Why be an atheist ?

Originally posted by groovyguru
Athiesm is intrinsicaly selfish.. a philosophy of supreme individuality...If your an Athiest, what seperates mankind from animals??

Again, I'm not an atheist, but I can answer this question:

Imagination

Which explains why animals don't worship gods.

You ahould be an atheist because "God" isn't real. I mean, at least I see Santa at the mall once a year. Why not worship him?

[Edited on 12/22/03 by NotTooHappy]

Atheism is very closed minded, IMO. I consider myself open minded. I can't be an atheist. But at least I can spell the word. Remember, "atheist" is an exception to the "i before e" rule.
Atheists can't believe that there is anything more superior to them. No aliens flying around in UFO's...no other civilizations that could be more advanced than us. I don't think a good portion of these people realize the damper they've put on their possibilities. Many think it's just not believing in god, but it's much more than that. Atheism professes that there can be no one more advanced than us, period. When you take into account that any god would be an alien, since they obviously don't live here, this puts an entirely new twist upon it. I don't deny everything. I do accept that there's a distinct possibility that there is a fraction of truth to the story. But I'm also sure that, if there is, it's been vastly misinterpreted, or manipulated for control purposes. Taking all these things into account, I can't label myself an atheist. That would be closing the door to research that hasn't been eliminated yet. I always have to wonder....about space, science, religion, politics, etc. Although I'm extremely skeptical, I can't prove there isn't a god anymore than believers can prove there is.

Originally posted by Satyr

Originally posted by BlackJackal
As you can see science is just best guess.

Best educated guess, based on FACTS that are proven consistent through process of elimination.

The bible? It's nothing but words, written by men. It has absolutely no consistency, nor proven test results. Stick your head right back in the sand.

As for morals, everyone has them. They're taught to you by people, not gods. Morals are also as different as the cultures they exist in. That's not even a point for argument, IMO.

[Edited on 12-21-2003 by Satyr]

FACTS: What are Facts?

Facts are what we take as givens. The speed of light for example. You or I have no way to check the speed of light so why do you or I take it to be a fact. We take it and hundreds of other things to be fact just because someone with scientist attached to their name says that it is true.

To blindly follow a scientist is just as bad as blindly following a god.

Hey now, I believe in the possibility of advanced alien civilizations. It's most mainstream religions that don't believe in other civilizations.

Originally posted by NotTooHappy
Hey now, I believe in the possibility of advanced alien civilizations. It's most mainstream religions that don't believe in other civilizations.

If evolution or God or whatever made only humans in the vast universe then it is a horrible waist of space.

Originally posted by BlackJackal

Originally posted by Satyr

Originally posted by BlackJackal
As you can see science is just best guess.

Best educated guess, based on FACTS that are proven consistent through process of elimination.

The bible? It's nothing but words, written by men. It has absolutely no consistency, nor proven test results. Stick your head right back in the sand.

As for morals, everyone has them. They're taught to you by people, not gods. Morals are also as different as the cultures they exist in. That's not even a point for argument, IMO.

[Edited on 12-21-2003 by Satyr]

FACTS: What are Facts?

Facts are what we take as givens. The speed of light for example. You or I have no way to check the speed of light so why do you or I take it to be a fact. We take it and hundreds of other things to be fact just because someone with scientist attached to their name says that it is true.

To blindly follow a scientist is just as bad as blindly following a god.

You're wrong. Facts are things that are tested to be consistent. ie. If you drop an object, it always falls at the same speed. Light is a bit more technical, but I believe it's speed can be measured pretty damn accurately, if it is indeed a constant. Constants are easy to prove as fact. You can't stick your arm through a rock. FACT! There's no inconsistency to that. There never has been, therefore it's fact. I can sit here and think up 3 million examples, but I'm sure you get it now. If not, then there's no point in me trying to explain any further.

You're confusing theory with fact. They're two completely different things.

Fact is something that can be shown to be true, to exist, or to have happened.

[Edited on 12-22-2003 by Satyr]

Originally posted by Satyr

You're wrong. Facts are things that are tested to be consistent. ie. If you drop an object, it always falls at the same speed. Light is a bit more technical, but I believe it's speed can be measured pretty damn accurately, if it is indeed a constant. Constants are easy to prove as fact. You can't stick your arm through a rock. FACT! There's no inconsistency to that. There never has been, therefore it's fact. I can sit here and think up 3 million examples, but I'm sure you get it now. If not, then there's no point in me trying to explain any further.

You're confusing theory with fact. They're two completely different things.

Fact is something that can be shown to be true, to exist, or to have happened.

[Edited on 12-22-2003 by Satyr]

Fine.

Prove to me that the speed of light is 299,792,458 m / s without the help of what a scientist has said. Prove to me without the help of a scientist that the speed of light is constant. Can you Prove to me that a quark really exsists? You can't because you only BELEIVE these to be fact based on what a scientist has said.

Facts are things that are tested to be consistent.

Correct!!!! but tested by whom? Items that we as individuals cannot test but are just told about, such as the speed of light, are basically beleived on faith in the good scientist.

The speed of light is not a theory. It has been measured. And yes, you can do a bit of experimentation on your own. Anyone who wants to find out things usually can find a way to test something, within reason. Here you go. There are some experiments you can try yourself.

www.physics.umd.edu...

physics.about.com...

And some explanations of how it has been accurately measured. You need to do some studying. You obviously haven't.

www.what-is-the-speed-of-light.com...

www.colorado.edu...

math.ucr.edu...

Of course, now days, it's much easier to measure the speed of light. They know exactly how long it takes light to travel through fiber optic cables by measuring the ping. This you can also do yourself, if you have the equipment.

There are many many ways to measure the speed of light. Certainly, all of the results must be consistent, since we do consider this to be fact. I'm no scientist, but I can understand the methods used. Maybe you can't, or just haven't even looked? I'm one of the biggest skeptics you'll ever meet. I don't buy into anything unless it has some serious consistency. If I was a scientist, this would be a "no brainer".

There has been no shortage of people measuring the speed of light. It's been done for centuries, with increasing accuracy.

www.geocities.com...

www.physlink.com...

[Edited on 12-22-2003 by Satyr]