The Atheist Church Is Set to Launch in Several New Cities

bigfatfurrytexan
reply to post by Krazysh0t

 

Societies without God tend to replace him with government.

One way or another, power requires its people to worship at some altar.

there is always government of some way shape or form.

bigfatfurrytexan
reply to post by Krazysh0t

 

Societies without God tend to replace him with government.

One way or another, power requires its people to worship at some altar.

Replace with government? So the societies that do have religion didn't have government? I mean how can you replace something with something else when that something else already existed along side the first something? Or are you eluding that people need an authority figure(s) to tell them what to do and how to live? That I can get behind. Personally, I don't need either of those things, but people are dumb, needy, and lazy. It isn't surprising that they will flock to whatever charismatic entity tells it will take care of them.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

you would be hard pressed to find a valid position that justifies the opening of an atheistic church.

Well I won't argue against that.

I am unsure which is worse: large ego's, or a belief in God. Believing in God gives you Wahhabi's. Huge ego's gives you Hitler.

Belief in god doesn't bother me at all. If people have good reason to believe in god then do so. I'm antagonistic to religion. That's a night and day difference.

FYI Hitler believed he was a Christian doing the Lord's work. Mein Kampf and various speeches makes that darn clear.

What does an atheistic church hope to gain?

First I have zero association with this church. If it really deserves to be called that? Churches to me are religious institutions only, and atheism isn't a religion. That said I certainly see much to be gained with being vocally anti-theist. Not through violence but through discussion/debate. Pen is mightier than the sword.

UltraverseMaximus
"I know the services aren’t for everybody, but there are many atheists who would love to attend a celebration of life like this, one that looks and feels like church and does without any of the fiction and superstition."

This is an interesting quote and I think it has merit.
People like to group and celebrate. Weather it be beers at a mates or some sort of sport it is a relaxing thing to do as a variation of any cycle.

So I am considering that there would be a lot of people who like the idea of what the church brings but do not particularly like the ideas of some religious churches.
100% this is a form of religion, how can it not be, but if they are celebrating life without the superstition and fear how can it be viewed so negatively. It would be no different to any other church group, it would just have different beliefs.

I think it is pretty interesting as it is confusing as all buggery lol
The atheists church lol, labels for labels and features for features. Another head spin of who is right or wrong lol

My husband has a high school friend who decided to become an atheist and still attends Unitarian services with his wife because he likes the spiritual aspects of it. I could see him liking this idea.

Krazysh0t

bigfatfurrytexan
reply to post by Krazysh0t

 

Societies without God tend to replace him with government.

One way or another, power requires its people to worship at some altar.

Replace with government? So the societies that do have religion didn't have government? I mean how can you replace something with something else when that something else already existed along side the first something? Or are you eluding that people need an authority figure(s) to tell them what to do and how to live? That I can get behind. Personally, I don't need either of those things, but people are dumb, needy, and lazy. It isn't surprising that they will flock to whatever charismatic entity tells it will take care of them.

edit on 10-3-2014 by Krazysh0t because: (no reason given)

I don't know if people need an authority figure or not. But they sure do seem to like having one.

I don't need an authority figure. But I do need a team that I feel accountable to. Without that, I lose interest in what i am doing eventually. I need to feel a loyalty to someone to motivate me. At home, its my wife and kids. At work, it is the people that work for me. On a national level....maybe thats my problem. Why i feel so pissed off and disaffected. There isn't anyone representing me that I can actually believe in.

And maybe that is actually a good thing.

reply to post by Lucid Lunacy


Yeah...i don't know what to believe. But I have to think that there is something much bigger, and much smarter than us behind this. What that is, i don't know. I consider myself a deist, but can't say much beyond that.

But i see what religious faith does for my mom. How important it is to her, and how it provides her the comfort she needs to make it from day to day. I wouldn't want to see her without her faith.

Expat888
1. oxymoron of the year - if athiests dont believe in god then why do they have a church
2. sounds like someone came up with a slick way to dodge taxes since churches are tax exempt over there ..

Exactly. Why should someone have to pay a tax because they are not a church? If people who call themselves "religious leaders" can avoid paying taxes-- whether they really believe in God or not-- why shouldn't someone who doesn't even pretend be allowed the same privilege?

DJW001

Expat888
1. oxymoron of the year - if athiests dont believe in god then why do they have a church
2. sounds like someone came up with a slick way to dodge taxes since churches are tax exempt over there ..

Exactly. Why should someone have to pay a tax because they are not a church? If people who call themselves "religious leaders" can avoid paying taxes-- whether they really believe in God or not-- why shouldn't someone who doesn't even pretend be allowed the same privilege?

Didn't know if it would ever happen...but from a political standpoint you and I have found a common ground.

ManBehindTheMask

CB328
This is very interesting, both the growth of atheism and now how there is a religious like segment of the atheist community. I wish they were coming to my area, I would definitely want to check it out.

The Atheist Church Is Set to Launch in Several New Cities

www.patheos.com...

Uhmmm.....isnt that counter intuitive to being...well....atheist?

What are they going to do , sit around and talk about how they dont believe in deities?

Isnt calling it a church, contradictory to the term atheism?

I know the services aren’t for everybody, but there are many atheists who would love to attend a celebration of life like this, one that looks and feels like church and does without any of the fiction and superstition.

LoL.....wow

edit on 10-3-2014 by ManBehindTheMask because: (no reason given)

That's what I thought.......who's needs a church??? I just need the love of my friends and family

reply to post by boymonkey74


I met aliens in a hospital. I don't need any more proof of anything. I wasn't in some semi conscious state being operated on either, I was wider awake afterwards than when I first went in, put it that way lol I didn't even have to leave the surgery. Ask a Neuro scientist about sp? hx

reply to post by happinness


I think you once made a thread about it didn't you?.
Cool story bro...

reply to post by Krazysh0t


IME, people tend to have a need to believe in something. Look at all the weird people who get fanatically involved in various causes. Odds are that if they weren't into their causes, they'd be into religion or something else at similarly fanatic level of belief.

And look at statist governments who abolish religion. They do it mainly to secure the fanatic belief of the people on the regime as much as possible.

reply to post by ketsuko


Like I said, humans are dumb, lazy, and needy. It's just a fact of life. However it doesn't mean that belief systems are necessary for society to function.

The Atheist Church Is Set to Launch in Several New Cities

10 years of reading atheists musings on ATS and this doesn't surprise me one bit.

But we can forgive them. In society there is a place for all people, including the less bright bulbs.

reply to post by SaturnFX


Amen! Baltar's trial could take up many hours of discussion! Or, some of the themes from the various Star Trek franchises and how they relate to today's world. I probably could write an entire "sermon" about Data and artificial life forms. We're currently standing near the threshold of developing sentient AI...

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

I consider myself a deist, but can't say much beyond that.

I myself fluctuate between atheism and deism. I believe in eternity. Just not sure if eternity has my interests in mind

But i see what religious faith does for my mom. How important it is to her, and how it provides her the comfort she needs to make it from day to day. I wouldn't want to see her without her faith.

That's fair. I know that's true for many many people.

Still I think that's a dependency which results from the indoctrination of children. So while I understand and empathize with your point, I think it's a vicious cycle of dependency.

CB328
This is very interesting, both the growth of atheism and now how there is a religious like segment of the atheist community. I wish they were coming to my area, I would definitely want to check it out.

The Atheist Church Is Set to Launch in Several New Cities

www.patheos.com...

They have to have a church. Because they have to fight the Christians. It's all those Christians you know, that they fear so much. Well, actually it's their living God they fear. They say they don't believe in God, but they do, so they need to poke fun at Christians so they can get their sleep at night.

I used to be an atheist and I know all about how they think and feel, and I can tell you that it nags at the innermost part of the mind that God is real. You have to struggle every day to resist this truth. Some days are easy but then at times it can get hard, and when it does you need some way to express your anger and frustration at what they are claiming is only the figment of the imagination, the "spaghetti monster",unicorns,and that sort of thing.

Sure, they have smart people using all kinds of themes and catch words to explain away the truth. But then there comes a time when you see the pent up anger emerge, and for that they need an asylum they call the "atheist church."

Now, before I get a sticker on my post (it wouldn't be the first time) from the atheist elite, let me explain why I said all this, and here goes.

If there is no God, and the word "church" refers to the body of Christ, and Christ does not exist, then are not all these people plain delusionally insane? Why is there this need and desire otherwise to do this? And doesn't this make these type of people a danger to others in society for getting all worked up by what is to them a fairy tale?

As a Christian I have both wonder and compassion for these people. Wonder over their actions and compassion for their hardship of conscience.

And then lastly, I want you to know that not all atheists are like these people. Yes, they have their doubts, but they feel no threat by Christians and they can handle the difference in personal belief in a mature and very sane manner. So I would not link them with people like this who feel no other reason or purpose but to simulate what they hate and call it a church which they deny.

That is my opinion, and if an atheist elite friend doesn't slap me with some kind of sticker on my post to shut me up I will be amazed yet again. But they should note that I have said no offense to any member, but am speaking in general terms of my observation.

Thankyou.

reply to post by Lucid Lunacy


Yup.

I have tried to spend my life breaking viscious cycles for the benefit of my children. I figure if i can whip religion, alcohol, and womanizing....ill have made a dent in the problems surrounding my family history.

reply to post by ManFromEurope

This is oh-so-wrong! Choosing NOT to believe is atheism. Any other way to see atheism is a way to speak negatively about it, usually used by the churches to discredit non-believers.

The word "atheism" was invented by the church to discredit non-believers. The word itself is church rhetoric. Why defend church rhetoric?

LesMisanthrope
reply to post by ManFromEurope

 

This is oh-so-wrong! Choosing NOT to believe is atheism. Any other way to see atheism is a way to speak negatively about it, usually used by the churches to discredit non-believers.

The word "atheism" was invented by the church to discredit non-believers. The word itself is church rhetoric.

Yeah, I prefer the word unbeliever. It's direct and to the point. The word atheist is like calling a toilet cleaner a sanitation technician. It may be true, but the issue is about cleaning toilets and the other is about being an unbeliever. It's just so much more exact to the point. An unbeliever is one who does not believe in God.