<p>I think every atheist is agnostic. (hence the term "agnostic atheist") I like to think that most of us are willing to acknowledge that we may not know for sure about the existence of God, but we are pretty confident that atheism is much more probable than theism is. </p>
<p>Theists take pride in their absolute faith in something they cannot see or hear. Now this is pretty idiotic. (From a distance, I hear "Do you not believe in air just because you can't see it? Atheist fool!)</p>
<p>@lima- yes. I however find it sort of mechanical- like do this good deed and this and this and God will love you. And this makes me think whether these people are actually good or just do good deeds because they are religious. And I also think that if we don't do what is told to us then are we really bad people? So, I never go to the temple and perform all those rituals- am I really going to burn in hell? probably if there really is a God and hell.</p>
<p>The one thing I like about Islam is their concept that Allah is everywhere and there can be no deity of Allah. However, in Hinduisim, the stone idols are decked in gold and rubies and emeralds! Can't they take the money spent on all those expensive decorations and spend it on the poor?</p>
<p>If there is a God and he is moral and just, anyone who has done a good deed should be able to go to heaven. However, we should not need this incentive of heaven to be moral. </p>
<p>One of the stereotypes against atheists is that we are amoral because we lack belief in God. Are people so dumb that they need a book to know that murder is wrong? The incentive of heaven also fails in ensuring that people are just. Terrorists motivated by their religious faith lacked common sense to know that killing innocent people are wrong. However, they were confident that their acts would take them to heaven. Yippee.</p>
<p>I'm neither an atheist nor an agnostic, but I definitely see where people are coming from when they point out the flaws of organized religion. Religion isn't a bad thing when it promotes thought, but more often than not if seems that religion suppresses thought. Just because someone's a pastor doesn't mean you have to believe everything he says. I know multiple people whom I can accurately describe as "lemmings" of the Catholic Church. They subscribe to everything the church says (e.g. on politics), but when I ask them to defend their argument, they can't. And I don't like it when people quote the Bible literally to defend every last political issue. What was applicable 4000 years ago might not be applicable today.</p>
<p>I'm a big fan of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (which is not purple, BTW). In my opinion, it makes just as much sense as anything else, and it should be introduced into all schools' curriculum ALONG with intelligent design. If you're not going to teach the FSM, you shouldn't be allowed to teach the Christian version either.</p>
<p>@sexycani: I don't think all atheists are agnostic. Atheist means you're straight up saying, "I know there's no God," which in my opinion is just as bad as saying there is one. Agnostics are just saying,
"Well, I don't know." </p>
<p>In all seriousness, I like to call it the Big Mystery.</p>
<p>I'd assume that there are an abundance of atheists on this board... seeing as posters here are generally smarter than the average human being.</p>
<p>I'm an aggressive atheist. My atheism is extreme.</p>
<p>Atheist right here. </p>
<p>I hate the idea and practice of organized religion and the absolute hypocrisy of the leaders. I do not feel bitterness towards the followers of religion, moreover sorrow, for they have fallen victim to the lie that the religious advocates nearly forced them to believe. </p>
<p>Oh and I go to a Christian school and its absolute bull ****.</p>
<p>EDIT: Even though I'm atheist, I'm not 100% positive there is no god. I am pretty sure there is not a god, but I do not know. That is as bad as saying I know there is a god. Just as Richard Dawkins states, "I am a 6.9 out of a 7 scale, 7 being complete atheist, and 1 being devout Christian". There is a slight possibility I'm wrong, but I'm sure enough that there is not a god. </p>
<p>I'm slightly agnostic in my worldviews of different religions and am quite open minded. But still, there is very little evidence to support the existence of a higher spiritual power.</p>
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<p>I think it irritates me when people automatically assume that religion = Christianity. People, there are other religions out there!
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<p>I don't care, religion = stupid.
I don't care how high your IQ or SAT score is... if you believe in god, you are STUPID!</p>
<p>would you rather STUPID over christianity? it would seem more fitting, but I guess it doesn't matter. Christianity is merely a synonym.</p>
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Nawww.</p>
<p>Very few people (especially educated, scientific-minded people) are arrogant enough to believe with 100% assurance that they are correct. (Although I've known quite a few of them on both ends of the spectrum, haha.)</p>
<p>Many atheists are not saying "I'M POSITIVE THAT MY BELIEFS ARE CORRECT AND I AM THE HOLDER OF ULTIMATE TRUTH!"; they're saying "Well, I see no reason to believe in any sort of god, so I'll assume with a fair amount of confidence that none exists."</p>
<p>These people could call themselves agnostics since they're technically not sure. But I consider agnosticism a sort of noncommittal, intermediate stage wherein the dominant attitude is "I don't know," whereas a religious person or an atheist has a prevailing attitude of "there is/are a/multiple god(s)" or "there isn't a god," and degrees of confidence vary. I mean, I don't presume to really know anything for sure (solipsism ftw! -- the most useless philosophy ever!), but for all intents and purposes I'm fairly positive that there's no Supreme Being, just as I'm fairly positive that there's no invisible teacup orbiting the earth.</p>
<p>Christian right here.</p>
<p>For lack of time and patience I won't individually address some of the comments here, I only have a few points to make:</p>
<p>When you think about it, Christian stereotypes are just as bad as atheist stereotypes, aren't they? I know for a fact that plenty of atheists are kind, live decent lives, and have morals--I've met such people. But it's terribly silly to assume that all Christians are only relying on the Bible and not original thought, that they are all hypocrites, and, honestly, that they are all stupid.</p>
<p>Growing up I went to church regularly. I wasn't brainwashed by any means, and I didn't actually "get" any of it until I was thirteen, just a couple of years ago. I believe in God. Religion is not about fact, it's about faith. Simple as that. You can't ask for evidence. And to be honest, it takes a lot more faith and energy to believe that there isn't a God than it does to believe there is one. Show me evidence there isn't a God. Show me. Is it possible? No. So why would you ask the reciprocal? I just find it incredible that anyone could believe the world, the universe, just ended up here, that there was no driving force or anything.</p>
<p>But anyway.</p>
<p>Christianity, at its core, is just about loving God and Jesus, loving others, and doing good in the world. That's it. Any corruption and hypocrisy you see isn't a part of it. It's just people. The world. I don't know, you decide. Those who actually "get" it know that it's about individual faith and being a good person. It's not about being moral just so you can get to heaven. It's not about being so caught up in that "ticket" to heaven that you don't enjoy life -- I, personally, love life. Some people who call themselves "Christian" maybe don't get that, but when microwave ovens first came out, there was a lady who put her cat in one. Cat died. You can't say there was something wrong with the microwave oven, can you? </p>
<p>I'm interested in what you guys have to say, and I try to stay objective as possible, so respond if you like.</p>
<p>Nice post! It's incredibly stupid that so many non-religious people think it's okay to speak in huge generalizations about religious people, when INTOLERANCE is one of the things that they so often complain about!</p>
<p>But one thing--
Lolz. Burden of proof is on you, sorry. D: </p>
<p>Science is pretty incredible! I think it's beautiful and frickin' awesome that all of the intricacies of our universe are the results of chance. If you think that the world is more likely a result of someone's "design," and you're cool with that, then okay. I think that's pretty boring, though, hehe.</p>
<p>Besides, I haaate when people say "OMG IT JUST APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE LOL THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" 'cause it's like, uhhh, same with your "God." Where did HE come from?! "NO BUT THE BIBLE SAYS HE'S ALWAYS BEEN HERE LOLOLO" ooooooohhhhhhh that makes sense EVERYTHING IS SO CLEAR NOW!!!</p>
<p>agnostic leaning towards atheism. only one in my family lol. raised very christian till i was about 17 (im 18 now)</p>
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Originally Posted by rachael525
When you think about it, Christian stereotypes are just as bad as atheist stereotypes, aren't they? I know for a fact that plenty of atheists are kind, live decent lives, and have morals--I've met such people. But it's terribly silly to assume that all Christians are only relying on the Bible and not original thought, that they are all hypocrites, and, honestly, that they are all stupid.
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<p>Speaking for myself, I think it's totally cool if you can hold your faith. I respect people's religions and such. However, many Christians (since we are talking about them) do rely heavily on the Bible. Many take a lot of what it says literally. "Dinosaurs don't exist" and "Noah's ark really did happen" Because I know people like this, and, bless their hearts, they're cool and nice people, but really? So we all descended from Adam and Eve?</p>
<p>Also, since this point always comes up in debates like this- any Christians/Catholics/Jewish(?): Why did God allow the Holocaust to occur? Why would he allow the deaths of so many? Doesn't he love those who believe in him? Why would he allow poor, helpless, innocent children and women to die?</p>
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I think of Hinduisim when I think of religion coz they have this thing where they worship <em>stone</em> idols. It's so ridiculous. Christainity is almost bearable but Hinduisim is just plain weird with the huge metal and stone idols decked in extravagant clothes to which everyone bows and drops to their knees in worship. I mean, they realize that these stone idols of gods are just carved rocks right?
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<p>Please tell me I'm not getting the sarcasm in this statement. This is so wrong on so many levels.</p>
<p>I'm an atheist through and through... to the point where I am often narrow-minded toward those who are believers.</p>
<p>@diamondbacker:</p>
<p>I wasn't being sarcastic.</p>
<p>Im a devout Christian. Some of the comments on here have been absolutely ridiculous, so I won't even begin to address some of the huge misconceptions and stereotypes that you guys have been spewing. Some of the brightest and greatest contributors to humanity have been religious people. You are not going to be able to put God, or whatever deity you believe in, into a test tube. It is just not scientifically possible, so you will never have complete evidence that he exists. Personally, I just can't even begin to wrap my head around the idea that this unbelievably complex universe, and that our lives, are the product of blind chance and that we are literally worthless. I don't believe in "creationism," because it's completely unfounded on any scientific data, yet supporters claim that it is. But I do believe in intelligent design, which despite what you're thinking, is NOT the same thing as creationism. The world is obviously very, very old, but it really gets under my skin when people talk about the universe as if it's been proven that God didn't create it. When in reality, we will not be able to know with any amount of certainty until we die. </p>
<p>I think some of the statements on here have been pretty funny, like when I read something to the affect of "but, I do know some Christians that actually rely on the Bible"..... Oh really? Haha.
Or
at my private Christian school, they make us pray and take Bible classes. Theyre forcing religion on us!!! Well
. duh. You are going to a CHRISTIAN school. What do you expect? Given the average intelligence level of students on here, some of these statements have been incredibly stupid.
You can't be so quick to dismiss the entire Bible as fantasy, because it really is the most reliable ancient historic text that we have. It doesn't mean that all of the stories are literally true, but it is an extremely valuable text when it comes to studying history. </p>
<p>I will agree that, however, that Christians in American society, for the most part, are completely hypocritical. Theyre just as hypocritical as the people who preach tolerance all day, yet protest Christian ideals with great hatred. I think that most churches have abandoned the actual teachings of Christ, and they've put money and power in the place of compassion, devotion, teaching, and love.</p>
<p>I'm going to say that I am a Theist. Theism is on equal footing with Atheism in terms of Occam's razor. However, how many people are there who would say "I believe in a 'high power' but I don't know what it is and no moral or other implications come of it." Anyone who would say that would have to be agnostic because you can't truly believe in a higher power if you don't believe this higher power has an impact on the world at some time. </p>
<p>In the same fashion, I believe that pure Atheism exists only in abstraction. Those who identify as Atheist may be split into subgroups who with beliefs on life and the nature of the universe that may be considered religious. A God or a "higher power" is not needed for a religion. Confucianism, for example, is obviously a religion.</p>
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I don't care, religion = stupid.
I don't care how high your IQ or SAT score is... if you believe in god, you are STUPID!</p>
<p>would you rather STUPID over christianity? it would seem more fitting, but I guess it doesn't matter. Christianity is merely a synonym.
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<p>Yes, because without the power of a God one may not be a completely ignorant idiot who goes around making a fool of oneself on internet fora.</p>
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I think some of the statements on here have been pretty funny, like when I read something to the affect of "but, I do know some Christians that actually rely on the Bible"..... Oh really? Haha.
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<p>I'm guessing this was referring to my reply to rachael525: "However, many Christians (since we are talking about them) do rely heavily on the Bible."</p>
<p>I was replying to her that I personally know /many/ (<-notice, not all; there is never an all or none) who rely solely on the Bible and barely on original thought. They take the Bible as the law. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough, but I feel that what I said was taken out-of-context.</p>
<p>EDIT: Or I'm taking this too seriously/personally. I just think that the Science vs. Religion topic is very interesting. In fact, I just wrote a paper on it.. haha.</p>
<p>I'm a Roman Catholic, and I've attended Roman Catholic schools for much of my life. I've always been told that the Bible is subject to logical interpretation, and that it is a collection of narratives meant to instruct (again, done with the aid of human reasoning) as opposed to a legitimate historical source. So like, if you want to know what Jesus would do, you'd read the Bible. But if you wanted an accurate representation of the amount of people freed from Egypt, you'd find a different source. </p>
<p>@ Poseur: I don't think that our universe was created by pure chance, because math exists. And math is too complex to have been a result of chance. It seems more plausible that the universe just played a cosmic/quantum trial-and-error game (which is different from chance, which is unpredictable). Hooray for math. </p>
<p>@ mulberrypie: The general argument goes like this: "the Holocaust (or 9/11 or whatever) is a result of humanity's free will. Which is a gift from God." A better question would be: How does God (who is omnipotent) and evil (or the anti-God) exist simultaneously?</p>