my baseball cap in school. Doesn't work that way. Christianity is a religion; Elyot-hat-ism isn't. There are many, many people who are Theists but don't live their lives according the beliefs and ideals of a major religion. A lot of people in here claim to be so, and you guys aren't alone. You can still be spiritual (kind of a half-assed way of saying that you're a theist; ie a believer in god), but not necessarily subscribing to one major religion doesn't make you an atheist. I admire people who develop their own person beliefs and live by them instead of just following what the church tells them to do. Also, I should mention that it takes a lot more then just theism or atheism to define how you view the universe. Atheists can still believe in life after death, karma, etc... they just don't believe in GOD. Here's a bit more detailed outline of my beliefs (beyond just believing in NO GOD): I strictly believe in the scientific principals behind life... I believe that humans are no different than animals and that when we die, we are eaten by worms with nothing more to come. I surrender to the fact that I don't really know why I'm here, and never definitively will, but I don't believe any intelligent or all-knowing deity is responsible for my existance. I don't believe in souls or even in free will, and I believe that every human being is at the mercy of the chemical reactions and electric signals that power his brain. I believe in determinism, which means that there is exactly one possible outcome for every event based on the conditions leading up to that even (see bohmian mechanics for a scientific description), but this belief differs from a belief in fate (which is a belief that one's future is controlled by destiny... determinism is like fate without purpose or intelligence). So there's my beliefs... I'd love to hear more about other people's beliefs. Even though we are all atheists, I'm sure we have many, many varying opinions about how the universe works. 10 atheists talking about their beliefs is like 10 theists talking about their beliefs - jews, christians, and hindus certainly don't share exactly the same beliefs by any means, but their belief in a god or gods is what unites them. I hope this wasn't too unbearably long. I'll post another one about religion and wars later. Religion is really a side-effect of more complicated causes. The relationship is actually very interesting...

That post feels like a massive and needed breath of fresh air. Too long? Indeed not man!

Im heading out from work now, but Ill post what exactly I subscribe to once I get a second tonight or tomrrow.

That was a fantastic post and im glad you decided to take the time to post it here! Really, i like the way you tried to explain a whole shit load of facts and from a neutral sounding stand point.

Cheers ~Jem~

___________________
TECHNO IS THE BEST NOISE ON EARTH.
Save Techno - Stop Minimal / Tech-House