Atheists and Agnostics don't believe in God but want spread their nothing word

originally posted by: BlueMule
But it is not the only thing it generally entails.

But it is the only thing that is required. I typed it slow so that it might sink in.

Seriously, most groups have a group of ideas that they might share but if an atheist stood up and said I'm pro or anti [insert whatever you think it generally entails here] I'm willing to bet that other atheists are not going to say "then you are not really an atheist".

originally posted by: Annee

originally posted by: BlueMule

originally posted by: grainofsand

One who does not believe in gods is in the category of atheist.

So I consider atheism to be a pattern of thought that encompasses more than gods. Spiritual atheists such as Annee are exceptions that prove the rule.

Hey! Don't leave out that I specified Atheist is Lack of belief in a god.

What I do believe still lacks belief in a god.

Yes, but Annee you do believe in things that the vast majority of atheists would reject. Your guys, for example.

You don't want to think of them as gods, but perhaps it's a 'if it walks like a duck' kind of thing.

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a reply to: BlueMule

Your guys, for example.

Sorry but could you elaborate? I'm just curious which beliefs she has that you think most atheists would reject? Or maybe Annee could?

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Don't be daft. Every one knows that God makes you good at colouring.

originally posted by: BlueMule

originally posted by: grainofsand

originally posted by: BlueMule
Spiritual atheists such as Annee are exceptions that prove the rule.

...and that shows that any attempts to create an atheist label with more added value than "one who does not believe in gods" is clearly not honest.
I am an agnostic atheist, one who does not believe in gods because I have seen no evidence ever in my life to draw me towards believing in gods. I remain atheist as does Annee.

Evidence? Well, I guess we need to add an emphasis on evidence to the atheist label. Generally, atheists seem to think objective, scientific evidence has something to do with a belief in gods or a lack thereof.

"One problem with atheism as a category of thought, is that it seems more or less synonymous with not being interested in what someone like the Buddha or Jesus may have actually experienced. In fact, many atheists reject such experiences out of hand, as either impossible, or if possible, not worth wanting. Another common mistake is to imagine that such experiences are necessarily equivalent to states of mind with which many of us are already familiar—the feeling of scientific awe, or ordinary states of aesthetic appreciation, artistic inspiration, etc." -Sam Harris

So let's add a lack of interest in altered states of consciousness to the list of things that atheism generally entails.

And common mistakes about them.

And let's add skepticism toward parapsychological effects to the list. Skepticism which frequently crosses over into pseudo-skepticism. That's why the skeptic movement, which is epitomized by James Randi, is overwhelmingly atheistic.

Tossing babies out with bathwater.

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Lol, generalise much with your personal (and inaccurate) stereotypes?

originally posted by: daskakik

originally posted by: BlueMule
But it is not the only thing it generally entails.

But it is the only thing that is required. I typed it slow so that it might sink in.

It's about social mechanisms. Theism and atheism both revolve around the same mythologem, and are both subject to social forces, groupthink. They have heroes, narrative, stories, sources of inspiration. Christianity and atheism are both a mythos. They both have cosmological functions, social functions, mystical functions, and psychological functions.

'Myth is what we call other people's religion.' -Joseph Campbell

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originally posted by: grainofsand

Lol, generalise much with your personal (and inaccurate) stereotypes?

I think it's accurate enough.

That stereotype accuracy -- the correspondence of stereotype beliefs with criteria -- is one of the largest relationships in all of social psychology.

www.psychologytoday.com...

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a reply to: BlueMule
We know that one size does not fit all.

Why don't you share with us what you think it entails because, to me, atheism is so one dimesional that I can't even imagine what you are talking about.

originally posted by: daskakik
a reply to: BlueMule
We all know that one size does not fit all.

Yes, well, many atheists seem to lose sight of that when talking about believers.

Plus, I've been careful to point out as much by citing exceptions and using words like 'many' and 'generally' very liberally.

Why don't you share with us what you think it entails because, to me, atheism is so one dimesional that I can't even imagine what you are talking about.

I already did.

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To those of you that have some ... what is your evidence for God?

In other words, what is the source of your belief in or (semantically) your knowledge of God?

Thank you kindly for any responses.

a reply to: BlueMule

I just went through this thread page by page and didn't see anything. The only thing that might qualify is the scientific method but that is something that all kinds of people share.

So yeah, if a group of atheists stood up and said that the only thing they shared was a lack of belief in god, that would be hard to believe but that doesn't mean that those other shared concepts are what defines them as atheists.

Does an atheist believe in the unconscious (or subconscious for an older term)?

Atheism does not equal materialism, per se, although they often go hand in hand.

originally posted by: Gryphon66
To those of you that have some ... what is your evidence for God?

In other words, what is the source of your belief in or (semantically) your knowledge of God?

Thank you kindly for any responses.

I assume you're referring to the God of the Bible, as conceived by mainstream, orthodox religion?

I believe in something far bigger that encompasses and transcends that.

My evidence is the findings of comparative religion, comparative mythology, comparative mysticism, and the large body of parapsychological evidence that has accumulated for over a century. Evidence which is swept under the rug by mainstream science. Much like the comparative fields are swept under the rug by mainstream religion. Taboo evidence.

That, and many direct experiences of a dimension of reality that most people would call Divine.

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originally posted by: Gryphon66
Does an atheist believe in the unconscious (or subconscious for an older term)?

Atheism does not equal materialism, per se, although they often go hand in hand.

Well, let's add materialism to the list of things that the atheist pattern of thought generally entails.

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Remember when ISIL said
'But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.'
or was it
'And as for those who were against me, who would not have me for their ruler, let them come here, and be put to death before me.'

Ohh wait that wasny ISIL it was Yeshua/Jesus when he arrived at Jerusalem. Even got two of his disciples to steal a colt for him in the towns of Bethphage and Bethany.

But then again is there really a difference between the 2?

originally posted by: BlueMule
I assume you're referring to the God of the Bible, as conceived by mainstream, orthodox religion?

Interesting, this is the reason I feel comfortable saying I'm an atheist. To 99.9% of the people with whom I might discuss the topic, that is what I am. Many would probably see you in the same way.

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: maxzen2004

I challenge anyone to claim that they dont place there faith or offer up a little prayer to some form of deity before departing on any associated plane journey, even if its only to the machine god that is the aircraft. Especially so these days.

This just shows how powerful brainwashing is, even for those who consciously reject the notion of the existence of any God.

It also suggests that the notion of "God" extends to far beyond what the religious want to claim. Many will say "thank God" without ever considering thanking any God. It's become a regular phrase, without the person speaking it having any inclination to believe in any omnipotent being.

In times of crisis most people will turn to a simplistic notion of something "other" to help them, regardless of their beliefs. In reality, the only thing that can really help them (possibly) in any time of life or death crisis is their own instinctual inner self, their brain and its processing power.

Did you know, it's widely believed now that the phenomena of "life flashing before your eyes" when in a near death incident is your brain seeking a solution to the crisis you're experiencing? That's no God, that's just your brain going into desperate survival mode and trawling through everything you have ever experienced, heard, seen, learned, considered, pondered, witnessed... all in a desperate last-ditch attempt to find a solution.

If we have this capability, it lends more credence to the notion that God is not some all-knowing being outside of us, it's actually our own mind.

originally posted by: daskakik

originally posted by: BlueMule
I assume you're referring to the God of the Bible, as conceived by mainstream, orthodox religion?

Interesting, this is the reason I feel comfortable saying I'm an atheist. To 99.9% of the people with whom I might discuss the topic, that is what I am. Many would probably see you in the same way.

Most mainstream orthodox believers would probably see me as a heretic, or a 'new ager', not as an atheist. I certainly wouldn't self-identify as atheist. I would identify as a Christian mystic. Since Christianity is so far removed from its mystical function I have little in common with most Christians. But I have less in common with most atheists.

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Just want to throw this out there...

I know only one Church-going Christian, and he admits that he only goes because he wants to try and make up for whatever he does. He can sin all week long, and as long as he gets to Church on a Sunday he feels all better about it.

That just shows the level of Cynicism so many "Christians" have.

I wonder how many of those who call themselves Christian here actually do any good for their community. I'll bet not one here claiming to be Christian has ever volunteered for anything that didn't benefit them.

a reply to: BlueMule

They see us all as heretics and probably as atheists. You don't get to make that call.

As the OP said "satanists with a hidden agenda".