Atheist thread

Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

please express your opinions without using curse / insult words
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

I am posting this video here because it so beautifully explains my position, and I believe it is food for thought for anyone who calls himself a theist or atheist. Please read or watch it :)

[youtube]kKFDYf_YmmQ[/youtube]

"I cannot bring myself to be a religious person.

I cannot believe in Gods and Angels and Heavens and Hells. It all sounds too limiting, too convenient and too anthropomorphic.

I don't think religious people are wrong in believing in it however. What matters is that you believe in something that fulfills you and as long as they don't try to enforce their morals and beliefs on me, whatever makes them happy is just fine with me.

But I'm not ready to believe there is nothing after we die either.
It may well be true.
But its just as possible that it isn't.

Looking superficially at the world, you may be led to believe that there is no life after death. That there is no God, no Creator of any kind, for if there is one, who created him ?

But what do we really know about our existence ?
To examine that, lets ask the most basic questions:

Who What Why Where When

Who
Who are we?
Yes we are humans, but are we alone, are we unique in the universe, or are there others like us?
Do we die and disappear or do we live on in some way?
We have no context. Nothing to compare us to except other animals born on our planet, from which we ourselves have evolved.
Given the size and richness of the universe, that's a pretty small sample.

What
What are we?
Yes we are living organisms of biological origin.
But we know so little. How do our bodies really work? We have advanced immensely but we still can't change them, can't stop them from getting cancer or aging. We know much less of our brains. We don't really understand how they work and we're nowhere near imitating them.
Of matter, we know its mostly empty space. We're not even allowed to look deep into it because by looking, we change it.

Why
Why are we here?
The universe does not need us. It would get along fine without us.
So why did it generate us?
We don't serve any purpose and fulfill no apparent need.

Where
Where are we?
The universe is big. Too big for us to understand.
Where does it end?
Even if they told us the answer; would we understand it?
We would keep asking -- ok, so what's outside that?

When
Like the Where, this is a question we can not know the answer to.
Would never be able to understand it.
When did time start?
Any possible answer would beg the question -- ok, what was there before that?

So we can't even answer the Who, What, Why, Where and When of our existence.
We can see that we probably wouldn't even understand the answers.
We're playing in a game where we don't know and maybe can't know all the rules.

Given that, how can we be anything but agnostic

Some people say its cowardice.
They say: "You are only an agnostic because you linger on to your need of a daddy and are afraid to be alone and afraid of the repercussions in case there is a God. You should be brave. Do away with God, you don't need him."

I find that so childish.. Like a schoolyard dare.
I don't need backing. I don't need a peer group.
We all die alone.
The only thing I want is the truth. A truth I can believe.

Since we've seen how much we don't know, how can we know there is no higher power ? Not even a cold and uncaring one. How can we know there's nothing after we die ?

I'm an agnostic because I haven't given up wondering.
Haven't given up thinking.

And based on what I know to be true, an agnostic is the only thing I can be."
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

I am posting this video here because it so beautifully explains my position, and I believe it is food for thought for anyone who calls himself a theist or atheist. Please read or watch it :)

[youtube]kKFDYf_YmmQ[/youtube]

"I cannot bring myself to be a religious person.

I cannot believe in Gods and Angels and Heavens and Hells. It all sounds too limiting, too convenient and too anthropomorphic.

I don't think religious people are wrong in believing in it however. What matters is that you believe in something that fulfills you and as long as they don't try to enforce their morals and beliefs on me, whatever makes them happy is just fine with me.

But I'm not ready to believe there is nothing after we die either.
It may well be true.
But its just as possible that it isn't.

Looking superficially at the world, you may be led to believe that there is no life after death. That there is no God, no Creator of any kind, for if there is one, who created him ?

But what do we really know about our existence ?
To examine that, lets ask the most basic questions:

Who What Why Where When

Who
Who are we?
Yes we are humans, but are we alone, are we unique in the universe, or are there others like us?
Do we die and disappear or do we live on in some way?
We have no context. Nothing to compare us to except other animals born on our planet, from which we ourselves have evolved.
Given the size and richness of the universe, that's a pretty small sample.

What
What are we?
Yes we are living organisms of biological origin.
But we know so little. How do our bodies really work? We have advanced immensely but we still can't change them, can't stop them from getting cancer or aging. We know much less of our brains. We don't really understand how they work and we're nowhere near imitating them.
Of matter, we know its mostly empty space. We're not even allowed to look deep into it because by looking, we change it.

Why
Why are we here?
The universe does not need us. It would get along fine without us.
So why did it generate us?
We don't serve any purpose and fulfill no apparent need.

Where
Where are we?
The universe is big. Too big for us to understand.
Where does it end?
Even if they told us the answer; would we understand it?
We would keep asking -- ok, so what's outside that?

When
Like the Where, this is a question we can not know the answer to.
Would never be able to understand it.
When did time start?
Any possible answer would beg the question -- ok, what was there before that?

So we can't even answer the Who, What, Why, Where and When of our existence.
We can see that we probably wouldn't even understand the answers.
We're playing in a game where we don't know and maybe can't know all the rules.

Given that, how can we be anything but agnostic

Some people say its cowardice.
They say: "You are only an agnostic because you linger on to your need of a daddy and are afraid to be alone and afraid of the repercussions in case there is a God. You should be brave. Do away with God, you don't need him."

I find that so childish.. Like a schoolyard dare.
I don't need backing. I don't need a peer group.
We all die alone.
The only thing I want is the truth. A truth I can believe.

Since we've seen how much we don't know, how can we know there is no higher power ? Not even a cold and uncaring one. How can we know there's nothing after we die ?

I'm an agnostic because I haven't given up wondering.
Haven't given up thinking.

And based on what I know to be true, an agnostic is the only thing I can be."

Thats my views on this matter too :)
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

This is an interesting thread. I'm curious though, why there is such vehemence by some when discussing the idea of religion vs no religion? Almost as if you are defending yourselves against an attack? At least that is the way it comes across to me. Maybe it's just my perception.
Anyway, I see most of the negativity is directed toward Christianity and the Bible, but there are other religions out there. How do you all feel towards, for example, Judaism or Buddhism or Shintoism or Wicca?
You can't believe in the existance of a soul, can you? So what animates us, what makes us unique, what give us a life force? What about those who have had near death experiences? I'm really curious to know the atheist point of view here.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

This is an interesting thread. I'm curious though, why there is such vehemence by some when discussing the idea of religion vs no religion? Almost as if you are defending yourselves against an attack? At least that is the way it comes across to me. Maybe it's just my perception.
Anyway, I see most of the negativity is directed toward Christianity and the Bible, but there are other religions out there. How do you all feel towards, for example, Judaism or Buddhism or Shintoism or Wicca?
You can't believe in the existance of a soul, can you? So what animates us, what makes us unique, what give us a life force? What about those who have had near death experiences? I'm really curious to know the atheist point of view here.

I think that all religions are false. Even if one of these religions is right, then the rest must be wrong, and who is to say that Christianity can be one of the false religions? Evolution and everything like that is the reason why we are all here. Science can prove why we exist, religious people can't. The Bible isn't proof. Those people who have had near-death experiences were just lucky, simple as that.

Can anybody prove God exists? No.
Can anybody prove that everything that's written in the Bible really happened? No.
Can anybody explain why God supposedly created people on the sixth day, but when the dinosaurs were around there were no humans? No, because humans were not created before the dinosaurs came about.

These are some of the reasons why I believe religion is false.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

This is an interesting thread. I'm curious though, why there is such vehemence by some when discussing the idea of religion vs no religion? Almost as if you are defending yourselves against an attack? At least that is the way it comes across to me. Maybe it's just my perception.

I don't really see vehemence to be honest, most of us are having a respectful discussion. I guess atheists and agnostics subconsciously feel a sense of defensiveness of their positions, because religious dogma has become so dominant in our societies. You just have to look at the religious threads on this forum, where atheists are referred to as "lost souls", "siding with evil" etc. That can be offensive too. I personally see the "vehemence" and judgmental attitude more on the side of the Christians but that may also just be a matter of perception.

Anyway, I see most of the negativity is directed toward Christianity and the Bible, but there are other religions out there. How do you all feel towards, for example, Judaism or Buddhism or Shintoism or Wicca?

I personally don't believe in any religion, and the fact that so many different religions exist in the world only confirms my belief that they are socially constructed. I find it hard to imagine that God would favour a person in America over a person in India, just because the former was born into the "correct" Christian religion. I also don't understand the idea of salvation through Jesus. Does this mean that all the men, women and children who were born before Jesus' arrival have gone to hell? I don't think the Bible should be taken literally. In my opinion, it has tried to make sense of the world with the knowledge that existed at the time, and many things have now been refuted by science. However, are these things really the essence of belief? Does it matter if the earth is flat or round? Perhaps if you really believe the Bible is the word of God, it does. I doubt God doesn't know the details of the very earth He created. Many religious people today however accept that the Bible is not a factbook and consider it more as a moral guide, which is fine with me. Whatever motivates you to be a good human being can only be encouraged. I guess what I'm trying to say is, the obvious flaws than can be found in ancient religious books do not necessarily deny the existence of a God. In my opinion, religion is established by humans so it is inherently flawed. Whether God exists or not is unrelated to this.

You can't believe in the existance of a soul, can you? So what animates us, what makes us unique, what give us a life force? What about those who have had near death experiences? I'm really curious to know the atheist point of view here.

I hope an agnostic point of view is acceptable to you too ;) I'm not sure how to judge near-death experiences. I'm inclined to believe they are part of fantasy, similar to dreams, rather than an actual experienced reality, if that makes sense. Furthermore, it's impossible to know whether people who claim to have had a near-death experience are speaking the truth or if they base their stories on what they've heard from others. As for your other questions, how do you know it is God that created these things? Are humans really that unique? Human nature appears to be very similar all around the world, despite socially constructed barriers such as language, religion and nationality.

To sum up my argument: I do not believe in religion. However, it is possible that a God(s) exist. But is it a good and merciful God as portrayed (for the most part) in the Bible? Or is He cold and uncaring? How can we possibly know?
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

I think that all religions are false. Even if one of these religions is right, then the rest must be wrong, and who is to say that Christianity can be one of the false religions? Evolution and everything like that is the reason why we are all here. Science can prove why we exist, religious people can't. The Bible isn't proof. Those people who have had near-death experiences were just lucky, simple as that.

That's a misconception. The evolution theory does not explain why or how we got here, nor does it pretend to. Evolutionism and theism are not mutually exclusive. The evolution theory only provides an explanation of how life on earth evolved and resulted in the many different species that exist today. Personally, I believe in the concept of natural selection. It is logical and can be observed all around us. For example, I think there was once only 1 kind of bird. Through migration, natural selection and 'survival of the fittest', this specie of bird slowly mutated into other kinds of birds that were more suited to survive in different circumstances. However, I find it very hard to believe that all organisms derive from one common ancestor. An ant and a gorilla are related to each other? Humans are related to turtles? That sounds like science fiction to me. Afaik, this aspect of evolution theory has never been proven as there is no physical evidence for it. It's just a theoretical framework.

Also, science does not answer WHY we exist. As one of my previous posts noted, there is no functional reason why we exist. "The universe does not need us. It would get along fine without us. So why did it generate us? We don't serve any purpose and fulfill no apparent need". On the other hand, religion does provide an answer for why we exist, although it is based on belief rather than evidence.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

That's a misconception. The evolution theory does not explain why or how we got here, nor does it pretend to. Evolutionism and theism are not mutually exclusive. The evolution theory only provides an explanation of how life on earth evolved and resulted in the many different species that exist today. Personally, I believe in the concept of natural selection. It is logical and can be observed all around us. For example, I think there was once only 1 kind of bird. Through migration, natural selection and 'survival of the fittest', this specie of bird slowly mutated into other kinds of birds that were more suited to survive in different circumstances. However, I find it very hard to believe that all organisms derive from one common ancestor. An ant and a gorilla are related to each other? Humans are related to turtles? That sounds like science fiction to me. Afaik, this aspect of evolution theory has never been proven as there is no physical evidence for it. It's just a theoretical framework.

Also, science does not answer WHY we exist. As one of my previous posts noted, there is no functional reason why we exist. "The universe does not need us. It would get along fine without us. So why did it generate us? We don't serve any purpose and fulfill no apparent need". On the other hand, religion does provide an answer for why we exist, although it is based on belief rather than evidence.

I was talking about natural selection as well ;)
As in science proving why we are here, I was talking about the fact that there was a big bang that created the universe, that can be proven, which would seem to be that the idea of God creating the universe is false :)
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

I was talking about natural selection as well ;)
As in science proving why we are here, I was talking about the fact that there was a big bang that created the universe, that can be proven, which would seem to be that the idea of God creating the universe is false :)

No, it can't be proven that the big bang created the universe. Afaik, there is no physical evidence whatsoever to support it. How can there be? It's a theoretical hypothesis. Just like creationism is, in essence. The only difference is that the creationist theory as described in the Bible has been proven false. However, the actual idea of "a deity creating earth, nature and life" has never been disproven. From my agnostic perspective, it is naive to think we as humans will ever be able to prove how the universe and life was created. And even if we do discover it one day, there remains the question: what came before that? What created God? What created the Big Bang? What created life? What created time and space? Etc. etc.

What is the atheist view of how life was created on earth? And related to that, how did humans acquire consciousness?

By the way, evolution theory is not exactly flawless either, as this devout Christian proves:

[youtube]kCiStLKzivM[/youtube]

:D
 
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Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

I clicked Play on that video and then turned it off as soon as he said 'the work of the devil'.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

I clicked Play on that video and then turned it off as soon as he said 'the work of the devil'.

I thought it was hilarious. You really should watch it, especially where he talks about how fast a snail can run when it really has to. A bit of satire, eh?
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

I clicked Play on that video and then turned it off as soon as he said 'the work of the devil'.

You should watch it till the end, he makes some good points. My favourite part: "There are some sceptical scientists out there claiming things like "Velociraptors could run faster than snails". Our answer is: well how do you know? Have you ever seen a dinosaur run? Have you ever seen a snail trying to get away from the wrath of my loving God? In fact, snails can move pretty fast when they really have to". Hard to compete with that.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

I thought it was hilarious. You really should watch it, especially where he talks about how fast a snail can run when it really has to. A bit of satire, eh?

Exactly. I was personally impressed by his scientific drawing too, now I know where pasta comes from ;)
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

Ah, it was satire. There was me thinking at the beginning 'oh dear, another one of those videos'.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

I clicked Play on that video and then turned it off as soon as he said 'the work of the devil'.

There is only one person who I think is " the work of the devil" and that's Justin Bieber lol :tease:
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

I think that all religions are false. Even if one of these religions is right, then the rest must be wrong, and who is to say that Christianity can be one of the false religions? Evolution and everything like that is the reason why we are all here. Science can prove why we exist, religious people can't. The Bible isn't proof. Those people who have had near-death experiences were just lucky, simple as that.

Can anybody prove God exists? No.
Can anybody prove that everything that's written in the Bible really happened? No.
Can anybody explain why God supposedly created people on the sixth day, but when the dinosaurs were around there were no humans? No, because humans were not created before the dinosaurs came about.

These are some of the reasons why I believe religion is false.

There are those who believe that God or whatever one calls the Supreme Deity or force, has many aspects. Thus there are many ways of worshiping the Deity. Not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, if you look at the reflection of the moon in a muddy puddle, you see one aspect. Yet look in a lake and the reflection alters. But has the moon changed? No. It is the same unchanging moon. What is different is how we see it. Some might see it dim and dirty, others might see it clear and silver. If you could never truly look at the moon except by the reflection, how would you know what was the truth? Does that make one reflection more valid than the other?
I notice you refer to religion being false. But religion and belief in a Supreme Deity are not always the same thing, are they? Religion is a belief system, an organization, if you will, something to which one can belong, participate in the ceremonies, etc. But you can also 'just' believe in God. Period. Without adhering to one religion.

Let me look at your questions in a different way:

Can anybody prove God does not exist? No.

Can anybody prove that everything that's written in the Bible really did not happen? No.

Can anybody explain why God supposedly created people on the sixth day, but when the dinosaurs were around there were no humans? Well, according to Genesis, on the fifth day God created whales and living creatures from the water. It could be argued that since dinosaurs and indeed all land animals evolved from water dwelling organisms, that is when they (dinosaurs) were created. Also, there is no place in Genesis where a definition of a 'day' is given as 24 hours. So who's to say how long a genesis day was?
Certainly there are many questions that may be asked about the goings on in Genesis. But remember, too, that people sought answers for questions we are still asking. This is what they came up with, within their scope of experience and knowledge and ability to explain. They had a different frame of reference than we do today.
Although each culture has/had its own creation story, actually many creation stories share common threads: the flood, the primeval void, the eternally existing god, the god who moves over water, a cosmic embryo, life being created by a spoken sacred word or sound.
Why the similarities between disparate cultures? Is it something deep within our human consciousness? I don't know.
Our ancestors were much closer to nature than we are today. Perhaps they saw in nature's workings something they could only consider as divine. If, in the course of time, humanity has perverted this sense of the divine all in the name of power and greed, this does not change the essence of the divine. The moon is still the moon, mud puddle or not.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

Let me look at your questions in a different way:

Can anybody prove God does not exist? No.

If people ask this question about God, you could also ask the same question about everything mythical, legend, etc. If people make a point that God exists because there's no evidence to prove that he doesn't exist, then I'm going to claim that unicorns and flying pigs exist.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

If people ask this question about God, you could also ask the same question about everything mythical, legend, etc. If people make a point that God exists because there's no evidence to prove that he doesn't exist, then I'm going to claim that unicorns and flying pigs exist.

The thing is, we're opposing the idea of being created or appearing by coincidence. So, the unicorns, Mickey Mouse and other imaginary things are irrelevant in the debate as they do not correspond to the trigger of appearance of life.

In other words, we cannot prove that God exists, which means that He created us. But we cannot prove that He doesn't exist, in other words that we appeared by coincidence.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

images


images
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

:unsure: umm where is the comedy video I posted about religions by George Carlin? not to mention the other comments I posted that have been removed..freedom of speech, anyone?
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

yeah and where has my post gone? and why is there a christian thread where no debate is allowed yet theres debate and argument in this thread.cant we souless atheists be left alone lol
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

There is one huge scandal going on right now in my country.....so many people are without jobs...working but not getting paid....people can"t pay their bills and buy food....and the catholic church has built a huge building...some kind of a catholic center. Covered with onix on the outside and worth more than 16 million euros.
Talking about compassion.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

There is one huge scandal going on right now in my country.....so many people are without jobs...working but not getting paid....people can"t pay their bills and buy food....and the catholic church has built a huge building...some kind of a catholic center. Covered with onix on the outside and worth more than 16 million euros.
Talking about compassion.

Who invented the system in which you don't survive if you don't work? Nobody even talk to homeless people, only because they don't have a house or a job. On top of that every day modern citizens are afraid of them and avoid them as the every day citizens are scared to lose their cosy material possessions. Talking about society... modern day canibalism, yeah.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

yeah and where has my post gone? and why is there a christian thread where no debate is allowed yet theres debate and argument in this thread.cant we souless atheists be left alone lol

Weeell, don't know about your post but the Christian thread clearly states Non debate thread for believers only...
Maybe the title here should be changed to "Non debate thread for nonbelievers only"...? :)
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

I believe Jesus was a real person...a man who cared. A man who wanted change.
Didn"t he say " don"t make me big churches..." or something like that ?
I just can"t stand what happened with a REAL religion.
It was certanly not supposed to be like this.
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

^ Bahaha, "don't make me big churches"! I know that wasn't mean to be intentionally funny, but I just imagined reading that as a scripture in the bible or something with those direct words. Classic!
 
Re: Athesit Thread version 2 (sorry K.O.S.:p).

If the believers have their thread; I don't see the big deal if in ours could debate about our point of vew honestly. No one has the same way of thinking.
 
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