How do you view atheists?

[Skyclad1uhm1]

A lot of those who think they are atheists are actually agnostics, so you'd have to distinguish between those who deny the possibility of there being a god (thereby 'believing' there cannot be one, which is basically the same as claiming to know there cannot be one) and those who say there is no proof of the existence of a god, but do not claim that there cannot be one. Just like there may well be a smart religious person, but there is no proof yet that one exists

 

[Journer]

Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1
A lot of those who think they are atheists are actually agnostics, so you'd have to distinguish between those who deny the possibility of there being a god (thereby 'believing' there cannot be one, which is basically the same as claiming to know there cannot be one) and those who say there is no proof of the existence of a god, but do not claim that there cannot be one. Just like there may well be a smart religious person, but there is no proof yet that one exists

you can be agnostic and atheist...because they may lack beleif in a god and believe it is not possible to know

 

[yhelothar]

i am in the know.. and i know there is no god..
but jesus loves you! so worship him biatches or you shall all burn in the fiery pit called hell

 

[So]

IMO, an atheist says "I see no reason to believe in a god or gods, and unless I see actual evidence to the contrary, I will disregard people's beliefs as baseless"
an agnostic says "Without evidence, I accept the claim that there is a god and that there is not a god, as equal based solely on the fact that a number of people hold the former claim"

IMO the former is more rational. I think you'd be hard pressed to find an atheist who would say "I am 100% sure there is no god" but would have little trouble finding one who would say "I am 99.9% sure there is no god, based on observation"

To be clear: there is a significant difference between "believe" and "hold a rational expectation"

 

[Forsythe]

Originally posted by: So
IMO, an atheist says "I see no reason to believe in a god or gods, and unless I see actual evidence to the contrary, I will disregard people's beliefs as baseless"
an agnostic says "Without evidence, I accept the claim that there is a god and that there is not a god, as equal based solely on the fact that a number of people hold the former claim"

IMO the former is more rational. I think you'd be hard pressed to find an atheist who would say "I am 100% sure there is no god" but would have little trouble finding one who would say "I am 99.9% sure there is no god, based on observation"

To be clear: there is a significant difference between "believe" and "hold a rational expectation"

Well put. :thumbsup:

I'm 100% sure there is no god untill i'm shown otherwise.


The fact is that many people call themselves atheist but in fact could be more equated to agnostics, as in just not care. I don't know which one to choose, since the two different are so messed up, so i unwillingly use the term agnostic.
The words themselves are basically the same thing.

[edit]
Damned foreign language spelling and grammar.

 

[judasmachine]

blah blah blah
just more labels for people to use to hate other people with...

 

[Forsythe]

Originally posted by: judasmachine
blah blah blah
just more labels for people to use to hate other people with...

I don't hate people because of their labels. I hate people full stop.

Labels are so you can suck up to people the correct way and get what you want without having to go all the way through getting to know the person.

 

[OVERKILL]

If someone chooses to label themselves
an athiest, then wonderful.
Everyone
has the right to be whoever they want and label themselves whatever they want as well.

Too many people interfere with other people's lives.



Bottom line is this:
mind your own business and live your own life.

 

[AbAbber2k]

This thread wouldn't be necessary if there was some kind of publication of all/most of the words of the English language. Such a publication would sort said words into alphabetical order making it easy to look up that word and it's associated definition.

 

[Conky]

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
If someone chooses to label themselves
an athiest, then wonderful.
Everyone
has the right to be whoever they want and label themselves whatever they want as well.

Too many people interfere with other people's lives.



Bottom line is this:
mind your own business and live your own life.

This would be fine if "atheists" left others alone.

True athiests have no need to convince others of their beliefs. It's the militant ones that tell you you are not allow to believe in God that ruin this whole idea of "non-interference".

 

[timosyy]

I believe Athiesm is a belief... but that athiests believe they know there is no God.

/shrug

Regarding athiests themselves, well... some of my best friends are athiests. It's kind of depressing to listen to them talk, sometimes. In the end, Athiesm is a very strong belief, and not something to be taken lightly or without much thought (as any other belief)- because when you die, you better be DAMN sure there is nothing else.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: Beachboy

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
If someone chooses to label themselves
an athiest, then wonderful.
Everyone
has the right to be whoever they want and label themselves whatever they want as well.

Too many people interfere with other people's lives.



Bottom line is this:
mind your own business and live your own life.

This would be fine if "atheists" left others alone.

True athiests have no need to convince others of their beliefs. It's the militant ones that tell you you are not allow to believe in God that ruin this whole idea of "non-interference".

Yeah, those damned atheists are the ones ruining everything by forcing their beliefs on others...

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: jagec
It's not something that can be "known" one way or the other; there are no ways to reason it out a priori. Anyone who says otherwise is deluding themselves. That's why I tend to have more respect for the intellectual credentials of agnostics than atheists, though less respect for their courage

so those who remain "unsure" of whether if the easter bunny or santa clause exist have more intellectual cred?

 

[DAGTA]

Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1
Just like there may well be a smart religious person, but there is no proof yet that one exists

Have you ever been in a university? There are plenty of people there that hold PhDs and other advanced degrees and also believe in God.

 

[Forsythe]

Originally posted by: Beachboy

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
If someone chooses to label themselves
an athiest, then wonderful.
Everyone
has the right to be whoever they want and label themselves whatever they want as well.

Too many people interfere with other people's lives.



Bottom line is this:
mind your own business and live your own life.

This would be fine if "atheists" left others alone.

True athiests have no need to convince others of their beliefs. It's the militant ones that tell you you are not allow to believe in God that ruin this whole idea of "non-interference".

It's the fact that seing people making stupid decisions is painfull inside.
It's like seing someone bang a nail into their hand because they think it'l make them look good. You just can't help it.

 

[Forsythe]

Originally posted by: DAGTA

Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1
Just like there may well be a smart religious person, but there is no proof yet that one exists

Have you ever been in a university? There are plenty of people there that hold PhDs and other advanced degrees and also believe in God.

Not in my experience. But i was in the field of physics, and we were a bunch of heathen buggers.

I wouldn't call atheism a belief, because we don't believe in something, because there is no proof for it. We might act like it's a belief, but if we're talking about what a belief is, it's more like a lack of belief. Which might be a belief in itself. Short story: I couldn't care less.
But not believing in something that there's no proof for doesn't sound like a belief.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: jagec
It's not something that can be "known" one way or the other; there are no ways to reason it out a priori. Anyone who says otherwise is deluding themselves. That's why I tend to have more respect for the intellectual credentials of agnostics than atheists, though less respect for their courage

so those who remain "unsure" of whether if the easter bunny or santa clause exist have more intellectual cred?

While your arguments are edging more on rhetoric than logic, the fact remains that you can't "know" that they don't exist. You can make a pretty strong case against them, of course, especially if you point out that there is a healthy tradition of parents teaching their children of such things in order to instill a sense of morality in them at a young age, while not believing it themselves. But you still can't prove a negative, and while it may not be worth your time to consider the farthest reaching implications of such a statement, it certainly isn't worth discarding it completely simply because it hasn't been proven yet.

Remember, the earth revolving around the sun was once considered a ridiculous notion. Given the lack of evidence that the earth DID revolve around the sun, some people would be inclined to discard the idea utterly. Boy, did they get egg on their faces.

 

[DAGTA]

Originally posted by: Forsythe

Originally posted by: DAGTA

Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1
Just like there may well be a smart religious person, but there is no proof yet that one exists

Have you ever been in a university? There are plenty of people there that hold PhDs and other advanced degrees and also believe in God.

Not in my experience. But i was in the field of physics, and we were a bunch of heathen buggers.

I wouldn't call atheism a belief, because we don't believe in something, because there is no proof for it. We might act like it's a belief, but if we're talking about what a belief is, it's more like a lack of belief. Which might be a belief in itself. Short story: I couldn't care less.
But not believing in something that there's no proof for doesn't sound like a belief.

I started as a physics major and every one of my professors believed in God. It surprised me as I was agnostic back then.

My point is: despite what Atheists would love to believe, there is no direct correlation between intelligence and belief in a diety.

 

[Forsythe]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: jagec
It's not something that can be "known" one way or the other; there are no ways to reason it out a priori. Anyone who says otherwise is deluding themselves. That's why I tend to have more respect for the intellectual credentials of agnostics than atheists, though less respect for their courage

so those who remain "unsure" of whether if the easter bunny or santa clause exist have more intellectual cred?

While your arguments are edging more on rhetoric than logic, the fact remains that you can't "know" that they don't exist. You can make a pretty strong case against them, of course, especially if you point out that there is a healthy tradition of parents teaching their children of such things in order to instill a sense of morality in them at a young age, while not believing it themselves. But you still can't prove a negative, and while it may not be worth your time to consider the farthest reaching implications of such a statement, it certainly isn't worth discarding it completely simply because it hasn't been proven yet.

Remember, the earth revolving around the sun was once considered a ridiculous notion. Given the lack of evidence that the earth DID revolve around the sun, some people would be inclined to discard the idea utterly. Boy, did they get egg on their faces.

To me as an amateur physicist (i'm not even that, but i think the same way), lack of proof, is somewhat proof for me to "know" something. Unless something is wrong that leads us to believe that there might be something wrong with that knowledge, it's sure.
I also change my mind quickly when confronted with facts.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Forsythe
It's the fact that seing people making stupid decisions is painfull inside.
It's like seing someone bang a nail into their hand because they think it'l make them look good. You just can't help it.

People certainly don't need any help from religion in order to make stupid decisions, and being atheists doesn't save them from idiocy either. Sort of like how elitist condescension isn't automatically granted by atheism, but can also be employed by all manner of people.

People who make stupid decisions share only ONE feature: stupidity.

People who adopt a smug, patronizing attitude also share one feature: they're all pricks.

Strive for intelligence, open-mindedness, and humility, no matter your creed, and you'll go much further in life than most people.

Originally posted by: Forsythe
To me as an amateur physicist (i'm not even that, but i think the same way), lack of proof, is somewhat proof for me to "know" something. Unless something is wrong that leads us to believe that there might be something wrong with that knowledge, it's sure.
I also change my mind quickly when confronted with facts.

Maybe you're using a different definition of "know" than I, but how can you claim to have "known" something if new evidence is capable of overturning it? IMHO, you never "knew" it at all, but simply made the best guess you could based on the currently available evidence, with the understanding that things could change in the future. In a way, scientists "know" less than anyone else, because they are willing to examine their assumptions for consistency, rather than assume they are solid and build on that with no further study along the way.

 

[Dedpuhl]

Originally posted by: timosyy
I believe Athiesm is a belief... but that athiests believe they know there is no God.

/shrug

I've posted this a lot on here, so I may as well do it again:

a - the - ism

without - god - belief


That's all it means. The end.

 

[Forsythe]

Originally posted by: DAGTA

Originally posted by: Forsythe

Originally posted by: DAGTA

Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1
Just like there may well be a smart religious person, but there is no proof yet that one exists

Have you ever been in a university? There are plenty of people there that hold PhDs and other advanced degrees and also believe in God.

Not in my experience. But i was in the field of physics, and we were a bunch of heathen buggers.

I wouldn't call atheism a belief, because we don't believe in something, because there is no proof for it. We might act like it's a belief, but if we're talking about what a belief is, it's more like a lack of belief. Which might be a belief in itself. Short story: I couldn't care less.
But not believing in something that there's no proof for doesn't sound like a belief.

I started as a physics major and every one of my professors believed in God. It surprised me as I was agnostic back then.

My point is: despite what Atheists would love to believe, there is no direct correlation between intelligence and belief in a diety.

I have no idea, i've never seen a study on it.

I'd like to claim that there's a correlation between education and belief, but i don't know that either. So i'll just say this:

Okay.

However i definently agree that there is no correlation between intelligence and belief. I view it as a sociological disease.

 

[Forsythe]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Forsythe
It's the fact that seing people making stupid decisions is painfull inside.
It's like seing someone bang a nail into their hand because they think it'l make them look good. You just can't help it.

People certainly don't need any help from religion in order to make stupid decisions, and being atheists doesn't save them from idiocy either. Sort of like how elitist condescension isn't automatically granted by atheism, but can also be employed by all manner of people.

People who make stupid decisions share only ONE feature: stupidity.

People who adopt a smug, patronizing attitude also share one feature: they're all pricks.

Strive for intelligence, open-mindedness, and humility, no matter your creed, and you'll go much further in life than most people.

Originally posted by: Forsythe
To me as an amateur physicist (i'm not even that, but i think the same way), lack of proof, is somewhat proof for me to "know" something. Unless something is wrong that leads us to believe that there might be something wrong with that knowledge, it's sure.
I also change my mind quickly when confronted with facts.

Maybe you're using a different definition of "know" than I, but how can you claim to have "known" something if new evidence is capable of overturning it? IMHO, you never "knew" it at all, but simply made the best guess you could based on the currently available evidence, with the understanding that things could change in the future. In a way, scientists "know" less than anyone else, because they are willing to examine their assumptions for consistency, rather than assume they are solid and build on that with no further study along the way.

I see the conundrum. I just use the word know. Maybe i should use "to the best of my knowledge". But this is purely aesthetic. As when i use the word "know" i mean i know something untill it's proven otherwise. I don't really think you can know anything for sure, that's why it doesn't bother me.

I agree, some are pricks. And sometimes i act like a prick. Which i just think is human nature. But i try hard not to do it, as it makes me feel disgusted with myself.

However, one thing you should know. The anonymity of the internet makes people behave like pricks without them caring. And msot of all me.

And i know plenty of stupid atheists, trust me.

 

[bandana163]

Originally posted by: BatmanNate
This thread reminds me of that scene in Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter where 3 dozen atheists pile out of a Jeep Wrangler and Jesus busts some kung fu moves on their unbelieving asses.

A review with short clip of the Jeep scene @ Badmovies

On topic: I view myself as someone who considers God (and all gods) a man-made definition (from a nominalist viewpoint).
I don't think that atheism is a belief.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: thirtythree

Originally posted by: SampSon
Another unnecessary sh!tty religion thread.

I'm not trying to start a debate or anything. I just want to know.

Imagine if you HAD been trying?!?